A food union officer and district alumna: Meet Seattle schools' newest board members

The Seattle School Board has chosen two new members to join their ranks.

In unanimous votes Wednesday, the board selected Sarah Clark to represent District 2, which includes neighborhoods like Ballard, Green Lake, and Magnolia, and Joe Mizrahi for District 4, spanning Fremont, Queen Anne, and Belltown.

Clark and Mizrahi fill the vacancies created by Vivian Song and Lisa Rivera, who unexpectedly resigned in February amid concerns they were violating state residency requirements.

Clark is the director of policy at the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. She's lived in Crown Hill for the majority of her life, and is a graduate of Madrona Elementary, Washington Middle School, and Garfield High School.

Board Vice President Michelle Sarju said Clark brings an important perspective to the board as a woman of color who attended Seattle Public Schools — something she said she knows is difficult from her own children's experiences.

"She understands deeply what it means to try to be seen for the bright, intelligent student that she was, regardless of the color of her skin," Sarju said. "And yet, she still persisted and she still went on to do great things.”

Mizrahi is the secretary-treasurer of United Food and Commercial Workers 3000, Washington's largest labor union. He is a first generation American who grew up in suburban San Diego, but says he has lived in North Seattle for 16 years and has three kids in the district.

Board member Gina Topp said Mizrahi's lived and professional experiences — particularly serving on a board and managing a more than $32 million budget — would be valuable.

"Joe exemplifies some of the things that we're looking for and is able to sort of hit the ground running," she said.

Mizrahi and Clark will serve through the next regularly-scheduled school board election in November 2025.