Simi Patnaik has been an active district volunteer since 2010, serving in various positions on the Nuevas Fronteras PTSO board, volunteering for referendum committees, and serving on the district’s Citizens Finance Advisory Committee. She has a bachelor's degree from Wellesley College and an MBA in marketing and finance from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She works as a consultant and also leads Woodbury Thrives, a health and wellness collaborative. She and her husband, Mohit Dewan, have lived in the district since 2002 and have two children: a daughter at Woodbury High School and a son at Woodbury Middle School.