Sarah (姗姗) Lee, MPA
Throughout her 30+ year career, Sarah has served as a “dot-connector” who brings together people, resources and organizations to make Big Hairy Audacious Goals become reality. In her role as the Governor’s Advanced Manufacturing Sector Lead, she helped found a collaboration that is transforming the state’s maritime industry into one of the most sustainable in the world.
Sarah sees possibilities where other see obstacles.
As a private consultant, she brought together community, business, media, Tribal and academic leaders across four states to develop an actionable clean up strategy for a 50-year old nuclear waste site. And as public affairs director at dental insurance company, she worked with dentists to develop the Smilemobile, which travels around the state to provide free dental care to kids.
Sarah sees opportunities where others see obstacles. During the COVID19 pandemic, she took action when she saw that there weren’t enough state funds to support historically underserved small businesses. She developed an innovative public/private fund that built an easy pathway for private funders to double the impact of the grant — and she stood it up in a month. When leaders from historically underserved communities shared that small businesses needed non-credit-based financing, she worked with the state legislature, who appropriated $15 million to develop a character-based loan product.
For over 30 years, Sarah has coached interns, fellows and employees to both build and grow their own career pathways. She loves helping these young adults discover and develop their own assets, create supportive networks, and find jobs where they can thrive.
She has served in a variety of positions, including: US Congressional press secretary, radio reporter, public affairs consultant, media trainer, and deputy director of a public renewal agency. Now toward the end of her career, she is senior advisor for capital access for a national manufacturing coalition, while at the same time serving as managing director for a social impact strategy firm.
At the same time, Sarah coached scores of her interns, fellows and employees to both build and grow their own career pathways. She loves helping these young adults discover and develop their own assets, build supportive networks, and find jobs where they can thrive.
Sarah holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Washington a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Western Washington University, and Executive Education Leadership Program Certificates from Harvard Business School. Some of her awards and honors include: US Navy Cryptologic Veterans Association Award of Excellence; National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials Award of Excellence (shared award); California Redevelopment Association Award of Excellence (shared award); She is an elected utility commissioner, and been a board member of the City of Bainbridge Island Historical Preservation Commission, Bainbridge Island Broadcasting, and the City of Bainbridge Island’s Utility Commission.
She has presented at: the White House; Brookings Institute; the city of Odessa, Ukraine; San Diego Grantmakers; the National Governor’s Association; the US House of Representatives Manufacturing Caucus; and the University of Washington Foster School of Business. She can speak and read Mandarin Chinese at an advanced level, and is an intermediate level speaker and reader of Québécois and French.