Leadership

Debra Markham has been with the school since 1982 when she joined the school as a Kindergarten teacher. In 1986 she was promoted to Assistant Director, and in 2003 promoted to Director of the school. When the school opened its second location, Debra assumed the role of Head of Schools. Debra has BA in elementary education from Augusta State University. Before joining the school, she worked as a teacher at an inner-city elementary school in Augusta, Georgia.

In 2008, Debra attended a Masters Program in Early Childhood Education at Kennesaw State University, working closely with Dr. Feland Meadows, the Goizueta Endowed Chair of Early Childhood. She has taken courses on the Pan American Montessori teaching approach for both children ages birth to three, and three to six years of age. She has been instrumental in merging the best of Montessori with the best of Suzuki philosophies to develop the successful educational approach used at The Suzuki School. Debra serves on the board of the Pan American Montessori Society.

Debra has worked closely with hundreds of families over the years helping them to determine the appropriate educational options for their young children.

Marlene Lerer was recruited to help form The Suzuki School by David Smith, a leading Atlanta businessman, in 1976 after she relocated to Atlanta from Ohio. She has a Master's in Education and Curriculum Development from Cleveland State University and taught for 8 years in preschool and elementary school settings.

After operating The Suzuki School in Atlanta for 30 years, she relocated to Boston and opened a Suzuki School in the Boston area, applying the same principles there as at the Atlanta campuses. Marlene continues to serve on the Board of Directors of The Suzuki School.

Paula Charles was introduced to Suzuki with the birth of her first child in 1991 and subsequently joined The Suzuki School in 2005. Paula started her career as a management consultant with Touche Ross (which merged and became Deloitte Consulting), and held other corporate positions before leaving to start her own corporate advisory firm. It was in this capacity that she reconnected with Marlene Lerer, the founder of Suzuki. Paula holds a Master's Degree in Accounting from the University of Texas and a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Washington. 

Paula focuses on implementing the collaborative environment at Suzuki and works closely with the faculty in the hiring and retention of teachers of excellence. She serves as the Chair of the Advisory Board for Quality Care for Children, and serves on the board of Georgia Childcare Association.

Alla Morgulyan is the Co-Director over the Pre-Primary Program at both Campuses and serves as the Director for the Northside Campus. She holds a Master's Degree in English as a Second Language from the Kiev State University of Foreign Languages. Alla began teaching at Suzuki in 1994 and has taught both the younger ages as well as Kindergarten. In 2007 she joined the leadership team as the first Admissions Coordinator; in 2008 she was named the Director at the Northside Campus.

Before coming to Suzuki, Alla taught for 23 years in Kiev, Ukraine, and received two National Awards as a teacher of excellence.

Allison Gill trains the teaching staff throughout the year, demonstrating the collaborative teaching approach and training them on the materials and presentations that are a crucial component of our teaching approach.

Allison joined Suzuki in 2001; she taught three- and four-year olds for a number of years and joined the leadership team in 2004 as an Assistant Director and was promoted to Co-Director in 2011. Allison has over four years of university experience from Georgia College and Kennesaw State University, with a focus in Early Childhood and Biology; in 2010 Allison received certification as a Pan American Montessori teacher. Before coming to Suzuki, Allison taught for twelve years in a Head Start Pre-K and special education program in the Gwinnett County School System.