Bringing Clarity to Complexity

“It’s part strategy, part reporting, and part writing,” she said. “We’re learning how companies operate and then articulating their work in compelling ways.”

Rubin says that ability to dive into something new, rapidly master the subject, and present it clearly to others is a skill she first developed as an English major at LCW. “I learned to read closely and think analytically,” she said. ““Themes, tones, culture, word choice, structure — literary analysis train you to pay attention to those details. That has helped me in the work I do, to dig down and not be afraid to ask questions.”

Originally from Wesley Hills, N.Y., Rubin began her college career at Touro Israel, which she described as a strong entry point into higher education. What appealed to her about LCW was both the academic seriousness and the environment itself. “I liked the idea of a community of serious, ambitious female students who came from similar backgrounds and religious commitments.”

Her current work is very different than where she originally thought her career would take her. Rubin did not initially plan on studying literature. She began college as a math major, drawn to what seemed like a practical professional pathway. “I thought I would become an actuary,” she said. “In my first semester as a math major something shifted and I started to rethink my career choice.” Writing had always been part of her life, and after speaking with Dr. Zarnowiecki, chair of the LCW Language and Literature department, Rubin switched her major to English literature. “It was a pretty radical departure,” she said. “I didn’t know where I would end up, but I hoped to build a career where writing was central.”

Rubin threw herself into her new field, studying literature from the Renaissance through Victorian and Modernist periods. She also took a class in Holocaust literature that left a deep impression. Writers such as Primo Levi and Tadeusz Borowski, she said, “were shattering”, and the experience stayed with her beyond the classroom.

As she neared graduation, a connection through Touro’s career services office helped Rubin clarify her next step. She was introduced to Elland Road Partners, a firm run by veteran editorial professionals and went for an informational interview. They offered her a summer internship, and after finishing her final semester, she stayed on. Rubin, who graduated as LCW’s valedictorian in 2020, has now been with the firm for six years.

Over time, Rubin has worked with clients across the media, real estate, health care, nonprofit, and technology sectors. She has created communications assets for organizations such as Crain’s New York Business, Delta Air Lines, and Hudson Yards, and more recently has taken on sustainability-focused work with Trellis, where she has had to immerse herself in the language of decarbonization and environmental metrics. The challenge, she said, is being thrown into fields that are unfamiliar. “But that’s what makes the work interesting” Rubin said. “It keeps me on my toes.”

Outside of client work, Rubin continues to write when she can. Now living in New Jersey, with her young family, she says it has become harder to find the time for longer pieces, but the interest remains. She is drawn to cultural essays, particularly those that examine familiar aspects of Orthodox life with anthropological curiosity. Some of that work has appeared in outlets such as Tablet.