Board of Trustees

The CMS Board of Trustees

Chesterfield Montessori School became a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization to ensure that the school’s work of providing authentic Montessori education would continue for generations to come.

CMS Board members bring a wealth of life and work experience to their service. They have backgrounds in education, law, counseling, finance, engineering, technology, entrepreneurship and finance.

Pursuant to Principles of Good Practice set by the National Association of Independent Schools, while the Administration governs the day-to-day operations of the school, the role of the Board of Trustees is:

• to guard the school’s mission, and
• to protect the school’s long-range legal, strategic and financial interests

Members of the Board of Trustees engage proactively with the Head of School in cultivating good relations with school constituents. Trustees have the responsibility to support the school and its head and to demonstrate that support within the community.

Any trustee who learns of an issue of importance to the school has the obligation to bring it to the Head of School, and/or to the Board Chair, and must refrain from responding to the situation individually.  The CMS Board of Trustees may be reached through its Chair at CMSBoardChair@chesterfieldmontessori.org.

Tom Schafbuch

Board Chair and Current CMS Parent

Tom earned his joint Juris Doctor and Master of Public Administration from Syracuse University, and his Bachelor's degree from Indiana University in Slavic Languages and Political Science. He is a Practice Area Attorney at Ascension Health and negotiates IT and supply chain contracts. Tom’s wife, Olena, is active on the CMS Parent's Social Committee. Their daughter is a student in the CMS Primary Program, while their son is in the Young Children’s Community. Tom enjoys watching hockey and playing chess. He is active with the corporate chess league at the St. Louis Chess Club.

Louise Pooley

Vice Chair and Treasurer

Originally from England, Louise moved to the United States in 1997 and graduated from the University of Missouri-St Louis with a Bachelor's degree in accounting and an MBA. She founded her own accounting firm working with small businesses and nonprofit organizations. She enjoys sharing her accounting and business knowledge with CMS. In her spare time, she is an avid cyclist, reader, and active participant in her church. 

Kimberly V. Schneider

Head of School, Board President (ex officio), and CMS Alumnae Parent

A Licensed Professional Counselor with a Master’s degree in Education, a degree in Law and an AMI Certificate in Montessori Core Principles, Kim taught Mindful Communication and Presence at Washington University in St. Louis prior to joining CMS. She has been a leadership trainer for corporate executives and entrepreneurs, a psychotherapist in private practice, and a facilitator for retreats and workshops in the U.S. and Ireland. Kim is the author of Everything You Need Is Right Here as well as the audiobook Terrible Beauty: Poems and Reflections for Precarious Times. Both of her daughters are CMS alumnae. As Head of School, Kim serves as Board President and an ex officio member of the Board of Trustees.

Jennifer Blasingame

Assistant Head of School and Chief Operating Officer, Board Secretary (ex officio)

Jennifer has 17 years of experience at nonprofits in HR, finance, facilities and leadership/management. She holds a BSBA in Economics, an MBA and recently received her Montessori Core Principles certificate. Jennifer attends all Board meetings and serves on several committees as an ex officio member, keeping the Board up to date on the school’s finances. A passionate advocate of education, Jennifer enjoys continually learning about Montessori and witnessing the children’s passion for school and their grace and courtesy with each other.

Kim Altmeyer

Board Trustee and AMI Montessori Trainer

Kim Altmeyer holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from the University of Texas at Arlington, the AMI Primary Diploma from the Sydney, Australia Montessori Teacher’s College, and a Master’s in Education with focus on Montessori from Loyola University in Baltimore. She has 14 years of experience as a Course Assistant for AMI Primary teacher training courses, including at the AMI Montessori Training Center of St. Louis and the International Training Center of Montessori Education of China in Hangzhou, China. She previously worked in a laboratory school setting in the Kansas City Public School District, where she created eight Primary environments in a public-school setting. She has been a Primary guide in AMI Montessori schools in Massachusetts, Illinois, Missouri, and Texas, most recently at The Barbara Gordon Montessori School in Colleyville, Texas (now Waypoint Montessori). She serves as Primary Trainer at the Montessori Institute of North Texas

Lakshmi Shekhar

Board Trustee and AMI Montessori Trainer

Lakshmi Shekhar is the trainer for Primary courses at the Montessori Training Center of St. Louis. She is AMI certified at both Primary and Elementary environments and has 20 years of classroom experience in private and charter schools. Lakshmi is the founding guide of the Children's House at the Montessori Lab School at Grand Center. She holds a Master's degree in English Literature. Lakshmi regularly observes in all of the classrooms at CMS as an additional support to the children and teachers, and consults with the Head of School about the classrooms and materials.

Jared Miller

Board Trustee and Current CMS Parent

Jared grew up in Syracuse, NY where he attended a small private school that looks a lot like CMS. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania before moving to New York City to work in Broadcast Engineering. Jared has designed major television networks around the world, including working on the Olympics from 2002-2014. More recently, Jared and his wife started Babyation where they launched a new breast pump out of their office and manufacturing facility here in St Louis. Jared and his wife are parents to CMS students in the Primary and Elementary levels.

Emily Widder

Board Trustee and CMS Alumna

After graduating from CMS in 2007, Emily graduated from Clayton High School followed by MIT for her undergraduate degree and Stanford for her MS (both in aerospace engineering). Emily is an Astrodynamics Engineer working at Boeing Satellites in Los Angeles where she’s been living since she graduated from MIT in 2017. Emily feels a strong sense of gratitude for CMS for enabling her to build a holistic model of how the world works. Emily notes that, “This solid foundation has given me the confidence to approach new life experiences (be they middle school, homework, or moving to California), and I am grateful for it every day.”

Miriam Cruz

Board Trustee and CMS Alumna

Miriam is the co-founder and COO of Agni, a healing foods company in Berkeley, CA with an emphasis on women’s health and life moments. She managed a $2.5M investment round for Agni and leads all operational and financial processes for the company — from sustainable supply chain practices to maintaining a healthy P&L. Before building Agni, Miriam consulted for Food & Beverage founders across the globe with Endeavor, a non-profit, and served as a Financial Analyst at Goldman Sachs. She graduated cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Claremont McKenna College with a degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (after graduating from Chesterfield Montessori School and John Burroughs School).

Gefan Li

Board Trustee and Current CMS Parent

Gefan is a packaging expert with deep knowledge in packing innovation, global manufacturing, and end-to-end supply chain solutions. Currently she works at RR Donnelley, where she oversees packaging programs for key clients. She launched battery packaging programs at Tesla, and ran packaging-related business for the US, Canada and Mexico for Home Depot. Originally from China, where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Packaging Engineering from Shanghai University, Gefan obtained an MS in Packaging Science from Michigan State University. When they had a child, Gefan and her husband studied myriad educational approaches before choosing authentic Montessori pedagogy. Their daughter started CMS in the Young Children’s Community at 16 months and is now in the Ginkgo Primary classroom. Gefan appreciates the self-direction and love of learning that CMS cultivates, and is excited about the rich diversity represented by CMS families. She has served on the parent Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee and looks forward to continuing that work as a member of the Board of Trustees.

Stephanie M. Smith                                   

Board Trustee

Stephie Smith brings her experience in non-profit work, fundraising, grant writing, marketing and parenting to her work on the CMS Board. As the Marketing Manager for Delta Gamma Center, Stephie works to build and nurture relationships with families, donors and the community. She has also managed volunteers and coordinated planning for three major fundraising events at Delta Gamma Center each year. Her history of grant writing, strategic marketing and working with institutional donors as well as her training in communication and diversity, equity and inclusion bring skills that will enhance our ability to share the CMS story.

Theodore A. Norwood

Board Trustee and Current CMS Parent

Ted Norwood graduated from St. Louis University and the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law, and he joined Integrated Benefits, Inc. (IBI) in 2007. He is Chief Legal Officer of IBI and owner of Norwood Law, LLC which separately handles appeals and uninsured claimants. Ted belongs to the Missouri Bar, several United States District Courts, and the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. He is a board member of the National Organization of Social Security Representatives (NOSSCR), and he serves on the board for The Council for Disability Awareness. Ted is married to Robin Norwood, and their two daughters attend CMS in Lower Elementary and the Ginkgo Primary Classroom.