Karen Walker is Head of Montessori at Mountain School/Lower School. She grew up in Kentucky and Pennsylvania , graduating from Harrisburg Academy in Harrisburg , PA before receiving her BA in Classical Studies from Middlebury College and a MA in English from Bread Loaf School of English. For seven years Karen taught English literature and remedial English at the Kildonan School in Amenia , New York . Following her move to Telluride, she, along with mountain guide husband, Peter, ran their family business -- Ryder-Walker Alpine Adventures, which features inn-to-inn treks through the Alps . A son, Branford, was born in 1995, and from the minute Karen walked through the door at the Montessori with him, she was in love with the school and the Montessori way.