President and Founder of F.T.L.F.

Francois Portee

MED-Special Education

Mr. Portee is an educator/coach and entrepreneur.  Mr. Portee grew up in the 4th District of Southeast San Diego in the early '80s.  Raised by a single mother, he learned the values of honest hard work, community service, and integrity.   

After graduating from Mission Bay High School in 1989, Mr. Portee's formal education started at Palomar Community College in San Marcos where he started as a freshman on the Palomar wrestling team.  Later moved back to San Diego where he attended San Diego Mesa, Grossmont, and Southwestern community colleges to later transfer to San Diego State University where he earned his bachelor's degree in International Business and Western/European Studies in '97.  Driven to coach and teach, Mr. Portee returned to SDSU to earn his teaching credential in Special Education in 2006 and then later his Master's degree in Special Education from the University of San Diego where he received the SOLES Scholarship for Educational Leadership in 2009.  

Mr. Portee has worked with San Diego Unified School District since 1997 as an assistant wrestling coach, a classified teacher in the Ocile program which was "Outdoor Schools Instruction", and an Education Specialist for both Morse High School and Lincoln High School to provide Specialized Academic Instruction.  Now, he holds a position as a resource teacher in the Home/Hospital department under Youth in Transition.  Mr. Portee currently holds the "Specialist Certificate in Character Development" under professor Ed De Roach from the University of San Diego. 

His global experience begins when he studied in both Mexico and Spain where he learned Spanish and Latin American Culture. He attended both: "La Universidad De Salamanca and Colegio De Espana" in Salamanca Spain, summer of 1993.  Mr. Portee now owns and manages property in Ghana where he is now developing a "Sports and Science Complex for youths to improve Olympic Presence in future Olympic competitions and develop science inquiry for future breakthroughs to promote sustainable communities.     

Lastly, Mr. Portee is a member of "Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc." in the San Diego Alumni Chapter. He has served as a member for over 15 years to make a difference with students and community members.