James Holtje

Adjunct Professor of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs

James Holtje is an Adjunct Professor of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA). A SIPA alum (MIA ‘90), Holtje has been teaching speechwriting and public speaking at SIPA since 2016 and won the school’s Outstanding Teaching Award in 2019 in addition to several Top Five awards. Founder of Speak Up Int’l, a consultancy specializing speechwriting and coaching for non-native speakers, his current clients include UNESCO’s Director General and Siemens AG’s CEO. His previous political experience includes working in the Democratic National Committee’s communications department during President Clinton’s 1996 re-election campaign as well as on several US
Senate campaigns in New York State.

His previous corporate experience includes serving as a speechwriter to the CEOs of IBM, Siemens AG (Germany and USA), and The McGraw-Hill Companies. The author of seven books on international relations, business, and communication, Holtje is a frequent speaker at international conferences, including the Professional Speechwriter Association’s World Conference in Washington, D.C. (Georgetown University) and the European Speechwriter
Network (ESN) conference at Oxford University (Brasenose College). Holtje will be speaking at ESN’s conference at Cambridge University (St. Catharine’s College) in March 2026.