Heidi Sipe

Heidi Sipe has served as the Superintendent of the Umatilla School District since 2007. Born and raised in Eastern Washington, she began her work in Eastern Oregon in 2000 and developed a deep passion for rural education, especially for students of poverty and emerging bilingual students. She believes that rural students have equal talent to urban peers but are often limited by reduced access to resources. To counter this, Sipe is committed to After-School and STEAM programming to help students gain access to new ideas and develop interests in their communities, and beyond.

Sipe previously chaired the Teacher Standards and Practices Commission, served on the Oregon Taskforce on School Funding, was a founding councilor of the Oregon Educator Advancement Council and served two terms as Superintendent Advisor to the State Board of Education. She is currently on the Executive Committee for AASA, the national School Superintendents Association and served on the AASA Governance Committee for two terms. She is a past-president of the Oregon School Association of School Executives and is active in COSA, the Coalition of Oregon School Administrators.

Sipe took a leave of absence from Umatilla to serve as the Assistant Superintendent for the Oregon Department of Education in fall of 2012 where she oversaw the Office of Educational Improvement and Innovation before returning to her district in spring of 2013. She was honored as Oregon’s 2016 Superintendent of the Year. A hands-on leader who is fueled by students, she volunteers to coach the high school robotics team. The team, 4125 Confidential, is featured in the documentary, “Big Dreams in Umatilla,” which aired nationwide on PBS stations in 2021. Heidi received her Bachelors of Arts in Reading from Eastern Washington University and her administrative credentials and Ed.S in Educational Leadership from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. Sipe is married to a fellow educator and has two grown children, who are also educators.