Corporate Relations
The Office of Corporate Relations serves as a conduit between corporations and the College, facilitating interactions on all levels.
Corporate and Government Relations
1009 Lurie Engineering Center, 1221 Beal Ave.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2102
734-647-7080 or 734-647-1579
fax: 734-647-7075
Michael Drake
Director, Corporate Relations
Michael Drake is the Director of Corporate Relations for the University of Michigan's College of Engineering. He joined the College in December of 2002, after working with Aon Corporation, where, in the course of four years, he held various positions including: analytical, web development and procurement management roles.
Prior to Aon, Drake served as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in Kyrgyzstan, one of the former Soviet Central Asian Republics. As a Small Enterprise Development volunteer, he worked to enhance local tourism development, along with establishing a revolving credit program for farmers. He has a B.S. from Cornell University in Business Management and Marketing.
Jon Kinsey
Director, Government & Foundation Relations
Jon Kinsey is the Director of Government & Foundation Relations for the University of Michigan's College of Engineering. He joined the College in March of 2007, after serving at Borders Group Inc., where he was Senior Manager of Corporate Strategy and International Business Development.
Prior to Borders, Kinsey was a Consulting Manager in a start-up management consulting firm. He also worked for eight years in automotive engineering and program management at Lear Corporation. He received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan in 1993 and his M.B.A from the Ross School of Business in 2000.
Amy Klinke
Assistant Director
Amy Klinke is the Assistant Director of Corporate Relations. Focusing on small business initiatives, she splits her time between the Corporate Relations Office and the Center for Entrepreneurship.
Amy joined the College in October of 2008 after serving as the Director of Community Development for the City of Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County. In addition to this role, Amy also worked directly for the Washtenaw County Administrator and Board of Commissioners, the Washtenaw Community Health Organization and the Mayor of Ann Arbor. In all of these roles she worked with elected officials and community leaders to improve the lives of the residents of Washtenaw County, particularly those in under-served communities.
Prior to moving to Ann Arbor in 2000, Amy conducted post graduate research in economic development in Zimbabwe. She received a B.A. in Political Economy from Hillsdale College and a Master in Social Work from Washington University in 1998.
Jessica Boria Brakora
Student Project Coordinator
Jessica Brakora is the Student Project Coordinator at the University of Michigan's College of Engineering. She joined the college in September of 2004 after working for the French company ALSTOM Transport as an Industrial Engineer. During her time at ALSTOM she worked on many projects including the Washington D.C. metro, New Jersey metro, the New York City metro, as well as being on the company's six sigma green belt team.
Jessica graduated from the University of Michigan in 2002 with a B.S.E. from the College of Engineering's Industrial and Operations department. As a student of the University, she belonged to many societies and student groups such as the engineering sorority Phi Sigma Rho, S.W.E., W.I.S.E., and the Martha Cook House Board. She is currently part of the University of Michigan's Alumni Association, Institute of Industrial Engineers, the Phi Sigma Rho Alumni, and the S.W.E. Alumni Program.
Kristen Aardal Stout
Corporate Relations Coordinator
Kristen Stout joined the Corporate Relations staff at the College of Engineering in July 2007. She previously worked in marketing for the Executive Education Center at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, where she was responsible for marketing a portfolio of management and leadership courses to corporate executives.
Prior to working for the University of Michigan, Kristen worked for 10 years in marketing communications and PR within the automotive industry, first at Nissan R&D, where she was a speech writer and technical planning analyst in the technical planning and product and market strategy office, and later at GE Plastics, where she was a PR specialist at GE's automotive regional office in Southfield, MI. She also worked as a project director at a Cincinnati market research firm that specialized in automotive customer satisfaction research. Kristen has a B.A. in English with a French minor from the University of Michigan.
Cara Owen
Senior Secretary
Cara Owen joined the Corporate and Government Relations staff in November of 2008. She previously worked for a non-profit organization in Washington DC committed to creating the political will to end hunger and poverty. Cara earned her B.S. from the University of Utah in 2007 with a double major in Political Science and International Studies with a minor in History and a Certificate of International Relations.
