Our Community    Administrators      Faculty      Parents	Administrators Uzma Sattar Co-Director/Montessori Teacher Uzma graduated from Northwestern University in 1998 with a degree in Hispanic Studies and Education; she completed her teaching certification in Secondary Education in the same year. She received a law degree from the University of Chicago in 2001 and practiced with the law firm of Jenner and Block. When her first child was born, she decided to become a full-time mom. In 2003, she founded and is currently running Little Muslims at Play, which hosts a series of Muslim-themed playgroups and an Arabic program for preschool-aged children. Uzma completed her Montessori certification from the North American Montessori Center in May 2007 and served as an assistant teacher in the River Garden Montessori Program. She is one of the co-founders of the River Garden Montessori and Elementary Programs. Lena Shahbandar Co-Director Lena is the mother of three children, and in addition to teaching, she practices medicine in the field of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Lena graduated from Northwestern University in 1998 with a BA in English Literature and in 2002 with an MD. She completed her residency at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. She has been involved with River Garden since its inception. Lena is passionate about writing, having published a number of medical-related studies. Kiran Younus Co-Director Kiran graduated from Northwestern University in 1999 with a degree in Economics and Learning and Organizational Change (Education). She then worked at a start-up IT management and consulting firm for two years as a consultant. She obtained her Masters in Education along with her Teaching Certification in 2001 from the University of Illinois at Chicago and through the Golden Apple Foundation. She taught fourth grade at a Chicago Public School in Hyde Park from 2001-2003. Since the birth of her first child in 2003, she has been at home with her three children. She is one of the co-founders of the River Garden Montessori and Elementary Programs. She also launched the River Garden after-school program in Hyde Park, where she resides with her family. Arshia Quraishi Administrative Assistant Arshia Quraishi was raised in Michigan and currently resides in Naperville, Illinois with her husband and daughter. Arshia has a Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering and over 11 years of industry experience at IBM, Raytheon and Tellabs. She has worked in project management and in all phases of development on projects that include domestic/international air traffic control systems and telecommunication systems. Arshia left the professional world to be a full-time mom in 2004. She now enjoys being involved with the River Garden community and participating in various volunteer activities in and around Naperville.