Christine K. Jahnke Of Washington, D.C., And Quogue Dies August 4

Christine K. Jahnke of Washington, D.C. and Quogue died August 4 at her home in Washington, D.C., of colon cancer. She was 57.

Ms. Jahnke was a speech coach and author who helped a generation of progressive women leaders raise their voices, according to her family.

As president and founder of Positive Communications, Ms. Jahnke provided speech coaching to some of the nation’s most prominent political voices, including former First Lady Michelle Obama, the Hillary Clinton Campaign, many Democratic women governors and U.S. Senators, and other federal and state office holders, her family noted. She helped speakers take the stage and make history at five Democratic National Conventions, the Million Mom March for sensible gun laws, and the Women’s March on Washington.

Progressive leaders from advocacy and philanthropic groups also looked to Ms. Jahnke to shape core messages and advance their missions, her family said, including Amnesty International, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Black Lives Matter, the Women’s Media Center, Planned Parenthood and the Sierra Club.

According to her family, Ms. Jahnke had deep empathy for the challenges facing women of all races, ethnicities and ages who use their voices to improve their communities. For three decades, she focused her work on those people, organizations and social justice and inclusion causes that aligned with her values. She observed that her job was to “help women be themselves on purpose.”

A part-time resident of Quogue, Ms. Jahnke authored two books. “The Well-Spoken Woman” published in 2011 profiled prominent women speakers to share insights and advice on effective public speaking techniques. She was a featured author at the East Hampton Library’s Authors Night in 2012.

Her second book, “The Well-Spoken Woman Speaks Out” published in 2018 sought to empower a new generation of diverse leaders, advocates and organizers looking to drive change following the 2016 election.

Often at the forefront of emerging social and political change, her family said, Ms. Jahnke served as a frequent source for journalists covering women’s leadership. The New York Times recognized her with the quotation of the day on July 14, 2018: “These different women who are running, and the way they are running, is going to change politics forever. They’re rewriting the playbook. But we don’t know exactly what the new playbook will look like.”

When not reading fiction and history, she enjoyed painting, long beach walks locally and in Anguilla, as well as the companionship of her two Great Pyrenees.

The daughter of Sharon and Wayne Jahnke, Ms. Jahnke was born and raised in Albert Lea, Minnesota. She graduated magna cum laude from Winona State University in 1985.

With a background in journalism, and following time on the road as a press secretary and organizer for a presidential campaign, she moved to Washington, D.C., and soon began her pioneering work of coaching women candidates and elected officials. Her work with candidates across the country contributed to the election of a record number of women to the U.S. House and Senate in 1992, her family said. She later earned a master’s degree in liberal studies from Georgetown University.

Ms. Jahnke is survived by her husband Paul Hagen; her parents Sharon and Wayne Jahnke; her sister Lisa Hanson; and her brother Michael Jahnke. She is also survived by her mother in-law Pat Hagen-Tuccio; sisters-in-law Pam Lysohir and Beth Anderson and brother in-law Jim Hagen; along with numerous nieces and nephews.

Services are planned for August 29 in Albert Lea, Minnesota, and in Quogue at a later time.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to The Ruesch Center for the Cure of Gastrointestinal Cancers at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center to support cancer research and patient care would be appreciated by the family. Donations may be sent to The Ruesch Center, Office of Development, 3300 Whitehaven St NW Ste 4000, Washington, DC 20007, or at ruesch.georgetown.edu/gift/.