Alesia Lewis

Introduce yourself to our audience. Tell us who you are and what you are currently focused on.

I am a Finance Executive currently reporting to the Chief Financial Officer, responsible for tax, risk management, treasury, real estate, and environmental reporting matters at The Washington Post. I also chair international business expansion efforts and an employer inclusion network supporting the professional development of Women+.

Tell us about your favorite Ellevate Network memory or success story. Why are you a member?

As a recent joiner, I am blown away by the feeling of camaraderie and belonging fostered by Ellevate. I joined Ellevate to meet other professional women to learn from and share my knowledge with.

How would you define your professional mission?

My professional mission is to bring the greatest value to the organization from technical and operational perspectives while fostering a community of teaching, learning, and overall professional curiosity.

What are some career challenges on your radar?

I am at a point in my career where I am ready to take on an even more impactful and challenging role. Having worked closely with many executives in my current role while reporting directly to the CFO, my ambition is set on a C-suite role where I can bring even more value to the organization.

What project have you worked on that you’re most proud of? Why?

I am most proud of starting a women's employer inclusion network at The Washington Post last year. Subsequent to driving the DEI initiative at work, I made the decision to build an outside-of-my-work community focused on demystifying what it's like to be a woman in corporate leadership by sharing practical tips on climbing the corporate ladder and being CEO of the most important project of all, your life. Although I am at the very-very beginning of this journey and there is still so much work to do, I am thrilled to take on what I know will be a very rewarding endeavor.

You can join the personal community I am building on IG @ProjectMeCollective which I hope will become the place where you invest in yourself. It's about you and your personal and professional growth and about you living your version of the most rewarding, happy, and fulfilling life by implementing productive and intentional habits in your daily living.

You will see that this initiative is still very much in the start-up phase, and I am open to any suggestions and ideas you may have to support me in creating a robust and thriving community.

We’d love to hear more about your career path. What led you to where you are today?

When I graduated from high school in former Soviet Russia, I wanted to be a political interpreter and travel the world. I started my college education as an English and Public Relations major in Belarus but immigrated to the US halfway through my studies. In the US, after taking some basic business courses, I was approached by an accounting professor who suggested I pursue a career in accounting as someone who - from her point of view - seemed to grasp accounting easily. As an immigrant with no financial support in the US, the prospect of having a well-paying and reliable job sounded appealing. After graduating with a BA in Accounting and Finance during a recession, I spent another year in college to obtain a Master's in Taxation. I spent the following seven years at PricewaterhouseCoopers and have been at The Washington Post for almost six years now where I have expanded my professional toolkit from tax to risk management, treasury, real estate, business development, and ESG (including environmental reporting and DEI efforts).

What is the most rewarding part of your job?

Two aspects - learning and people.

In terms of learning, as an intellectually curious person, I love expanding my knowledge and professional experience. Things get dull if I am not learning.

And it goes without saying that the human capital of any organization - the people I partner with on a daily basis, the people I get to coach and learn from - make the work experience most rewarding.

What legacy do you hope to leave through your work?

The legacy I hope to leave through my work is one of comradery and support, the legacy of knowledge sharing and community. As a teacher in heart, I want to share with other aspiring leaders everything I have learned and will continue learning on my path to corporate leadership. The more people I can share my knowledge with, and the more people can succeed on their corporate success paths and fulfill their professional and personal dreams as a result of my teaching, the more fulfilled I will feel personally. I find nothing more rewarding than seeing people experience paradigm-shifting breakthroughs that lead them to their definition of success.

What would you say your personal superpower is?

Coaching and teaching is my personal superpower. I see sharing knowledge as an opportunity to give back to the world and view it as my personal responsibility to support other professionals, women+ especially, on their quest of climbing the corporate ladder while maintaining a healthy work-life balance.