Board of Directors
Foundation for Portland Public Schools Board
Marie Mueller
President
Marie is an attorney at the law firm of Verrill Dana, LLP in the Litigation & Trial Department. Marie lives in Portland with her husband Zack. Marie and Zack both attended Bates College in Lewiston and have lived in Portland since 2010. They have two small children, a daughter and a son, who will be attending Ocean Avenue Elementary School in the coming years.
James Murphy
Co-Vice President
James is currently the Development Director at Educate Maine. Prior to returning to Maine, he worked with AchieveMpls to raise funds to support the strategic priorities of Minneapolis Public Schools. James also lived and worked in Washington, DC, for nearly a decade, managing various programs at the Points of Light Institute and later working in the community relations department at Booz Allen Hamilton, an international consulting firm. Prior to that, he taught high school social studies as a Teach for America corps member in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. James holds bachelor degrees from Boston University and a Master’s in Public Affairs from the University of Minnesota. James and his family live in Portland, where his children attend Portland Public Schools.
Sarah Southard
Co-Vice President
Nurse Practitioner and Portland Resident, Sarah grew up in Southern Maine and graduated from Sandford High School in 2001. After high school, she attended Simmons University in Boston, Massachusetts where she completed a Bachelors Degree in Nursing followed by a Masters of Science in Nursing. Sarah became involved with the Foundation inspired by her parents, both retired public school teachers, and excellent education and opportunities provided by Sanford High School. Sarah is passionate about the importance public education plays in the lives and health of children. Sarah is now the mother of two young daughters, the eldest a current PPS student and the youngest a future PPS student.
Melissa Knoll
Secretary
Melissa moved to Portland in 2004 with her husband, Scott. They have three daughters in the PPS system, at the Reiche Community School, King Middle School, and Portland High School. Melissa has chaired community events such as the Reiche International 5K and Spring Auction. With a background in engineering, Melissa hopes to expand opportunities in the sciences and improve outreach to Portland’s impressive community programs.
Marnie Morrione
Treasurer
Carol Hager
PEA Representative
Carol Hager is currently a teacher and math department chair at Portland Adult Education, and has been a PPS educator for over 20 years. She lives in Portland with her husband and two Casco Bay graduates. As the secretary for the Portland Education Association, Carol is the PPS teacher representative on the Board.
Nathan Henry
Nathan Henry is a community leader in Portland. Originally from Brewer Maine, Nathan has lived and worked in Portland since 2019. He has spent much of his time serving with various nonprofits. In his day to day he works for Kennebec Savings Bank as a Commercial Loan Portfolio Manager. Nathan is a passionate individual who wants to help cultivate Portland’s diversity in order to create a better community. He is in support of the FPPS because we work to add equity into the diverse classrooms and schools within Portland.
Tom Law
Tom is the Founder and CEO of Maine startup Oak AI; an applied ethics startup company dedicated to advancing digital equity. Tom has two children in or entering Portland Public Schools and is passionate about diversity, equity, and inclusion, breaking down barriers to STEM careers, providing support to families and educators, and providing professional development opportunities for youth. Tom is President of the Talbot Elementary Parent-Teacher Organization, has worked for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, is a founding member of the Maine AI Consortium, and served as a chairperson for the National Society of Black Engineers Aerospace Special Interest Group, among other nonprofit and volunteer work, and is very excited to serve on the FPPS board. Tom also really, really loves pinball – just ask 😉
Casey McCormack
Casey McCormack and his family live in Portland. He is a father to three young children (two current PPS students and one future PPS student) and enjoys family time, the Maine outdoors, and traveling. Originally from Freeport, Casey attended Colgate University and is the Director of Real Estate at Spinnaker Trust in Portland. He comes from a family of teachers and is passionate about public education.
Morgan Myer
Morgan Myer owns a commercial video agency in Portland, Maine. He grew up in Southern Maine and attended Sanford Public School System until moving westward to pursue a degree in journalism. He later worked in television and film in NYC before venturing northward to Boston and finally to Portland. With two young children, Morgan is passionate about helping the Portland Public School System continue to thrive as a dynamic and powerful force for good in the state.
Lisa Page
Lisa brings more than 30 years of professional and volunteer experiences in the nonprofit sector to her work at FPPS. Lisa moved to Portland in 1998 after travelling to Maine for work for many years representing the National Geographic Society. She is driven by a passion for public education, the arts, and equity. Locally she has worked in community development at Coastal Enterprises, Inc. (CEI) in program evaluation. Most recently she chaired the Parent Advisory Group at Casco Bay High School. She has a BA from the University of Pennsylvania and an MPA from Columbia University’s School for International and Public Affairs. She and her husband have raised two (soon to be three) graduates of Portland public schools.
Derek Pierce
Derek Pierce served as the founding principal of Casco Bay High School. He was previously a principal at Poland Regional High School and an English teacher in Gorham. He lives in Portland with his wife (who works at Portland Adult Education) and two daughters, both Portland Public School alums and both in college.
Lizzie Pope
Lizzie Pope is the Senior Manager of Grants and System Operations at Pilot House Philanthropy in Boston. Formerly, she worked at the Davis Educational Foundation and the John T. Gorman Foundation. Before returning to her New England roots, Lizzie worked as an archivist and librarian in New York City. Lizzie lives in the West End, is passionate about equity in public education, and is the proud parent of two PPS students.
Lucia Rico
Lucia Rico is a dedicated advocate and community leader with a strong focus on education and family support. She works for United Way and has served as a Parent Organizer with Portland Empowered for 9 years. Lucia is also a member of the Family Partnership Advocacy Group, where she has been active for 5 years. Having lived in Portland since 2000, Lucia has been deeply involved in the community throughout that time. Her children have all graduated from Portland schools, underscoring her commitment to local education. Passionate about education and driven by a desire to support marginalized communities, Lucia remains committed to challenging systemic issues and working towards positive change in the education system and beyond.
Dr. Ryan Scallon
PPS District Superintendent
My wife and kids are excited to join a district that has a vision for academic excellence for all students. As a former principal and teacher, I know that the school is the unit of change in a district. I look forward to partnering with the Board, staff teachers, and students, and families to achieve this vision together.
Rachel Sears
Rachel Sears is an attorney with Drummond Woodsum in the firm’s Portland office. Rachel represents public school districts in a wide range of complex and rapidly-developing legal issues with an emphasis on K-12 special education and disability law.
Kevin Stilphen
PAA Representative
Kevin Stilphen started in the Portland Public Schools in 2012 as the Student Service Coordinator at PATHS and moved into the Director position in 2016. His educational and private sector experiences have allowed him to collaborate with a diverse group of people to meet the common goal of increasing student achievement and well-being in a CTE setting. Mr. Stilphen received his Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from the University of Maine and his Master’s Degree in Education Leadership from the University of New England.
Zahraa Almatwari
Student Member, Deering High School
Zahraa Almatwari is a senior at Deering High School. She was born in Iraq, and has lived in Westbrook, Maine for a majority of her life. Zahraa loves video games and all things technology. President of her school’s Girls Who Code club, she’s interested in STEM and plans to study Computer Science in her post-secondary education.
PHS student member TBD
Bio coming soon
Jayden Monteiro Rosado
Student Member, Casco Bay High School
His name is Jayden Monteiro Rosado and he is a 17 year old senior at Casco Bay High School. He was born in Brockton, Massachusetts, but has lived in Portland his entire life. He lives with his mom and two brothers, who are twins. He spends a lot of his time watching the news and reading. He is interested in law and politics and wants to eventually become a civil rights attorney and politician. He would like to major in political science in college.