Chris Surfus, MBA, MPA, Ph.D. Candidate
President
Chris Surfus has served on the ASPA MICAP Board for several years, assisting with planning, marketing, and communication with several of our past events. Surfus is a Ph.D. Candidate in Public Administration at Western Michigan University’s School of Public Affairs and Administration. Before being elected as ASPA MICAP’s first openly LGBTQ+ President, Surfus served as a past Vice President for Membership. Surfus’ work on LGBTQ+ inclusion is featured in The Routledge Handbook of LGBTQIA Administration and Policy by Dr. Wallace Swan and also in the 2013 GVSU SPNHA Review entitled “Equity Issues in LGBT Funding: Inequality Remains Despite National Progress.” Surfus has presented research previously at 10 regional and national conferences including past MPAC, NECOPA, and ASPA Annual Conferences. Outside of ASPA, Surfus is the Founder/President of The Council for Human Rights in Byron Center, MI, having worked extensively on human rights issues at the local level such as nondiscrimination ordinances.
Chad Rogers, MPA
Vice President for Membership
Dr. Thomas Greitens, Ph.D.
Vice President for Programs
Wesley Priem, MPA
Treasurer
Antonia C. Gordon
Secretary
Antonia Gordon graduated from Grand Valley State University in 2020 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public and Nonprofit Administration. Previously, Antonia worked as an intern for the City of Philadelphia’s Redevelopment Authority. She simultaneously serves as a member of the U.S. Army Reserves, and as the Youth Program Coordinator at Good Samaritan ministries of Holland, MI.
Dr. Veronica Johnson, Ed.D.
Board Member At-Large
Dr. Veronica Johnson, Ed.D. is the Former Director of the University of Michigan Lansing Service Center and Associate Director of State Outreach, Office of the Vice President for Government Relations. She is an Adjunct Associate Professor at Lansing Community College in the English, Humanities and Social Sciences Department. Other positions she has held include being a Legislative Liaison for Governor James J. Blanchard, Chief of Staff to Rep. Hansen Clarke, and Government Outreach Specialist for the Library of Michigan. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Communication/Journalism from Wayne State University, a Master of Arts in Information from the University of Michigan, and a Ed.D. doctoral degree from Ferris State University. Her research interests include educational development, alternative energy, mass communications, artificial intelligence innovations and environmental preservation. Her hobbies and interests include Music (singer), reading, inspirational writing, dancing, yoga, golf. She is from Detroit, MI.
Dr. Dave Winder, Ph.D.
Board Member At-Large
David Winder has served on the MiCAP Board for several years. He has been active in planning the use of facilities for MiCAP conferences held at the Eberhard Center of Grand Valley State University and at the Western Michigan University Cooley Law School in Lansing. David is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Valdosta State University, which is located in Georgia. He has also taught as a visiting professor at Michigan State University and at the University of Kentucky. His teaching duties included teaching off-campus MPA courses at Navy and Air Force bases in Georgia. His research area is the state executive branch of government, including governors, lieutenant governors, and state attorneys general. He has a Ph. D. degree in political science from Michigan State University and an MPA from Wayne State University.
Dana Samuel, MPA
Board Member At-Large