June Shih is a writer and lawyer with more than 20 years’ experience in public policy, communications, and speechwriting. In 1994, she began her career as a cops and courts reporter for a Florida newspaper, but left after a year to assist then-First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton with her syndicated newspaper column and speeches.
In 1997, she became a Special Assistant to the President and Presidential Speechwriter, writing speeches for President Bill Clinton on a range of issues from civil rights and race relations to education and health care policy. After serving as chief speechwriter for Mrs. Clinton’s first U.S. Senate campaign in 2000, June attended law school and then practiced law in Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C.
From 2011-2014, she served in the Obama Administration as a Senior Advisor in the U.S. State Department’s Office of Global Women’s Issues. While at State, June helped shape several of the Department’s initiatives on global women’s leadership and girls’ education. She served as an expert on East Asian affairs and managed bilateral dialogues with Chinese, Korean, and Japanese counterparts. June is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and holds a B.A., magna cum laude, from Harvard University, and a J.D. from Stanford Law School.
June assists private clients - from both the non-profit and for-profit sectors - with speeches and message development. Drawing on her own experience in global and domestic policy, she works closely with her clients to develop powerful, politically-savvy, and memorable speeches for conventions, campaign launches, and large gatherings. She works with institutions to craft informative, compelling, and readable brochures and annual reports. June is also available to lead seminars on speechwriting and delivery, and consult on policy initiatives on global women’s issues and East Asian affairs.
Sample speeches provided upon request. June has also written many articles in her own name in several major publications. A selection can be found here.