Sarah Hurwitz

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Sarah Hurwitz
Nordiske Mediedager 2017 (33746304154) (cropped).jpg
Born
Wayland, Massachusetts
Alma mater Harvard University
Harvard Law School
Occupation Speechwriter
Website sarahhurwitz.net

Sarah Hurwitz is an American speechwriter. A senior speechwriter for President Barack Obama in 2009 and 2010, and head speechwriter for Michelle Obama from 2010 to 2017, [1] [2] she was appointed to serve on the United States Holocaust Memorial Council by Barack Obama shortly before he left the White House. [3]

Contents

Early life and education

Hurwitz is from Wayland, Massachusetts and is a Jew. [4] . She attended Harvard University and Harvard Law School, and began her career as an intern in Al Gore's speechwriting office in 1998.

Career

Political speechwriting

She was chief speechwriter for Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign and deputy chief speechwriter for the presidential campaigns of Senator John Kerry and General Wesley Clark. [5]

She was offered a job as a senior speechwriter for then-Senator Barack Obama in his presidential campaign days after Clinton conceded. Her first assignment for Michelle Obama was to work with her on her address to the 2008 Democratic National Convention. [2] She also wrote her speeches at the 2012 and 2016 Democratic National Conventions. [6] After a couple of years as a senior speechwriter for President Obama, Hurwitz became chief speechwriter for Michelle Obama and also worked on policy issues affecting young women and girls as a senior advisor to the White House Council on Women and Girls. [7]

The Forward included Hurwitz in their Forward 50 list as one of 2016's fifty most influential Jewish-Americans. [8] She served as a Fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard University in 2017. [7]

Hurwitz's book, Here All Along: Finding Meaning, Spirituality, and a Deeper Connection to Life -- in Judaism (After Finally Choosing to Look There), about her rediscovery of Judaism, was published by Spiegel & Grau on 3 September 2019. [9] [10] In 2025, her second book, As a Jew, was published by HarperCollinsOne. It debuted on the New York Times best-seller list on September 25, 2025. [11] [12]


References

  1. ↑ Shear, Michael D. (July 25, 2016). "Michelle Obama Joins Forces With Her Predecessor (and Former Adversary)". New York Times. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  2. 1 2 Thompson, Krissah (June 13, 2016). "What's on Michelle Obama's mind? Meet the speechwriter who puts it into words". Washington Post. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  3. ↑ "President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts". whitehouse.gov. January 16, 2017. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  4. ↑
  5. ↑ Wagner, Susan L. (September 2, 2009). "The Write Stuff: Presidential speechwriter from Wayland featured in documentary". MetroWest Daily News. Retrieved November 19, 2025.
  6. ↑ Ramos, Nestor. "Behind Michelle Obama's big night, a writer from Wayland". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved March 17, 2019.
  7. 1 2 "Sarah Hurwitz". The Institute of Politics at Harvard University. Retrieved March 17, 2019.
  8. ↑ "Forward 50 2016 - Sarah Hurwitz - The Voice of Michelle Obama". The Forward. The Forward Association. November 14, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Here All Along". Kirkus Reviews.
  10. ↑ Martin, Rachel (July 2, 2023). "She found meaning where she least expected it — her childhood faith". NPR. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  11. ↑ "Hardcover Nonfiction Books - Best Sellers - Books - Sept. 28, 2025". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  12. ↑ "Sara Hurwitz relaims the Jewish story". The Jerusalem Post. October 12, 2025. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
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