About Me
About Dr. Sara Pol-Lim
Dr. Sara Pol-Lim is an accomplished author, nonprofit executive, and education leader with extensive experience in civic engagement, trauma-informed practice, and community resilience in historically underserved communities. She has played a key leadership role in the development of the Cambodian American Model Curriculum in collaboration with the Orange County Department of Education and led initiatives to address historical trauma and its impact on learning and community wellbeing.
Dr. Pol-Lim holds a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership from California State University, Long Beach. She currently facilitates an Oral History project for the LA County Department of Mental Health and serves as Secretary on the Board of Trustees of the St. Mary Medical Foundation Center, Long Beach. Her professional experience includes serving as Regional Program Manager for California Complete Count—Census 2020, where she provided strategic oversight and cross-regional coordination for statewide efforts to improve census participation among undercounted populations.
Previously, she served as Executive Director of the United Cambodian Community of Long Beach from 2007 to 2015, guiding the organization through a period of financial stabilization, organizational recovery, and renewed community impact. In this role, she oversaw program development, organizational governance, and external partnerships. Dr. Pol-Lim has received numerous local and state honors, including selection as Grand Marshal for both the Long Beach Martin Luther King Jr. Parade and the Cambodian New Year Parade.
Her leadership is deeply shaped by her lived experience as a survivor of the Cambodian genocide. Having lost multiple family members under the Khmer Rouge regime, she brings a profound personal commitment to strengthening educational opportunity, leadership development, and pathways to resilience for future generations.