About Protagonistic
Smart, strategic, and socially-minded, Protagonistic works with businesses, nonprofits, and creatives who are working to build a more just and equitable world.
Our approach to communications is grounded in three principles: authentic alignment, a deep understanding of both contemporary social issues and the modern media landscape, and a 360 degree approach to strategy that takes into account how our work together fits into your broader mission and business. We have a particular focus on feminism and gender justice, but our work spans climate, racial justice, finance, the arts, peace and conflict, and more. Our feminism is anti-racist, trans-inclusive, and allied with the queer community.
We look for client-partners that are doing work that is innovative and values-led: in this work, we serve as your advocate, and to do our job right we need to be as excited by what you’re bringing into the world as you are.
Founded in 2018, Protagonistic is led by Rachel Hills, a feminist journalist, public intellectual, and communications professional with 20 years of experience, and draws upon a broad network of collaborators across design, film, events, copywriting and translation, social media, stakeholder facilitation, and more.
Rachel Hills - President & Principal
Protagonistic’s President Rachel Hills is an internationally celebrated feminist writer, producer, and social entrepreneur whose work has been published in the New York Times, Washington Post, Cosmopolitan, The Guardian, The Atlantic, Vogue, Buzzfeed, The Cut, and many more. Over the course of her career, she has keynoted at Harvard, Cornell, and the Sydney Opera House, leveraged her platform as a thought leader to co-produce theatre, film, and art, and loaned her brain to major media companies, movement leaders, and social enterprises. Rachel’s first book The Sex Myth was named one of the best books of 2015 by Tina Brown’s Women in the World, and has since been turned into a play, an activist tool, and developed for television.
Testimonials
“
Rachel is whip-smart and a natural connector of people and ideas. She is able to quickly understand and synthesize complex concepts, and communicate them in a way that is compelling to a popular or expert audience.
”
— SUZANNE BIEGEL, CEO, CATALYST AT LARGE.
“
Rachel has an expert understanding of the feminist media landscape. Her editorial strategy work played a key role in shaping Liisbeth’s relaunch to better serve the needs of our audience of feminist entrepreneurs.
”
- PETRA KASSUN-MUTCH, PUBLISHER, LIISBETH MEDIA
“
As press rep for NYC's first ever #HealMeToo Festival, Rachel opened doors to phenomenal feminist and theatrical coverage in all media. … It was great to work with someone who utterly supported our values as intersectional feminists.
— HOPE SINGSEN, FOUNDER AND ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, #HEALMETOO FESTIVAL
“
My favorite part about working with Rachel is that she didn't try to change me or spin my story. Instead, she polished the word vomit I shared into something cohesive and inspiring. She worked with me, just as I am, to hone my message and, in turn, empowered me to share it more widely and more often.
”
— KAIT SCALISI, MPH, CERTIFIED SEX EDUCATOR AND FOUNDER OF PASSIONBYKAIT.COM
Work with us
We work with select client-partners whose work is changing the way we live, think, and engage with one another.