Both before Hurricane Katrina and during the long process of rebuilding New Orleans, Julie Wise Oreck has struck a balance between leading national Jewish institutions and focusing on organizations closer to home. A fifth-generation New Orleans native, Oreck earned a BS in management from Tulane University before dedicating herself to local and national Jewish organizations. In her thirties, she joined the United Jewish Communities’ National Young Leadership Cabinet, serving for eight years before joining UJC’s Israel and Overseas Pillar, and eventually rising to the national board of Jewish Federations of North America (UJC’s successor). In 2004 she became a member of the Jewish Agency’s board, in 2009 she joined the board of United Israel Appeal. On a local level, she has served as president of the Jewish Federation and Jewish Family Service of Greater New Orleans, helping both organizations strategize ways to rebuild the Jewish community. She has also served as a board member of the Touro Synagogue, the New Orleans Jewish Day School, the Isidore Newman School, and the regional sections of the Anti-Defamation League and the Jewish Children’s Regional Service.