On May 11, 2001, Shinae Chun was confirmed by the Senate as the
15th Director of the Women's Bureau. Under the direction of Secretary
of Labor Elaine L. Chao, Ms. Chun is the highest ranking Korean
American in the Bush administration, and heads the only Federal
agency charged with advocating on behalf of women in the workforce.
The Women's Bureau was created by Congress in 1920 with a mandate
to "promote the welfare of wage-earning women."
Prior to joining the Labor Department, Ms. Chun served as the
Managing Director of the ITR Corporation of Chicago, Illinois. From
1991 to 1999, Ms. Chun was the Director of the Illinois Department
of Labor, responsible for managing operations of the Department
whose mission is to protect the rights, wages, and working conditions
of Illinois workers through the enforcement of state labor laws.
She made Illinois history two years earlier when she accepted the
position of Director of the Illinois Department of Financial Institutions,
becoming the first ever Asian American cabinet member. While there,
she investigated, licensed and regulated over 2500 financial institutions
in Illinois.
In 1982, Ms. Chun was one of the founding members of the Asian
American Advisory Council to Governor James R. Thompson. Later in
1984, she was appointed as Special Assistant to the Governor on
Asian American Affairs, the first such position in the country.
Serving as a liaison between state government and Asian American
communities, her primary responsibility was to bring concerns and
issues of Asian Americans to the governor and ensure that state
policy and programs reflected the needs of Asian Americans.
Prior to her involvement in state government, she was project director
of the Title IX Multiethnic Training, Assistance and Dissemination
Project (METAD), a teacher in-service training program developed
to heighten sensitivity of public school teachers to cultural diversity
in the classroom; and ease cross-cultural conflict by better preparing
teachers for assimilation of Asian immigrant and refugee students
into mainstream society.
Her recognition awards include "Outstanding Alumni Award"
from Ewha Women's University in Seoul, "Outstanding Statesman
Award" from Chicago Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, and Midwest
Women's Center "A Tribute to Chicago Women Award." From
1987-1991, she served as a board member for United Way. She is also
author of From the Mountains of Masan to the Land of Lincoln (1996),
and Korean Culture - A Passage Through Hermit Kingdom (1980).
Ms. Chun received her undergraduate degree at Ewha Women's University
in Seoul, Korea, and her Master's degree in Education and Social
Policy at Northwestern University. In 1992, she also received a
fellowship to the Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of
Government, Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government.
Ms. Chun and her husband, Dr. Kyong Chul Chun, have two sons.
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