Rabbi Shira Koch Epstein is the Executive Director of Atra: Center for Rabbinic Innovation, and is a member of the faculty of the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America.

Previously, Rabbi Epstein served as Executive Director of the 14th Street Y in Manhattan, and has served as scholar-in-residence for the National Women’s Philanthropy program at the Jewish Federations of North America. Her past roles have included serving as Rabbi-Educator at Congregation Beth Elohim in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and as Associate Director/Reform Zionist Think Tank Manager at ARZA. Rabbi Epstein has served at various congregations, Jewish youth groups and summer camps as an educator, is a certified Storahtelling “Maven,” and has studied improvisational comedy and acting in various programs including the Upright Citizens Brigade.

A Wexner Field Fellow, she was named one of the Feminist Press 40 under 40 and a has received the Pomegrate Prize for Jewish Education from the Covenant Foundation. Rabbi Epstein received her BA from Wesleyan University, has attended Hebrew University in Jerusalem and Birzeit University in Ramallah, and received her rabbinic ordination and MA in Religious Education from HUC-JIR. Rabbi Epstein lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn, with her husband, Dr. Jason Epstein, their sons, and their dog.