Get in touch: president[at]sogs[dot]ca As your VP Advocacy, he hopes to ensure that marginalized voices are heard in particular and through teamwork we achieve a thriving environment at SOGS and beyond. Yousuf wants to hear from you! Contact him with any personal concerns, advocacy ideas to improve graduate student experience, or if you need his support raising awareness on related issues. Get in touch: advocacy[at]sogs[dot]ca Get in touch: finance[at]sogs[dot]ca Get in touch: services[at]sogs[dot]ca For matters pertaining to SOGS Council, governance, unified documents, appeals, and elections, please see: About our Speaker: Get in touch: speaker[at]sogs[dot]ca Get in touch: deputy.speaker[at]sogs[dot]ca For matters pertaining to issues surrounding academic, professional, and interpersonal conflict, please see: Get in touch: ombudsperson[at]sogs[dot]ca For matters, issues, and conflicts pertaining to academics, please see: Navneet is eager to help a diverse student body at Western while fostering personal and professional development. Please feel free to reach out to her! Get in touch: advisor.academic[at]sogs[dot]ca For matters pertaining to elections, please see: Chief Returning Officer | ESTHER FAGBEMI Get in touch: cro[at]sogs[dot]ca Deputy Chief Returning Officer | JAKE COLLIE Get in touch: deputy.speaker[at]sogs[dot]ca Get in touch: sustainability[dot]coordinator[at]sogs[dot]ca For matters pertaining to SOGS advocacy and community outreach, please see our Commissioners. Learn more about the roles of each SOGS commissioner here. During her time at Western, she was the SOGS Commissioner for Students with Disabilities from 2010-2012. In this role as Commissioner, Elizabeth successfully for advocated for audible pedestrian signals on campus and built partnerships with USC Accessibility Committee to create a guide for hosting inclusive and accessible social events on campus. After graduating from her master’s program, she worked for the National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS) as a research consultant, developing resources for students with disabilities transitioning from post-secondary to employment. In 2016 she became a Community Engagement Lead at Balance for Blind Adults, and in 2019 became the inclusive hiring project coordinator at Ryerson Magnet. In addition to her full-time work, Elizabeth sits on the Education Standards Committee for the Ontario Government, where she advises and deliberates on educational policies pertaining to students with disabilities, providing recommendations around how to make Ontario’s post-secondary sector more inclusive. Get in touch: accessibility[at]sogs[dot]ca Zara Diab is a first year PhD student in the English and Writing Studies department at Western. She is planning to study how contemporary American Literature and media reflects and perpetuates rigid gender scripts that have played a key role in birthing a violent extremist group like the incels. Through her research, she hopes to make constructive contributions to the discourse surrounding rape culture. She has taken courses on topics including feminism, violence, terrorism, intersectionality, queer identities and sexuality, human sexuality, women’s self defence, and acquaintance rape, and strives to continue learning about issues related to sexuality and gender. She is a survivor of sexual violence and wants to be there for other survivors and work toward creating a safer and more accepting campus for people of all gender identities. Get in touch: gender.concerns[at]sogs[dot]ca Get in touch: pride[at]sogs[dot]ca LGBTQ Resources here. About our Racial Equity & Inclusivity Commissioner: Cherin Chung is an incoming first year PhD student in the French department at Western University. She has completed her Bachelor of Arts with an Honours Specialization in English Language and Literature and a Major in French studies. Currently, she is working towards completing her master’s degree in French literature. Throughout her studies in the Arts and Humanities faculty, Cherin has taken numerous courses surrounding inequity including critical race theory, feminist literary theory, and queer theory. As a part of the visible minority, she is passionate about dismantling the systemic racism that is prevalent in our society. During her time at Western University, Cherin was an active member of SOGS as the French Councillor, the Equity Committee chair, and a member of the Graduate Student Issues Committee. In this role as Commissioner, Cherin hopes to create a more inclusive and equitable future at Western University by actively listening and amplifying the voices of racialized graduate students. Get in touch: racial[dot]equity[at]sogs[dot]ca Get in touch with Heidi 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. Contact: 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 | DANICA FACCA
About our President: Danica Facca (she/hers) is a second year PhD student in the Department of Health Information Science. To learn more about Danica, please check out her FIMS profile here.
VP Academic | KEVIN MOORE
About our VP Academic: Kevin Moore is a current Western student completing his MSc in the department of Medical Biophysics. His current research involves the characterization of blood flow in atherosclerotic patients. Kevin completed his undergrad at the University of Ottawa, obtaining his BHSc in Health Science. When not in the lab, Kevin enjoys making and playing music, as well as spending as much time as possible with family and friends
VP Advocacy | YOUSUF HASAN
About our VP Advocacy: Yousuf Hasan (he/him) is doing a PhD in Philosophy of Science & Mathematics. At SOGS, he’s been involved as a host and producer at GradCast, the official SOGS radio show and podcast.
VP Finance | BECKY HORST
About our VP Finance: Becky (she/hers) is a 3rd year PhD student in Neuroscience. Her research focuses on older adult’s perceptions and efficacy surrounding memory abilities. Becky has previously served on various SOGS committees such as Sustainability, Grad Club, Finance, as well as Subsidies and Bursaries since 2018.
VP Student Services | KESAVI KANAGASABAI
About our VP Student Services: Kesavi Kanagasabai (she/her) is an 2nd 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).
Meet the SOGS Non-Executive Officers!
STUDENT GOVERNMENT
Speaker | JAKE COLLIE (Interim Speaker)
Deputy Speaker | JAKE COLLIE
CONFLICT RESOLUTION
Ombudsperson | Bolu Olayemi
ACADEMIC SUPPORT
Peer Advisor for Academic Matters | NAVNEET KAUR
About our Peer Advisor: Navneet (she/her) is an international student from India pursuing Master of Social Work program. She completed a graduate degree in Psychology and a Post Graduate Diploma in Guidance and Counselling from Panjab University. Navneet brings over three years of advocacy and service experience, including, but not limited to: counselling, conflict resolution, advocacy, and community development. She is passionate to serving marginalized and oppressed communities whilst consciously employing her privilege and power as a social worker to challenge the systematic inequities embedded in society and ultimately changing them. Apart from school, Navneet enjoys learning about new cultures, exercising, reading non-fiction, and sending time with friends and family.
ELECTIONS
Esther is a Toronto native who is currently working on her Master’s of Science in Business Analytics at Ivey. She graduated from Laurentian University this year with a degree in Accounting. If she is not in class, she is at home watching movies or reading case studies for her grad school program.
Sustainability Coordinator | Brendon Samuels
Meet the SOGS Commissioners!
ADVOCACY AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH
Accessibility Commissioner | ELIZABETH MOHLER
About our Accessibility Commissioner: Elizabeth Mohler graduated from the master’s program in Health and Rehab Sciences, Occupational Sciences from Western University in 2012 . In 2020, she started her doctoral work in the school of Occupational Science, cross appointing in Disability Studies. Elizabeth’s doctoral research will explore the impact that access to direct funding has on the occupational performance and engagement of people with disabilities (PWDs) who receive funding from the Ontario Direct Funding (ODF) program to ‘self-manage’ their attendant services.
Gender Concerns Commissioner | ZARA DIAB
About our Gender Concerns Commissioner:
Pride Commissioner | ALESSIA SERVIN
Racial Equity & Inclusivity Commissioner | Cherin Chung
Meet the SOGS and Grad Club staff!
STAFF
Communications & Promotions Manager | HEIDI KELLETT
Finance Manager | RAQUEL RODRIGUES
Governance & Policy Administrator | NICK DESUMMA
Membership Services Manager | JESSICA ELAINE REILLY
Grad Club Manager | MARC LALONDE
Grad Club Operations Manager | MARK BRIGHAM
OUR TEAM
Get in touch: academic[at]sogs[dot]ca
About our Pride Commissioner: