COMMUNITY SERVICE
Elizabeth’s personal and professional commitment to the Silver Lake community is deep. She first joined the Chamber of Commerce as a licensed architect with 30 + years of professional practice in the United States and Europe.
She then continued that history of community service when she became involved with the coordinating committee of the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council, working with other area residents to prepare the future council for city certification. She was subsequently elected to the council’s governing board in 2003 and remains an at-large elected board member today.
Elizabeth saw change coming to Silver Lake, and given her citizen and professional responsibilities to the community, quickly formed the Silver Lake Urban Design & Preservation Advisory Committee (UD&PAC). Her objective was to ensure that new development “preserve and enhance” Silver Lake and not detract from it.
Consider the challenges of building in a hillside area, where increased demand for housing presents a motivation to raze and rebuild. The UD&PAC works collaboratively to find consensus on difficult design problems for the best possible outcome and then advises the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council (which in turn advises the city). It is neighborhood democracy in action!
Elizabeth continues to address challenging social issues such as homelessness, cultural preservation, and affordable housing through the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council Urban Design & Preservation Advisory Committee in addition to her architectural practice. Elizabeth has been recognized as a ‘Citizen Architect’ by the American Institute of Architects and is widely known throughout the community for her advocacy.
An Au Revoir to Longtime Boardmember Elizabeth Bougart-Sharkov
October 11, 2012
Elizabeth Bougart-Sharkov, longtime SLNC Governing Board member and community activist, was presented with an award for her service at the October 3rd Governing Board meeting. Ryan Carpio from Councilman Eric Garcetti’s office did the honors.
Elizabeth is retiring from the Board after nine years as a Representative-at-Large. As a design professional with over 30 years experience as an architect, she established the SLNC Urban Design & Preservation Advisory Committee (UD&PAC) as an important tool and voice for Silver Lake stakeholders regarding design, development and preservation issues affecting the community.
The committee’s philosophy is that while proposed new development can be beneficial for the community, it must also be compatible with the established neighborhood character. Elizabeth has been a resident of Silver Lake since 1990 after emigrating from Bulgaria in 1987 to join her family.
She joined the Silver Lake Chamber of Commerce with her architectural practice which started her community activism. The SLNC and all its stakeholders owe Elizabeth a debt of gratitude for her dedicated service in making Silver Lake a better place for all of us.