Notre Dame College’s Abrahamic Center will present Sarah Hurwitz, J.D., as its 2019 distinguished lecturer.
Her presentation, “Here All Along,” will be held in the College’s Regina Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 19. The lecture is free and open to the public.
In her presentation, Hurwitz embraces the ultimate questions thoughtful people have dealt with for hundreds of years: Who am I? Who is God? Does religion make a difference? Why is there pain and suffering in the world? Why pray? Why should I do good, no one else does?
Dealing with these important but difficult questions led Hurwitz back to the religious tradition of her childhood following significant changes in her personal and professional life. The public is invited to hear from and meet this politically attuned and prayerful woman who rediscovered her Jewish heritage.
From 2009 to 2017, Hurwitz served as a White House speechwriter, first for President Barack Obama, and then for First Lady Michelle Obama.
Hurwitz worked with Michelle. Obama to craft a number of widely acclaimed addresses, including her 2012 and 2016 Democratic National Convention speeches and her political speeches during the 2016 campaign cycle. She also worked on policy issues affecting young women and girls as a senior advisor to the White House Council on Women and Girls.
During the 2008 presidential primary, Hurwitz was the chief speechwriter for Senator Hillary Clinton from early 2007 until Clinton’s concession in June of 2008. Prior to working on the Clinton and Obama campaigns, she was a speechwriter for Senator Tom Harkin, General Wesley Clark, Senator John Kerry, and was a lawyer at the Washington, D.C., office of WilmerHale.
Hurwitz is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, and is currently a fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School.
She was appointed to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council by President Obama after he left office in 2016. Hurwitz is from Wayland, Massachusetts, and she began her career as an intern in Vice President’s Al Gore’s office in 1998.
The Forward, a nonprofit journalistic and business organization, included Hurwitz in their Forward 50 list as one of the 50 most influential Jewish-Americans during 2016.
Hurwitz’ book, Here All Along: A Reintroduction to Judaism, about her rediscovery of Judaism, was published by Spiegel & Grau in September 2019. It debuted as the No. 1 new release overall in the Jewish Life category on Amazon.
For more information about the Hurwitz lecture at Notre Dame, contact Sr. Carol Ziegler, SND, Ph.D., chief mission officer and executive director of the Notre Dame College Abrahamic Center, at cziegler@ndc.edu or 216.373.6374.
October 2019
About Notre Dame College
For almost a century, Notre Dame College has educated a diverse population in the liberal arts for personal, professional and global responsibility. Founded by the Sisters of Notre Dame in 1922, the College has grown strategically to keep pace with the rapidly changing needs of students and the dramatic changes in higher education. But it has never lost sight of its emphasis on teaching students not only how to make a good living but also how to live a good life.
Today, the College offers bachelor’s degrees in 30 disciplines plus a variety of master’s degrees, certification programs and continuing and professional development programs for adult learners on campus and online. Notre Dame College offers NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletic programs for men and women and is located in a picturesque residential neighborhood just 25 minutes from the heart of Cleveland. Hallmarks of the Notre Dame experience include stimulating academics, personalized attention of dedicated faculty and staff, and small class sizes.
Notre Dame College is located at 4545 College Road in South Euclid. For further information contact Brian Johnston, chief communications officer, at 216.373.5252 or bjohnston@ndc.edu.