Board of Directors
The school is independent, non-profit, tax-exempt and is governed by a board of directors with a wide range of business, legal and educational experience. Over 50 percent of the Board members are active attenders and members of a Quaker meeting.
Naomi Beal attended Portland Friends Meeting as a child and studied at Quaker schools during high school and college. She graduated from George School, Newtown, Pennsylvania , where she was a boarding student, and received her B.A. from Earlham College. She lives in South Freeport with her husband, Josh Olins, and their children, Jasmine and Yacob.
Perry Clark is a graduate of Friends Academy in Locust Valley, New York. After receiving a B.A. degree from the University of Pennsylvania, he served two years as a VISTA volunteer in Clay County, Kentucky. Since his graduation from the University of Maine School of Law in 1973, he has been a lawyer, concentrating his practice on probate matters. Perry is a past president of the Cumberland County Extension Association and lives in Cape Elizabeth with his wife of 41 years, Elaine, a Registered Nurse at Maine Medical Center.
Jennifer Cummings grew up in central Maine, attended grammar school in Lake Placid, NY and high school at George School, a Quaker boarding school in Newtown, PA. As an undergraduate, she received an AA in veterinary science, and a BS in interior design from Washington State University. For over 25 years, she has operated her own company, Full Circle Landscaping, in Falmouth, ME, where she lives with her husband, Tom Kruzshak. Jennifer has two grown children who live in North Carolina. She has done a variety of volunteer work, including seal rescue with Marine Animal Lifeline, grant review at Maine Community Foundation, board membership with Western Mountains Alliance, and fund-raising and wish granting for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Susan Gefvert is a member of Plymouth Monthly Meeting and a former Quaker school parent at Plymouth Meeting and Germantown Friends Schools in Pennsylvania. Susan was a staff member at Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Committee on Education and presently works at University Health Care. Sue lives in Cumberland, ME with her husband Stephen, a semi-retired physician and member of our Advisory Committee. Both are avid sailors.
Anne Harwood is a member of the Portland Friends Meeting who worked for several years in child protective services, family support, and community mental health. She was recently a partner in the mediation practice Harwood & McDowell, Portland. She earned BA degrees from Vassar College in English and Education, a BS from Sonoma State University, Sonoma, Calif. in sociology, and a Master of Social Work from University of New England. Anne has been a member of Portland Friends Meeting since 2001. Stewardship of the natural environment is one of her passions. She recently moved from Falmouth to Hiram, where she is enjoying life on a working farm with her husband.
Sean Ireland, Board Member, is the Director of Development at the Hyde School in Bath, Maine. Sean received his B.A. in Political Science from the University of New Hampshire and a J.D. from the University of Maine School of Law. Prior to law school he worked at the Hyde School, where he taught, coached and worked extensively in the outdoor education program. After law school he practiced law at Skelton, Taintor & Abbott in Auburn, Maine, where he focused on commercial litigation and did extensive pro bono work as a guardian ad litem for the Volunteer Lawyer's Project. Sean then worked at Saint Joseph's College in the Admissions and Development offices. His son Liam was a founding student of the Friends School of Portland when he entered the preK program in the fall of 2006.
Robert H. Levin, Clerk (chairperson) of the Board, earned a B.A. degree from Haverford College and a J.D. from New York University of Law. Rob is a Maine attorney who specializes in land conservation and nonprofit organizations law. He has helped dozens of Maine organizations incorporate and apply for 501(c)(3) status. He is also a member of Portland Friends Meeting. Rob currently serves as Treasurer of Portland Trails. He lives on Munjoy Hill in Portland with his wife, Sarah Cushman, and they can often be seen walking around town or kayaking on Casco Bay.
Liz Maier, Secretary, grew up in Pennsylvania and graduated from Westtown Friends School. After receiving a BA in English from Brown University, she taught 4th grade at the Park School in Brookline, MA for two years. After earning a Masters in Library Science from Clarion University of Pennsylvania, Liz worked as a librarian for Waynflete School in Portland for 22 years. Liz and her husband Jim live in Scarborough, and attend Portland Friends Meeting. They have three married children and six (going on seven) grandchildren.
Leslie Manning is a member of Durham Friends Meeting and active on New Engalnd Yearly Meeting's Ministry and Counsel, which has responsibility for the spiritual nurture of Friends' Meetings. Leslie also serves as Friends representative to the Maine Council of Churches and is involved with their Public Policy Committee. A long time activist, Leslie has been an advocate for social and economic justice and currently works as the regional coordinator for Mayors Against Illegal Guns. She also serves on the Advisory Board of Community Mediation Services, a project of Volunteers of America Northern New England (VOANNE). She lives in Hallowell and is a hiker and kayaker, and an avid fan of good Quaker process.
Jeffrey Peterson was born in Colorado and grew up in Kansas City. While attending the University of Kansas, he attended a Mennonite congregation and became familiar with the peace churches. Jeff met his wife Sarah, who grew up in Portland Friends Meeting, while completing residency in pediatrics in Providence, RI and has lived in Maine since 2004. Jeff practices pediatrics with Intermed in Yarmouth. His professional interests also include improving access to mental health services in Maine, as well as broader health policy. Jeff, Sarah and their daughter Farris live in Portland and regularly attend Portland Friends Meeting.
Kim Simmons is the mother of two FSP students. Kim holds a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Minnesota and teaches in the area of social movements, social justice and women's studies. She has formerly worked as director of the Civil Rights Team Project and as a research consultant for the VAWA project and conducts workshops on diversity-related topics. Kim also serves on the board of the Maine Women's Policy Center and authors a blog on peace education.
Samuel P. Solish, Assistant Clerk, is a graduate of Brooklyn Friends School which he attended from 9th-12th grades. He joined Friends Meeting at Cambridge in 1986 and currently attends Portland Friends Meeting. A graduate of Brown University and Tufts University School of Medicine, Dr. Solish practices ophthalmology. He is a partner with Eyecare Medical Group in Portland.
Tom Welch, Treasurer, was born in Princeton, New Jersey, and growing up followed the peripatetic path of a faculty brat from Princeton to New Haven to Philadelphia. He attended Germantown Friends School, and through parents, children or siblings has ties to Friends Central, Plymouth Meeting Friends, Haverford Friends, and Friends School (Maryland). Tom was trained as a lawyer, and has variously been an attorney in private, corporate and government practice, and served for twelve years as chairman of the Maine Public Utilities Commission, a position to which he was recently reappointed. Tom lives in Hallowell and Hancock Point.
