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Elise Winther

Written by Alejandro Malespin on . Posted in Specialty Staff, Staff Bios.

Elise was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, where she found her passion for dance music and self-expression from a young age naturally and continued in two decades of professional dance training into her adulthood.

Elise explored many different career opportunities, from motherhood to business management to human resources, and serendipitously she found her way into teaching a few years ago.
Elise is now in her third year at Foothill Montessori of Salt Lake and has enjoyed so much of guiding young curious minds.

In her free time, Elise enjoys collecting new hobbies. She loves finding new activities that inspire movement, music, creativity, and nature. Elise enjoys roller skating, rock climbing, dancing, life music, hiking, kayaking, and just enjoying life. She is an avid reader and writer who has been working on her first young adult novel this year.

Elise is excited to continue to play, learn, and grow with the students of FMSL.

Ruth Jennings

Written by Alejandro Malespin on . Posted in Specialty Staff, Staff Bios.

A native of the UK, Ruth has a degree in French and German from Oxford University, England. After graduating, she moved to Louisiana, where her two young sons attended the Montessori School for Shreveport. She joined their staff as a part-time French teacher and became interested in teaching at the Elementary level. She obtained her Montessori Elementary I Teaching Credential from the North Carolina Center for Montessori Teacher Education (AMS) in 1997 while living in Germantown, Tennessee. She has since worked at Montessori schools in Tennessee, New Jersey, and North Carolina. She joined FMSL in 2013 as a Lower Elementary Teacher. In summer 2023, she completed the first level of “Take Flight,” a dyslexia training offered by the Shelton School in Dallas, Texas. She gets immense satisfaction from watching children develop their skills and love of learning over the three-year cycle. In her free time, Ruth enjoys writing, calligraphy, yoga, playing the piano, reading, and traveling.

Maria Reynosa

Written by Alejandro Malespin on . Posted in Specialty Staff, Staff Bios.

Maria was born and raised in San Salvador, El Salvador. She and her husband moved to Utah in 2001. They have three children. Maria has spent many years working with young children. Maria has taught Spanish at McKee Language School but currently tutors children from preschool to elementary school ages in Spanish privately. Maria has a bachelor’s degree in Preschool Education and a degree in Communications and Journalism. Maria’s favorite hobbies are reading, music, watching movies, and traveling.

Donda Hartsfield

Written by Alejandro Malespin on . Posted in Specialty Staff, Staff Bios.

Donda has been working as an outdoor educator for the last 17 years, designing and facilitating a four-season outdoor program for ages 3–12. She specializes in developing hands-on engagement and exploration of nature through ecology, biomimicry, gardening, and direct interaction with nature in all seasons. Donda facilitates learning through interactive materials, activities, games, and natural discoveries, with an emphasis on local exploration of habitats, lab experience, and field trips. She loves seeing children connect with nature and learn from it through curiosity, exploration, and creativity.

In 2023, Donda completed the Biomimicry for Educators program through Learn Biomimicry, which has fueled her passion for inspiring children to lean into nature’s genius as mentor, model, and measure.

Donda enjoys hiking, biking, kayaking, dancing, gardening, writing, and tea parties.