Meet Rachel

• 1990s: Met my husband at BYU and started our family

• 2009: After a short time away for my husband’s doctorate, we returned to Provo so that he could take a faculty position in the biology department at BYU

• 2009: Purchased our historic home in the Maeser neighborhood, excited to walk and bike everywhere

• 2000-2017: I stayed home with our kids, became a certified yoga instructor, learned all manner of housewifery skills (cooking, baking, gardening, composting, canning, pickling and fermenting, sewing, knitting, crochet, weaving, furniture refinishing and reupholstering, basic plumbing and electrical work, mudding and drywall, floor refinishing, and house painting)

• 2013-2016: Elected Maeser neighborhood vice-chair, and then acting chair

• 2012-2016: Began to invest my time in environmental stewardship city's bicycle committee (now BikeWalk Provo), on Mayor Curtis's Sustainability and Natural Resources Committee, and with LDS Earth Stewardship

• 2016: Joined Board of Trustees for the Utah Chapter of The Nature Conservancy

• 2017: Took the LSAT and was admitted to  BYU Law

• 2018: spent 6 weeks doing an externship in Brussels with a retired Utah judge and Utah Supreme Court justice, doing research on religious freedom at the EU parliament. I also spent a semester in Washington, D.C. as a law clerk at the Law and Policy section of Environmental and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice.

• 2019: Started at Anderson, Fife, Marshall & Johnson, a well-established law firm in Provo, a 3-mile bike ride from my home

• 2020: Appointed to Provo Metropolitan Water Board

• 2017: I began volunteering every week at a pro bono legal clinic in downtown Provo

• 2021: Elected to Provo City Council

• 2022: Sworn in on the Provo City Council to represent District 5, became the council liason to the Water Board (could no longer serve as a board member after election), became vice chair of the Redevelopment Agency for Provo

• 2022: Began to serve as president of the board for Awakening Valley Sangha

• 2023, 2024, 2025: Served in leadership as Vice Chair of the Provo City Council and the Chair of the Redevelopment Agency

• 2024: Joined the Board for Meals on Wheels for Summit, Utah and Wasatch Counties

• 2024: Joined the Provo City Library Board

My law experience in particular has honed me to think critically about some of the most crucial issues currently facing Provo. It has helped me as we are reviewing and revising Provo City Code, and as we consider proposals and contract.

My early law practice dealt with a lot of municipal law (which includes questions around zoning laws), state law, and family law.  I also practiced real property law, some contractual and business disputes, especially landlord/tenant, and personal injury cases. I especially like finding the answers to questions, digging through the weeds of statutes and regulations, and confirming the interpretation of those statutes with case law.

Now my legal work is mostly focused on family law and supporting families through what is one of the worst periods in their lives. I am also a private attorney guardian ad litem, or a children's attorney, called in to represent children in particularly difficult cases.

Interestingly enough, something even more important to my work on the council than my legal training has been my mindfulness practice. Learning to listen deeply, to focus on what others are saying--putting my instictive reactions and judgement to the side so that I can really pay attention to the person in front of me--has been transformative. I've learned that if I prepare for my meetings thoroughly by reading all of the documents provided OnBase for each meeting, all of the emails I receive, and talk with staff, stakeholders, and residents, then I am ready to listen, learn, and ask the kind of questions that help get to the heart of the  matter. That helps all of us on the council make good decisions with the best information possible.

Contact Rachel at rdmwhipple@gmail.com