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.

Rajah earned his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Weber State University. Although he originally set his sights on becoming a dentist, the sleepless nights fueled by endless chemistry and physics equations led him to reconsider his career aspirations. After shadowing a family friend in administration, Rajah discovered a newfound passion for business, which has made all the difference in his professional life.

With five years of experience as an Executive Assistant, Rajah joined Elizabeth Academy in 2024, bringing his dedication and enthusiasm to the team. Outside of work, Rajah enjoys spending time with friends and family, exploring new travel destinations, and engaging in outdoor activities—though he’s not a fan of snow.

Aimee has her Bachelor’s degree in Professional Studies from BYUI with certificates in Child and Family Advocacy and Administrative Assistance. Her career in education began in 2008 as a preschool teacher. She enjoyed learning and finding ways to teach to each unique child. As a teacher she became a program coordinator and helped train new teachers. Aimee transitioned to administration 2011 taking on the roles of Center Director and district trainer. This allowed her to continue learning and teaching. Aimee joined Elizabeth Academy in 2019 as the Office Manager after being drawn to the school’s mission.

She truly loves music and theater and taught dance and tumbling for 14 years. She has a minor in dance and recently rejoined the Theater community performing in community theater in Utah. This love has allowed Aimee to join the Musical Theater department at Elizabeth Academy and co-direct the school’s musicals! Aimee loves spending time with her family which includes her husband and three children. Her absolute favorite place is the coast of the Pacific Northwest and loves camping there.

“As the Admissions Director I am dedicated to fostering an inclusive and dynamic educational community by identifying and welcoming diverse students who embody our values of Inclusivity, Honesty, Kindness and Commitment. I strive to create a transparent, equitable admissions process that empowers prospective students to pursue their passions and reach their full potential. Through collaboration and engagement, I aim to cultivate lifelong connections and ensure that our institution remains a vibrant hub of learning and growth.”

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.

Jessica was born and raised in Utah, but moved to Phoenix, Arizona shortly after she was married. There she and her husband Robert raised their seven children and she received her Accounting degree from Grand Canyon University.

Jessica has over a decade of accounting/bookkeeping experience and joined the Elizabeth Academy team in 2016. In her free time she loves to hang out with her family, to be outdoors, and to organize things. If she is lucky, you will find her back in Arizona playing with her three grandkids.

Candy was born in California and raised in Arizona where she became a mother of two amazing sons, one U.S Army soldier and one who is currently in high school. She became a certified medical assistant as a young mother and worked in the medical and legal fields for years before moving to Utah in August of 2020. Prior to joining the Elizabeth Academy team she worked as a Paralegal.

Candy enjoys relaxing at home with two dogs, going on long motorcycle rides, and exploring the outdoors. She is also a talented cake decorator and likes to bake in her spare time.

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.

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.  

Evangeline (Eva)  was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah. Eva grew up in and adjacent to Montessori spaces for almost the entirety of their life. Beginning work as an extended day teacher they proceeded to spend time working in almost every program from Toddlers to Middle School as a substitute, assistant teacher, and specialties teacher. 

Eva is passionate about all of the arts and enjoys spending any free time writing, drawing, and reading.