Sarai Manyiel
Sarai Manyiel, M.S. Ed. has been with Portland Empowered since April 2023. She is a former teacher and will forever be an educator at heart. She is passionate about community advocacy, education, and collective wellness. She loves working with youth, parents, and young emerging leaders at PE.
Victoria Pelletier
Tori Pelletier looks forward to working with PE parents and families on program development and equitable community facilitation. Her passion is working to advance racial equity in the school system and community. Outside of the workplace, Tori enjoys reading, boxing and enjoying Portland’s local food scene.
Lis Redwood
Lis has been advocating for minority communities for as long as she can remember. Being born in Jamaica and growing up in America is significant to her work. She looks forward to working with youth and supporting them to use their expertise and power to shape a path for equity.
Nsiona Nguizani
Spoken Languages: English, Portuguese, French, Spanish, Lingala, Kikongo Portland Empowered is the needed bridge between parents and school system to ensure better communication between parties and the success of children in school. The school system in the U.S. is such that parents must be involved in the education of their children by constantly monitoring things […]
Lisa Whited
Lisa values being part of an inclusive community and believes that school teachers and administrators connecting with immigrant families and students is a key component of a welcoming and vibrant community. Having attended Portland schools herself, Lisa has had two children graduate the Portland school system, and has one other child currently attending Portland High […]
Lucia Rico
Spoken Languages: Spanish, English Having experienced challenges as a student herself, Lucia believes in the mission of PEPs and its efforts to help other families and students find the supports they need in order to achieve their full potential. She advocates for building communities of acceptance where all can succeed. Lucia is devoted to working […]
Lievino M. Lobi
Nolasque Isirabahenda
Spoken Languages: French, English, Kirundi/Kinyarwanda Nolasque believes that Portland Empowered uses an essential approach for connecting schools and communities, face to face interaction, with an innovative tool for engagement- shared space café. This approach allows for positive discussions amongst different partners in education about how to improve the education system and increase chances for success […]
Jolie Iraoya
Jolie is a mother of four boys. They all attend school in Portland, including two in high school, one in middle school and one in elementary school. Jolie migrated from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Nigeria before coming to the U.S. She speaks four languages and is currently learning American Sign Language (ASL) so […]
Maria Cushing
Spoken Languages: Portuguese, English, French, Spanish, Cape Verdean Creole Maria Cushing is a native of Guinea Bissau and Cape Verde. Aside from being a parent organizer, she works as a Community Health Outreach Worker (CHOW) and interpreter. She believes that PEP is helping to bridge the gap between teachers and parents, creating better communication and […]
