Effective Time Management Traditionally, most people find the norm in education to involve lectures in physical classrooms. Tutor-student interaction is perceived as being only physical.
Mahdi Dadrass is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of American Montessori Academy (AMA), a Chicago-based network of Montessori schools now serving roughly 500 students across multiple campuses. He drives strategy, operations, and expansion, having transformed the original flagship South Loop-Dearborn Station campus launched in 2012, opened the 12,000-square-foot Uptown–Andersonville school during the pandemic, launched the South Loop–Lakeside Press campus to add infant–toddler capacity, and integrated Northbrook Montessori School into the AMA umbrella.
Rooted in a family legacy of Montessori education, Mahdi previously helped steer Northbrook Montessori School, Lincolnshire Montessori School and The Grove Montessori School. He is an AMS-certified educator trained at Seton Montessori Institute, taught at Near North Montessori, and holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Mahdi also co-founded AMA Pediatric Therapy, an innovative ABA program that embeds ABA intervention inside Montessori classrooms, creating hybrid environments where neurodivergent and typically developing children thrive together. His vision is to scale this evidence-based, socially impactful model, blending academic excellence and therapeutic support, across new domestic markets. For partnership or investment inquiries, contact mahdi@amaschools.com.
Alison Dadrass holds a Master’s in Clinical Social Work from the Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice at the University of Chicago, and a B.A. in Applied Psychology from the University of Illinois Chicago. She is a Registered Behavior Technician and is expecting to receive her Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) certification in Summer 2025. She also holds a Montessori Paraprofessional training certificate from the Seton Montessori Institute.
With over six years of experience supporting children across a range of developmental profiles, Alison brings a compassionate and evidence-based approach to care. Her professional passion centers on thoughtfully integrating ABA within Montessori settings, where the principles of independence, respect, and individualized learning can thrive alongside structured therapeutic support. Alison, along with her team, is leading the initiative to launch one of the first innovative ABA programs embedded in a Montessori environment, bridging two philosophies to create inclusive and developmentally rich learning experiences.
She is deeply committed to collaborative practice and works to empower families, educators, and clinicians to build shared strategies that make a lasting, positive impact on each child’s well-being and developmental journey.