Board of Trustees
2019-2020 Board of Trustees
Officers
Dominique Arrieta, President
Nate Zeitlin, Vice President
Ben Flynn-Goodlett, Secretary
Anna Kovalkova, Treasurer
Members
Dominique Arrieta
Nate Zeitlin
Ben Flynn-Goodlett
Hazel Bodner
Chris Cobb
Maurie Ponder
Viviana Rueda
Sherry L. Knott, Ex-Officio
To contact the Board, please address communication to:
Board of Trustees
c/o Abintra Montessori School
914 Davidson Drive
Nashville, TN 37205
The mission of Abintra Montessori School is to assist in the development of the individual child and adolescent by providing a quality education based on Montessori principles and philosophy. In our vision, Abintra develops confident, self-motivated learners who creatively meet the challenges of life.
Abintra is a 501 (c)(3), nonprofit organization that is governed by a volunteer Board of Trustees. Abintra's current Board of Trustees is comprised of parents of Abintra students, parents of former students, and members from the community at large. Board members are selected based on their life experience and expertise, their commitment to help Abintra succeed, and the personalities, skills, and perspectives needed to round out the Board as a whole.
The Board of Trustees exists to support and assist Abintra Montessori School in fulfilling its vision. The Board serves as a governing body to oversee long-range planning, to create policy for the school, to approve the annual budget, and to hire and evaluate the Executive Director.
Dominique Arrieta, President
Dominique Arrieta, AIA, is CEO of GHP Environmental + Architecture. With more than 18 years of industry experience, Dominique is a born builder and passionate about cultivating strategic, sustainable development. She has extensive expertise in master planning, design, programming and construction oversight of educational, and other forms of architecture. She earned her Master of Architecture from Savannah College of Art and Design and has been a committed supporter of local arts and culture. Additionally, Dominique has been involved in ACE Mentor Nashville, establishing the ACE Mentor program at Antioch High School and she partnered with Vanderbilt’s Peabody College of Education and the Nashville Public Library to develop a program where students learned to create their own spaces and ultimately design a Learning Lab together. Dominique is in her second year of her first term on the Board.
Nate Zeitlin, Vice President
Nate Zeitlin is an Abintra graduate and hails from Nashville, Tennessee where he spends a lot of time thinking about design. After graduating from Bard College, Nate served as an AmeriCorps VISTA where he developed after-school and summer science programs for under-resourced middle school students in the Hudson Valley. Inspired by the sustainable farm community he saw there, Nate moved back to Nashville to develop his family farm. Since then, he has co-founded organizations focused on collaborative and regenerative design: Tennessee Grown, LLC — advocating for regenerative agriculture and farmer-owned goods with a focus on industrial hemp, and MZA | Studio — a collaborative and mission‐focused design firm that engages community development projects centered on equitable and resilient solutions to rapid urbanization, socioeconomic disparities, and climate change. This is Nate's second year of his first term on the board.
Ben Flynn Goodlett, Secretary
Ben is a technology and business Recruiter at IQTalent Partners, a talent acquisition and executive search firm based in Nashville. He consults with companies across the country and in a variety of industries to streamline their hiring process and implement creative methods to attract top talent. Ben previously worked in politics after graduating from Bard College with a B.A. in American Studies. He is an Abintra alumnus and Montessori student for over ten years. He and his wife Kirsty live in East Nashville where they love to spend time outside with their dog Charlie. Ben is in his first year of his first term on the Board.
