 Shinae ChunDirector of the Women's Bureau
On
May 9, 2001, Shinae Chun was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the 15th
Director of the Women's Bureau. Serving under Secretary of Labor Elaine
L. Chao, Ms. Chun is President Bush’s highest ranking Korean American
appointee, and heads the only Federal agency charged with advocating on
behalf of women in the workforce.
During her tenure she has
transformed the way the Women's Bureau does business by implementing
innovative demonstration projects, increasing partnerships, and
enhancing the Bureau’s visibility. Under her leadership, the Women’s
Bureau strives to advance the status of 21st Century Working Women in
the pursuit of Better Jobs! Better Earnings! Better Living!
In
1991, Governor James Edgar appointed her Director of the Illinois
Department of Labor, a position she held until 1999. Two years prior to
this appointment, she made Illinois history when Governor James R.
Thompson appointed her Director of the Illinois Department of Financial
Institutions, making her Illinois’ first Asian American cabinet member.
In
1982, Ms. Chun was one of the founding members of the Asian American
Advisory Council to Governor Thompson. In 1984, the Governor appointed
her Special Assistant to the Governor on Asian American Affairs, the
first such position in the country.
From 1976 to 1983, through
the Title VII Bilingual Education Program and the Title IX Multiethnic
Studies Program, she developed a teacher in-service training program to
heighten the sensitivity of public school teachers to cultural diversity
in the classroom.
Ms. Chun completed her undergraduate degree at
Ewha Womans University in Seoul, Korea, and her Master's degree in
Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University. In 1992, she
received a fellowship to the Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School
of Government’s Program for Senior Executives in State and Local
Government.
She has received the "Alumni Merit Award" from
Northwestern University and the "Outstanding Alumni Award" from Ewha
Womans University; the Business Women’s Network "Special Achievement for
Leadership Award"; the Southern Women in Public Service "Pacesetter
Award"; and the Asian American Coalition of Chicago "Excellence in
Public Service Award". She is author of From the Mountains of Masan to
the Land of Lincoln (1996).
Ms. Chun and her husband, Dr. Kyong Chul Chun, have two sons.
Return to the Global ATHENA Leadership Award Recipients Page |
