Paul Orzulak
Co-Founder and Executive Director
Member of the Board of Directors
Although named after legendary Green Bay Packers running back Paul Hornung, Paul Orzulak’s first foray into speechwriting earned him the unlikely nickname of Dammit Orzulak.
That’s because every time his first boss, United States Senator Tom Harkin, read one of his drafts, the review session would begin with the words, “Dammit, Orzulak.”
Paul would go on to become a speechwriter for President Bill Clinton and a co-founder of West Wing Writers. Today, he writes speeches for chief executive officers and senior vice presidents at the world’s leading information technology, energy, health care, auditing, media and entertainment companies. He has also written for heads of state, presidential candidates, international philanthropists, NFL quarterbacks and numerous human rights organizations.
Paul served in the Clinton White House as a special assistant to the president for national security affairs and foreign policy speechwriter. Prior to that, he served as senior domestic policy speechwriter for Vice President Al Gore. During the 2000 general election, he was chief speechwriter and message advisor for the Democratic vice presidential nominee, Senator Joseph Lieberman. He has also served as senior advisor and chief speechwriter for Housing Secretary Andrew Cuomo, US House Democratic Whip David Bonior, and Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, including the Senator’s 1992 presidential campaign.
A regular media contributor, Paul has appeared on NPR, ABC, CNN, FOX, CNBC, Wall Street Journal Live, and the Canadian Broadcasting Company, among others. He has also pumped gas, stacked pallets, labored as a farmhand, and worked as a writer for a global human resources consulting firm. He began his career as a sportswriter, which produced a memorable exchange with Mickey Mantle on the question, “Whatever happened to the two-handed catch in baseball?”
A graduate of the University of Connecticut, Paul lives in Maryland with his wife, Beneva Schulte — a public affairs strategist — and their three daughters.
