The Cabinet is an advisory body to the Superintendent that meets each Monday and collaborates to ensure Salem-Keizer Public Schools achieves Our Vision: All students graduate and are prepared for a successful life.
For more about Christy Perry, visit the superintendent page.
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Michael Wolfe has served as the chief operations officer since July 2010. Michael comes to SKPS after serving as the executive vice president of administrative services at Mt. Hood Community College. Michael has extensive government experience at the state and federal levels. He was deputy director of statewide project delivery at the Oregon Department of Transportation and served in the US Air Force and in the Oregon Army National Guard. He is married and has two children.
Executive Director, Human Resources
Linda Myers accepted the position of Director of Strategic Initiatives in February 2017. She started her career teaching elementary school in Salem Keizer and then spent 11 years as an administrator in the Silver Falls School District. She is thoroughly enjoying her return to Salem-Keizer Public Schools. Linda graduated from Western Baptist College and completed graduate coursework at both Western Oregon University and George Fox University. Linda’s husband, Paul, is also an administrator in the district and they live in Keizer with their four children.
Director, Community Relations & Communications
Lillian Govus, APR has served as the Director of Community Relations and Communications since August 2017. Lillian comes to SKPS after having led communications for two large urban school districts in North Carolina and Georgia, and most previously served as the Director of Communications with the City of Atlanta. Lillian is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and began her career in the same city as a reporter with the News & Record, a mid-size daily newspaper.
Director, Middle School Education
Matt Biondi, started with the district in 1998 as a social studies teacher at North Salem High School. He later became an assistant principal at North Salem, South Salem and McKay high schools before becoming the principal at Stephen Middle School in 2011. In 2015, he became the Middle Schools Director. Matt graduated with honors from Oregon State University and from the Navy ROTC program. He was commissioned as a lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps and served in that capacity for 4 years before pursuing his MAT and teaching certificate. He is married to Joy and he has 3 children.
Director, Elementary Education
Cobb served as principal at both Highland Elementary School and Chávez Elementary School for a total of 11 years. She was a commissioner with the Teacher Standards and Practices Commission for five years and led the teacher preparation partnership between Chávez Elementary and two universities in the Salem-Keizer area for the past six years.
Before working for SKPS, Cobb worked as a middle and high school teacher and as an adjunct faculty member at Chemeketa Community College. She received her bachelor’s degree from the Universidad Del Valle in Colombia and a master’s degree from Portland State University.
As a director of elementary education, Cobb will provide leadership to elementary school principals as they develop programs to help students reach benchmarks and higher state standards. She will also assist schools in boundary changes, provide leadership to the K-12 Progress Report Process, assist in the principal hiring process, meet with communities to explain and interpret matters relating to programs or district operations and much more.
Cobb resides in Keizer with her husband Nolan and their daughter, an SKPS student.
Heidi Litchfield was raised in the Salem-Keizer area, attending Kennedy, Gubser, Whiteaker and McNary. After obtaining her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Oregon State University, Heidi taught at Keizer Elementary for eight years before becoming the assistant principal at the school. Heidi served as a Salem-Keizer elementary principal for 16 years at Scott, Schirle and Chapman Hill, prior to becoming an elementary director in 2015. Heidi and her husband Jim, a teacher with Salem-Keizer, were high school sweethearts and have two grown children.
Sandie Price, M.Ed., has served as Director of Elementary Education since July 2012. Sandie came to SKPS after having led regional school improvement initiatives for the 16 component districts in Lane County through Lane ESD. In 1992, Sandie began her work in elementary education after completing a B.Ed. at York University in Toronto, Canada as an elementary teacher in York Region. In 1999, Sandie relocated to Oregon and worked as a teacher in Yoncalla, a rural district south of Eugene. In 2004, she was chosen to lead the K-8 school in Yoncalla as the principal. She wore many hats simultaneously during her principal tenure including Middle School Athletic Director, Federal Programs Director, and K-12 Curriculum Director. Sandie is married to Michael Price, and they have three children.
Director, High School Education
Larry Ramirez, Director of High School Education, has been serving the district for the past three years. Prior to coming to Salem-Keizer School District, Larry was a high school principal and migrant director in Nyssa, OR. He is a graduate from Oregon State University, Eastern Oregon University and Lewis and Clark. Larry is married and his two kids that attend elementary school in the district.
Director, Student Services
Eric Richards has 35 years of Executive/Administrative experience focused and the rights and aspirations of children and adults with disabilities and their families. He served as Executive Director of non-profit organizations in Michigan, Iowa, and Nebraska (1983-2002) before moving to Oregon to become Director of Operations in the Oregon Department of Education’s Office of Special Education (2002-June 2010). He then served as Student Services Coordinator and Assistant Director of Student Services for Salem-Keizer School District 24J from July 2010 to June 2016, and has been Director of Student Services for Salem-Keizer School District 24J since July 2016.
Director, Technology & Information Services
Robert Silva joined Salem-Keizer as the Director of Technology and Information Services in January 2015. Robert has served in IT Leadership positions in K12 education for over 20 years, most recently as the Director of Technology for Hermiston School District in Eastern Oregon. He began his IT career at the Intermountain ESD in Pendleton, OR and has worked with over 20 districts to achieve their strategic IT initiatives.
Kraig Sproles joined Salem-Keizer in October of 2018. Kraig has been a K12 educator and administrator for almost 20 years, most recently as the Principal of South Shore Elementary School in Albany, Oregon. He began his education career as a School Improvement Coordinator at Gilbert Heights Elementary School in the David Douglas School District in Portland, Oregon, and has been a Principal at three elementary schools during his career. For the bulk of his career, he has worked in Title IA schools with large populations of English Language Learners, with a focus on equitable educational opportunities.
