February 13-19, 1998
A True Public Servant
Scott Svonkin, the 32-year-old chair of the Valley Alliance's JCRC, brings experience beyond his years and new ideas
by Ruth Stroud, Staff Writer
Last fall, Scott Svonkin, now 32, became the youngest chair of the Jewish Federation/Valley Alliance's Jewish Community Relations Committee.
It wasn't the first time he was the youngest at something: He was the country's youngest professional tennis umpire at age 16. His political involvement started even earlier, when, at 13, he campaigned for independent candidate John Anderson in the 1980 presidential election. As a student at Cal State Northridge, Svonkin spearheaded the creation of a task force to deal with the problem of hunger among students. On his 30th birthday, he raised money for a comedy benefit to support Hillel at Pierce and Valley colleges. Svonkin attended the 1996 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, wearing a yarmulke with Clinton's name hand-painted on by his older brother. It ended up in the Smithsonian.
Svonkin's knack for getting noticed, and getting involved, is a family trait. His mother, Paula, is the kosher caterer at USC Hillel. His father, Stan, taught for years in East Los Angeles and was president of the family's Alhambra synagogue. His oldest brother is youth director at Valley Beth Israel; his second-oldest brother, a professor at Cal State Los Angeles, is the former Far West region director of United Synagogue Youth; his oldest sister is active in her synagogue. Svonkin's great-great-uncle was a shamas at Congregation Talmud Torah on Breed Street in Boyle Heights.
Since he's come aboard as chair of the Valley Alliance JCRC, the organization has grown younger -- with the average age now in the 30s instead of in the 50s and 60s. That was a primary goal of Svonkin's, both at the JCRC and at the Federation/Valley Alliance, where he is also a board member. "It's time for the established leaders to mentor us young people," he says. "It's not time for them to disappear, but it's time for them to hand over the reins."
In December, Svonkin took a group of 25 JCRC young leaders on a trek to City Hall to find out how things work downtown. Mayor Riordan showed up unexpectedly to lunch with them. Also on Svonkin's JCRC watch: A rabbinical advisory council was formed to discuss issues affecting communities in the Valley Alliance's five-valley territory, and a Hispanic-Jewish women's dialogue is in place.
Another of Svonkin's aims is to strengthen the relationship
between the Jewish community and elected representatives,
particularly those who represent the five-valley area. "I want
to make sure that whoever is elected is aware of the issues that
face our community."
Rebuilding public education and fostering closer relations with other ethnic and religious communities is foremost among those issues, he believes.
Svonkin's own political involvement includes serving for two years in Mayor Tom Bradley's office as assistant Westside area coordinator. He was appointed to Los Angeles County Commission on Insurance last fall by Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky. He is also a member of AIPAC's Congressional Club Executive Committee.
Svonkin works at Prudential HealthCare in Woodland Hills, where he's been the past 6 1/2 years. Most recently, he was operations manager for the New York sales office, which he convinced to donate 250 computers to the local public schools.