founder, Head of school

director, Elementary Lead teacher

Erin Sorel has taught in Montessori schools for the past 22 years, working with children of preschool age through Middle School. Erin's desire for a more creative role brought her to Laniakea Montessori in 2017, where, alongside Melanie, she helped found the school. Erin holds a B.A. in Spanish Education from University of Florida, the Pathways to Teaching (K-12) minor, and the Montessori 6-12 certification from the Center for Guided Montessori Studies. She has also recently earned the Director's Credential from the Department of Children and Families (DCF). Erin is a member of the International Montessori Council (IMC) as well as the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC.)

Erin is passionate about nature and spent some years working for the Nature Operations Division of the City of Gainesville, where she developed and taught nature-based field trips and camp programs to children in the Gainesville community. Erin enjoys hiking, the springs, gardening, cultural events, art projects, adventures, and spending time with her family. She has 3 children, ages 13, 15, and 18.

art teacher, Classroom support teacher

Branislava was born and grew up in Serbia, in the city where classics in visual arts and music were very much appreciated. She graduated from The Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, Croatia.

During her life she traveled a lot and lived in quite a few different places admiring different people and different cultures. She loves Florida, and Gainesville has been her home for 17 years. She received her teaching certificate at the Educator Preparation Institute at the Santa Fe College in Gainesville.

Branislava taught in various local schools and today she is a firm supporter and believer in a wholesome Montessori education that integrates with the artistic realm. Brani is a stunning artist that specializes in integrating art from different cultures, periods, and movements into Montessori education. She is most inspired by the beauty of nature and animals.

Branislava holds her certification in Early Childhood Education with the Department of Children and Family Services. She is CPR and First Aid certified.

As a teacher, she tries to show possibilities and inspire original ideas, creativity and imagination. Her students participate in various art contests and local art shows at the Thomas Center, Harn Museum, Florida Museum of Natural History, Winter Fine Arts Fair at Tioga Town Center, and more. Besides graphic arts, Branislava’s loves photography, has passion for organizing, interior design, and cooking.

She has one daughter, Sati, who is now a senior student at the College of Nursing at UF.

elementary assistant

Ms. Amanda Vorce is an Elementary Assistant Teacher here at Laniakea Montessori. She assists in the Elementary Classroom and also leads weekly art lessons with the Primary Class. Ms. Amanda is First Aid and CPR Certified, and she is currently fulfilling the requirements for a Child Care certification from the Department of Children and Families and completing the Trillium Montessori Assistant Teacher Training. 

Ms.  Amanda has a Bachelor’s from New College of Florida in Humanities, focused in Art History and Chinese Language and Culture. Her thesis, titled Pan Yuliang: Identity in Appropriation, explored the work of a 20th century Chinese artist. Ms.  Amanda’s experiences working with children come from her position as a childcare provider and from working with a community-based arts studio to show children the wonders of art. While working at that community-based arts studio and gallery, she curated and hosted several art exhibitions, brought origami art to elementary schools to talk about the importance of environmentalism, and presented and taught art at festivals and fairs in Sarasota and Manatee counties. Ms.  Amanda was also a curatorial intern at the Ringling Museum of Art in the Asian Art Department. Ms.  Amanda tutors students online in English, essay writing, history, geography, and Chinese language. 

Ms.  Amanda loves to travel! She lived in Japan for a year and speaks some Japanese, and spent a summer in Taiwan to study Chinese. She has also been to Vietnam and Costa Rica! In her free time, Ms. Amanda enjoys spending time outside, drawing, sewing, playing with her cat and dog, and discovering new delicious restaurants.  

primary lead teacher

Ms. Phyllis has been a professional Montessorian for 12 years; most of her career in Arkansas. She holds her Montessori Primary teaching credential from the American Montessori Society as well a BS in Microbiology from Austin State University. She has taught Montessori in public, private, and home school settings. Phyllis holds her certification in Early Childhood Education with the Florida Department of Children and Family Services and is CPR and First Aid certified. Ms. Phyllis moved from Arkansas to Florida in October 2021 with her husband, three cats, and two dogs. She has three wonderful young adult children. A few things Ms. Phyllis enjoys are travel, cycling, yoga, birdwatching, and Scrabble. She is happy to have joined the Laniakea community and is excited to discover all that Gainesville has to offer!

Primary Lead Teacher

Ms. Sydney joined Laniakea Montessori in 2019 and feels very at home. She received her 3-6 Montessori training from North East Montessori Institute, and soon after a Masters in Early Education. Ms. Sydney’s focus of study was on the importance of creating emotionally safe learning environments for children and has been creating such spaces for young children for the past 16 years. Nine of those years were spent teaching kindergarten at Healthy Learning Academy here in Gainesville.

Ms. Sydney’s first chapter in Gainesville was in 1983 as a student at the Santa Fe Teaching Zoo. She later received a BA in Anthropology with a minor in Geography at the University of Florida. Following her experience as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Liberia, West Africa, she returned to Gainesville to begin her career as a licensed Massage Therapist. Miss Sydney continues to practice Massage Therapy with additional training in Cranial Sacral Therapy and Pediatric Massage for Children with Special Needs.

Balancing her love for children in the classroom with her therapeutic approach to reducing the cognitive, physical, and emotional effects of developmental delays in children is what Ms. Sydney does for work. For play, she loves to be with her family canoeing, biking, painting, gardening, playing games, enjoying shared reading, and sitting together in front of a good movie! Her immediate family consists of her husband, Steven (also a life long educator), their three shared children Natalie, Sam and Chrys, their 2 cats and 1 crazy pup.

Ms. Sydney is looking forward to becoming a part of the Laniakea family of teachers, parents and children!

Aftercare Teacher - Caia Cruce

music teacher

Mr. Trevor is a former Montessori student and is currently in the process of earning his degree in Music.  He has previously taught private drum and guitar lessons and is experienced both as a performer and in the organization of live music including lights and sound.  His latest experience working with children was as a foster home caretaker where he worked to support the day-to-day needs of boys ages 9-17. 

Mr. Trevor believes it is profoundly rewarding to be a child’s first introduction to music, and looks forward to presenting music class in a way that supports various ways of learning and fosters independence and curiosity. 

secondary lead Teacher

Lorena (Enah) is an Adolescent Montessori guide and holds a Master’s degree in Biology and a Bachelor in Secondary Education in Biology. She completed her AMI certification at the Montessori Institute Prague. She worked as a Montessori guide internationally and received an intensive in-house training (12-18) at The Abba’s Orchard School in the Philippines, the first and only school system in the Asia-Pacific with 13 campus locations, that is equipped to offer Montessori curriculum. She’s here to join us and bring 8 years of valuable experience from the different schools Montessori Adolescent program. Ms. Enah is trained to teach under the umbrella of both the Cambridge and International Baccalaureate Curriculum. Her specialties include advanced mathematics and sciences through 12th grade.

With a deep passion for learning and hope to offer guidance and support, she believes that with proper motivation and guidance, adolescents can reach their full potentials as education in Montessori thought goes beyond academic objectives. Ms. Enah has a profound understanding of the neuroscience of the adolescent plane of development, the need for self-expression and confidence, and the need for adolescents to thrive in working community.