Faculty & Administration
Master's Degree in Political Management
The faculty of the Graduate School of Political Management represents a broad diversity of professionals and scholars in the public relations and political management fields.
Administration
The Hon. Mark Kennedy
(M.B.A., University of Michigan)
Director and Professor, The Graduate School of Political Management
The Honorable Mark Kennedy leads George Washington University's Graduate School of Political Management (GSPM), the world's first school of applied politics. GSPM's premier position and global partnerships ideally position it to help democracy work!
Kennedy equips leaders to succeed at Business in a Political Age by sharing insights that fuse the perspectives he has gained from:
Politics – United States Congressman from 2001 to 2007, and presidentially appointed trade advisor to both President Bush and President Obama
Business – Fortune 100 senior executive (Macy's), and more
Academics – Professor of Political Management at GSPM, has taught at leading graduate business schools around the world
Global Engagement – three decades of extensive speaking and involvement with foreign business leaders and government ministers across 40 countries
Kennedy has acquired a unique combination of perspectives from his experiences leading in C-suites, serving in the halls of Congress, and traveling across the world to engage business, political, and civic leaders in nearly 40 countries. In his speeches and lectures, Kennedy shares insights taken from his broad experiences that overturn conventional business wisdom.
Previously, Kennedy led as a Senior Vice President and Treasurer of a Fortune 100 company (Macy's); helped Pillsbury acquire Häagen Dazs and spread it around the globe; served three terms in the U.S. Congress (2001–7); and then returned to the private sector in a global role with Accenture (a leading consulting firm) while continuing public service as a presidential appointee to the Advisory Committee on Trade Policy (under both President Bush and President Obama).
Kennedy teaches, advises and speaks to audiences across the globe on success as a Business in a Political Age. Kennedy shows how businesses can effectively engage with political, regulatory, media, and activist-group forces to simultaneously advance their market strategies and benefit society.
Kennedy is an Executive in Residence at John Hopkins University's Carey Business School and has lectured or led research projects at the University of Pennsylvania / Wharton, London Business School, HEC-Paris, Mannheim Business School, National University of Singapore Business School, Fundação Getulio Vargas (São Paulo) and the University of Maryland.
Kennedy also serves as Chairman of the Economic Club of Minnesota (www.ecomn.org).
Kennedy has a record of effective collaboration. While a Republican Congressman, he partnered with twenty Democrats to introduce and lead several pieces of legislation; more than half of the Democrats in the U.S. House co-sponsored one of his bills.
A graduate of St. John's University, Kennedy received a Master's in Business Administration (MBA) with distinction from the The University of Michigan.
Mark and Debbie, his wife of 31 years, are the proud parents of four successful young adult children. When they are not traveling, they split their time between Washington, DC and Minnesota.
Michael Cornfield
(Ph.D., Harvard University; B.A., Pomona College)
Acting Director, Political Management Program
Michael Cornfield, a political scientist, studies and advises on campaign politics, public affairs, and the internet. He is the author of two books on the subject: Politics Moves Online: Campaigning and the Internet (The Century Foundation, 2004) and The Civic Web: Online Politics and Democratic Values, co-edited with David M. Anderson (Rowman & Littlefield, 2003).
Cornfield currently serves as Acting Director of the Political Management Program. He has been an Adjunct Professor at the GSPM since 1994. He helped found its Semester in Washington Program for visiting undergraduates and its Institute for Politics, Democracy, and the Internet.
Cornfield is interviewed frequently about online politics by the press, and has lectured on the subject at colleges, universities, and professional conventions throughout the world. Among his many journalistic publications, he co-authored (with Lee Rainie) a review of the state of online campaigning in 2006 for the "Outlook" section of the Washington Post. He has contributed chapters to numerous academic anthologies, the latest being The Sixth Year Itch: The Rise and Fall of the George W. Bush Presidency (Larry J. Sabato, editor, Longman, 2007), and Rewired Politics: Presidential Nominating Conventions in the Media Age (Costas Panagopoulos, editor, LSU Press 2007). From 1999 until 2007, Cornfield wrote a monthly column for Campaigns & Elections magazine.
Cornfield has served as a Senior Research Consultant to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, where he pioneered the study of political online advertising, blogs, and subscriber email, collaborated in survey research and analysis of political media use by citizens, and commented on related new developments in online campaigning.
Cornfield received his B.A. from Pomona College and his Ph.D. from Harvard University. Before coming to The George Washington University, he taught at the University of Virginia and the College of William and Mary. He lives with his wife Kathryn Mimberg and son Matthew in Arlington, Virginia.
Faculty
Myron Belkind
(M.S., Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism; B.S., Ohio State University)
Belkind has 40 years of multicultural experiences internationally in a wide range of disciplines including serving as editor-in-charge of major news bureaus, ensuring well-written copy, recruiting and supervising staff, coordinating news coverage in regions worldwide, and initiating visionary changes in editorial product through the development of new beats to broaden the scope of traditional news agency coverage. Belkind has been the Chairman of the International Correspondents' Committee at the National Press Club since 2005, Secretary on the Board of Governors of the National Press Club since 2009 and a member of the World Affairs Council in Washington DC since 2004.
Belkind worked with The Associated Press from 1962 to 2004 as: Editor of the New York National Desk (1962); Pulitzer Traveling Fellow (1963) in Southeast Asia; Editor of the New York International Desk (1964-1966); New Delhi correspondent (1966-1967); Kuala Lumpur correspondent (1967-1968); New Delhi Bureau Chief (1968-1977); London Assistant Bureau Chief (1977-1980); London Bureau Chief and Managing Director of AP Limited (1980-2001); Tokyo Bureau Chief (2001-2004). Belkind also conducted media training seminars in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (Albania, Azerbaijan, Serbia and Montenegro) from 2005-2007.
Nancy Bocskor
(B.A., Otterbein College)
Nancy served on the board of the Women's Campaign School at Yale for seven years, where she chaired the school's Curriculum Committee for five years. She is on the board for Running Start, an organization that encourages young women to run for office, and is a faculty member for Project 2012, a program hosted by the Center for American Women & Politics at Rutgers that recruits women 40 and over to run for public office.
Most recently, Nancy received the 2010 the Distinguished Alumni Award at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio for "her passion to affect change in national and international communities, training and consulting with the nation's and world's political leaders, and commitment to educate others, particularly women, around the world."
Nancy Bocskor spreads democracy throughout the world…..the lively American travels from one country to the next coaching candidates on how to win elections, especially encouraging women to make it into parliament.
*Translated from Die Welt, 11/07
Ann Collier
(M.B.A., The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania; B.A., University of South Carolina)
Ann Collier is president of Collier Communications Consulting, LLC (a consulting practice focused on business strategy, investor relations and integrated corporate communications programs) and an adjunct faculty member at George Washington University. Ann has more than 30 years experience helping companies build profitable business strategies and communicate those strategies to key stakeholders. Ann teaches the graduate level PMGT 6230: Issues Management class for GWU's online and on campus programs and to both graduate strategic public relations and political management students. She also has facilitated several courses in the online GSPM program.
Ann spent more than 16 years at Circuit City Stores, Inc., a Fortune 200 company, where she established and led the investor relations and corporate communications function as vice president. She led this function during a time when Circuit City was a high-growth company and the top performing stock on the NYSE, as well as during periods of industry maturity and corporate transition. She was an integral part of the management team that developed and launched the public offering for the CarMax used and new car retail superstore business, which is today a separately traded Fortune 500 company. After leaving Circuit City, she served as senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications for Collegiate Funding Services, a rapidly growing student loan lender, which was acquired by JPMorgan Chase.
Ann's experience includes start-up, high-growth, and mature companies. She has participated in initial public offerings, secondary offerings, spin-offs, divestitures, and acquisitions. She has managed crisis communications ranging from human resource issues to financial surprises. She has led consumer brand research and channel analysis, competitive analysis, and consumer trend research and is attuned to the rapidly changing impacts of online communications, both from a news and social marketing perspective.
During her career, she has had extensive experience with senior management. She has worked directly for four CEOs. She has one-on-one experience with Wall Street and understands public company disclosure, governance requirements and corporate financial statements. She has worked directly with general counsel, outside securities counsel and outside auditors. Ann has worked with all major media outlets, including financial publications, daily newspapers, television news and feature programs, as well as trade and consumer specialty magazines. Ann earned her Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of South Carolina and Master of Business Administration from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Sean Gagen
(M.P.S., University of the State of New York, The Graduate School of Political Management; B.A., Westminster College)
Before teaming up with Grassroots Solutions, Sean spent five years as Executive Director of Participation 2000, a progressive grassroots organization dedicated to empowering young people in politics co-chaired by former governors Dick Celeste (OH), Ann Richards (TX), and Senator Bill Bradley.
Sean also directed the Missouri Democratic Party (1997 to 1999) where he created the Camp Carnahan training program. He then joined the Bill Bradley for President Campaign in 1999, where he was the National Director of Organizing, managed the Ballot Access Teams, and served as Deputy Director at the Iowa Caucuses. Sean has worked on campaigns for state and federal offices across the country, including Bill Richardson for Governor (D-NM), Russ Carnahan for Congress (D-MO), Tom Keefe for Congress (D-WA), Leslie Byrne for Lt. Governor (VA) and Judi Dutcher for Governor (D-MN). In 2004, Sean was the Get-Out-The-Vote Director for America Coming Together in New Mexico. Sean is also an Adjunct Professor at The Graduate School of Political Management at The George Washington University.
Mark Meissner
(M.A., American University; B.A., Indiana University)
With more than a decade of experience managing public affairs and political campaigns, Mr. Meissner implements state and national broad-based issues management programs for a wide range of clients. His areas of focus include finance, trade, health care, transportation, energy, and housing.
Mr. Meissner also provides strategic counsel on matters intersecting business and government. His insights regarding emerging corporate and nonprofit issues help him identify and execute opportunities that benefit his clients. His own political experience includes work for Rep. Tim Roemer (D-IN) and Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN).
In 2002, Mr. Meissner was a candidate for Indiana's open second Congressional District seat. He waged an underdog campaign and finished second among a field of five candidates seeking the Democratic nomination. The campaign was hailed by local media as "relentless" and "impressive."
Earlier in his career, Mr. Meissner specialized in public affairs campaign management and grassroots/grasstops organizing. He also served as a consultant for the White House and Conference on Small Business, where he coordinated national event planning involving business leaders from all 50 states.
Christopher B. Shank
Member of House of Delegates since January 13, 1999. Minority Whip, 2007 -. Member, Judiciary Committee, 2003- (civil law & procedure subcommittee, 2003-). Legislative Policy Committee, 2007-; Rules and Executive Nominations Committee, 2007-. Member, Commerce and Government Matters Committee, 1999-2003 (transportation subcommittee, 1999-2003); Joint Committee on Children, Youth, and Families, 1999-2003; Joint Advisory Committee on Legislative Data Systems, 2003-05. Deputy Minority Whip, 2002-03. Assistant Minority Leader, 2003-06. Chair, Washington County Delegation, 2003-06. Member, Maryland Legislative Sportsmen's Caucus, 2001-; Maryland Rural Caucus, 2002-; Taxpayers Protection Caucus, 2003.
Member, Task Force on the South Mountain Battlefield Historic Tourism Initiative, 1999-2000; Task Force to Study Driver Licensing Documentation, 2003-04; Task Force to Study Criminal Offender Monitoring by Global Positioning Systems, 2004-05; Western Maryland Children's Center Advisory Board, 2005.
Born in Hagerstown, Maryland, June 30, 1972. The Johns Hopkins University, B.A. (history), 1994. Phi Beta Kappa. George Washington University, M.A. (political management), 1998 (valedictorian; Howard Paley Academic Excellence Award). Legislative assistant, Washington County Delegation, 1994-98. Procurement specialist, Meadows Agency of Insurance, 1998-. Member, Advisory Committee, Cold Weather Homeless Shelter of Washington County, 1997-. Vice-President, Washington County Chapter, American Cancer Society, 1998-. Lifetime member, Christ's Reformed Church.
"A great university with a unique political program aimed at providing students with a nuts-and-bolts understanding of political operations and best practices that will leave graduates well-positioned for a career as a political professional."
