Rachel Chernos Lin is the City Councillor for Ward 15, Don Valley West. Elected to Council in 2024, Rachel has focused on community safety, traffic management, reducing gridlock and ensuring responsible, progressive growth that supports complete communities. A strong believer in building vibrant neighbourhoods through community connection, Rachel has spent the last two years working together with residents to manage development, support local businesses, and focus on creating and revitalizing parks, recreation facilities and public spaces.
Rachel Chernos Lin is the City Councillor for Ward 15, Don Valley West. Elected to Council in 2024, Rachel has focused on community safety, traffic management, reducing gridlock and ensuring responsible, progressive growth that supports complete communities. A strong believer in building vibrant neighbourhoods through community connection, Rachel has spent the last two years working together with residents to manage development, support local businesses, and focus on creating and revitalizing parks, recreation facilities and public spaces.
At City Hall, Rachel is Chair of the City-School Boards Advisory Committee and sits on the Infrastructure and Environment Committee, the Film, Television and Digital Media Advisory Board, and North York Community Council. She also serves on the boards of Toronto Hydro Corporation, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO), the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Leaside Memorial Community Gardens Arena, and the Canadian Film Centre.
Prior to her election as City Councillor, Rachel represented Don Valley West as an elected Trustee for the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) for six years, including serving for two years as Chair. At the TDSB, she made significant contributions, including expanding French Immersion programs, securing $169 million for schoolyard renewals and advocating for improved access to technology by achieving 1:1 computer-to-student ratio for students in Grades 5 and above.
As Chair of the TDSB, Rachel oversaw the approval of annual budgets exceeding $3.4 billion and helped guide the development of the TDSB’s 2024-2028 Multi-Year Strategic Plan. A passionate advocate for young people, Rachel has been an outspoken voice on the harms of social media on youth and led the charge to restrict cell phone use in classrooms. A strong believer in multi-level government collaboration, Rachel secured more than $1.8 million of multi-level government funding for youth violence prevention initiatives while Chair of the Board.
Rachel holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto and Master’s degrees from Queen’s University and Brown University. A long-time resident of Don Valley West, Rachel lives with her husband, Ken, their three daughters, Chloe, Greta and Pippa, and their newest family member, Gordie, a mischievous mini sheepadoodle puppy.
