Staff Spotlight: Lovita Strain

Featured in the Fall 2021 Newsletter »

When newcomers arrive to the Belfer Center, their onboarding goes beyond the traditional array of HR forms. Financial Associate Lovita Strain makes it a point to personally tell new staff, “Welcome to the family.” For Lovita, it’s less of a tradition than a heartfelt conviction. “That’s what it feels like,” she says. “Most times, everybody looks out for one another.”

Looking out for others comes naturally to Lovita, a mother of three and grandmother of five, who has worked at Harvard for over 30 years. At the Belfer Center, Lovita runs the financial “engine room,” making sure bills are paid, budgets are on track, and funds are recorded. Outside her formal job role, Lovita wears many proverbial hats:

• She’s the Center’s concierge. Locked out of your office? Need local tips?  See Lovita. 
• She’s a resident therapist. Having a bad day? Need a good listener with a positive attitude? See Lovita.
• She’s Harvard star athlete. Need reliable scoring in a Boston intramural hoops game? See Lovita!

Lovita was indeed a basketball stand-out at Division I Holy Cross, where she majored in economics. (She also studied business management and marketing at Suffolk University.) We doubt many in New England – let alone other grandmothers – could keep up with her.

When she’s not speeding through spreadsheets, you might find Lovita cruising New Hampshire’s scenic byways on her 2012 Harley Davidson Ultra Glide Classic, alongside her husband. Lovita clearly has a love affair with G-forces. Several years ago, she tried to join a master’s bobsled team in Lake Placid. “Life’s too short not to,” she explains.

Most of her time outside work is spent serving others. Lovita volunteers at a community center and senior club. And she supports a local law enforcement organization called Mass B.A.D.G.E. Her husband is a retired Massachusetts State Trooper.  

People who don’t work at Harvard, Lovita says, often think that the school has a giant pot of money that they distribute to all research centers each year. On the contrary, centers like Belfer must hustle each year to raise money so that programs can run.

That hustle, however, shouldn’t stop colleagues from stopping by Lovita’s office to chat. “Don’t be afraid to speak with us,” she says. “We’re a fun-loving, kind group. And we’re willing to share our knowledge.”