Michael has been involved with the MSUAA-DC for five years. He has served as the Director of Communications during the past three years. In addition to overseeing the MSUAA-DC communications, he has also helped organize Spartan Splendor, football viewings, happy hours, and baseball outings.
Currently, he is a high school teacher with Fairfax County Public Schools, teaching at Hillwood School, which is an alternative school for students on probation and parole. Mike teaches a variety of subjects including algebra, geometry, U.S./VA history, world history, and physics. He has also served as the social studies department chair for the last four years.
Michael earned a BA in History and a minor in Political Science from the College of Arts and Letters in 1998. In addition, he received his MA in Curriculum and Teaching through MSU in Valbonne, France. He is currently working on his Doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy at The George Washington University. As President, his goal is to continue to build on the momentum that has been established over the past years. He is always open to comments and suggestions regarding the MSUAA-DC. He believes in an organization that is reflective and constantly learns. In that regard, he hopes to build the best alumni association outside of the state of Michigan. He looks forward to leading and serving you as the President of the MSUAA-DC.
Vice President: Lynn Keller
Lynn Keller is currently the Personnel Security Officer for i2, Inc – A ChoicePoint Company. Lynn received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Michigan State University in May of 2002, where her major was in Criminal Justice. At MSU, Lynn was involved in many student organizations and activities such as; RHA, where she was the Secretary and later MOCC (Michigan Organization Communications Coordinator), was a Resident Assistant in Holden Hall and was the Vice-President for Alpha Phi Sigma, the Criminal Justice Honor Fraternity.
Lynn first came to the DC area as an intern at Georgetown University Law Center’s Office of Public Service and Community Service in September of 2001, while participating in the MSU DC Semester Study Program. Upon graduating from MSU in May 2002, she returned to the DC area, where she now lives with her husband, Josh, a fellow MSU and DC Semester Study Program Alumnus.
As a MSU DC Alumni Club member, Lynn has attended many social events sponsored by the club, such as viewings of football games. She continues to be involved in the DC Semester Study Program by attending receptions and talking to students who are currently participating in the program.
Secretary: Kimberley Murphy, J.D.
Kimberley Ann Murphy became a principal of the firm in June, 2005. She had been an Associate with the firm since being admitted to the Virginia State Bar in October 2000. Ms. Murphy concentrates her practice in the areas of Administrative Law, Estates and Trusts (planning and litigation) and Business (incorporation, planning, sale/purchase & litigation). She has appeared on numerous occasions before many circuit courts throughout the Commonwealth, in addition to the Court of Appeals of Virginia and the Supreme Court of Virginia, as well as the Virginia Department of Health Professions and Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
Ms. Murphy is active in the MSU-DC Alumni Association and serves as Secretary to the Executive Board. She is also co-chair of the Wills, Trusts & Estates section of the Fairfax Bar Association.
Ms. Murphy has published an article with the Virginia Bar Association’s Wills, Trusts & Estates section as well as presented seminars for funeral professionals for the International Order of the Golden Rule and Norfolk State University. She has also presented a continuing legal education course for the Fairfax Bar Association.
Treasurer: David Hurwitz
David Hurwitz was born and raised in northwest DC, he attended Walt Whitman high school in Bethesda Maryland prior to attending MSU. He graduated in 2002 with a bachelors of arts in Finance. While at State he worked as an office intern at Merrill Lynch and Salomon Smith Barney, was a member of the outdoors club, and held various executive board positions with in his fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi.
After graduation he returned to DC and began working as a financial advisor with Ameriprise financial. As a financial advisor he helps individuals and small business owners identify their financial dreams, create a financial plan on how to achieve these goals, and help his clients track their progress over the long run. David began with Ameriprise in 2002 after obtaining series 7 (securities), series 66 (advice), and life and health insurance license. David worked as a manager for a year and a half, performing duties such as training, recruiting, and managing new advisors. In early 2006 David returned to personal practice to devote all his time to servicing his clients.
Director of Communications: Christine Chan, Ph.D.
Christine Chan is a Doctoral graduate from Michigan State University in Educational Psychology with a cognate in Cognitive Psychology and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). She is a Consultant and Faculty member at Walden University. She has tremendous experience in user-interface design and information architecture and expertise in quantitative research design methods and statistical analysis. She is responsible for the creation and development of the new MSUAA DC website and diligently maintains the content and design. She is technologically savvy, competent in most computer programming languages and software applications. It is when she is behind a computer screen that she feels the most comfortable.
In addition to her expertise, she was recently nominated to be in WHO'S WHO IN AMERICA 2007-2008, invited to be a reviewer for the Cognitive Science Society European Program in Delphi, Greece 2007, and the 29th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society in Nashville, Tennessee, 2007. She also received an $80,000 research grant from the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) for the development of an innovative testing format for a computerized version of the LSAT. Christine has also excelled as an athletic competitor both in swimming as well as Taekwondo. As a member of Curle-Burke Masters Aquatic Club [CUBU], she trains persistenly 5 times a week in the freestyle event, with the hopes of representing her club one day in the Colony Zones. A 5th degree black belt in Taekwondo (only 5% of women who participate in Taekwondo attain this level of expertise), she was a two time Oregon state representative at the United States Taekwondo Nationals. A native of Singapore and Australia, and now living in the United States, she is truly a 'third-culture' kid.
Director Of Community Service: Patrick Morand, J.D.
Patrick is a first-year associate with the energy law firm Wright & Talisman P.C. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Michigan State University in 1995, where his major was in English, with cognates in History and Economics. This past spring he received his J.D. from the Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law, where he was a Moot Court Associate.
He first came to Washington, D.C. in 1996 and worked in the office of now-retired Congressman John Edward Porter, initially as a volunteer and then as his Director of Constituent Relations. Beginning in late 1997, and for the next two years, he worked for the International Rescue Committee as Program Manager of their Community Shelter and Infrastructure Program in the former-Soviet republic of Azerbaijan. The program, funded by the United States Agency for International Development, assisted over 1,200 internally displaced families to attain durable housing and improved sanitation. In 1999, he returned to the Chicago area where he grew up, and took a Project Manager position with a commercial construction management company. He held that position until returning to the Washington, D.C. area in 2003, when he began working for Wright & Talisman, P.C.
Since returning to Washington, he has attended MSUAA DC viewings of football games and played one season on the flag football team. He also enjoys running, movies and is an active volunteer with St. Matthew’s Social Justice and Community Service Committee.
