Mrs. Leight-Montague is excited to be joining the YSZ faculty as an English Teacher and College Guidance Counselor! She is passionate about literacy, reading, and writing and believes everyone is a reader. Mrs. Leight-Montague earned her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Pennsylvania where she majored in English and minored in Law and Society and Global Medieval Studies. She graduated with English Honors and magna cum laude. At Penn, she served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Wharton International Business Review, coxed the women’s varsity rowing team, and conducted archival research for the university. After graduation, she pursued her Master of Philosophy in Critical Approaches to Children’s Literature at the University of Cambridge. Her dissertation focused on representations of Judaism and Islam in Young Adult literature, and she coxed for Darwin College’s rowing team. Eager to start promoting literacy skills across the US, Lilli joined the founding team of The Juice Learning, an interactive reading platform for students in 5th grade and up, where she built out content, worked on product development, and spearheaded business development projects. However, ever the lifelong learner, Mrs. Leight-Montague wanted to head back to the classroom to further develop her understanding of literacy. She enrolled in the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Education Leadership, Organizations, and Entrepreneurship program to earn her Masters of Education. She concentrated in Literacy and Languages and founded HGSE’s first Jewish Student Organization. At Harvard, Mrs. Leight-Montague consulted for Miami-Dade County Public Schools and interned at Cambridge Rindge & Latin School.

In addition to her work promoting literacy skills and teaching reading and writing, Mrs. Leight-Montague brings five years of college counseling experience to YSZ. She has helped students earn spots at their dream colleges and takes a holistic approach to the college application process. She believes in full transparency and knows the importance of family involvement during the application cycle. 

Mrs. Leight-Montague takes a student-centered and interactive approach to learning. She is eager to discuss literature with her students, teach students strong writing skills, and help all her students find books to read outside the classroom as well. When not teaching, you can find her cooking with her husband, reading a book, or exploring new ice cream shops.