While all eyes were on the U.S. Presidential election in November 2020, Sepi Shyne was making history as the first-ever LGBTQ+ Iranian person elected to office and the first woman of color elected to the West Hollywood City Council. Shyne initiated the creation of a social justice task force made up of BIPOC community members that recommend policies in the quest for social equity. She has also passed items that will provide incentives to LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs in West Hollywood and greater protections for renters, who make up 78% of West Hollywood’s residents. Before the election, Shyne spent more than two decades as an LGBTQ+ community leader, serving on the City of West Hollywood’s Lesbian and Gay Advisory Board and the LGBT Bar Association of Los Angeles. She also served as a Board of Governor and Steering Committee leader with the Human Rights Campaign of Los Angeles. Locally, she helped co-organize WeHo Neighbors Helping Neighbors, a community group that coordinates resources for seniors, people with disabilities, and those in immunosuppressed households during the pandemic. Shyne credits her success to “being able to live my most authentic self” after coming out at 19. She’s pursued a career in politics and public policy “to be a voice for the people, create progressive change in West Hollywood, and expand representation and pave the way for others to shine.” —RK
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