INSPIRATIONAL WOMEN IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT 2024: AN INTERVIEW WITH AVIVA TEVAH, CHIEF OF STAFF TO THE CAO OF PHILADELPHIA, PA
By Katherine Barrett, Greenebarrett.com and Liz Steward, Envisio
Aviva Tevah, Chief of Staff to CAO, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Tevah began her career in New York City, working on reentry programs for individuals being released from jail. In Philadelphia, she was devoted to coordinating the many players involved in the city’s reentry work, and rose rapidly into leadership in that space before taking on the role of program officer for Philadelphia’s Innovative Operations Transformation Fund in 2021 – a position that led to her current role as Chief of Staff. The next three honorees will be profiled each Thursday this month.
What are you reading right now? And is there a book that you’ve read in the past that was particularly meaningful to you?
I’m reading “The Fraud” by Zadie Smith. She’s one of my favorite writers. I’m also reading about toddler sleep right now because I have two small children and would like to get a better night’s sleep.
One book that had a big impact on me was “Are Prisons Obsolete?” by Angela Davis. That really helped me understand that the world that we live in is a result of choices that we’ve made. Part of why I love local government is that it provides the opportunity to make different choices and see the outcomes.
Tell us a little about your community, your role, and how you got here.
When I was in college, I got involved in a student group that was organizing around mass incarceration, and I ended up majoring in African-American studies. From there, I had opportunities to work with different organizations in New York – partnering with a lot of nonprofits and government agencies to build the web of support that people need when they come home.
