Laura Flores Shaw is the Head of School at Oak Knoll Kinderhaus Montessori, an Association Montessori International (AMI/USA) accredited school in Pasadena, California, serving children 18 months through (soon to be) 15 years-old. She holds a Bachelors and Masters degree in psychology and formerly worked as a child and family therapist in a suburban public school district. Ms. Shaw speaks internationally on effective school administration using the principles of relational systems theory and the scientific correlates of the Montessori method. She is also the founder of the Collaborative Montessori Initiative (CMI), a Montessori advocacy project.