How do you spend your time? Former Ambassador would like to know

Tikkan Olam is a Hebrew phrase that means “repairing the world.” One Queen Anne neighbor has set out to do just that. Suzi LeVine is committed to saving democracy and ensuring the world and the people around her are in a better place than she found them. 

LeVine describes herself as a mix of motivation and inspiration who does not take anything for granted. She’s not interested in what you do for a living, she wants to know how you spend your time. “It’s about impact, making a difference, helping every individual have a higher quality of life, and creating space to honor people’s differing experiences and abilities,” LeVine said. 

King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay calls LeVine a force of nature who has had a profound impact on his life in the short time they have known each other. 

“She gives her all to everything and everyone she cares about,” Zahilay said, “I will forever be grateful for Suzi.”

 In the pursuit of impact, LeVine spends her time spread among four buckets: family and health; civic engagement; serving on boards; and as a teacher and mentor.

Health and family are the top priorities for this mother of two, who is learning to balance the necessary levels of support and independence that come with college-age kids. “It’s about being available, but not annoying,” she said. And she credits her daily walks of the Queen Anne loop for boosting her physical and mental well-being. As an added bonus, she has appreciated building the “wave while passing” friendships while walking the neighborhood, especially during the pandemic. 

LeVine describes her career as being very nonlinear. But throughout her time in the workplace and during her absences from paid work, for various family reasons, she has always remained committed to making an impact. She recalls a time when she was doing some advocacy work in Washington DC and very pregnant with her first child. She happened to meet the junior senator from Illinois, none other than a young Barack Obama. He put his hand on her shoulder and simply asked how she was doing. They proceeded to have a great conversation around family. Then after hearing him address the group and his emphasis on strategy and bringing people together, she decided she would do everything she could to get him elected President of the United States, even though he wouldn’t announce his campaign until two years later. LeVine worked on technology and outreach, even creating “Caucus for Dummies.”

Courtesy Suzi LeVine
Suzi and Eric LeVine listening to her former boss, Barack Obama, speak at the Democratic National Convention.
 

 In 2014, Obama asked her to serve. “I was very humbled and that’s how I became an ambassador,” LeVine said. During her time as the United States Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein, she partnered with companies to bring the Swiss style of apprenticeship to the United States. Back stateside, she continues to act as an “ambassador” for the Swiss dual education system that combines vocational education and apprenticeships. LeVine strongly believes in supporting the workforce and DEI initiatives.

These themes carry forward to the third bucket, her board service. LeVine has worked on both nonprofit and for-profit boards throughout her career. “If you have the capacity to serve on a public board, that diversity is important,” LeVine said. In the for-profit companies, she wants to make sure that the stakeholders are represented, not just the shareholders. And on the nonprofit boards, she looks to make an impact and a difference in people’s lives. Currently working on RIPL Research Improving People’s Lives and telling the complete story of Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. 

The last bucket of teaching and mentoring brings her diverse passions together. She taught her first class at Brown University, her alma mater, in 2022. And now also teaches in the UW Honors Program. LeVine said she was inspired by students and realized that her nonlinear career experiences of both successes and failures could be meaningful for the next generation. “Creating and then teaching a course has given me a new way of thinking and I’m excited to create interdisciplinary learning arcs in the future,” LeVine said. 

LeVine has just returned home from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. She described the four-day event as the perfect blend of joy, gravity, motivation, and direction, and says she is ready to soar. “The balloons falling at the end of the convention were emblematic of how we were all floating- and still coming down to earth.” 

People that would like to learn more about LeVine or how to get involved in their community are invited to subscribe to her newsletter at Suzi@LeVines.org.