OUR TEAM

Meet the SOGS Executive!

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

President | CHERIN CHUNG

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

 


VP Academic | ANTHONY CRUZ

Get in touch: academic@sogs.ca
 

VP Advocacy | JASMINE PROCTOR

Meet our VP Advocacy:

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.

Outside of academia, Jasmine is an avid music fan, a book lover, member of the BTS ARMY, and coffee fanatic.
 

Get in touch: advocacy@sogs.ca


VP Finance | EVAN SAUVE

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


VP Student Services | KESAVI KANAGASABAI

Meet our VP Student Services:

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


Meet the SOGS Non-Executive Officers!

STUDENT GOVERNMENT

For matters pertaining to SOGS Council, governance, unified documents, appeals, and elections, please see:

Speaker | ANEMILY MACHINA

About our Speaker:

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

 


Deputy SpeakerLAUREN JARMAN

About our Deputy Speaker:

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


ACADEMIC SUPPORT

For matters, issues, and conflicts pertaining to academics, please see:

Peer Advisor for Academic Matters | KEVIN MOORE

Get in touch: advisor.academic@sogs.ca


ELECTIONS

For matters pertaining to elections, please see:

Chief Returning Officer | KEVIN MOORE

Get in touch: cro@sogs.ca


Meet the SOGS Commissioners & Coordinators!

ADVOCACY AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH

For matters pertaining to SOGS advocacy and community outreach, please see our Commissioners. Learn more about the roles of each SOGS commissioner here.  


Accessibility Commissioner | ISABELLA SPENSIERI

Meet our Accessibility Commissioner:

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.
 
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! 

Get in touch: accessibility@sogs.ca


Gender Equity Commissioner | IKJOT BEDI

Meet our Gender Equity Commissioner:
 
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. 

Get in touch: gender.equity@sogs.ca


International Commissioner | DEEPMALA RANA BHAT

 
Meet our International Commissioner:
 
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. 

 

Get in touch: international@sogs.ca

 


Pride Commissioner | TYSON DE MOURA UMBERGER

Meet our Pride Commissioner:

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

 


Racial Equity & Inclusivity Commissioner | RJ DILL

About our Racial Equity & Inclusivity Commissioner:

Get in touch: racial.equity@sogs.ca


SAGE Coordinator (Indigenous Initiatives) | VACANT

About the SAGE Coordinator:


Sustainability Coordinator | EHSAN UR RAHMAN MOHAMMED

About our Sustainability 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


Meet the SOGS Board of Directors

Chair | JILLIAN MAKLIN

About our Board Chair:

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

About our Board Vice Chair:

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


Meet the SOGS and Grad Club staff!

STAFF

Communications & Promotions Manager HEIDI KELLETT

Get in touch with Heidi if you need:

  • To communicate with the SOGS membership (via email)
  • To request formal communications and media from the Society
  • To schedule departmental orientation sessions (September, January, May)
  • Event planning, procurement, prizes, and room bookings
  • Graphic design services
  • Discuss the SOGS Handbook advertising
  • Assistance with the sogs.ca IT accounts
  • SOGS website maintenance
  • Procurement for events and initiatives

Digital Media Assistant CAROLINE DIEZYN

Get in touch with Caroline if you need:

  • To communicate with the SOGS membership (via social media)
  • To communicate with the Grad Club membership (via social media)
  • Graphic design services, particularly as they pertain to the Grad Club
  • Digital media support for a SOGS or Grad Club related events

Finance Manager RAQUEL RODRIGUES

Get in touch with Raquel if you need:

  • Assistance with emergency loans or food bank applications
  • Clarifications regarding the SOGS and GC Budgets
  • Grad Club vouchers
  • Guidance regarding SOGS bursary and subsidy awards 
  • Help with SOGS accounts receivables and payables
  • Information regarding your student fees*

* 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.


Front Office Support Staff | KAYLA DAVIES & KEVIN MOORE

    • sogs@uwo.ca
    • 519-661-3394 or x. 83394
    • Room 8, Middlesex College, Western University

Get in touch with Chris or Kayla if you need:

  • General assistance with health and dental plan coverage questions
  • General queries about applications and deadlines
  • To pick up committee vouchers or council grant cheques

Governance & Policy Manager | NICK DESUMMA

Get in touch with Nick if you need:

  • Information regarding SOGS student government (i.e, council), governance structures, including the SOGS Bylaws & Constitution, and policies
  • To submit Councillor or elections nomination forms
  • To discuss the SOGS Strategic Plan, ONCA, or its forthcoming board structure
  • Submitting reports and other documents to the monthly SOGS council package and/or help with drafting a motion for SOGS Council
  • information about SOGS elections, executive and non-executive positions, and committees

Membership Services Manager | JESSICA REILLY

Contact:

Get in touch with Jessica if you need:

  • Detailed information about the SOGS benefits and and services resources
  • Assistance with health claims, opting in/out of the health plan, a health and dental plan billing issue, change of life event on your health and dental policy
  • Guidance regarding SOGS applications or questions about adjudication
  • Information about campus resources and peer support

Grad Club Manager MARC LALONDE

    • gradclub@uwo.ca
    • 519-661-2111 x. 86386
    • Room 19, Middlesex College, Western University

Get in touch with Marc if you need:

  • Assistance reserving Grad Club venue for an event
  • Information regarding Grad Club event services and menus
  • To book the Goblet of Knowledge or Grad Club boardroom or catered event
  • To

Grad Club Operations Manager | MARK BRIGHAM

    • mbrigham@uwo.ca
    • 519-661-2111 x. 81227
    • Room 19, Middlesex College, Western University

Get in touch with Mark if you need:

  • assistance with health and safety, Grad Club human resources, event planning and more.
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