Career Woman: Kathleen Coy Porter Is Poway Unified’s Adult Ed Chief

Kathleen Coy Porter is helping local adults find success—and jobs.

Porter, employed by the Poway Unified School District since 1998, is the executive director of career, technical and adult education. She’s also involved in the district’s foundation and virtual courses.

Aside from her paying gig, Porter is involved in the American Institutes for Research’s California Adult Literacy Project and has developed curriculum for adult education.

The avid hiker and mother of two said she looks up to her mother, Amy Rose Porter, who passed away in 2010.

“My mom was a trailblazer who never realized that she was and who never wanted to be singled out for her accomplishments as a woman,” she said. “I would say that her motto was, ‘Who says I can’t?’ She was smart, honest, generous, committed to her family, and believed in hard work. I am deeply grateful to have had her as a mother.”

What does Women’s History Month mean to you?

“What I like about Women’s History Month (or any group’s History Month, for that matter) is that it provides an opportunity for all of us to reflect on the perseverance and the accomplishments of those who have gone before us.  It provides us with a formal opportunity to consciously express our gratitude and appreciation to historic women whose efforts shaped the environment for women today.”