Board Member Matt Levinstein Shares the Best Part of JFLC
Matt, a founding board member, reveals how and why he got involved with JFLC, his thoughts on JFLC’s mission and impact, and his opinions on cereal.
To start off, what was your journey like before becoming a JFLC board member?
I graduated college with an engineering degree, and I quickly learned that I didn’t want to be an engineer and I felt that the best way to leverage my engineering experience into a new career was by going into law. I went to law school 17 years ago with the intention of practicing patent law, and I’ve been doing that ever since. I find that it combines the engineering side of my brain along with the legal side.
Before that, I briefly worked at General Mills as an assistant engineer for Cinnamon Toast Crunch, which was one of my favorite cereals at the time.
“What I realized over the years is that financial instability can truly affect anybody… It’s amazing that JFLC can be the way for someone to work through that.”
How did you become a JFLC board member from there?
About four years ago, I got a call out of the blue from [JFLC Executive Director] Leah Greenblum through a mutual connection. She said she was looking for board members for an organization she was trying to start. JFLC’s mission really resonated with me; I think interest-free loans are such a simple, straight-forward concept. Leah told me she was looking for board members who were going to be active within the organization and committed with their time— I was immediately on board.
What were your reasons for first joining JFLC? Have your reasons changed over time?
When I first joined, what drove me the most was the idea that there was an unmet need for folks in Chicagoland who were living on the edge between financial security and insecurity and the fact that JFLC was doing what no one in Chicago had done before. What I realized over the years is that financial instability can truly affect anybody. You read these loan applications and you hear firsthand from borrowers and you realize that the series of seemingly ordinary hardships that someone goes through— their car breaks down, they lose their job, they have a medical emergency— can quickly cascade into debt and financial crisis. You see yourself in that person’s shoes because it can happen to anybody.
Knowing that we can help prevent financial challenges from becoming long-term instability continues to motivate me as a board member at JFLC. The difference between stability and instability is much smaller than people think— it’s not about poor planning or financial recklessness, it’s about external events. It’s amazing that JFLC can be the way for someone to work through that, and the best part is that when borrowers pay their loans back, we can repeat that process again and again.
“Our mission is so simple and clear: helping people support themselves. I think that’s something that can resonate with everyone.”
What surprised you the most after joining JFLC?
What surprised me the most was that no one had ever done this before in Chicago. There are Jewish Free Loans all across the country, and the idea that we didn’t have this in Chicago already was pretty surprising. JFLC felt like the right organization to really make a change and bring this much-needed type of support to the Chicagoland community that was missing. Our mission is so simple and clear: helping people support themselves. I think that’s something that can resonate with everyone.
What has been the most satisfying part of working with JFLC?
Without a doubt, it’s knowing how many people we have supported. We’re still a small enough organization that every single loan we give out feels meaningful— for example, Leah is involved with every loan interview— and I hope that never changes as we grow. I’ve also had the privilege of sitting in on some loan interviews, and meeting our borrowers in person and seeing the impact of our loans is incredibly rewarding.
What are you most excited about in JFLC’s future?
Definitely our ability to scale our operations; I feel like we’re right on the cusp and I know under Leah’s leadership and the direction of the board, it’s going to happen soon. It makes me really excited because I know we’re in a position to help so many people who need support.
Lastly, what are you up to outside of work?
I have three young kids and they take up a lot of my time, which is a good thing. Actually, it’s a very exciting Jewish time in our family at the moment: my son is having his bar mitzvah at the end of the summer. Besides that, I love woodworking, which I picked up over the pandemic, and I enjoy spending time with friends and playing pickleball.