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

Marnie Morrione is a native of the south and has lived in Portland, Maine for 20 years in Deering Center with husband, Tom and family. Her two sons attended Longfellow, Lincoln, and Deering High School. Marnie believes deeply in public service and served 12 years as the District 5 Representative on the Portland Board of Education and is a Portland Rotary Club member. She also served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala for two years, completed a master’s degree in international economics at Johns Hopkins University, and worked in the U.S. Department of Commerce as a trade specialist. In Portland, she worked several years with Diversified Business Communications and Zenie Foundation. Currently she is the founder and owner of Amoria Journeys which plans trips and leads tours to Italy for couples, families and groups.

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

Full bio coming soon…

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

Full bio coming soon…

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 PPS alums and both in college.

Lizzie Pope

Full bio coming soon…

Lucia Rico

Full bio coming soon…

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

Full bio coming soon…

Zahraa Almatwari

Student Member, Deering High School

Farris Peterson

Student Member, Portland High School

Farris Peterson is a senior at Portland High School. She is a member of her school’s executive board and outing club, and enjoys being involved with her community through volunteer work and service trips. Farris is a ballet dancer with the Maine State Ballet, where she also teaches dance to young students and performs in a number of annual ballet productions including the Nutcracker at Merrill Auditorium. Academically, she enjoys learning mathematics, which she hopes to study in her post secondary education.

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.