Meet Our Team
Management & Administration
Sailini Lohia
Head of School
Sailini founded Fiore Montessori School along with husband Sandeep in 2010. She is trained as an AMI Montessori Primary Guide and has over 8 years of experience working with children ages 3 - 6. Sailini holds a M.B.A. in Finance and B.S. in Commerce. In a previous life, Sailini worked as a Business Director for Capital One. She and her husband have two sons, ages 10 and 12, and live in Vienna, VA. She is a committed Iyengar Yoga student and enjoys playing Bridge.
Sandeep Lohia
Strategic Head
Sandeep founded Fiore Montessori along with his wife, Sailini, in 2010. In 2012, Sandeep assumed the role of head of school at Fiore Montessori which he passed on to Sailini in 2019. Sandeep is trained as an Engineer and holds an M.B.A. He believes that a strong foundation is essential to long term success and is passionate about producing a conducive environment at Fiore for every child to develop a strong foundation for success and happiness.
Kelly McDermott
Director of Enrollment &
Parent Engagement
Kelly is originally from New York, but now lives in Reston with her Husband, daughter, and cat. Kelly has more than a decade of childcare experience and a Bachelors degree in Early Childhood Administration. Kelly has been in the admissions field for more than 5 years and thoroughly enjoys working with families. In her downtime, Kelly enjoys watching movies, spending time outside, baking, and watching her daughter grow more everyday.
Sandra Caraballo
Director of Operations
Sandra has a Bachelor's in Early Childhood Education from Florida International University, a Masters in Education from Loyola University and is AMI Primary certified from Washington Montessori Institute in Maryland. She has served in the United States Army, and has worked with young children for over 5 years. Sandra greatly enjoys being outdoors, woodworking and interior design. She lives in McLean along with her husband and daughter.
Gabriela Huertero
Office Coordinator
Gabriela was born in El Salvador and moved to USA 5 years ago, she has worked with children for 4 years, especially with ages 2 to 6 years. She enjoys cooking and going for walks, but most enjoys spending quality time with her young son.
Sanja Kovac
Executive Assistant to the
Head of School
Sanja has vast experience in the corporate world, from banks to global management consulting firms to not-for-profits. She specialized in partnering with C-level executives to build strong corporate cultures based on mutual trust and respect. Sanja has always been very fond of children and is very excited to join our Fiore. She believes in Urie Bronfenbrenner's quote: " Every child needs at least one adult who is irrationally crazy about him or her.” She has two grown children and was promoted to Grandma when Filip was born.
Garth Mramor
Elementary Guide
Garth recieved his AMI training at the Montessori Institute of San Diego, and completed the first of his Masters at Loyola University in Baltimore. He began his teaching career right after college, working as an English teacher at two French grade schools, and he continued a year later at a farm school in Montana, where he led a primary class. After completing his AMI Elementary training, he moved to New Mexico, where he served as a Guide at a nature-based Montessori school. When not at work, Garth spends his time reading.
Erika Heikkinen
Primary Guide
Erika is an AMI trained Primary Guide. She holds a Masters of Education from Loyola University Maryland and received her AMI training Education from Loyola University Maryland and received her AMI training at the Washington Montessori Institute. Erika has worked with young children in various settings for more than 5 years and, as a former Montessori student herself, is passionate about the joy in learning and education as a tool for peace. In her spare time, she enjoys walking with her dog, playing her ukulele, and exploring with her nephews.
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Sarah Loden
Primary Guide
Sarah Loden is an AMI trained Primary Guide. She holds a Masters in Education from Loyola University Maryland, and a dual Bachelor’s degree, a B.A in Cultural Anthropology and B.S. in Communications Studies, from The University of Texas at Austin. Prior to joining Fiore, Sarah worked in Child and Parent Centres in Australia, and led a primary class in New York City. A native Texan, Sarah enjoys baking, reading, dance, and spending time outdoors.
Becky Myers-Pollock
Primary Guide
Becky received her Bachelors of Science in Elementary and Early Childhood Education and is an AMI trained Montessori Guide for children ages 3 - 6. Currently, she lives in Washington, D.C. along with her husband. Her favorite part about Montessori education is that the child's potential is witnessed by all. When she is not at school, Becky enjoys going on hikes with her dog, exploring the city and visiting family in Pennsylvania.
Diana Goshorn
Toddler Guide
Diana is a native of Colombia, South America. She received a Masters in Education from Loyola University, Maryland and is certified AMI 0-3 from The Montessori Institute in Denver, Colorado. She has over 25 years of experience working with children under the age of 3 and has worked in a Montessori classroom for 9 years. Diana loves to spend time with her husband of 21 years.They ride bikes, watch movies, and go for long drives! She enjoys art, has taken some drawing courses, and even produced a few charcoal pieces. Diana is a joyful and loving person who yearns to give back to the world through sharing her experience and knowledge of Montessori.
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Kris Ramos
Elementary Afterschool Guide
Ramos received his AMI training at Montessori Northwest Institute and completed the Masters of Education program at Loyola University in Baltimore. He was delighted to explore how Montessori cosmic education allowed the union of his experience as an outdoor educator with his love of and Bachelors degree in History/adolescent education. After completing his AMI Elementary training, he moved to Seattle where he worked as a Lead Guide at a Montessori school for four years while also creating an outdoor education program from scratch. Outside of work, Ramos loves hiking, reading, and watching/playing soccer.
Our Guides
Our Support Team
Lizette Calaro
Elementary Assistant and Spanish Teacher
Lizette lives with her two sons and husband in northern Virginia. She has been working with young children for over 7 years and has been with Fiore since 2013. She is a trained primary and elementary assistant from the Washington Montessori Institute. Lizette has learned through experience with her own son the impact that learning disabilities can have on a child and the impact that Montessori can have in assisting a child to navigate non-standard circumstances. She brings a heightened patience level with all children from her experience. She enjoys cooking, being outside, and has learned to knit with her two boys.
Viviana Rubiano
Primary Spanish Speaking Assistant
Viviana is originally from Bogotá, Colombia and received her A.A.S. magma cum lauded in 2016. She has worked with young children for more than 10 years. She has completed the AMI Primary Assistant training and is currently training to be an AMI guide. She enjoys arts and crafts, and the Montessori approach to learning and development.
Alison Ochoa
Toddler Spanish Speaking Assistant
Alison is originally from Ecuador and moved to Virginia two and half years ago with her husband. She has worked with young children as a nanny and interned in an Ecuadorian government project for Eradication Child Labor. She received a bachelor degree in Psychology in Ecuador and her dream is to get a Masters degree in child psychology. She enjoys baking, dancing and drawing in her spare time.
Andy Riddle
Primary Assistamt
Gloria Karasick
School Support Staff/ Floater
Gloria was born in Bogota, Colombia and moved to Barcelona, Spain to attend college where she studied Fashion Design. She and her husband have lived in Spain, California, Florida, Canada and are now settled in Vienna, Virginia. Gloria has a teenage daughter who attended a Montessori school in her formative years. Gloria is passionate about her family, animals and traveling.
Evelyn Vargas
School Support Staff/ Floater
Evelyn was born in Ecuador. She has a B.A Degree in Education Science and has been working with children for over 8 years. Evelyn completed the AMI Assistants course (Infant 0 - 3) and is currently training to be an AMI A-I guide. Evelyn used to work in another Montessori school before coming to Fiore. She is passionate about working in the development of education for children. In her spare time she likes to dance, cook, and go hiking with her husband.
Meybi Vasquez
Primary Spanish Speaking Assistant
Meybi was born in El Salvador, and came to Virginia at the age of 7. She lives in Fairfax with her family. She has 6 siblings, and enjoys spending her free time with them. She also enjoys cooking and running. She previously worked in a Montessori school with toddlers and currently attends George Mason University pursuing a bachelors degree in elementary education.
Andy is currently working toward his AMI Primary certification at the Washington Montessori Institute. After earning both his Master's in Education and Bachelor's in English at Virginia Tech, he taught English Language Arts for over a decade at the secondary level. Ever since he welcomed his first students to the classroom, he has been wholly committed to each individual’s intellectual growth, innate curiosity, and fundamental desire to make positive, meaningful contributions to the world. After enrolling his daughter in a Montessori school, he quickly became enamored with its unique approach to education. Outside of work, Andy loves to spend time with his wife, three young children, and their menagerie of dogs, cats, and hens.