Meet our President: Cherin Chung is a Ph.D. Candidate in the French Department specializing in 19th century French Literature. More specifically, her research focuses on the works of Georges de Peyrebrune, feminism, and epistolary writing. She previously completed her Master of Arts in French Literature and a Bachelor of English Language and Literature (Honours) and French Studies (Major) at Western University. Cherin joined SOGS in 2021 at the beginning of her graduate studies as a committee member, the French Councillor, the Equity Committee chair, Racial Equity & Inclusivity Commissioner, and Vice-President Advocacy. As a graduate student leader, Cherin is passionate about ensuring an equitable education for all graduate students at Western Univeristy. Outside of campus life, Cherin enjoys reading, traveling, and hiking. Get in touch: president@sogs.ca Originally from New Jersey, Anthony Cruz is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Psychology Department in the Cognitive, Developmental, and Brain Sciences stream. He researches learning and memory with a focus on category learning, the cognitive process by which people learn to sort objects into groups based on shared features. He previously completed an M.Sc. in Psychology at Western and a B.A. in Mathematics & Psychology at Ohio University. Anthony joined SOGS as a member of the GradCast Editorial Board in July 2023, eventually contributing to over twenty episodes of the radio show and podcast. Anthony looks forward to promoting and supporting graduate students’ academic activities. Outside of campus life, Anthony enjoys running, watching scary movies, playing video games, and attending local comedy shows. Get in touch: academic@sogs.ca Originally from Musqueam, Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh Territory (Vancouver), Jasmine Proctor (she/they) is a PhD student in the Media Studies department, focusing on online fan communities’ relationship to gender and sexuality through networked labour practices. As a member of the queer community, she is an active and passionate advocate for 2SLGBTQIA+ students, with a desire to cultivate and foster queer spaces through community-building practices. Beyond this, Jasmine has a background in non-profit work and labour research. Get in touch: advocacy@sogs.ca Meet our VP Finance: Evan Sauve is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Economics. He previously completed a Bachelor of Mathematics (Honours) in Mathematical Economics at the University of Waterloo and a Master of Arts in Economics at Western University. His research focuses on student loan borrowing in Canada and the likely effects of policy changes within the Canada Student Financial Assistance Program. Evan joined SOGS as a Councillor in October 2022. Before becoming VP Finance, he served as a member of the Finance Committee, the Grad Club Committee, and the Subsidies Committee—all three committees within the VP Finance portfolio. Outside of campus life, Evan spends his time drumming, playing trivia, and drinking far too much coffee, a habit which he picked up from his parents. Get in touch: finance@sogs.ca Kesavi Kanagasabai (she/her) is an 3rd year PhD in the department of Medical Biophysics. Her research focuses on pulse-programming in magnetic resonance spectroscopy with applications in mental illness and neurocognitive disorders such as schizophrenia. Kesavi was first exposed to SOGS through Equity Committee in 2020 where she learned about advocacy-related initiatives run by SOGS and has been drawn towards the organization since then. Outside of research, Kesavi enjoys drawings, attempting to cook, adding a never-ending list of books on GoodReads and go for runs as well spending time with friends and family (the key). Get in touch: services@sogs.ca For matters pertaining to SOGS Council, governance, unified documents, appeals, and elections, please see: Anemily Machina (she/her they/them) is a 4th year PhD Candidate in Computer Science. Her research focuses on improving the quality of explanations for the decisions for Artificial Intelligences (AIs) trained on text data, such as chatGPT. Her hope is that such improvements will help protect people from unfair and biased AI decisions. In her personal time, she enjoys baking vegan treats, bike riding, and binge watching tv-shows. Get in touch: speaker@sogs.ca Lauren (she/her) is currently pursuing her Master’s of Music Education, with a focus on policy, curriculum, and disability studies. She has been in student government for the 6 years she has been a student at Western University, including roles in events, advocacy, leadership, and university committees/senate. She has a passion for student government and believes in the power of student leaders. She is so excited to join the SOGS team. Get in touch: deputy.speaker@sogs.ca For matters, issues, and conflicts pertaining to academics, please see: Get in touch: advisor.academic@sogs.ca For matters pertaining to elections, please see: Get in touch: cro@sogs.ca For matters pertaining to SOGS advocacy and community outreach, please see our Commissioners. Learn more about the roles of each SOGS commissioner here. Meet our Accessibility Commissioner: Get in touch: accessibility@sogs.ca Get in touch: gender.equity@sogs.ca Get in touch: international@sogs.ca Tyson de Moura Umberger (he/him) is originally from Annapolis, Maryland, but has never lived in the continental United States as an adult. A wanderer, Tyson has lived in Hawai‘i, Ecuador, Brazil, Japan, and now Canada. He is a first-year Ph.D. student in Hispanic Linguistics focusing on differential object marking (DOM) in the Romance languages of the Americas- French, Portuguese, and Spanish. He completed his Master’s degrees in Canada (at Western) and in Hawai‘i in Hispanic Studies (Linguistics) and TESOL (Applied Linguistics), respectively. His undergraduate degrees were in both General Linguistics and Spanish. As a queer person who has immigrated to countries where laws for marriage equality, protections against discrimination of 2SLGBTQIA+ persons, etc. were or weren’t in place, he knows the first-hand struggle it is to fight for equal treatment where you study, work, and live. He has experience organizing and participating in rallies and protests, gathering signatures for petitions, and helping to set precedent for queer individuals seeking fair treatment and rights. Tyson joined the Pride Commission in order to be both an advocate for as well as a liaison between SOGS and 2SLGBTQIA+ graduate students. He is here to listen, to share resources/information, to continue and create events for our Get in touch: pride@sogs.ca Get in touch: racial.equity@sogs.ca About the SAGE Coordinator: Ehsan is a first-year Ph.D. student in the Department of Computer Science, at Western University. He is working on making artificial intelligence models more robust. He completed his MSc. in Computer Science from the University of Windsor, where he received the Governor General’s Gold medal for academic excellence. He has other academic interests apart from computer science which include social justice, teaching & learning and equity, diversity, inclusion and decolonization. Ehsan is extremely passionate about serving others in his community and beyond. He recently chaired the largest student research conference at the University of Windsor. He has also volunteered at various organizations in Canada and India. Ehsan has been advocating for not only students in his department but for international students as well, as he held various representative positions at his department, faculty and institution. Sustainability hits back home for Ehsan, as he comes from India. Having observed and lived through some of the negative impacts of climate change, he believes he has more energy and reasons to do something about sustainability. He is an avid reader and a connoisseur of Hindustani music, the classical music genre of India. Get in touch: sustainability.coordinator@sogs.ca Jillian Maklin (She/Her) is a second year MA student in Linguistics. Her research focuses primarily on Russian phonology and phonetics. When she’s not studying linguistics or practicing Russian, you can find her taking her pups Sasha and Maverick to the dog park. Get in touch: board.chair@sogs.ca Vice Chair | MATHEUS SANITA LIMA Matheus (he/him) is a 3rd-year PhD candidate in Biology. His experience abroad has equipped him with unique positionalities that now orient his journal through life. He is passionate about advocacy and allyship. He believes that true winning is a collective effort (i.e., not purely meritocratic), so he enjoys championing his peers’ talents and assets. He is enthusiastic about University & Student Association Governance, and he is confident that his expertise from the University Senate has prepared him for the action to be brought by the Board of Directors. He is humbled with the opportunity to be part of the inaugural SOGS Board of Directors, and he is willing to pave the way for the (continuing) successful SOGS trajectory. Get in touch: board.vicechair@sogs.ca Director | DANICA FACCA Director | JANA BATAINEH Director | JOEL WELCH Director | KIRSTYN SEANOR Director | SOUVIK TA Get in touch with Heidi if you need: Get in touch with Caroline if you need: Get in touch with Raquel if you need: * Although SOGS determines some graduate student fees (e.g., those related to SOGS services and dues), the Office of the Registrar determines billings. SOGS does not have access to student accounts. For clarification on how to view your account, review the WesternU Student Centre , Access Guide HERE. Login to review your student account HERE. Get in touch with Chris or Kayla if you need: Get in touch with Nick if you need: Contact: Get in touch with Jessica if you need: Get in touch with Marc if you need: Get in touch with Mark if you need:Meet the SOGS Executive!
EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
President | CHERIN CHUNG
VP Academic | ANTHONY CRUZ
VP Advocacy | JASMINE PROCTOR
Meet our VP Advocacy:
VP Finance | EVAN SAUVE
VP Student Services | KESAVI KANAGASABAI
Meet our VP Student Services:
Meet the SOGS Non-Executive Officers!
STUDENT GOVERNMENT
Speaker | ANEMILY MACHINA
About our Speaker:
Deputy Speaker | LAUREN JARMAN
About our Deputy Speaker:
ACADEMIC SUPPORT
Peer Advisor for Academic Matters | KEVIN MOORE
ELECTIONS
Chief Returning Officer | KEVIN MOORE
Meet the SOGS Commissioners & Coordinators!
ADVOCACY AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH
Accessibility Commissioner | ISABELLA SPENSIERI
Isabella (pronouns: she/her), and is an MSc. student in Health & Rehabilitation Sciences here at Western University. Her research lies within the field of bioethics, and has a particular interest in mental health and addictions care, as well as public health ethics.
Gender Equity Commissioner | IKJOT BEDI
Meet our Gender Equity Commissioner:
International Commissioner | DEEPMALA RANA BHAT
Meet our International Commissioner:
Pride Commissioner | TYSON DE MOURA UMBERGER
Meet our Pride Commissioner:
Racial Equity & Inclusivity Commissioner | RJ DILL
About our Racial Equity & Inclusivity Commissioner:
SAGE Coordinator (Indigenous Initiatives) | VACANT
Sustainability Coordinator | EHSAN UR RAHMAN MOHAMMED
About our Sustainability Coordinator:
Meet the SOGS Board of Directors
Chair | JILLIAN MAKLIN
About our Board Chair:
About our Board Vice Chair:
Meet the SOGS and Grad Club staff!
STAFF
Communications & Promotions Manager | HEIDI KELLETT
Digital Media Assistant | CAROLINE DIEZYN
Finance Manager | RAQUEL RODRIGUES
Front Office Support Staff | KAYLA DAVIES & KEVIN MOORE
Governance & Policy Manager | NICK DESUMMA
Membership Services Manager | JESSICA REILLY
Grad Club Manager | MARC LALONDE
Grad Club Operations Manager | MARK BRIGHAM
OUR TEAM
Outside of academia, Jasmine is an avid music fan, a book lover, member of the BTS ARMY, and coffee fanatic.
In terms of her experience, Isabella has both volunteer and professional experience working at a children’s rehabilitation hospital. Through these various roles, she provided client-centred services to children and youth with disabilities and their families. She also has extensive public speaking and administrative experience, along with a passion for advocacy. Isabella is keen to enhance accessibility within SOGS and across the Western campus overall. From her perspective as a student, she has lived experience using Accessible Education services on campus, and so knows first hand what that process and experience can be like.
Isabella is passionate about making SOGS, and Western, as accessible as possible. Her goal is to create a space where everyone is included, supported, and valued for who they are. She is ahonoured to partner with the disability and neurodivergent communities within SOGS to advocate for a more accessible campus!
Ikjot Kaur Bedi (She/They) just recently started her MSc. in Interdisciplinary Medical Sciences in the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry. They completed their undergraduate degree at Western as well, in Medical Sciences. She is interested in pursuing a degree in medicine in the future.
She has previously worked in organizations like BoostHER to advocate for gender equity in the workplace. They want to continue their work on a larger scale, hoping to bridge the gap between the concerns that the graduate students have and the services that SOGS and Western provide. She wishes to take the concerns of her peers and the students and implement it into action. They are currently advocating for more gender neutral restrooms within buildings on campus.
Deepmala Rana Bhat (She/Her) is a first-year Ph.D. student in the Epidemiology and Biostatistics Department. Before coming to Western, she has completed her graduate degree in Public Health from Central Michigan University. Her research interests are Oral Health, Reproductive Health, and Women’s health. She is from Nepal, the land of the mountains.
As an International student herself she strives to make the lives of other international students better and comfortable. She has previously held leadership positions where she was able to foster a supportive environment for those navigating the challenges of studying abroad and advocated on their behalf. She has organized wellness events, professional development initiatives, social gatherings, and International EXPO that underscores her proactive approach to enhancing student experience beyond academics.