PR Guru to Bring ‘Uncomfortable’ Talk to The Temple
Local public relations expert Maggie Gallant Isenberg organized a cross-cultural conversation about antisemitism to be held Aug. 18 at The Temple.
After 37 years with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and now with the AJT, , Jaffe’s focus is lifestyle, art, dining, fashion, and community events with emphasis on Jewish movers and shakers.
Maggie Gallant Isenberg, head of Superjuice public relations agency, is making important things happen.
She said, “I believe Jews have the worst PR in the world! I’ve always wanted to take that on in some way, and when I began listening to the now best-selling book, ‘Uncomfortable Conversations with a Jew,’ by Emmanuel Acho and Noa Tishby, I could see just how I could do it.”
She shared with Senior Temple Rabbi Peter Berg the idea to bring Acho to Atlanta for a conversation and include a clergy member of Ebenezer Baptist Church (the Rev. Dr. John H. Vaugn) to talk about how seeing the rise in antisemitism in the Black community prompted him to write this next book on antisemitism.
She wanted that conversation to not only be in Atlanta, but specifically in the sanctuary of The Temple which was bombed in 1958 because of the congregation’s commitment to the civil rights movement and specifically, then Rabbi Jacob Rothschild’s friendship with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Rabbi Berg did invite Ebenezer Baptist Church so that all could gather with “open hearts and open minds” to talk about the questions in the minds of members of the Black community that they may have felt too uncomfortable to ask of Jewish people. Isenberg continued, “I believe in the power of communication, and I believe that this event, with enthusiastic partners that now include the American Jewish Committee, the Black Jewish Coalition and the ADL, can show the rest of the country what happens when you have the courage to stop the yelling (whether it’s online or at protests) and start listening to each other.”
Super networker Isenberg initially brought this idea to Arthur Blank, co-founder of Home Depot and the owner of the Atlanta Falcons, and noted that his team responded within the hour and offered to underwrite the whole event. Maggie told her friends, “If Arthur Blank said ‘yes’ to supporting this event, then not only would I go to a Falcons game, but I would paint my face … oh well!”
Isenberg’s agency, Superjuice, devotes time to advocacy when she knows that her agency can uniquely make an impact. Featured clients include HGTV, Hulu – specifically the Kardashians’ reality TV franchise and other reality series, Dylan’s Candy Bar, The Peach Truck, SURI (short for “Sustainable Rituals,” this is the world’s first sustainable sonic toothbrush that just launched in the U.S.) and The Healer’s Collection among others.
She has offices here in Atlanta, New York, and Los Angeles. Isenberg founded the agency out of a Hollywood talent agency (IAG) in 2016; but in December of last year, she bought back the agency and is now a certified woman-owned business.
She declared, “Our mission is only representing brands and entertainment companies we are truly obsessed with. Being the founder of an agency — especially one whose clients are in the entertainment industry — means long hours and a lot of work that may seem glamorous, but behind the scenes is not so much. It is my hope that my kids are inspired to one day find a job that they love as much as I do, and they give it their all.”
Isenberg grew up in Atlanta and spent 13 years at The Westminster Schools and went to college at George Washington University on a Presidential Arts Scholarship in musical theater. Though once she was there, she changed from musical theatre to a major in public relations (which she had to “invent”) as an interdisciplinary major. Today, her daughter goes to The Davis Academy and her stepdaughter is at Milton High School and stepson is off to Georgia College and State University in the fall. Her husband, Jason, is an attorney.
The event is scheduled for Aug. 18. Doors open at 5:50 p.m. for a 6 p.m. start. To RSVP, visit the-temple.org/acho
- back to school & college
- Local
- Marcia Caller Jaffe
- Maggie Gallant Isenberg
- Superjuice public relations agency
- Emmanuel Acho and Noa Tishby
- Senior Temple Rabbi Peter Berg
- Ebenezer Baptist Church
- Rev. Dr. John H. Vaugn
- Rabbi Jacob Rothschild
- American Jewish Committee
- Black-Jewish Coalition
- Anti-Defamation League
- Arthur Blank
- Atlanta falcons
- The Westminster Schools
- George Washington University
- Davis Academy
- Milton High School
- Georgia College and State University
comments