Our Executive Director Lynne Lawrence, who is also Executive Director of Association Montessori Internationale (AMI), has been awarded an MBE in the 2025 UK New Year Honours List.
The award is a British honour bestowed by the reigning monarch that is given to individuals who have made a significant impact on their community through their service or achievements.
Lynne Lawrence is a world-renowned educator, author, lecturer, broadcaster and expert on Montessori. Before becoming Executive Director of the Maria Montessori Institute and AMI, she was our Director of Training and Schools from 1989. She originally trained in Montessori in London in 1974 under Hilla Patell and worked with Muriel Dwyer on the “Help the Children” project in Kenya between 1978 and 1985, and supported innovative work with mothers and children deprived of their freedom, in prison. Lynne continues to advocate for underserved children around the world.
Lynne has led AMI for 17 years having initially become AMI General Secretary ad interim in 2007.
AMI President Alain Tschudin said:
“It is a great pleasure, on behalf of the Board of AMI, to congratulate Lynne on receiving this honour. It is welcome recognition for her many years of work in Montessori, leading AMI and securing its position as the leading global advocate for Montessori education. Lynne’s vision, energy and creativity continue to take the organisation forward as we deliver ever greater impact through high-quality training in increasingly flexible and accessible formats worldwide.”
The Maria Montessori Institute is a registered charity which promotes the authentic educational approach first developed by Maria Montessori. This is achieved by providing AMI teacher training and other courses at the UK’s only AMI training centre as well as professional development for Montessori teachers and other professionals; a Montessori exemplar school located on sites in North and West London serving children aged 2 to 16 years; and outreach projects for communities in need underpinned by Montessori principles.
AMI was founded by Maria Montessori in 1929 and from its base in Amsterdam is the hub for training in more than 35 countries, covering a network of over 50 affiliates. It has pioneered courses extending Maria Montessori’s core philosophy to provide training that touches on all aspects of human life in a wide range of social circumstances. In addition to mainstream teacher training, key programmes include community rooted education (CoRE) in India and Africa, Montessori for Dementia Disability and Ageing, Montessori Sports and the development of a Global School Accreditation programme as well as the innovative Educateurs sans Frontières.