Who We Are

CPPS is an all-volunteer membership organization led by a 13-member Board of Directors who are committed to improving public schools in Oregon.

2009-2010 Officers

Co-President: Kathy Couch
Co-President: Linda Olson
Vice-President: Gretchen Dursch
Secretary: Scott Bailey
Treasurer: Will Fuller
Past President: Doug Wells

Scott Bailey
I was a co-founder of CPPS in 1999 and have been on the board ever since. My goal now is the same as it was then: to improve the quality of education in Portland Public Schools so that all kids get a great education. This year, I’ll be working on the Parent Leadership Conference, high school redesign, and grant writing efforts.

Rick Barasch
I joined CPPS in the summer of 2008, having recently retired after working in Portland Public Schools for 31 years, mostly teaching middle school math. I have always felt an allegiance towards public education and I thought joining CPPS would allow me to continue to have some impact on local education. Some of my specific areas of interest while working with CPPS include principal recruitment and evaluation as well as parental involvement in their children’s math education. I have two grown children, both of whom graduated from Portland Public Schools. My wife is currently the media specialist at Lincoln High School.

Kathy Couch
This is my fifth year on the CPPS Board of Directors, and my first year serving as co-president. I became involved because, although I was active at my son’s own school and active on statewide funding issues, I felt that it was equally important to be active on district-wide issues. I look forward to helping CPPS become a stronger organization by building our membership and seeking ways for our members to be engaged in the organization more actively. I believe that in order to provide our children with the best educational outcome, the voice of the family must be a vital component in the decision-making process. I live in NE Portland with my husband, Mike, and son, Jack, who is in the high school program at the Metropolitan Learning Center.

Colleen Davis
I am a retired teacher and my son attended PPS schools through his sophomore year. I joined the CPPS Board because I felt we could make a difference in bringing equity of educational opportunities to all children in PPS. CPPS’s work with the school district’s teachers and administrators in the roles of advocacy, direct services and agitation is based on a unique community involvement structure that brings positive results for all children. I am committed to CPPS’s efforts to have an excellent principal in every school, an outstanding teacher in every classroom and a valid, comprehensive parent involvement component in every school.

Gretchen Dursch
This is my first year on the CPPS Board, although I have done contract work for the organization in the past, such as a coordinating the Parent Leadership Conferences and the Parent Involvement Assessment project. I have two daughters in the Spanish immersion program: one at Atkinson Elementary and one at Hosford Middle School. I’ve been very active in those schools, but I value CPPS for giving me insight and a stronger voice on broader district-wide issues. CPPS’s role as a “critical friend” to the school district is invaluable, making sure the parent’s voice is heard when the district makes decisions.

Lakeitha Elliott
Bio not available.

Will Fuller
I am the oldest CPPS Board member, having joined the organization in 1999 with Stephen Kain as a founding member from Schools for the City, which was one of the three groups that merged into CPPS. Shortly after joining the CPPS Board, I became Treasurer. My main interest in CPPS lies in building an organization that promotes equity and citizen involvement in public school governance. This comes from a belief that a group of people, focused on specific issues at a local level, is one of our most effective forces for good government. I want CPPS to remain open to diverse people and viewpoints while maintaining a clear focus and mission. For the future, CPPS needs to grow in terms of members and financial strength. I believe we can do this by building on our strengths – namely our access to Portland Public Schools and our individual talents – while sharpening our message and our activities to demonstrate publicly the value of CPPS in building better public schools for Portland.

Jyothi Gaddam
I am a documentary filmmaker. I grew up in India, earned my masters degree in communication in Vancouver, Canada, and for the past 11 years I have lived in different parts of the U.S. My husband, Raghu, and I have 13-year-old twin girls, Shradha and Medha, who will be freshmen at Tubman this year. Having lived in different places in the US, we have been baffled by how vastly different, unequal and individual-dependent the academic standards and expectations are at different schools. Two years ago, when we moved to Portland, we put our kids in a predominantly low-income, all-girls public school and I began to invest all my time and energy in supporting the school in the hope of improving the academic achievement of all its students. I soon realized there are several systemic obstacles to students’ achievement which need to be addressed at a district-wide or higher level. I joined CPPS to connect with those who work to improve the quality and equality in public education. I’d like to work toward improving academic achievement among the students in the district by building strong and meaningful relationships between families, teachers and administrators within and between schools.

Debbie Gordon
Bio not available.

Stephen Kain
I became a CPPS Board member in 1999, seeking a more district-wide voice for parents and the community. Funding was becoming a problem, and I wanted to get the district to do a better job of communicating with parents and the 80% of the community members who did not have children in school about the importance of funding for well-run schools, as well as how that money was going to be used. I would like to see CPPS build its membership so that we can involve more people in the district and make our work less Board-driven. I lived in southeast Portland for about 25 years and now live in Lake Oswego with my partner, Diana; my daughter now lives in San Diego.

Nicole Leggett
I have three sons in PPS and my husband, a Persian Gulf Veteran, is their stay-at-home parent. We have more time together then we have money to spend. When my oldest son started at Peninsula School, I found a group of distraught parents. Together, we dug in deeply for our children to have what other PPS students had. In that struggle, I found some strength. I also learned how challenging it can be to get what your child deserves and/or has a right to. My mission is to make information and access easier for everyone, regardless of the size of their bank account or the limitations of their work schedule.

Linda Olson
Bio not available.

Doug Wells
I have been involved with CPPS for about seven years: five as a member of the Board of Directors and two as president. I currently serve as the national board president of Parents for Public Schools, which is CPPS’s parent organization. My wife, Neeley, and I are actively involved in Portland Public Schools in district-wide initiatives, in groups like Stand for Children and PTA, and at Sunnyside Environmental School where our daughter, Dillon, is a student. I believe that our public schools are made stronger, and our kids get a higher quality education, when parents are meaningfully involved in every aspect of the education system. Through my work with CPPS, I encourage parents to seek out ways to be involved in – and to work with and put pressure on – the District, making parents and parental involvement a critical indicator of success.