Liza Levy

Liza Levy
Born
Cape Town, South Africa
NationalityAmerican
OccupationJewish community activist
Years activeLate 1980s – present
Known forPast president, Jewish Federation of Greater Washington
Co-founder, Jewish Coalition Against Domestic Abuse
Co-founder, Tikkun Olam Women's Foundation
SpouseMichael Levy

Liza Levy is an American community activist in Washington, D.C. She is a past president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, co-founder of the Jewish Coalition Against Domestic Abuse, and co-founder of the Tikkun Olam Women's Foundation.

She has been honored with the Kipnis/Wilson Friedland Award from the Jewish Federations of North America as well as the Jerome J. Dick Young Leadership Award.

Biography

She was born in Cape Town, South Africa, to a Jewish family.[1] She graduated from the University of Cape Town Teachers College with a degree in childhood education.[2] In 1984, she and her husband immigrated to the United States, settling in Washington, D.C.[2][3]

She taught at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington's Early Childhood Department satellite center in Silver Spring, Maryland, later becoming director of the center.[1][2] She joined the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington in the late 1980s, finding it a venue both to make friends and retain her Jewish identity.[3] In 1998, she became a Federation board member,[2] and served as president of women's philanthropy, chair of planning allocations, and chair of financial resource development.[3] In 2013, she was elected to a two-year term as president.[3]

In 2000, Levy co-founded the Jewish Coalition Against Domestic Abuse, for which she is an executive board member.[2] In 2003, she co-founded the Tikkun Olam Women's Foundation, which invests in programs for women and girls.[1][4]

She has been a member of the board of the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School since 2001, and the board of the Adat Shalom Reconstructionist synagogue from 1999 to 2003.[2]

Honors and awards

In 2012, she was named one of the Women to Watch in the category of Community Leadership by Jewish Women International[5][6] and received the Kipnis/Wilson Friedland award "for women demonstrating the highest ideals of leadership, philanthropy and volunteerism" from the Jewish Federations of North America.[5] In 1999, she received the Jerome J. Dick Young Leadership Award.[2]

Personal

She and her husband, Michael Levy, have three children.[1] They reside in Potomac, Maryland.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Josephs, Susan (Fall 2012). "Liza Levy: Serving as a Voice of Change in Community Organizations". Jewish Woman Magazine. Archived from the original on 2016-03-22. Retrieved 2015-12-20.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Liza Levy". Jewish Coalition Against Domestic Abuse. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  3. ^ a b c d Minton, Emily (12 June 2013). "Levy to Lead Federation". Washington Jewish Week. Archived from the original on 20 February 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  4. ^ "How We Began". Tikkun Olam Women's Foundation. Archived from the original on 17 April 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  5. ^ a b Greenberg, Anne Rose (4 September 2012). "Inspiring Jewish Women Leaders Celebrated As JWI 'Women to Watch' (press release)". Jewish Women International. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  6. ^ Jacobs, Emily (29 November 2012). "Building a Community of Women". Washington Jewish Week. Archived from the original on 20 February 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  7. ^ "Levy Family Starts the New Year in Tel Aviv". Tel Aviv-Yafo Foundation. 16 January 2012. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2015.