Dan Murphy currently co-directs the Public Intellectuals Program, which is designed to better connect American scholars of China with policy makers and the public. He has previously directed programming on environmental law, post-disaster reconstruction, and public participation in land use decisions, in addition to escorting senior congressional staffers on a study visit to China and serving as program officer for the Policy Leaders Orientation Program. Prior to joining the Committee, he worked for the China Environment and Health Initiative at the Social Science Research Council.

Dan holds an M.A. in Chinese Studies from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst as well as a graduate certificate from the Johns Hopkins University-Nanjing University Center for Chinese and American Studies, where he studied politics. In 2001, he was a Thomas J. Watson Fellow.