Office Of The Superintendent

While growing up in Manchester, Sarah was a friend and classmate of Maine's youngest peace ambassador, Samantha Smith. After Samantha's tragic passing in 1985, Sarah had the opportunity to travel to what was then the Soviet Union with twenty of her peers on a memorial exchange. This experience was life-changing. It ignited her passion for cross-cultural exploration and connection and ultimately paved the way for a two-decade career in international humanitarian aid and development. She served in leadership roles with organizations such as Save the Children, Mercy Corps, and Right To Play in multiple countries throughout the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and the Balkans.

In 2014, Sarah decided to bring her leadership experience, deep commitment to social justice, and love of children to the education sector in the U.S. Since then, she has worked with a number of districts around the country. Those included the Chelsea Public Schools, outside Boston, and the Baltimore City Public Schools, where she worked most recently before joining the Portland Public Schools. In Baltimore, Sarah built the district's whole child department, which provided programs and services for students, families, and schools in areas such as social-emotional learning, restorative practices, attendance, athletics, health, home and hospital instruction, and more.

In her current role as Chief of Strategy and Operations, Sarah oversees the district’s operations teams (facilities, food services, and transportation), as well as several areas of strategic priority, including special education and student support services, early childhood education, communications, and family and community engagement. 

Cheryl’s background includes leadership roles in two large urban school district settings. She served the students and families of the School District of Philadelphia as Assistant Superintendent, supporting high school principals to drive academic achievement through instructional improvement; Deputy Chief of Schools, leading leadership development and evaluation; and Executive Director of the School Improvement Planning and Evidence-based Support Office, leading and guiding school leaders in planning and implementing programs geared toward increasing student achievement. Before her time in Philadelphia, Cheryl enjoyed a 17-year career with Broward County Public Schools in Florida, where she served in school leadership roles for more than 10 years.

Cheryl began her career in education as a special education teacher, an exceptional student education specialist, and as a literacy specialist. Cheryl was elevated to assistant principal and later principal. Cheryl maintains a belief that “teachers are at the heart of learning, and principals create the conditions for a safe and engaging learning environment for both teachers and students to thrive.”

She earned a bachelor of science in communication from the New York Institute of Technology; a master of science in special education from Florida International University; and a doctor of philosophy in Educational Leadership from Florida Atlantic University (FAU). In 2022, FAU honored Dr. Proctor with the FAU Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame Award.

Prior to that, she worked in urban and rural settings in a variety of capacities: teacher (ESL, Spanish, language arts and science), middle school vice principal, summer program director, high school dean of faculty, and researcher/program evaluator. She previously worked for the Portland Public Schools from 2015 to 2018, where she served as Title I school improvement coordinator and then director of research, assessment and data. She was a 2017 John T. Gorman Fellow, focused on making measurable improvements in the lives of homeless youth.

Angela holds a doctorate in educational leadership from Boston University, a master’s degree in education from Harvard University, and a bachelor of arts in Spanish and psychology from Boston College.

For fun, Angela hangs out with her family and friends at home and in different parts of the world.  She is inspired by the lead role that elementary schools play in the district’s mission to ensure a challenging, relevant and joyful education that empowers every learner to make a difference in the world – while building relationships among families, educators and the community to promote healthy development and academic achievement.

Dr. Ahmed earned a doctorate in educational leadership at the University of Maine where he conducted his dissertation research on Refugee Parental Involvement in Schools. He has his Masters of Science in Education from the University of Southern Maine, his teacher certification through the Extended Teacher Education Program (ETEP), and his Bachelor’s degree in Mining Engineering from Pakistan. Dr. Ahmed was born and raised in Somalia. He speaks Somali, Arabic, English, and Urdu. He is married and the father of four children.