Photo: The IRC

“When I was president of the International Rescue Committee, from 1997 to 2002, I spent six months of the year flying around the world,” Levy said. “There was one major refugee crisis after another — Rwanda, Bosnia, Serbia, Kosovo, East Timor, the eastern Congo, crises all over the Horn of Africa, Sierra Leone. I have never thought of a glass of water in the same way; that kind of work grounds you, leaves you enormously grateful for your good fortune, and it provides a sense of balance.”