Rachel Federowicz grew up in Bethesda with the idea of being an active community member and continues to carry that torch in the local Jewish community.

“It’s thrilling to be raising my own kids here in this community, and I feel like a lot of what motivates me to do my volunteer work is knowing that it’s such a gift to have a strong Jewish community, not only for my kids, but for the next generation,” Federowicz said.

In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to find a board or committee that Federowicz isn’t a part of — along with her husband, she assumes many lay leadership and volunteer positions within the D.C.-area Jewish world.

Her leadership spans her beloved synagogue, Congregation B’nai Tzedek in Potomac, Milton Gottesman Jewish Day School of the Nation’s Capital, the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, Camp Ramah, Friends of the IDF and the Ronald S. Lauder Impact Initiative.

“Often, my [volunteer] positions are tangential to what is happening in my life and organizations that touch my life,” Federowicz said.

She is currently the social action chair at B’nai Tzedek — having served as the vice president for four years — and the co-chair of the Federation’s allocations working group focused on young families.

She was recognized for her extensive community service with the local Federation Cornerstone Award in 2025.

“One of the nice things about this Jewish community is there’s so many worthwhile causes and places [to get involved],” Federowicz said. “When I volunteer, when I invest my time in a significant, meaningful way, there’s really tremendous connections that are made. So not only am I able to help that one organization where I’m volunteering, but I’m also able to make connections to other organizations and other volunteers and lay leaders. I feel like it all leverages on itself and creates something much bigger and better than it ever could be.”

A few weeks ago, this notion came into play as Federowicz hosted dozens of lay leaders and Jewish professionals for lunch at her Bethesda home. The attendees came from various organizations, day schools and synagogues that all benefited from the Federation’s allocations but hadn’t yet met one another. Federowicz wanted to bring them together.

This involvement perhaps stems from her upbringing. Federowicz’s parents were consistent volunteers “both with their time and their dollars,” she said.

“I feel like that had a huge influence on me because I watched them [and] how they chose to allocate their time,” Federowicz said.

Her parents, Randall and Eleanor Levitt, were among the founding parents of Milton Gottesman Jewish Day School. Both Federowicz and her children attended Milton — her daughter is a current student there.

Federowicz grew up partaking in Super Sundays, the Jewish Federation’s signature day of giving and community phone-a-thon fundraiser across North America.

A graduate of Milton and Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, Federowicz earned two master’s degrees — one in psychological counseling and another in school counseling. She briefly worked as a college counselor at a New York Jewish day school before becoming an elementary guidance counselor at Berman Hebrew Academy in Rockville.

Federowicz retired from counseling 17 years ago, wanting to spend time with her newborn son.

“My volunteering started when [my two kids] were very, very little,” she said, adding that she began helping out at her children’s preschool at Congregation Beth El of Montgomery County.

As they got older, Federowicz became the challah delivery chair and a Ru’ach Campaign volunteer at Milton, and later revamped the school’s parent association.

She and her husband co-chaired the Federation’s Israel@70 celebration in 2018, an event that brought hundreds together to learn about the country.

“I felt like I have skills and a want and desire to give back to the community, so I’m going to go ahead and do that,” she said. “Every role that I’ve taken on, I truly do as I would a career job. I take it all very, very seriously.”

She also volunteers for non-Jewish causes — Hope for Henry and Athletes for Hope — but dedicates most of her time to the Jewish community she calls home.

Federowicz doesn’t stop at volunteering.

“For me, part of what I love is bringing new people to the project — involving them, getting their perspective — and sometimes that takes a little bit longer. It really does rather than just doing it yourself,” she explained.

By engaging others in her work, Federowicz said they sometimes go on to pick up the effort and carry it forward.

“With all the places that I volunteer, I make an effort to think about who’s going to step into those roles when I’m not there, and make sure that a lot of people feel truly engaged in making an impact on a project,” she said. “I’m a big believer in putting a committee together, even if it adds a little extra time to getting a project done.”

Federowicz and her husband are currently chairing the second annual Capital Jewish Hoops Invitational, Jan. 17-19 at CESJDS.

“We love basketball. It’s my favorite sport to watch by far,” she said. “But I think my biggest excitement about the tournament is I love the community building that it brings.”

Despite her many avenues of lay leadership, Federowicz still has a chance to sit back and enjoy what the D.C.-area Jewish community has to offer.

“There’s plenty of places I go where I’m not in charge, and I get to just go hang out and have fun,” Federowicz said. “I often run into people I know, and that is a tremendous gift. That’s one of the gifts that being a volunteer in this community has given me: amazing connections and friendships and relationships.”

zbell@midatlanticmedia.com