Saginaw Intermediate School District would like to congratulate Viloshinee Murugan, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Program Director, for being chosen to participate in the Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU) Henry March Insitute for Public Policy (HMIPP) 2023 Cohort. According to SVSU's website, HMIPP was established in 2011 to educate citizens to be effective advocates and change agents in the Great Lakes Bay Region.
The program was designed as a multi-partisan program that recruits diverse individuals from across the region. The year-long program incorporates an understanding of local political institutions, public policy analysis, campaigning, and effective governance. The cohort will be engaged in discussions about public policy, politics, and leadership at the local level. "I am looking forward to learning more about public policy and political leadership so that I can be an advocate and an agent for change in the Great Lakes Bay region," said Ms. Murugan.
One of the nine scheduled sessions includes a trip to Lansing, where cohort members will be required to spend a day in Lansing, with meals paid for by the HMIPP. The day in Lansing will involve a combination of policy workshops and panels with leaders and staff. To learn more about HMIPP, click here.
About Viloshinee Murugan
Viloshinee Murugan is the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Program Director of Saginaw Intermediate School District. With 24 years of experience in education, Viloshinee strives to ensure that all children’s needs are met and that all voices are heard.
Viloshinee began her teaching career in urban, impoverished areas of Johannesburg, South Africa. She then moved to London, United Kingdom, where she worked in urban school districts as a K-6 teacher. In 2005, Viloshinee was recruited to work as a teacher in North Carolina public schools. In this role, she served as a regular education teacher and as a culture, diversity, and global education teacher. In 2018, Viloshinee moved to Michigan. She worked in Marshall Public Schools and later joined the Calhoun ISD as an Educational Consultant.
Viloshinee holds a Bachelor of Education degree and a Post graduate degree in Environmental Education from universities in South Africa. She has a Master of Arts in Educational Leadership from Western Michigan University. In 2021, Viloshinee became a doctoral candidate in Western Michigan University’s Philosophy in Educational Leadership program. Viloshinee holds a Michigan Professional Teaching license and a K-12 Administrator’s Certification.
Viloshinee is passionate about the work she does in her DEI role. Growing up in apartheid South Africa, Viloshinee spent her youth in a segregated community where the country's laws were unjust. She has made it her life’s mission to advocate for equity and social justice.
About Saginaw ISD
Saginaw Intermediate School District (SISD) is an educational service agency that provides effective and innovative leadership, services, resources, and programs throughout Saginaw County. Saginaw ISD provides career and technical education, early childhood, finance, human resources, instruction, pupil accounting, special education, technology, and transportation services. In addition, SISD operates multiple educational programs to meet the unique needs of students ages birth to 26 across Saginaw County, including: Hartley Outdoor Education Center, Head Start/Early Head Start and Great Start to Readiness Programs, Great Lakes Bay Early College, Saginaw County Juvenile Detention Center School, and Special Education Center Programs.
Saginaw ISD serves 12 local school districts, six public school academies, and 22 non-public schools, with a total enrollment of approximately 26,000 students. Public school districts supported include: Birch Run Area Schools, Bridgeport-Spaulding Community School District, Carrollton Public Schools, Chesaning Union Schools, Frankenmuth School District, Freeland Community School District, Hemlock Public School District, Merrill Community Schools, Saginaw Public School District, Saginaw Township Community Schools, St. Charles Community Schools, and Swan Valley School District.