Export Center Team

One of the Massachusetts Export Center's key strengths is its highly capable and experienced staff. The Export Center's team is uniquely qualified to help businesses export. Each staff member has private sector international business development experience ranging from five to over 25 years.

In addition, because of the Export Center's certification requirements under the Association of Small Business Development Centers, each staff member is required to undergo 24 hours of professional development training each year. This ensures that staff members stay up-to-date on the latest issues affecting exporters.

The Massachusetts Export Center has a dedicated, resourceful and creative team that works well with clients and partners alike.

Paula Murphy, Director [bio]
Julia Dvorko, Regional Director [bio]
Jason Hoagland, Assistant International Trade Specialist
Kathleen Kinahan-Newell, International Trade Compliance Manager [bio]

In addition to our regular staff, the Export Center also hires interns from local universities and colleges to help with client projects.

Staff Biographies

Paula Murphy, Director
Paula is founding director of the Massachusetts Export Center, part of the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center. She has over 25 years of international business experience in both the public and private sectors. Paula helps exporters through technical assistance, training, research, and resource development. In addition, she has helped to organize several overseas marketing activities, such as trade shows and trade missions. Most recently, Paula launched the Export Center’s successful Compliance Alliance initiative, which provides a forum for exporting firms to share best practices and stay current on export regulatory compliance issues. On average, clients report over $200 Million in export sales as a direct result of the Massachusetts Export Center's assistance each year.

In addition to her role at the Export Center, Paula taught graduate-level international marketing and export/import operations at Boston University for many years. Previously, she served as international trade counselor for the Commonwealth, and was an international marketing analyst with Hagan & Company, where she served as the New England agent for a number of foreign government agencies, including the Irish Trade Board (now Enterprise Ireland), the Australian Trade Commission and others.

Paula speaks and writes frequently on international trade matters. She has led the Massachusetts Export Center to receive numerous awards, including the national winner of the SBA's Small Business Development Center Excellence and Innovation Award and the Presidential E Award—the highest honor the federal government can give to American people, firms or organizations that have made significant contributions to the increase of American exports.

Paula was also named the 2005, 2008 and 2014 Massachusetts State Star by the Association of Small Business Development Centers. She has served on the boards of several non-profit international trade organizations, and currently serves on District Export Council of Massachusetts and is national co-chair of the international trade committee for the Association of Small Business Development Centers. Paula is a graduate of Suffolk University, a Certified Global Business Professional, and a Certified U.S. Export Compliance Officer (CUSECO).
Julia Dvorko, Regional Director

Julia is the regional director and assists Central and Western Massachusetts companies in all aspects of international trade and coordinates export programs and seminars in the area. She has over fifteen years of business experience in several countries including Russia, Sweden and the U.S.

Previously, Julia worked at the Massachusetts SBDC State Office in Amherst, two joint ventures in Russia and a division of Volvo in the North of Sweden. During her career, she has also completed consulting assignments for two Fortune 500 companies and a number of small businesses in the U.S., Ukraine and Russia. She has a MBA degree from the University of Massachusetts, and a Ph.D. from Moscow State University.

In 2006, Julia received a designation of the NASBITE Certified Global Business Professional, achieving the all-time highest score for the CGBP exam. Julia is fluent in English, Ukrainian, Russian and French, and has a working knowledge of several other languages. She recently earned her Certified U.S. Export Compliance Officer (CUSECO) designation, the industry standard for professionals working as export compliance practitioners in the private sector.
Kathleen Kinahan-Newell, International Trade Compliance Manager

Kathleen is the international trade compliance manager, where she serves as project manager for the Export Center's market research program and manages operations for the Export Center's Compliance Alliance initiative. She has over 25 years of experience in international trade specializing in trade compliance, logistics, and market research.

Prior to her role in the public sector, Kathleen held a number of positions in the private sector including several years as export compliance administrator at one of the world's leading manufacturers of telecommunications testing equipment where she managed the company's trade compliance program. During her tenure with the company she engaged in activities such as the development of compliance audit procedures & corporate RMA procedures, encryption registration & reporting, export license determination, and more.

Kathleen has lived in Latin America and Europe, is fluent in Spanish, and has a working knowledge of French, Italian, and other languages.

Kathleen received the NASBITE Certified Global Business Professional (CGBP) designation in 2006, and in 2015 she earned her Certified U.S. Export Compliance Officer (CUSECO) designation, the industry standard for professionals working as export compliance practitioners in the private sector.