Five Decade's Warning Unheeded

WAMM Activist: Denise Murphy

by Amy Danzeisen, WAMM

A big huge WAMM welcome to our new co-director, Denise Murphy! Denise’s impressive skills and her exuberance for WAMM make us very happy to have her on board.

Denise is filling the position at WAMM that concentrates on finance and fundraising. She comes to us with a strong financial background, starting with twelve years of accounting work at TCF. Following that, she was the office administrator and accountant for a small medical research start-up company.

Wherever Denise goes, greater responsibility seems to follow her closely. She is a very capable and decisive person with a strong can-do outlook. Before Denise was even offered the position at WAMM, she had enrolled in a class on grant writing at St. Thomas. WAMM is very excited about further developing our granting opportunities.

Most recently, Denise worked at the Minnesota Senior Federation where she again took up the reins and was responsible for many operational activities along with financial management. Her favorite part of the job was organizing bus trips to Canada to help seniors acquire affordable prescriptions.

Denise enjoys camping with her husband and two kids in the summer, because it gives them a chance to slow down. Last winter, however, she was introduced to the joys of winter camping and dog sledding, so she is hoping to take her kids up north this winter to try it again. Winter camping may not be exactly restful, but it is rejuvenating and, she says, “makes you feel healthy—physically, emotionally and spiritually.”

Since she was young, she has always had a passion for justice and fairness. September 11th was a real wake-up call for her. She assumed that now everyone would understand the obvious need to change U.S. foreign policy. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen like that. So, Denise joined WAMM and attended her first annual meeting this spring. She felt right at home.

Since then, she has wanted to work “someplace like WAMM” where she can incorporate and work for her passions on a regular basis. In the couple of weeks that she has worked at the office, she already has a good handle on what WAMM does and how to respond to people’s requests. She will make a great co-director with Jen Randolph Reise!