Julie McMichen graduated from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy in 1985 with a Bachelor of Science in Marine Engineering and a U.S.C.G. 3rd Assistant Engineer’s License.
Upon graduation, Ms. McMichen had a brief shipping career with Marine Transport Lines. Julie was hired by Electric Boat in 1988 as the first female engineer in the department of Nuclear Procurement Quality Control. During this time, she worked on several main and auxiliary components in the engine room for the Seawolf Class. In October of 1993, Julie returned to MMA as an employee and worked onboard the T/S Patriot State as a permanent crew member in the capacity of Purser/Supplier Officer for 7 years. From 2000-2004, Julie worked in Student Services as 5th Company Officer. Julie returned to Electric Boat and has been working in Supplier Quality as an Engineering Specialist in areas of propulsion, engine room components and missile systems in new construction for the Virginia and Columbia Class submarines for the past 16 years. Thirteen of the 16 years was as the EB resident engineer at Northrop Grumman in Sunnyvale, CA which is 10 miles from her birthplace. Things do come full circle!
Ms. McMichen was on the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy Alumni Association from 2002-2020 and has served as a Board member, Secretary, Vice President and first female President. Julie is an active parishioner of St. Bonaventure in Manomet, member of the American Society of Quality and also the Society of Women Engineers.
Julie lives in Sagamore Beach, MA, near many family members including her parents and brother, Richard. Her brother, T. Blane is a 1983 graduate of the Academy and lives in Zionsville, IN. Julie enjoys skiing, hiking, knitting, traveling and spending time with family and friends.
Ms. McMichen dedicates this appointment to the memory of our shipmate and friend, Prendi.
- Ph.D., Bachelor of Law, and Master of Law from University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
- Durban South Africa Attorney of the High Court
- South Africa Rough Diamond Certification - De Beers Diamond School, South Africa
- Dr. Ndlovu specializes in commercial legal principles of international trade particularly, Maritime Law/Maritime Business (main specialty) which directly includes, International Commerce, International Trade, Environmental Regulation, International Diamond Trade Law and other International Law subjects. Her research has extended to Asia Pacific trade matters, Maritime Pedagogy, the Mining of Sea Areas, employment of vessels for mining and the Law of the Sea. She has coordinated the Maritime Law and Commerce programs in different nations in service to the academic institutions she has been affiliated with during her career.
- As a practicing maritime lawyer, Dr. Ndlovu provides consultancy services to government bodies such as the Ports Regulator in South Africa, legal compliance advice and policy advice and support to various commercial entities and law firms has sat as an arbitrator/assessor in various tribunals bringing specialized academic and practical legal knowledge of maritime business matters.
- She has written various peer reviewed journals and published books with her most recent book 'Diamond Law' receiving a citation for ‘Most Notable Publication Received in the Energy and Natural Resources Law Journal (JERL) Vol. 31 No 3 2013.
Melissa Karam Panchley graduated from BMC Durfee High School in 1991 and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and Human Development from Boston College in 1995.
After graduating from college, Melissa went to work at the Fall River Housing Authority for six years where she was a Youth Outreach Worker, and then the Elderly Services Coordinator. When she decided to start a family, she went to work for the family business at Karam Financial Group, where she could do bookkeeping work from home while she raised her children.
In 2009, Melissa received a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.
In 2011, Melissa transitioned into the role of Senior Property Manager for the adult communities managed by Karam Financial Group. In this role she is responsible for overseeing the management and physical plant of 304 apartment units on the Southcoast and Cape Cod, as well as 44 condominium units.
Melissa served on the Fall River School Committee from 2014-2017. During that time, she chaired the Finance Sub-Committee, as well as the Instructional Sub-Committee. She also served on the Superintendent search committee in 2016. After serving on the Fall River School Committee, she was the Treasurer for the New Durfee Ballot Action Committee, a ballot question committee in support of funding for a new Durfee High School.
Melissa has been involved in numerous organizations as a volunteer, such as the President of the Board of the Ninth Street Day Nursery and Vice President and Treasurer for the Friends of Saint Anne’s Hospital. She currently serves on the Fall River Area Chamber of Commerce’s Sub-Committee on Education, the Board of the Greater Fall River United Way, and Treasurer of the Durfee Hilltopper Athletic Foundation.
Melissa was born and raised in Fall River and currently resides in the city with her husband, Josh and two sons, Thomas and Christopher.
- PH.D in Interdisciplinary from Memorial University, Canada
- Master of Science in Maritime Economics from Erasmus University, Netherlands
- Capt. Ashok Pandey is a former shipmaster with a sea-career spanning more than two decades most of which was spent on ice. An avid researcher, his current areas of research interest include shipping route modelling in the Arctic using GIS and the e-navigation platform. He has spent the last ten years in academia and has lectured on various subjects including International Maritime Business, Supply Chain Management and Ship Chartering and Port Economics. He has commanded Cape size bulk carriers (ice-class) for almost a decade and specializes in high latitude navigation.
- Bachelor of Science from Eastern Nazarene College
- Master of Business Administration in Management and Marketing Concentrations from University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth
- Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior from Suffield University
- Cliff Robbins has over thirty years of successful strategic management and marketing experience. Prior to founding his own consulting firm in 1997, he held top management positions with several organizations. He was the founder and CEO of three of his own entrepreneurial ventures. He has over fifteen years of experience as a management consultant, having advised hundreds of growth oriented entrepreneurial organizations. He is currently the senior business advisor at the University of Massachusetts Small Business Development Center. In addition to his consulting practice, Mr. Robbins has taught courses in management sciences and marketing at Bentley University and UMass- Dartmouth. He is well known for the many white papers, seminars and workshops he has presented.
Daniel L. Shores grew up in nearby Carver, Massachusetts and attended public school there. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of New Hampshire in Durham, NH. At UNH, Dan was the team leader of an award-winning senior project in which his team budgeted, designed, and built a launch and recovery system for a human-powered submarine with funding assistance from the Sea Grant Program.
After working in the private sector, Dan went on to attend law school and earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Georgetown University Law Center, in Washington, DC. At Georgetown, Dan served on the Senior Editorial Board of The Georgetown Law Journal, Georgetown’s prestigious law review and concentrated his studies on intellectual property law. Dan worked during the entire time he attended law school and personally financed both his undergraduate and law school educations.
Upon graduation from law school, Dan worked as an attorney at the intellectual property boutique firm Rothwell, Figg, Ernst & Manbeck, PC and at the global law firm Latham & Watkins, LLP, both in Washington, DC. He also served as an executive officer of the esteemed Giles S. Rich American Inn of Court, the nation's flagship Intellectual Property Inn of Court located at the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, DC. Dan has served on panels to discuss IP issues and was selected as a “Super Lawyers” “Rising Star" for IP in 2013, 2014, and 2015.
After nearly 13 years in Washington, DC, Dan decided it was time to come home. He returned in 2013 and formed his own law practice. Later that year he ran for the United States Congress, in the Massachusetts 9th Congressional District, on a platform based on securing the future for the next generation.
Dan continues to build his law practice that specializes in patent law, including patent prosecution, due diligence, litigation, opinions and other complex IP counseling. He also continues to seek to be of service to his community and is honored to serve Massachusetts Maritime Academy in the capacity of Trustee.
Dan currently lives in Sandwich with his fiancée Lindsay and their two English Bulldogs Jarves and Rosie. In addition to practicing law and serving his community, Dan enjoys cooking, gardening, traveling, and fishing.
Bill Straus is a former member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from the town of Mattapoisett. He served in the House from 1993 through 2024. He did not run for re-election in 2024. He worked on a number of legislative committees during that time including as House Chair of Environment and Natural Resources from 2009 to 2010, and House Chair of Transportation from 2011 through 2024.
Bill has held a number of other public positions. From 2011 through 2024 he was co-chair of the UMass Amherst Oversight Board for the Cranberry Research station in Wareham. He was a public member of the Massachusetts Hazardous Waste Facility Site Safety Council pursuant to chapter 21D from 1987 through 1992, a member of the Mattapoisett Conservation Commission from 1989 through 1992, and an Assistant District Attorney in Bristol County from 1982 through 1988.
From 2006 through 2016 he was an Adjunct Lecturer at the Boston University Law School. He was engaged in the private practice of law with an office in New Bedford until 2021.
Bill Straus received a BA from Middlebury College, his law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center, and a Masters of Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School.
- Bachelor of Science in Ocean Engineering from U.S. Coast Guard Academy
- Master of Engineering in Naval Architecture from University of California, Berkeley
- Master of Science in Operations Research from University of California, Berkeley
- Master of Science in Environmental Management from University of San Francisco
- DSc in Engineering Management from the George Washington University
- Certified as Project Management Professional®
- Served 26 years in US Coast Guard (retired as Captain)
- Teaching: Supply Chain Management, Project Management, Statistics
- Research: Risk Analysis, Expert Judgment, Project Management, Leadership
- LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulszwed/
