5th District Council Member
Contact
Email
sbolden-simpson@southbendin.gov |
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Phone
Office
574.235.5984
TDD
574.235.5567 |
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Address
227 W. Jefferson Blvd County City Building South Bend, IN 46601 Suite 455 |
South Bend Common (City) Councilwoman Sherry Bolden-Simpson represents the Fifth (5th) District of the City of South Bend, Indiana. She began her term on January 1, 2024. Councilwoman Bolden-Simpson is the first Democrat elected to the Fifth District Common Council seat since 1962. Her historic win also made her the first woman and the first African American to hold the Fifth District South Bend Common Council seat.
A lifelong resident of South Bend, Councilwoman Bolden-Simpson graduated from John Adams High School in 1981, where she excelled in academics, track & field, and gymnastics. She and her husband Ron Simpson have three adult sons, five grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.
In 1986, Councilwoman Bolden-Simpson earned her bachelor’s degree in secondary education with a concentration in math from Indiana University South Bend (IUSB). She began her career in education as a high school math instructor with South Bend Community School Corporation at Clay High School. She later earned her masters degree in education from Indiana University South Bend and became the Director of Guidance at Jesse L. Dickinson Middle School and a guidance counselor at Riley High School. Councilwoman Bolden-Simpson completed coursework toward an administrator license in 2004 from IUSB. In 2005 she accepted the Assistant Principal Position at Clay Middle School. Two years later she was appointed Principal of Greene Intermediate Center. Councilwoman Bolden-Simpson matriculated to Riley High School and then to Washington High School where she was appointed assistant principal. In 2019, Councilwoman was appointed Principal of Dickinson Fine Arts Academy and led the school through the pandemic.
Councilwoman Bolden-Simpson – never one afraid to take on a challenge – accepted an invitation to become the Director of Guidance at South Bend Community School Corporation’s alternative high school – Rise Up Academy. During her first school year (2022/2023) at Rise Up Academy, the graduation rate doubled. Rise Up Academy achieved the highest graduation rate among alternative high schools in the State of Indiana. Councilwoman Bolden-Simpson collaborated with the administration and helped write a grant proposal to provide extended learning time. The State of Indiana awarded Rise Up Academy a 3-year grant worth 3 million dollars. Councilwoman Bolden-Simpson is proud to be a member of Rise Up Academy – a place where we release the past, embrace the present and reach for the future.
Councilwoman Bolden-Simpson serves the South Bend Common Council as the chair of the Utilities Committee, the vice chair of the Information & Technology Committee, and serves as a member of the Public Works & Property Vacation Committee, the Community Relations Committee, the Community Investment Committee and the Sub-Committee on Minutes. She is also the Democratic precinct chair of precinct 130513 for the City of South Bend in St. Joseph County.
The lives of many, young and old continue to be touched by Councilwoman Bolden-Simpson. Her passion is to restore and encourage others to be their best. Councilwoman Bolden-Simpson desires to continually enhance the lives of the people and businesses within the fifth district of South Bend. Through interactions with residents via neighborhood association meetings, phone calls, text messages, and personal visits, Councilwoman Sherry Bolden-Simpson works hard to be accessible to all of the residents of the Fifth District of South Bend, Indiana.