Our Team

Christopher Murphy
Vice President for Government Relations & Community Engagement

Christopher Murphy (L’98) joined Georgetown University in 2015 after more than 25 years in the nonprofit and the local and federal government sectors. As the university’s first Vice President for Government Relations and Community Engagement, Murphy coordinates the university’s strategic engagement with the federal and District of Columbia governments, community organizations and leaders, and the Georgetown neighborhood. Through this work, he seeks to advance the university’s long-term sustainability, enrich students’ academic experience, and promote the common good.

Prior to coming to Georgetown, Murphy served in a variety of leadership roles including chief of staff to Washington, DC Mayor Vincent C. Gray, deputy chief of staff to U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan, and general counsel of Atlantic Media Company. He also served as a legislative aide to U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy and on the start-up team for President Clinton’s AmeriCorps national service program. Murphy also founded and led the DC chapter of City Year and was an attorney at Hogan & Hartson (now Hogan Lovells).

Murphy is an honors graduate of both Harvard University and the Georgetown University Law Center, where he served as an editor on the Georgetown Law Journal.

Cory Peterson
Director of Neighborhood Life

Cory Peterson has directed the Georgetown University Office of Neighborhood Life since 2013. He first joined the university in 2006 and served in a variety of leadership positions with the Office of Residential Living. As the Director of Neighborhood Life, Peterson oversees the support of undergraduate and graduate students living off-campus, the Student Neighborhood Assistance Program (SNAP), off-campus housing resources, graduate housing partnerships, and leads the day-to-day support of the Georgetown Community Partnership. Peterson’s professional interests include university town-gown relations, community engagement, group facilitation, and social justice education.

Peterson holds a B.S. in Mass Communications and a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Utah and a M.S. in Educational Administration from Texas A&M University.

Karen Salmeron
Engagement Coordinator

Karen Salmeron joined Georgetown University in August of 2018. Prior to coming to Georgetown, she served as the Alumni Outreach Coordinator at Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School (DBCR), a private Catholic high school and work study program serving low-income students in the DC area. In this role, Salmeron provided support to DBCR alumni in order to help them achieve academic success and complete their college degrees. She worked closely with various college campuses and built relationships with key stakeholder and support networks. 

Salmeron earned her degree in Sociology from Villanova University. She is an active member of Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Inc. and a longtime DC resident living in Ward 1.

Heidi Tseu
Associate Vice President for Local Government and Community Engagement

Heidi Tseu joined Georgetown University in 2016 after serving in a variety of leadership positions with the Council of the District of Columbia. Tseu served as Legislative Committee Director for DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson when he chaired the Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary and later senior counsel to Councilmember Tommy Wells during his transition to chairing the Committee. Heidi serves on the board of directors for ACLU-DC and the National ACLU, the executive advisory board for the Office of the State Superintendent of Education’s Career and Technical Education Network, the Uniform Law Commission as a DC Council appointee, and the Consumer Advisory Council for the Georgetown University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities.

Tseu is a graduate of Penn State and the American University School of Law. She lives in Washington, DC with her husband, two sons, and two dogs.