Michael Padraic Murphy is a political manager, organizational leader, and democracy development specialist with extensive experience working in U.S. politics and democracy assistance programs abroad. Prior to joining LRP as Chief Operating Officer, Michael worked for the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) from 2007 to 2019. Michael’s work at NDI encompassed political, survey research, citizen engagement, issue advocacy, and NGO development projects in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, and Lithuania. Michael’s previous U.S. work focused on elections and Democratic party politics, where he specialized in political campaign management and grassroots organizing at the federal, state and local level. In 2006 Michael served as the Executive Director and Coordinated Campaign Director of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. From 1995 to 2002 Michael served in the Marine Corps Reserve. He received an M.A. from Vilnius University in International Communications, and a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin – Madison in History, International Relations and Political Science. Michael was raised in Milwaukee and remains a committed fan of Wisconsin sports, Sprecher, and all things cheese. His interests include traveling, reading a combination of pulp fiction and history, and playing around with photography. Michael lives in Maryland with his wife and son.