Levenson ’12 Nominated for Making a Difference by Jewish Daily Forward

Rachel Levenson ’12 was featured in the Nov. 7 Jewish Daily Forward as one of “10 Young Jews, Making a Difference.” In September, the Forward asked readers to nominate Jews, age 21 and younger, who are working to make a difference locally or globally. Levenson made the list for her efforts studying money-lending practices in Africa.

“When I was part of the Jewish Community Teen Foundations, I was really drawn to… this question of, with limited resources, how do you maximize your effectiveness,” she says in the article.

Her research became part of a larger project led by schools — including Yale and Harvard universities — gathering data on informal money-lending across developing countries.“By understanding this other piece of the puzzle, organizations can make their financial services more effective,” she said in the article.

Levenson is currently applying to jobs in sub-Saharan Africa that will allow her to continue development work.

The “Making a Difference” article is online here.