administrative team
Ellen Graham
CEO + Founder
Ellen earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts from UNC-Wilmington. She went on to earn her NC Early Childhood Credentials and attended Graduate School at Western Carolina University for Special Education before founding The Garden in 2014. She is also the founder of Kindermusik with Ellen, an early childhood music and movement program which has been in operation in Southern Pines since 2011, and additionally has over 20 years of experience in childcare and early education with training in Montessori for Early Childhood, Developmental Play Therapy and Early Intervention for Infants and Toddlers.
Elizabeth DeMeyere
CPO, Wild Hearts Operations
Elizabeth earned her degree in Developmental Psychology and has spent nearly 15 years of her career in early education. She also has a Master’s in Organizational Development and Leadership and is a board-certified coach through the Institute of Life Coaching. She is the founder of Rooted Resiliency Coaching, offering professional and personal coaching to help people of all ages meet their goals.
Megan Muniz-McAleavey
CAO, Instructional Coach
Megan holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Arts and a M.Ed. in Teaching & Learning with a Concentration in Montessori Education. She spent several years working with children of all ages before discovering Montessori in her time working at The Garden in 2015. She went on to earn a MACTE Lower Elementary (6-9) Montessori Credential and AMI Primary (3-6) Diploma in addition to completing training in the Orton-Gillingham method, and has been working in Montessori Education for 10 years.
partners
Kelly Fagan Echavarria
Kelly has been teaching yoga at The Garden since 2016 and continues to visit once a week to share her special classes with our Wild Hearts students.
We partner with Play with Me OT to offer consultations and occupational therapy for students who need support in this area.