As President of the Board of Directors of the Bellevue School District, Sima Sarrafan is passionate about providing equitable and supportive education to all students. She believes public education has a unique opportunity to ensure every student feels supported. As a child, Sima’s family emphasized the power and value of education. They emigrated from Iran when she was a baby, and she grew up attending school through the Bellevue School District, graduating from Interlake High School.

Sima went on to college and law school on the East Coast, tutoring in mathematics and economics while she studied. She earned her bachelor’s degree in economics from Vassar College and her law degree from Harvard Law School. While working in the legal system, she saw the true impact that education can have. “I saw a lot of people who started out with less in life. I witnessed how education can be an opportunity catalyst, as well as the unfairness and lasting impact when children lack access to the resources needed to thrive, she says. “I remember, very gratefully, how teachers and principals in the Bellevue School District made me feel valued as a student, and I know it impacted how I saw myself.”

In 2006, Sima moved back to Bellevue with her husband and children. Both of Sima’s sons attended school in the Bellevue School District, and Sima joined a law firm. She was later recruited by Microsoft’s legal department, where she continues to work as Assistant General Counsel. With prior college-level teaching experience and volunteer work with the school district, Sima knew she had to apply when she learned of an opening on the School Board. “With its long history of excellence, there was plenty that was already great about the education in the Bellevue School District, but I could also see the opportunities to do more and do better on a more consistent basis,” she shares. In February 2018, Sima was appointed by the School Board to fulfill the remaining term of former Director Steve McConnell’s position. She was elected for a full four-year term in 2019, and elected Board President in 2021 and 2022, a role in which she will serve until her term ends this December.

“I have served on the Bellevue School Board with Sima since she was appointed,” shares fellow board Director and former Vice President Carolyn Watson. “She led the board, staff, and community through some difficult times with grace and compassion and has worked to elevate student voices, empowering them to understand how they can advocate for changes that impact their world.”

One of the things Sima is most proud of from her time on the school board was selecting the superintendent. “It is perhaps the most impactful and strategic of the things the Board does, and I wanted to make sure we did it right. It was important to me that all five board directors be active participants in the process and involved in every step,” she explains. “We conducted a thorough national search, engaged our community, and emerged with an outstanding leader. I’m proud of the process and the investment that each of our board directors made, as well as the support we had from our interim superintendent.” The Board appointed Dr. Kelly Aramaki as Bellevue’s new superintendent in 2023. “We are better when we have the full breadth of the board,” shares Sima as she reflects on the decision, “and that collaboration resulted in an exceptional educator and leader who makes me optimistic about our future.”

After being sworn in by Sima in June, Dr. Aramaki began his new role on July 1st, 2023. “Stepping in as a new superintendent this year, I’m so fortunate to have had such a positive partner in President Sarrafan,” shares Superintendent Kelly Aramaki. “She has been a tremendous collaborator and a source of wisdom and vision.”

One of the greatest challenges Sima and her Board faced following the pandemic was pulling students together and forward, to a place where they could thrive. “Our Board focused intently on mental health and students' sense of belonging. This effort started before the pandemic, but rather than pull away, we doubled down on it. We knew that if we made this our primary focus, academic success would follow. And it has,” she says proudly.

Another highlight and source of pride on her journey was proposing a comprehensive sustainability policy for the district – one of the first of its kind in the state – and galvanizing support from Board members, teachers, and students to pass it. It was highlighted by the Washington State School Directors Association as a model for sustainability, as well as for student engagement. “The school board directly impacts the district’s direction in what we envision as success, what we prioritize, how we spend our resources, and what we measure,” shares Sima. “I’m thrilled that students were so deeply engaged in and excited by this policy. The school district should be the model for them on sustainability and accountability, and having their voices to help us push this policy was inspiring.”

With her children now grown and graduated from the school district, Sima believes it is time to create space for others. “As Sima steps off the board this year, she is leaving our district primed to innovate and excel well into the future,” says Dr. Aramaki. Sima looks forward to being able to do more within her role at Microsoft, including investing more time in ProJourn, a legal program she helped launch at Microsoft in partnership with Davis Wright Tremaine, LLP, that provides pro bono legal support to journalists.

As Sima concludes, “It all ties back to education. The common denominator is the need to support democracy through an informed citizenry. Our education should continue long after we graduate so we keep learning and investing in our community.”