Dilafruz Williams Portland Public School Board

About Dilafruz

Dilafruz Williams, Ph.D., was elected citywide to the School Board in 2003 and again in 2007. She resides in Zone 7.

She served as co-chair of the Board 2007 to 2009.  She has served in leadership positions on various committees. A champion of excellence and equity, Dilafruz has worked tirelessly to represent diverse voices of the Portland community.

As part of a team, Dilafruz helped found the Environmental Middle School (6-8) in 1995 which is now K-8 Sunnyside Environmental School. She also co-founded  Learning Gardens in schools.

These successful initiatives address the ecological and cultural underpinnings of education in K-12 schools and in higher education with strong community-school-university partnerships.

Dilafruz serves as Chair of the Board of the Council of the Great City Schools, comprising 66 of the nation’s largest school districts with 7 million students (www.cgcs.org).

She is recipient of prestigious Awards in Service-Learning and Partnerships. She is on the Fulbright Senior Scholar Roster, 2007-2012.

Dilafruz is frequently invited to give talks and workshops, nationally and internationally. She is the co-editor of Ecological Education in Action: On Weaving Education, Culture, and the Environment.

Dilafruz started her career as a Science and Math teacher. She is a graduate of Bombay, Syracuse, and Harvard Universities in the Sciences, Public Administration, and Philosophy of Education.  Her areas of expertise are:

• Civic Engagement/Service Learning

• Community-Higher Education-Schools Partnerships

• K-12 Public Policy

• Learning Gardens

• Sustainability/Environmental Education

Dilafruz Williams is Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy in the Graduate School of Education (http://www.pdx.edu/profile/meet-professor-dilafruz-williams) at Portland State University.