Alisa Levin has been involved with UJA-Federation for more than 20 years and currently serves as co-chair of UJA’s 2018 General Campaign. She’s also a lawyer and a founding principal at the New York recruiting firm of Greene-Levin-Snyder. We asked her about her early role models and what leadership means to her.

Q. What do you find most rewarding about your work with UJA?

A. Most rewarding for me is the sense that I’m making a difference, a real and meaningful one, in a very broken world. And I feel I’m part of a caring community with like values and priorities.

Q. Who are your female role models?

A. My mother, who taught me about having a strong work ethic and defying expectations. She was a University of Chicago graduate back when women weren’t going to school. My father died when I was very young, and she raised us as a single mother while working as director of Nursing Home Services for Cook County. On the philanthropic side, I’ll never forget how my grandmother used to stand outside the local supermarket with a pushke, collecting money for the Jewish community. We didn’t have a lot, but she instilled in me how important it is to give to those who have less.

Q. What advice did you get early on about work-life balance that you’d share with others?

A. When I had two young children, a wise woman told me you don’t have to “do it all” at the same time. At different stages different things will take priority, and life is long enough to allow you to accomplish a lot. And sometimes it’s about working smarter, not harder.

Q. What does being a leader mean to you?

A. Being fully committed to whatever job I take on, being a passionate advocate for UJA, taking my volunteer roles as seriously as my professional role, not being afraid to make a decision that may not be liked by all.