After studying anthropology, sociology and music at the University of Queensland and economics at the University of New South Wales, Mark discovered a passion for Montessori education when he stumbled upon the elementary classroom at the Balmain Montessori School in Sydney. In 1994, he traveled to New York City to receive his initial Montessori training at the Center for Montessori Teacher Education before securing a position at CMTE's flagship Montessori School in Lexington, Massachusetts. Mark met his wife, Olga, when she traveled from Puerto Rico for the same training. They were married in 1996 at the training center based on the Montessori curriculum.
Mark taught for 22 years in 6-9 and 9-12 classrooms in the Boston area and the San Francisco Bay Area. During this time, he also worked as a trainer for CMTE for 12 years. Other positions included Technology Coordinator for a private school in Oakland, California. While in the U.S., Mark earned a State Master's Degree in Teaching and a Master's Degree in Education. B.A. in Curriculum and Instruction with a specialization in Conflict Resolution from Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Mark returned to his hometown in the Sunshine Coast region of Queensland in 2016 as Assistant Principal of Montessori International Academy. In 2018, Mark returned to the classroom as a 9-12 instructor at Montessori Nusa.
In addition to his work as a teacher, Mark is actively involved in the broader Montessori movement. He has published 25 articles on Montessori education in Montessori and other educational journals and contributed a chapter to the 2008 book A Place for Play, edited by Elizabeth Goodenough. Mark has also designed many classroom materials, some of which are now sold in the United States and internationally by companies such as Hello Wood, Nienhuis Montessori, and Montessori Math Cards. He also conducts workshops at conferences around the world and has consulted with dozens of Montessori schools in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. Mark was a founding member of the Montessori Leadership Collaborative, an organization of American Montessori leaders who came together to promote collaborative action within the American Montessori movement.
In 2021, Mark left the classroom to join Montessori Australia as Director of Educational Services. In this role, Mark develops professional development opportunities for Montessori teachers and helps rebuild Montessori Australia into an umbrella organization designed to promote Montessori widely to families across Australia and to align Montessori educators with all training traditions.
