Alex Litofsky, PE: Meet our Experts Series
Engineering with a Service-First Mindset
As part of this month’s #WomenWhoInspire series, we ask Alex Litofsky about her passion for service, her volunteer experiences, and how she applies her service-minded approach to projects in northeast Ohio and beyond.
Quick Facts
- Title: Project Engineer, Environmental & Water Resources Group
- Years in the Industry: 12
Advancing Communities, Locally and Globally
For Alex Litofsky, engineering and service have always gone hand in hand. Growing up, she excelled in math and science, but just as importantly, her parents instilled in her the value of giving back. These interests would align in a pivotal moment, when—as a member of Engineers Without Borders at Case Western Reserve University—Alex would be inspired to apply to the Peace Corps after graduate school.
Alex spent two years in Panama as a Peace Corps environmental health volunteer, followed by time as an environmental engineer on the Hopi Reservation in Arizona. She then returned to Cleveland and joined OHM Advisors, where she continues her mission-driven work—helping municipalities solve complex engineering challenges while staying committed to service through OHM’s Volunteer Service Leave program.
Whether working internationally or in her own backyard, Alex has seen firsthand the power of partnership in building stronger, healthier communities.
What led you to join the Peace Corps and embrace a lifelong commitment to service?
In college, I traveled to the Dominican Republic to help a community with a water distribution project through Engineers Without Borders. That’s where I met a Peace Corps volunteer who truly understood the local challenges because he lived and worked alongside the community members. That experience inspired me to join the Peace Corps.
As engineers, we know how to get clean water to people. But the reality is, much of the world has limited access due to economic, political, and social factors. By gaining a holistic understanding of communities’ challenges and how they function, we can make a lasting impact.
By gaining a holistic understanding of communities’ challenges and how they function, we can make a lasting impact.
How do your Peace Corps experiences influence your work at OHM Advisors?
Living and working in rural Panama, I helped my community build and learn how to maintain their water and sanitation infrastructure. And much like the collaborative nature of OHM Advisors’ projects, relationships were the foundation of our work. We partnered with community leaders, local organizations and universities to make sustainable change. I learned to immerse myself in different perspectives, build trust, and empower others—skills I use daily at OHM Advisors.
A core tenet of the Peace Corps is that volunteers’ journeys don’t end when we leave the field. We continue serving when we return home. At OHM Advisors, I can continue doing meaningful, service-oriented engineering work because of our mission of advancing communities and our focus on putting people first. OHM’s Volunteer Service Leave program has allowed me to return to Panama four times, partnering with nonprofits Water Engineers for the Americas & Africa and Engineers Without Borders.
OHM’s Volunteer Service Leave program has allowed me to return to Panama four times, partnering with nonprofits Water Engineers for the Americas & Africa and Engineers Without Borders.
Will you share a recent OHM Advisors project that illustrates the power of community service and partnerships?
Absolutely! A few years ago, during a neighborhood clean-up near our Cleveland office, I met Antunesia Harris, a community engagement specialist and owner of Invigorate Gallery. She wanted to transform and revitalize a vacant lot next to her building.
What started as a simple conversation led to real impact. We partnered to secure a Neighbor Up grant that funded a summer-long placemaking workshop for the community, and later, we pursued a Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District grant to fund green infrastructure for the lot. It’s a great example of how partnerships—and a shared commitment to community—can turn an idea into action.
It’s a great example of how partnerships–and a shared commitment to community–can turn an idea into action.
In addition to your work at OHM Advisors and your volunteer activities, you teach Engineering Hydraulics & Hydrology at Case Western Reserve University. What advice do you give your students, based on your experience in the field?
I tell my students to always remember why they’re there. Why are they taking the class? Why are they pursuing a career in engineering? If they ever wonder why we’re learning something, I encourage them to ask. So much of engineering education is about how we solve problems. But we can make decisions that benefit society by keeping the why at the center of everything we do.
