Dr. KAREN BENNETTS has been involved in the Australian Montessori community for 25 years. She is a qualified state primary and secondary teacher, with Montessori qualifications in early childhood, primary and secondary education. Karen has mostly taught children of primary age and was the founding principal of a Montessori school for ten years. She was Senior Advisor, Schools at Montessori Australia for 4 years. Karen recently completed her PhD with a thesis entitled ‘The Montessori Leader’ and is currently working on publishing her research. She is a graduate of the Company Directors Course at the Australian Institute of Company Directors and has 15 years of governance experience in education. Karen is currently a director at Plenty Valley International Montessori School in Melbourne and is also a member of AMI’s Global Research Group. In 2016, Karen was the recipient of a State Fellowship Award from the Australian Council of Educational Leaders for her contribution to the education sector.