Her Story
About Leslie
Leslie Russ serves as a Montessori lead teacher in Chicago, Illinois, where she has worked with preschool children ages 3 to 6 for the past 20 years. She earned her Montessori credential from Seton Institute after transitioning from a 14-year career as a salon owner and hairdresser. Russ did not attend college but graduated high school early and completed beauty school before pursuing Montessori training. She is a member of the American Montessori Society and attributes her success to the example set by her father, who advanced through on-the-job training to become a professor at Northwestern. In her work, Russ emphasizes honesty and clear communication while advising others to establish strong boundaries for long-term sustainability in the field. She notes that children today face increased challenges from special needs, the impacts of COVID-19, and technology, yet she values Montessori's focus on traditional skills like cursive writing and hands-on learning.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Leslie
01What do you attribute your success to?
My father was my biggest inspiration. He didn't have a formal education either and did on-the-job training, yet he ended up being a professor at Northwestern. That showed me that even without formal education or skills others have, hands-on experiences count and you should never sell yourself short.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice or life advice for that manner is if you’re ever feeling nervous, scared or worried about a meeting interview, etc. is to walk in like you own the place.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
It's really important to create boundaries and put things in place to help you as a woman. Women can have problems creating boundaries because they always want to be doing for everybody. By creating boundaries and knowing when your workday's over, and not going to work early every single day, that's self-preservation. If you want to make it the long haul, you need to learn how to take care of yourself right from the start.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Children have changed a great deal. Today there are way more children with special needs, OT, sensory issues. COVID impacted children a lot, especially small children who couldn't socialize or read social cues due to masks. Most houses now have two working parents with less quality time, plus cell phones and technology making kids more distracted. On the positive side, Montessori embraces older values and traditions like doing things on paper.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Honesty and communication. If people aren't being honest with one another it's just not gonna work. If people aren't able to talk to one another, it's not gonna work. I've been at places where the communication isn't great and it's not good for anyone.
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