Kerry Murphy Healey (born April 30, 1960) is a former American politician who served as the 70th Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 under Governor Mitt Romney. She is currently the inaugural president of the Milken Institute's Center for Advancing the American Dream in Washington, DC. Dr. Healey was previously the president of Babson College for six years. She served as a special advisor for Mitt Romney's Presidential Campaign in 2012. Healey also served as the Republican National Committeewoman for the state of Massachusetts, and serves on the boards of numerous charities and political organizations. She was the Republican nominee in the 2006 Massachusetts gubernatorial election and is now a registered independent. Early life and education Murphy was born on April 30, 1960, in Omaha, Nebraska. She grew up in Ormond Beach, Florida and is the only child of Shirley and Edward Murphy (1919–2005). Her father served during World War II and retired as a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army Reserve after 27 years of service. He also worked as a residential real estate developer. Her mother worked as a public elementary school teacher. When Healey was 15, her father suffered a severe heart attack that rendered him unable to work for the rest of his life. This put a financial strain on the family and led Healey to work a number of part-time jobs. Healey also served as class president and student council president at Seabreeze High School. When she was 16, Healey enrolled in Daytona Beach Community College and began to take classes in computer science. She was hired to help the Daytona Beach News-Journal become one of the first newspapers to transition from typewriters to computerized word processing. After high school, Healey attended Harvard University with the help of a scholarship. There, she served as the membership secretary of the Harvard Republicans Club and was involved in theater. Healey graduated from Harvard in 1982 with an A.B. in government. After graduating from Harvard, Healey was awarded a scholarship by Rotary International and received a Ph.D. in political science and law from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland in 1991. While in Dublin, she met fellow Rotary Scholar and Harvard alum Sean Healey, whom she married in 1985. Upon completing her studies at Trinity College, Healey spent 1985 as a visiting researcher in the International and Comparative Legal Studies Program at Harvard Law School. Early