I am seeking a second term because I am passionate about the Ford School and the opportunity to continue building our alumni base into an active network of support for our current, former and future Fordies.
Over the past three years, I have been able to work to increase internship funding and create a “Board Ambassador” program that provides mentorship to current students, conducts practice interviews, and assists with fundraising efforts. I have also been able to create new internship opportunities within the Michigan Governor’s Office including Chief of Staff, Strategic Policy, Public Safety and the state’s Washington D.C. office as well as assist the school in recruiting and transitioning former military into the MPP program.
I believe the Alumni Board can continue to grow these efforts as the Ford School prepares for its 100 year anniversary in 2014.

Experience:
•US Army - 10 years as a Commissioned Officer
•Policy Director and Campaign Manager for Rick Snyder Gubernatorial Campaign
•Deputy Chief of Staff, Deputy Director of Strategy, Executive Director of Public Safety for Governor Snyder

I work on community development issues as a staff attorney at Public Counsel, a nonprofit legal organization serving low-income communities in Los Angeles. My work focuses on affordable housing law and policy, as well as civil rights issues related to housing. I represent tenant organizations and nonprofit housing developers, and regularly engage in policy advocacy to improve housing opportunities. This work requires familiarity with public finance and local politics, among other topics.

My educational background: I also attended law school at UM and could add value to the Alumni Board. The Ford School always felt like my home at UM but I feel that the policy and law schools could benefit from increased collaboration. I also appreciate the Ford School’s diversity and want to grow its presence on the west coast.

My interest in serving on the Alumni Board grows out of my desire to give back to the Ford School, which gave me so much. I would bring enthusiasm to the role, whether in recruitment, professional services, or alumni activities. I ask for your vote!

I have been an active member of the Ford School Alumni Board for the past three years. In that time I have worked on the Alumni Engagement Committee, of which I am now chair, and helped to hold two successful Ford School Spirit Day events in cities across the world. Our committee has plans to continue holding Spirit Days as an annual event.

In my professional life, I have worked at the United Nations for the past five years in the field of international development. My first posting with the UN was in Beirut, Lebanon where I worked on sustainable development, and I am now posted in New York where I work on economic statistics. I believe my international perspective, knowledge of the UN, and my experience and achievements while on the Board will allow me to continue playing an important role in the Board’s future.

As a Policy Advisor at the U.S. Agency for International Development I focus on policies and strategies related to USAID’s leadership in the global education sector. My work at USAID includes being the lead for U.S. donor collaboration through the As a Policy Advisor at the U.S. Agency for International Development I focus on policies and strategies related to USAID’s leadership in the global education sector. My work at USAID includes being the lead for U.S. donor collaboration through the Global Partnership for Education, acting as the point person on post-2015 Millennium Development Goal development, and working on research and evaluation, including the design and supervision of impact evaluations. In my first term on the Ford School Alumni Board I helped organize visits and meetings for Graduate Career Services’ trip to Washington, DC, I worked with current students and recent graduates on career guidance and mentorship, helped bring high profile speakers to the Ford School, including last year’s graduation speaker, and helped organize and host the first-ever Ford School Spirit Day in Washington, DC.

I hope that I can continue to serve my fellow alumni through a second term on the alumni board and look forward to working towards making the Ford School an even greater place than it already is.

Victor Miesel is a national practice leader, chief economist at Cherry Bekaert & Holland and US representative and committee member of Baker Tilly International. Miesel’s expertise is in transfer pricing - the primary mechanism by which multi-national corporations manage their effective tax rate, value their intangibles, and optimize their supply chain and operational efficiency. Euromoney magazine and the Legal Media Group based in London has recognized Miesel as one of the leading transfer pricing experts in the world for the past 9 years. Miesel’s area of policy expertise includes corporate tax policy.

Since being elected to the Ford School alumni board in 2010, Miesel has been an active member and co-chair of the fundraising committee. As co-chair, he has led the effort to increase Board giving as it relates to internship funding. Board giving has achieved a compound annual growth rate of nearly 30 percent during his tenure. If elected, Miesel will continue to work with the Ford School’s development office to expand fundraising activity and long term giving beyond the Alumni Board.

As a Research Assistant at MDRC, I engage with early childhood education and maternal and child health policy. I would bring my exposure to large-scale research studies with many stakeholders and my experience working in the non-profit sector to my role on the Alumni Board. I currently work on teams composed of staff from many collaborating organizations, and my own prior experience in leadership roles make me a well-rounded addition to the board: I perform well in team settings as a leader and a collaborator.

As a BA alum, I would contribute the unique perspective of undergraduates to conversations about how the board could promote cohesiveness across degree programs. I would hope to facilitate more exchanges among students from all degree programs, particularly about career trajectories and opportunities. I would like to serve on the board that will continue to improve the community that made my undergraduate experience a positive one.