5 Things to Know: Leslie Elkan

Leslie Elkan is founding chair and president of the Village of Sherman Oaks Business Improvement District. A San Fernando Valley native and commercial property owner, Elkan has spent decades working to bolster Ventura Boulevard.

1. Elkan is a Valley native “through and through.” Her roots run deep, growing up in the Valley, attending local schools and even meeting her husband – also a Valley native – while studying at UCLA. She raised her family in the Valley, and her two kids have continued that tradition – settling in the Valley and raising their own families in the area. “The Valley is home,” she says.
2. Elkan’s career spans many fields. This includes teaching and professional writing; working at the San Fernando Valley Community Mental Health Center; and serving as a real estate agent for Encino-based Pinnacle Estate Properties Inc. That role – leasing and selling properties primarily in San Fernando Valley – has provided her the understanding to support property owners in the Sherman Oaks BID and with her own property management along Ventura Boulevard.
3. As a co-manager of commercial properties, Elkan helped establish the Sherman Oaks BID in 1999. She presented the proposal to the L.A. City Council, which approved the district that same year. The BID encompasses roughly 350 businesses, including a restaurant recognized by the Michelin Guide. Elkan currently chairs the BIDs four-member board of directors.
4. Elkan believes in collaborative civic leadership. She has worked closely with a host of community and business organizations in Sherman Oaks and Encino. That includes the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council’s Planning and Land Use Committee and helping found the Sherman Oaks Beautification Committee in 2005. “I’ve long believed in working collaboratively,” she says.
5. Elkan is an avid reader. At any given time, she’s typically pouring through five books at a time – “if you can believe it,” she says. Her collection of favorites falls both in fiction and creative nonfiction, like “Bridge of Sighs” by Richard Russo and “Educated” by Tara Westover.