Retiring communications director aims for connection and community

With his kind smile and collaborative mindset, Director of Communications Tom Krattenmaker welcomes ideas from everyone while conveying YDS stories to the world. 

“It’s striking to me that the words ‘communications’ and ‘community’ share their first seven letters,” he said. “That is not a coincidence. When communications are successful, they build and enhance community.”

During his 12 years at YDS, Krattenmaker and the communications team have grown the Divinity School’s social media presence, narrated the YDS story to the wider Yale community and beyond, provided robust support to fundraising and student recruitment, and accomplished two major website overhauls. 

He is most proud, however, of Notes from the Quad, the e-news magazine sent monthly to alumni, the campus community, and nonaffiliated subscribers. While publishing alumni profiles and campus news, it also invites feedback and story ideas—and takes them seriously. 

“We’ve been doing communications in ways that foster community on several levels, which include connecting students, faculty, administration, alumni, and the broader society,” he said. “We’ve made communications a two-way street.”

Now entering retirement, Krattenmaker doesn’t hesitate when asked what he’ll miss the most about Yale Divinity School.

“The people,” he said. “The faculty, staff, dean, and students are amazing. Everyone is intelligent, thoughtful, conscientious, and kind. It makes for a wonderful work environment.”

For Krattenmaker, retirement will not include late mornings and long lunches. He’ll be hard at work on his fourth book, a passion project that explores the deep meaning that can be found in the natural world and its potential as a source of purpose and ethics. 

“I’ve been thinking about and researching this issue for a very long time,” he said. “I seek to uplift the wonders of the universe and highlight the underappreciated ‘miracle’ of life teeming on Earth, despite the damage being done to it.”

The book, titled Enthralled, is expected to be published in 2027 by Fortress Press.

“I look forward to being a full-time writer again, as I was in my 20s,” he said, and then smiled. “It’s exciting to move into this new phase of life.”

A Minnesota native

Krattenmaker and his two older sisters were raised by their single mother in the suburbs of Minneapolis. 

His sisters pursued art and studied art history. “I was the barbarian little brother who loved to watch sports and listen to the Rolling Stones,” he laughs.

Rock music aside, Krattenmaker knew his future would involve the written word. 

“By the time I was a teenager, I was determined to be a writer and journalist,” he said. 

Krattenmaker was already learning the ropes as a journalism major at University of Minnesota.

“We had a great student paper, the Minnesota Daily,” he said. “Student reporters were taken seriously—we even received salaries.” 

In fact, the paper went beyond university issues to feature city and state politics and culture. 

“We covered just about everything a regular paper would,” he said. “I worked there every possible moment—both as a writer and editor—until the day of graduation.” 

A reporter’s life

Straight out of college, Krattenmaker began working for the Orange County Register in California.

“I covered the Newport Beach area,” he said. “I rented a rundown apartment by the water, which was a lot of fun and made me very popular with my beach-loving friends.”

Many of Krattenmaker’s early stories centered around development and the environment.

“I wrote a lot about pollution and the ocean,” he said. “I also wrote my first big religion story. A conservative Anglican congregation sought to acquire an 11th-century church in England, ship the stones to Orange County, reassemble it, and make it their new sanctuary. When preservationists in the U.K. heard of this plan, a battle broke out.” 

The newspaper sent Krattenmaker to England to write an in-depth story. 

“I was young, and it was exciting,” he said. “The plan to relocate the church was ultimately quashed.”

Krattenmaker’s second religion story included an investigation into unethical financing around televangelist Robert Schuller, his Crystal Cathedral, and his Orange County-based Hour of Power television ministry. 

“In their fundraising, they always promoted their wonderful medical missionary work in the jungle of Chiapas, Mexico. A photographer and I were sent down there to investigate and see if the reality matched the hype. It did not. Not even close.”

Krattenmaker’s next career move was working for the Associated Press, covering New Jersey politics out of the Statehouse in Trenton. 

“There were a lot of interesting stories, and a lot of colorful language,” he laughed.

Embracing higher education

At age 30, Krattenmaker still enjoyed reporting but had become a single dad and struggled with the long, unpredictable hours. 

“Initially, I went into higher-ed communications so I could have a more regular schedule and take care of my daughter,” he said. “I took fatherhood very seriously and wanted to be with her as much as possible.” 

Krattenmaker’s first job in his new field was as a senior writer in the Communications Office at Princeton University. He wrote stories, press releases, and engaged with the media. Next, he worked as Public Relations Director at Pennsylvania’s Swarthmore College.

“I was there for over a decade,” he said. “It really enhanced my love for the liberal arts.” 

While at Swarthmore, he felt called to enhance his own education. In 2004, he completed a Master of Liberal Arts degree in Religion in Public Life at the University of Pennsylvania.

“The program taught me about my biases and the holes in my understanding of religion,” he said. “It was important to learn what I didn’t know.” 

Next would come a change in geography: Krattenmaker and his wife, Carolyn Gretton, a writer he married in 1994, felt drawn to explore the Northwest. 

“Carolyn and I decided to move to Portland, Oregon,” he said. “I became Associate Vice President of Public Affairs and Communications at Lewis & Clark College. It was a great working experience, especially because of the school’s commitment to sustainability and its excellent environmental education programs.”

Portland proved to have a significant influence on Krattenmaker’s life. “I resonated with the city’s eco-consciousness and reverence for the natural world,” he said. “I was drawn to the wilderness and mountains. I evolved from being a hiker to a mountain climber in just a year.” 

The nature-loving Krattenmaker accomplished his first technical climb on Mount Hood, a stratovolcano an hour outside of Portland.

“Our climb team had to navigate all the snow and ice and a narrow chute between ice walls near the summit dubbed the ‘Pearly Gates,’” he remembered. “What an experience. To this day, I insist that the ice ax is the most versatile and bad-ass piece of equipment ever invented.”

Writing religion

Krattenmaker’s love of nature deepened in tandem with his interest in religion. In 2006, he began writing columns for USA Today that focused on the intersection of culture, religion, and politics. He did that for 18 years.

“My columns helped me develop a more nuanced take on what was happening in all areas of Christianity,” he said. “I often felt compelled to highlight religious liberals and religious moderates, who I felt did not receive enough attention and credit.” 

During this time, Krattenmaker wrote three books on religion in public life, including Onward Christian Athletes (Rowman & Littlefield, 2009), which examined Christian ministries in sports.

“It was a very hot topic at the time,” he said. “When the book came out, I was interviewed on ABC, ESPN, Fox News, NPR, and more local radio shows that I could keep track of.” 

In 2014, Krattenmaker heard of an opening for a communications director at YDS.

“With my professional background and my strong interest in religion, it was the best job imaginable,” he said. “I knew I had to apply.”

He started the following October. 

YDS life

Krattenmaker began his tenure at YDS during a time of transition. Greg Sterling had recently become dean, and the School was advancing energetically on several fronts. 

“Communications sought to help the new dean share his vision and generate the support it deserved,” Krattenmaker said. “It’s heartening to see how thoroughly that vision has become reality.” 

The Associate Director of Communications, Campbell Brock Harmon ’04 M.A.R., has worked at YDS for over 20 years and helped with Krattenmaker’s transition. Harmon’s affection for his colleague is palpable.

“Tom works in an incredibly friendly, collegial way,” he said. “He is always willing to drop everything and provide support to anyone. In today’s world, that’s a rarity. He understands the human being behind the job.”

Harmon emphasized Krattenmaker’s social media savvy as well as his attention to detail and ability to make content that appeals to wide audiences.

“He’s made an enormous difference in our communications, and that will continue,” he said. “Overall, Tom is incredible to work with, both professionally and personally. Our offices are across the hall from each other and we’re always talking. I’m going to miss everything about him. And unlike me, he loves the outdoors and has hiked a lot of the Appalachian Trail. He truly walks the talk.”

Indeed, as an ambassador for the natural world, Krattenmaker is moved by the Divinity School’s commitment to ecotheology. 

“I remembered learning about the idea for the Living Village shortly after I started at YDS,” he said. “I knew it would benefit the School and the larger society. It’s been meaningful to me to have the chance to tell its story and amplify the importance of this amazing project.”

Krattenmaker also takes pride in the ways YDS exemplifies “the best of religious thought.”

“I’m often upset by how Scripture is distorted and used to condemn and divide,” he said. “YDS is just the opposite. It brings people together and teaches the kind of religion I want to see flourish and influence American society and the world.” 

During his tenure at YDS, Krattenmaker released his third book, Confessions of a Secular Jesus Follower (Convergence, 2016). 

“The book talks about the value of engaging the figure of Jesus, even if you’re not religious, because of the moral teachings and understanding of life,” he said.

To hone his ideas for his upcoming book on ethical and spiritual contemplation of the natural world, Krattenmaker delved into hundreds of books, videos, and podcasts. He also took the online course Journey of the Universe through the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology with Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim.

“I’ve had really uplifting and illuminating conversations with them and with their colleague Sam King (’22 M.A.R.) through the years,” he said. “They helped me develop my ideas.” 

Krattenmaker hopes his book can build common ground in a divided world.

“It will show how deep engagement with the living world can provide what’s needed when grasping the essence of human life,” he said. “I think, on some level, everyone understands that.” 

As he prepares his farewell to YDS and readies for his next chapter, Krattenmaker reflects on the lessons he’s learned.

“Overall, I’m leaving with a greater appreciation for what a positive force Christianity—and religion on the whole—can be in the world,” he said. “I believe YDS will continue to play an important role in moving society forward with the grace and compassion we so desperately need. I am very grateful for my time here and to have played a small part in fulfilling the School’s mission to create a better world.”

Lauren Yanks ’19 M.Div. is a writer and professor and Founder of the Blue Butterfly Foundation, www.bluebutterflyfoundation.org, a nonprofit organization that rescues and educates women and children who have been trafficked and enslaved.