Raised in a family that placed value on community service, Kaylene Ladinsky earned an Associate of Science in criminal justice from Iowa Central Community College in her 30s. Through the 1990s, she obtained a certification in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by the Federal Trade Commission, three levels in principles of banking by the Federal Reserve System and as a mediation specialist for business contract disputes. Achieving a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Northwestern in 1996, she obtained certification from the Medical-Dental-Hospital Business Associates and from the American Medical Billing Association in 2000 and another certification in psychology counseling from the Universal Institute in 2010.
In 2010, Ms. Ladinsky became the president and business owner of Atlanta’s Impress Express, an event planning company. She concurrently joined the Atlanta Jewish Times as an editor and managing publisher in 2011. While she retired from Atlanta’s Impress Express in 2022, she became the president of Southern Israel LLC publishing company while maintaining her position as editor and managing publisher for the Atlanta Jewish Times. She also has two nonprofit organizations she founded: Americans United with Israel, where she has been the chair and president since 2011, and the Atlanta Jewish Life Foundation, where she has been the chief operating officer since 2018. Ms. Ladinsky is currently in the process of organizing the Atlantic Jewish Life Foundation’s annual festival to celebrate Jewish life in the city.
A proud Zionist who believes strongly in the right of Israel to exist as a sovereign nation, Ms. Ladinsky founded Americans United with Israel in response to the conflicts that have plagued Israel since its inception in 1948. Through this organization, she strives to promote democracy and freedom in the Middle East and, today, American United with Israel is one of the largest pro-Israel nonprofit organizations in the United States, with roughly 8 million members. She has also lobbied in the state of Tennessee for a joint resolution of pro-Israel support, which was voted on by the Senate, and obtained a proclamation of pro-Israel support from the Georgia governor, Nathan Deal, in 2011.
Ms. Ladinsky’s work with the Atlanta Jewish Times is yet another avenue that she uses to fight for change and help keep her community connected and informed. In her role as managing publisher, she is responsible for business management, running the newspaper and taking monthly calls, alongside her role as an editor. She is also known for her editorial, “Black Lives Matter vs. All Lives Matter.” In order to keep abreast of new developments in her field, Ms. Ladinsky maintains professional affiliation with the National Newspaper Association, Atlanta Press Club and the American Jewish Press Association, where she is an executive board member and the foundation’s executive secretary.
Attributing much of her success to her passion for making a difference in her community, Ms. Ladinsky is also deeply grateful for the wonderful teams she has working alongside her. As she looks toward the future, she hopes to continue improving and expanding the online presence of her organizations, developing their websites to be as effective as possible. Notably, the Atlanta Jewish Times has been recognized with second place for the “Best Website” award, and first place for “Best Newspaper” award by the AJPA. Ms. Ladinsky has also received several Simon Rockower Awards for “Excellence in Jewish Journalism,” which she considers to be one the highlights of her career.
Drawn to her career by her family, particularly by her father, who is a police officer, Ms. Ladinsky was also inspired by her brothers, one who is a police officer on the New Orleans bomb squad and the other who is a firefighter. Today, she is happily married to her husband, Lou Ladinsky, who works for LexisNexis. Together they are the proud parents of three children, Carlie, Benjamin and Bradley. Carlie and Benjamin have graduated college, and Bradley is currently studying pre-medicine. In her free time, Ms. Ladinsky enjoys traveling and spending time with her family.