Gail Williamsen, along with her husband Thom, founded Elizabeth Academy in 2008. Gail was born and raised in Salt Lake City and attended public schools, graduating from Highland High School. She began her undergraduate studies at the University of Utah while designing women’s apparel and producing the catalogs for LeVoy’s Lingerie. Interrupting school and career, she paused to focus on what she considers to be the most important of her life’s work–the rearing of her seven children. Gail returned to the University of Utah in 2004, continuing her formal education and earning her BA in English.
She completed her Master of Education degree and American Montessori Society (AMS) Administrative credential through the Institute for Montessori Innovation at Westminster College. Gail has a passion for lifelong learning and particularly enjoys great art, music, and literature.
Lisa has been a Montessori school administrator for nearly 20 years and holds a global MBA with distinction from Thunderbird School of Global Management and a BBA in International Business and Spanish. She completed her American Montessori Society (AMS) Administrative credential through the Institute for Montessori Innovation at Westminster College.
Prior to joining the Elizabeth Academy administrative team, Lisa was the Co-Director of Montessori Community School, where she was instrumental in the growth and development of the school’s elementary and middle school programs, with a focus on sustainability and authentic Montessori best practices.
Lisa also has over 10 years of experience as an international consultant on World Bank, U.S., and Latin American government projects, as well as overseeing consulting teams in seven country offices in Latin America, with clients that included the marketing and sales teams of Hewlett Packard, Microsoft, Canon, and Sony. She has over 30 years of writing and professional editing experience.
Lisa is originally from Wisconsin and has lived in Spain and Chile and traveled to many places throughout Latin America, Europe, and Asia. She is fluent in Spanish and conversational in Portuguese. She loves spending time with her husband Vaughn and her two boys, Adrian and Kiran. She also enjoys singing worship and Barbershop music, oil and acrylic painting, learning Biblical Hebrew, acting in films, camping, hot yoga, and traveling.
Lisa is honored to support Elizabeth Academy in helping to make its incredible mission and vision of inclusive Montessori education for children of all abilities a reality.
Sofia Laguna Rigolon is from Boulder, Colorado, and has been teaching, designing curriculum, and focusing on inclusive education practices for the past 11 years.
Sofia has two Masters degrees- one in Curriculum and Instruction (University of Denver) and the other in Instructional Leadership (Utah State University), and she holds a certificate in Instructional Design from the University of Utah. Sofia studied English with an emphasis in creative writing from the University of Colorado.
Sofia has taught students from Kindergarten to university, and specializes in language acquisition, curriculum development, differentiation, and establishing collaborative teaching and planning models to maximize ALL student learning. Sofia and her husband are the proud parents of two beautiful daughters. As a family, they love being part of the Elizabeth Academy community!
Nathan (Nate) Abbott is a proud husband, a father of 5, and an educator. He has over a decade of experience in the classroom and over 6 years of administrative experience. He has enjoyed teaching students from kindergarten to university. He has a BA in Asian Studies, and an MA in Secondary Education.
Throughout his educational career he has had the opportunity to present and give trainings all over the United States and also had the opportunity to work with and give trainings for the Confucius Institute in Beijing, China. The topics included Project Based Learning, language acquisition, student engagement, classroom management, and staying in the target language. He is a deep believer in children and their ability to learn and absolutely loves his job.
He is passionate about education and connecting teachers, parents, and students as a community.
Carrie, M.S. CCC-SLP , has a Bachelors in Communication Science and Disorders as well as a Masters in Speech-Language Pathology from Idaho State University. She is certified through the American Speech and Hearing Association and has worked as a Speech-Language Pathologist in private practice, hospitals, home health, and in schools.
Carrie has served as a Parent Advisor on the Utah Special Education Advisory Panel for the Utah State Board of Education, The Utah Alternative Technology Team for Canyons School District, on the county and state boards of the Utah Down Syndrome Foundation, and has volunteered for Special Olympics.
She enjoys scuba diving, singing, playing piano and organ, cooking, reading, theater, crochet, learning, and advocacy. Carrie and her husband have 4 children, one of whom is diagnosed with Down syndrome.
As an experienced, culturally responsive educator of twenty plus years who believes in educating the whole child, Jessica is happy to be joining the team at Elizabeth Academy. She has a degree in Elementary Education and Middle School Social Studies. Jessica has a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership and a Principal Certification, but that is not where her educational experience began. At 16 months old, her parents strongly believed in the Montessori philosophy and that is where she began her love of learning and exploring. Her first teaching job was in High School when she became a certified ski instructor and taught the youngest adventurers. At the time, she never thought she would be a teacher. But 20 plus years later having taught 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th grades and having been an instructional coach and Assistant Principal, including 7 years at Seward Montessori, she knows she has found her place. She feels excited and privileged to begin this new adventure with all of you.
Makyla is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the state of Utah. She is currently working on a TF-CBT certification and has received training on using play as a way to support attachment-based interventions. She is also a certified MANDT instructor and practicum field-instructor for social work students through the University of Utah.
Makyla supports our students through individual work, group/class work, and connecting families to resources. She loves using child-centered play as a way to support children and teach important age-appropriate social/emotional skills. She’s a firm believer in trauma-informed care and loves being an advocate for children.
She has a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Utah with a focus on mental health. She also has a Bachelor of Science degree from Westminster College, holding a major in Psychology (clinical emphasis) and a minor in Sociology. Prior to joining the Elizabeth Academy staff in 2017, Makyla completed her MSW practicum requirements with Canyons School District and The Road Home. She has also gained experience through her volunteer work with The Children’s Center, Crisis Text Line, and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
Dave has a Plumbing Trades degree from Salt Lake Community College and experience operating and supervising a residential plumbing company called Core Water Solutions. He also worked as a foreman for V&S Plumbing and as an apprentice electrician for Mott Electric.
Prior to joining the Elizabeth Academy/Garfield School staff, Dave worked as a material logistics technician for Caterpillar and as a lead skilled trades technician for Lozar Apartments. He also has experience in the security industry, having managed a twenty man security detail for Andrews International and having worked as a security officer lieutenant for CBI Security.
