Our EcoCommunity School Staff Community
April with Montessori mentor, Snow Johnson.
April Smith Bean, MEd
Director of Education & Founder
Elementary Teacher
April has 30 years of experience working with children and teaching in a variety of settings, including Lead Elementary Teacher at the Montessori School of the Berkshires, and Teaching Paraprofessional at the Hartford Autism Regional Program (HARP), where she created a Montessori classroom for students with special needs. April cofounded a special education Montessori School in the Punjab, India, where she served as Director of Education for two years. She has additionally worked as a skiing and riding instructor, with many years of experience working with horses and other farm animals, and training dogs.
After earning an Associate Degree in Applied Science and continued studies in psychology, April received her Baccalaureate degree from Goddard College, with a dual major in Health Arts & Sciences and Education. She spent a summer semester studying sustainable community, attending trainings on creating ecovillages at the renowned Findhorn community in Scotland. It was at Goddard that April first outlined her ideas for the EcoCommunity School in the form of her undergraduate thesis, which was overseen and edited by Dr. Ron Miller, author of 10 works on holistic education, including What Are Schools For. Of her thesis, he wrote:
“This vision is a philosophically coherent response to the environmental and cultural crisis of our time… As [April] correctly states, ‘[it] is not only a new schooling paradigm, but a whole different paradigm of living.’ Consequently, the model school she proposes represents cutting edge, out-of-the-box thinking.”
April earned her Master of Education from Endicott College with a dual focus in Montessori Integrative Learning and Special Education. Her Montessori training, in both lower and upper Elementary Education, was from the Endicott-TIES collaborative. April has attended additional primary Montessori trainings from the Seacoast Center Montessori Program, as well as numerous trainings in special education.
In her free time, April is an avid downhill skier, and loves coaching for a local Special Olympics ski team. She enjoys trail running in her barefoot shoes, and is always reading several books at a time. April lives in Lebanon with her husband, Jay, and loves spending time with her huge family.
Irene Wheeler
Permaculture & Wilderness Skills Instructor
Sarah Freeman
Permaculture, Homesteading, Animal Care, & Arts Instructor; Substitute Teacher
Brett Newman
Aquaculture, Music, Instrument Building, Woodworking – Visiting Instructor
Laura Felgate
Photographer, Early Childhood Education & Business Consultant; Visiting Instructor – Arts, Music, Gardening
From 1995 to 1998, while working and raising her family, Laura attended Granite State College to earn her Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education, simultaneously completing her Child Development Associate Credential from the Council for Professional Recognition. In 2004 she graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor Degree in Business Administration.
As a VISTA member in 1996, Laura was part of the team that created the New Hampshire Reads AmeriCorps Program; which served young children throughout the state. From 1997 through 2000, she was the program coordinator for the North Country region. Laura has worked at Linwood Medical Associates as Billing & IT Manager and Business Consultant since 2002.
In addition to serving on the Board of Directors, Laura offers to bring support to The Eco Community School through a variety of disciplines. Being a passionate photographer, we are privileged to have her serve as school photographer and instructor. Other passions include dollhouse miniatures, zentangle, children’s literature, singing, playing guitar, and gardening. Laura proudly draws substantial insight from raising her blended family of 9 children and 13 grandchildren. She is renowned for her enchanting ability to connect with and delight young children!
Board of Directors
Tina Mulleavey – President
Early Childhood Education & Parenting Consultant
Erin Walsh – Vice President
Language Arts, Performance Arts, & High School Consultant
Laura Felgate – Secretary
Photographer, Early Childhood Education & Business Consultant, Volunteer Visiting Instructor
Rodney Felgate, MD – Treasurer
Health, Building & Special Projects Consultant
Advisory Board
Mark Cote
Development Board Member
IT & Adult Education Consultant
MaryCatherine Balcom
Student Relations Consultant
MaryCatherine is a native of the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. She was born and raised in Pittsfield, MA, attending The Montessori School of the Berkshires in Lenox Dale, MA through middle school, and Miss Hall’s School in Pittsfield throughout high school. She is currently a junior at She is attending college in Washington, D.C. studying International Relations, Education, and French.
MaryCatherine is passionate about alternative education and is excited to be a part of the EcoCommunity School; she has helped with research and provided feedback for ECS development over the past 5 years. MC is an avid reader, loves film, and enjoys spending time outside around the Berkshires and volunteering in her community.
Karen Carter
Administration & Programming Consultant
Lynette Griffin
Fundraising Consultant
Shauna Hill, LICSW
Programming & General Consultant
Matthew Garcia, J.D.
General Counsel
Development Board
Lisa Wilding
Grant Writer & Legal Consultant
Catherine Bardwell
Legal & Property Search Consultant
Brittney Holmes
Special Education Consultant
Brittney was born and raised in New Milford, Connecticut. She studied for two years at Castleton State University before transferring to Southern Connecticut State University. She graduated from Southern in 2014 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Special Education. While at Southern Brittney joined the National Society of Leadership and Success.
In the fall of 2014, Brittney started her career as a special education teacher at Hartford Autism Regional Program (HARP). While at HARP, she has taken on the role of the intensive needs teacher. Brittney is continuing her education and is currently enrolled at Ball State University in the Applied Behavior Analysis program with plans of becoming a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst. She currently lives in North Hartland, Vermont with her husband, son, and two dogs.
Jayashree Acharia
Development Board Member
International Relations & Spiritual Development Consultant