International Montessori Conference

Trevor Eissler

Trevor Eissler, father of three Montessori students, is a business jet pilot and flight instructor. Over the last fifteen years, he has taught hundreds of pilots, from beginners to professional pilots. He is an author, a juggler, a unicyclist, a Toastmaster, a pianist, a triathlete, and a husband. He wants to be a Montessori student when he grows up.

Trevor is the author of Montessori Madness, a book written especially for parents arguing for Montessori from his unique view.

Cate Crombie

Cate has been a facilitator of communication courses for over 20 years including workshops and training in a variety of ways and settings, from corporate training, parenting workshops in community centres, university, to in-service training in the social services and education sector all over Australia. She is well known to audiences in this country and overseas including Singapore, New Zealand and the US.

Since 2001, Cate has been learning and practicing Non-violent Communication (NVC) skills in both her personal and professional life, as she is committed to fully living the process. Being inspired to share this powerful yet natural model with others, Cate is a certified trainer of Non-violent Communication with the international Centre for Non-violent Communication (CNVC). She is one of only six NVC trainers in Australia and New Zealand.

Working in a gentle and empowered experiential style, Cate invites participants to work with examples from their own lives. Her workshops involve a balance of support as well as challenge that people report they find both stimulating and enjoyable!

Cate's interest in Montessori began over 12 years ago with her own education studies at university. Montessori education was included as part of her Bachelor of Adult and Vocational Education degree. This sparked a high level of excitement as what she learned about Montessori was very much aligned with her values and the philosophical underpinnings of her parenting program.

As the mother of three young adult women and now a 3 year old grandson who is already engaged with Montessori, Cate has a renewed and even more personal investment in being a catalyst and facilitator in the interweaving of Montessori and NVC.

Eva Nislev

During her lengthy teaching career, Eva has worked with many different age groups, from 2½ year old children to adults in their 70’s in a variety of capacities ranging from Montessori centre owner/director, early childhood consultant, workshop presenter, tutor and lecturer. She has presented at Montessori conferences both in Australia and overseas.

Eva holds a Masters Degree in Education with a concentration in early childhood education, a certificate in special education and is Montessori certified for ages Infant through Primary 6-9 years. Eva has worked in a wide variety of environments, including state schools, special education schools, tertiary institutions, Montessori early childhood programmes, and various government departments.

Eva currently serves as the Chair of the Montessori Australia Council and runs her own educational consultancy business, Montessori Links.