The youngest elected official in Los Angeles

At first glance, Rachel Lester might appear to be your typical busy 15-year-old. She’s a sophomore at the Shalhevet school in Los Angeles and is a feature editor of the school newspaper. She tutors her peers and sings as part of the school choir.

And this June, in an unusual move for a high school student, she will represent her neighborhood as a member of the Los Angeles Neighborhood Council as the youngest person to be elected in the history of the city.

Rachel won the seat handily against an opponent double her age to represent South Robertson, a Jewish neighborhood in southern LA. Her campaign strategy relied equally on Facebook, family, and peer pressure.

“My principal announced it at school, I spread the word on Facebook, and my mom and I e-mailed everyone we knew to go out and vote,” says Rachel, “And on election-day, my family and I walked around the city campaigning all day. But the most successful tactic was definitely word-of-email, because the people we e-mailed then e-mailed people they knew, and so on. It really got the word out.”

Rachel credits her family and Shalhevet, a co-ed modern Orthodox yeshiva, with instilling the desire for social service. “This position on the council isn’t about being political — it’s about making a difference,” says Rachel. “My family and my school have always encouraged me to be involved in the community.”

Her parents, Sherri Ziff and Robert Lester, couldn’t be prouder. Ziff, a popular life coach to Hollywood celebrities, said that helping

others has always been a part of Rachel’s life. Rachel’s bat mitzvah, Ziff says, involved creating dog bowls for Pup for Peace, an organization that trains dogs to detect explosives and prevent terrorist attacks. The party’s main activity had the guests making jewelry for a StandWithUs, an Israeli organization that works with victims of Arab terror.

“Rachel has been focused on doing chesed and tikkun olam for years,” recounts Ziff. “Running for office was something that simply grew out of her desire to contribute. Because she had already been involved in so many things, she had the confidence to go for it.

The council position first piqued Rachel’s interest when her mother found a flier announcing the neighborhood elections on their front door. The two went to the first information session and Rachel decided to officially throw her hat in the ring.

Ziff credits Shalhevet for providing some of the inspiration for a run. “Rachel, like all the kids at her school, has been focused on volunteering for years – it’s part and parcel of the school’s curriculum,” explains Ziff. “These kids really prove that even at a young age, everybody can contribute. When the flier announcing ‘Run for Office’ showed up on our door, Rachel’s enthusiasm came out of loving being involved and seeing a new way to do that.”

Rachel, whose term begins in June and lasts for two years, says that she’s been putting a lot of thought into where she’d like to be most effective in her neighborhood. Her first goals, she says are working to help the environment and getting teenagers to think more about government.

“An advantage of my age is that I’m connected to the teenagers in our community and can get them involved,” explains Rachel, before adding, “One of the challenges will be to make sure I’m well-informed on issues I’m unfamiliar with so that I can vote intelligently.”

Finding the time for politics might mean cutting one of her many extracurricular activities and responsibilities that include studying for the SAT’s and applying to colleges. Rachel isn’t fazed though.

“I’m used to balancing a variety of activities at school, so I doubt I’ll let the activities I maintain conflict with my political responsibilities,” she says.

Rabbi Elchanan Weinbach, Head of School at Shalhevet, is not too worried.

”She handles a dual curriculum plus activities very well,” he says. “She manages to do all these things with a sense of humor and a sweetness that is very remarkable considering how much responsibility she carries.”