PORTLAND, Ore. — In her first hire as Portland Public Schools Superintendent, Kimberlee Armstrong named former Multnomah County chair commissioner Deborah Kafoury as chief of staff.
In her new position, Kafoury will oversee philanthropic initiatives, climate justice initiatives and strategic partnerships, said a PPS spokesperson. This includes overseeing several PPS capital improvement projects like the modernization of Jefferson High School in North Portland. All three of Kafoury's children graduated from PPS.
Kafoury brings more than two decades of public service, including 14 years on the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners, where she served eight years as the county chair. In her time, Kafoury navigated the county through the COVID-19 pandemic, helped deliver taxes and initiatives to tackle homelessness and co-led the creation of the Joint Office of Homelessness (JOHS), the agency tasked with spending homelessness dollars.
"I am thrilled to welcome Deborah to our team at this critical time," Armstrong said. "With her enhanced experience in education and government, she will provide transformational leadership for our philanthropic initiatives, climate justice objectives, and strategic partnerships across private and public sectors."
Along with her tenure on the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners, Kafoury also served in the Oregon House of Representatives, representing North and Northeast Portland for six years between 1999 and 2005. During that time, she served as the House Democratic Leader for two years.
"I am thrilled to have this opportunity to work alongside Dr. Armstrong," Kafoury said. "The last few years have been challenging for PPS and for our community. Her commitment to advancing student achievement, inspiring teacher excellence and valuing community input is exactly what we need right now. My number one goal is to ensure that she is successful in her endeavors."
PPS board members unanimously selected Armstrong as superintendent in early June. Armstrong has said she hopes to raise reading and math scores, particularly among Black and Native American students.
