Ephraim TravisCH (CPT) USA-R

His story

A life of showing up for people

Ephraim Travis grew up in an Orthodox Jewish home in Far Rockaway, New York. He studied at Yeshiva Ohr Somayach (Tanenbaum Rabbinical College) in Jerusalem, earning an M.A. in Jewish Law (Education, Counseling, Outreach), and received semicha (rabbinic ordination) from Rabbi Zalman Nechemia Goldberg.

He went on to become the first rebbi at the Jewish day school in Norfolk/Portsmouth, Virginia (Torah Day School of Virginia), teaching Judaic Studies. Before joining the Army, he served in the kollel and as youth director of B'nai Brith Jacob Congregation in Savannah, Georgia.

In 2010 he became a U.S. Army chaplain, one of only ten active-duty Jewish chaplains in the U.S. Army from 2010 to 2014. For eight years on active duty he served wherever soldiers needed him: at Fort Jackson; at Fort Bragg, where he was the Jewish chaplain of the post; at Fort Stewart; and for about a year in Iraq during Operation New Dawn, at Al Asad and in Baghdad, where he led Passover Seders for some 100 soldiers.

As a U.S. Army chaplain deployed to Iraq, Rabbi Travis provided spiritual leadership and pastoral support to service members of diverse religious backgrounds. His experiences shaped his understanding of resilience, leadership, and the importance of human connection.

Much of a chaplain's work happens one conversation at a time. Ephraim provided pastoral counseling, crisis intervention, and spiritual support to more than 5,000 soldiers and 7,000 family members, in the U.S. and in combat settings. He led stress-management and suicide-prevention training, ran more than 36 marriage and family enrichment programs, and coordinated interfaith services and on-call chaplain support at Al Asad Airbase, home to more than 10,000 personnel and 5,000 civilians. He was nominated for a year-long Clinical Pastoral Education residency in recognition of his performance and leadership. He later continued to serve in the Army Reserve as Assistant Brigade Chaplain of the 174th Infantry Brigade.

From 2022 to 2024 he also worked as an EMT, bringing active listening and pastoral counseling skills to patients and families coping with mental health challenges, including PTSD, anxiety, and depression.

Today he is completing a Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Bellevue University (expected February 2028), on the path to becoming a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC). He has trained in trauma-informed care and motivational interviewing. It is a natural next chapter for someone who has spent his career sitting with people through the hardest moments of their lives.