Atra: Center for Rabbinic Innovation
Communications & PR
Background
Atra came to Sing during a pivotal moment: the launch of the Rabbinic Pipeline Initiative, a sector-wide effort to address leadership, diversity, and sustainability in the American rabbinate. With a staffing transition underway and a major research study about to go public, they needed a team that could hit the ground running across content, social, and PR - all at once.
Goal
Build sustained national awareness around Atra's Rabbinic Pipeline Initiative, establish Atra as a thought leader in the Jewish communal sector, and secure meaningful earned media coverage during and beyond the launch window.
Strategy
We built a comprehensive, six-month multichannel communications plan designed to:
Introduce Atra's research and perspective to new audiences across platforms
Develop consistent messaging tailored to different audience segments and channels
Convert launch momentum into long-term thought leadership
Secure earned media placements in both mainstream and sector-specific outlets
Keep the Atra team focused on their core work during a critical transition period
Our Approach
Content Calendar + Strategy
We developed a six-month multichannel content calendar integrating key milestones, thought leadership pillars, and a dedicated three-month communications plan for the Rabbinic Pipeline Initiative launch - giving the Atra team a clear roadmap from day one.
Audience Messaging
We refined key messages by platform and audience segment, and built a four-month email arc spanning newsletters, pipeline promotion, and strategic plan updates. We also wrote and designed their Strategic Plan.
Social + Newsletter Management
We fully managed Atra's monthly newsletters and social media channels, freeing their internal team to stay focused on programming and relationships during a staffing transition.
PR + Earned Media
We led targeted media outreach including customized pitches, daily reporter listserv monitoring, conference application support, and ghostwriting for op-eds - landing Atra in outlets from the AP national wire to practitioner-focused Jewish media.
Impact
Our strategic positioning and full-funnel creative approach delivered beyond expectations:
9
earned media placements
4
distinct outlets reached
1
AP national wire story
Earned Media Coverage
Coverage includes original reporting, op-eds, and analysis, spanning wire services, national Jewish media, and practitioner-focused outlets.
Associated Press
The ranks of US rabbis grow more diverse, with rising numbers of women and LGBTQ people (Luis Andres Henao)
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
First-ever empirical study of US rabbinate finds 'shortage' is more about fit than numbers (Asaf Elia-Shalev)
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Surging LGBTQ enrollment in Jewish seminaries signals 'astounding' shift in US rabbinate (Asaf Elia-Shalev)
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Their anti-Mamdani letter makes it clear: Rabbis face pressure that fractures us all (Shira Koch Epstein)
The Forward
A High Holiday helpline for rabbis is flooded with millennial calls (Benyamin Cohen)
eJewishPhilanthropy
We don't (only) have a rabbinic pipeline problem (Rabbi Benjamin Ross)
eJewishPhilanthropy
3 ways to unpack Atra's new rabbinic leadership study with your team (Alexandra Corwin)
eJewishPhilanthropy
Atra study's data point on LGBTQ+ rabbinical students is a cause for celebration and hope - and a charge (Jaimie Krass)
eJewishPhilanthropy
We finally have data on the rabbinate. The reactions are a dataset, too. (Rabbi Shira Koch Epstein & Faith Brigham Leener)