The AAG is pleased to welcome Michelle Kinzer to fill the role of Government Relations Manager. She will serve as AAG’s primary advocate on public policy in Washington and will continue to grow relationships with government decision makers as well as outside organizations and stakeholders. She will track and analyze relevant issues facing the AAG and work to promote the rapidly growing geography community as a whole.

Michelle brings with her several years of government relations experience from both the public and private sectors. She began her career answering constituent phone calls in the office of Senator Tim Kaine and eventually went on to manage the Senator’s constituent correspondence database. She employed her budding passion for geospatial data by compiling targeted email lists for press releases and town halls in the Commonwealth, and mapping internal correspondence metrics. After some crash courses in ArcGIS Online, she created an interactive Virginia map for the National Park Service’s 2016 Centennial that was featured on Senator Kaine’s website. Michelle later went on to join the government relations firm Public Strategies Washington as a Senior Legislative Assistant. Her client work focused on the issues of renewable energy, small business & seasonal visas, agriculture, and transportation.

Michelle is a graduate of Virginia Tech where she earned her B.A. in Urban Planning with a concentration in Global Development and minors in Political Science and Spanish. She developed a working proficiency in Spanish while studying abroad in Valparaíso, Chile.

In her free time, Michelle enjoys DC theater, bluegrass music, Hokie football, and arguing with friends and family over the quickest way to get somewhere.