I wanted to share a conversation with Alison Lebovitz—Emmy-nominated PBS host, motivational speaker, and author—that perfectly captures how the things we resist as children become our greatest gifts as adults.
Alison grew up in Birmingham attending a Jewish day school in its infancy—literally a one-room school with partitions. She was the only girl in her graduating class of five and resented feeling socially isolated from the popular kids. Today, she realizes her parents gave her an extraordinary gift as pioneers of Southern Jewish education.
Her path took her from Brandeis to Northwestern, then working for Coca-Cola during the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, where she met her Chattanooga husband. She now hosts a PBS show called "The A-List with Alison Lebovtiz" in its 17th season and runs a podcast with her comedian sister called Sis & Tell. Her approach to both? Don't let perfect be the enemy of great. The podcast went from kitchen joke to live in three days.
Her most meaningful work is leading One Clip at a Time, extending the legacy of Tennessee's Paperclip Project. She started by collecting business cards at a Lion of Judah event where 75 women wanted to join something that barely existed. Sixteen years later, the organization runs Holocaust education programming in 37 states, Canada, and Israel.
Everything meaningful in Alison's life traces back to that day school she once resented. She sight-reads Torah, speaks Hebrew, and for years hosted Shabbat dinners that became legendary with her sons and their friends.
She wears "billboard sweaters" with messages like "Be Kind" because she wants to be a thermostat that changes the climate, not a thermometer that just measures it. She's built a life on curiosity, asking "what's your story?" and believing our shared stories unite more than divide us.
Her only regret? Chattanooga doesn't have a day school beyond preschool. The foundation she once resisted became everything—proof that sometimes the gifts we push against become the ones we're most grateful for.
