Executive Board 2011-2012
Ethan Scapellati, President
Ethan Scapellati is a fourth year double major in history and political science. Growing up in South Orange County, California, Ethan loves the beach, music, sushi, the Lakers and Angels, and is an adamant fan of literature, poetry, art, and The Legend of Zelda, and will often be talking either politics or 19th century history. Aside from Model United Nations, Ethan is a UCLA Campus Tour Guide, a contributor to the UCLA Literary Journal, “Westwind,” a researcher in the History Department currently embarking on a 1,000,000-page thesis on soldiers of the Civil War, and hopes to use his future law degree to legally change his name to Maximus.
Vicki Nee, Secretary General, High School
Vicki is a 3rd year History and Political Science major with a concentration in International Relations. Besides speaking in 3rd person, Vicki also enjoys weekend sonjours in museums, talking to crazy people on public transit, historical fiction, painting, singing and exploring the awesome world around her. Her life-long goal is to work at The Hague, travel around the world, and eat her way across Europe. She has high expectations for the year ahead and hopes to make BruinMUN 2011 the most awesome in MUN at UCLA history!
Chris Janney, Secretary General, College
Chris Janney is a fourth year Economics and History double major. Originally hailing from Bronxville New York, Chris came to UCLA to get a taste of California life. He is also president of the on-campus student production company the Film and Photography Society. In his spare time, Chris enjoys watching and analyzing movies, reading historical non-fiction, hanging out with friends, and having stimulating conversations with anyone who is around. When he graduates, he would like to try and combine his interests of film, history, and business into one career path.
Alex Jaksha, Chief of Staff
Alex is a third year Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology major from San Diego. She hopes to go onto medical school after graduation and specialize in oncology. When she isn’t answering the never-ending flow of emails in her inbox, she is playing lacrosse at UCLA, planning debauchery with her friends, sketching and painting, crying that the seventh Harry Potter book was the last horcrux of her childhood, or just hanging out with her sisters in Gamma Phi Beta. Alex can’t wait for another amazing year of travel, friends, and craziness all with MUN at UCLA. On another note, she heard that you like MUN so she put a committee in your committee so you can debate while you debate.
Bhavna Mukundan, Director of Travel Team
Bhavna is a fourth year International Development Studies major with a minor in French. She is a native of Southern California but spends much time traveling the world and sipping coffee in a range of European cafes. Bhavna is an obsessive tennis and soccer fan, even managing to have a conversation with Rafael Nadal and to attend the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. After serving as a legal intern for the UNHCR, and working for the LA County District Attorney’s office, she intends to pursue a career in International Law upon graduation from UCLA. In her free time, Bhavna likes to play tennis, go shopping, and paint, hoping to move to Paris someday so she can feature her artwork in the Louvre.
Mandy Luper, Director of Finance
Mandy is a Fourth year Political Science major with an emphasis in International Relations. She is from Temecula, California, and while she loves the sunshine she wants actual weather and plans to move to either Seattle or the East Coast after graduation. Mandy feels at home in a court room (not as a defendant, ever) which suits her well as she plans to attend law school and focus in criminal law. When not studying for class or prepping for MUN she is involved in Amigos de UCLA and Habitat for Humanity. Aside from this her favorite things include watching ridiculous amounts of television, playing with her animals, and sleeping (none of which she does enough of). Mandy’s favorite quote is from Shakespeare’s Hamlet: “To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.” Her favorite book of all time is “Pride and Prejudice” because Elizabeth Bennet is awesome.
Michael Murrietta, Director of Training
Michael is a 2nd year political science major from Whittier, California. Aside from MUN, he is involved in the Pre-law Society, the Academic Advancement Program, and UCLA’s Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Club. He enjoys playing guitar, Venice Beach, food, and sleep. Especially sleep.
Joey Donaldson, Director of Internal Relations
Joey Donaldson is a 3rd year History major with a minor in Political Science. Originally from Sacramento,CA, he takes great pride in his Northern California roots and has no problem using the phrase “hella.” In addition to his involvement with Model United Nations at UCLA, Joey is a brother of Sigma Pi Fraternity in which he serves as Alumni Relations on the Executive Council. A part from his more serious activities, Joey finds great enjoyment in playing guitar, listening to music, watching the Red Sox, hanging out with his Sigma Pi brothers, and just getting the most out of this strange trip called college. After graduation, he plans to prolong law school by volunteering abroad for at least a year. After he obtains his law degree, Joey hopes to have a successful career in either constitutional or intellectual property law.
Emily Savastano, Director of External Relations
Emily Savastano is a third-year mass communications major with a minor in political science. This is her fifth year of involvement in Model United Nations and she couldn’t be more excited to continue her involvement at UCLA. Originally from the deserts of Arizona, Emily enjoys hanging out by the pool, eating frozen yogurt, and of course, quality Mexican cuisine. She has played the violin for over 11 years, in a chamber, quartet, and symphony setting and still does today. Emily loves to travel the world and has been to over seventeen countries including China, England, Greece, Germany, and Italy. In the summer of 2011, Emily will be studying abroad in Paris, France followed by travels to Scandinavia and Russia. When she’s not involved in Model United Nations you can find Emily running, watching movies, or at the beach with her friends soaking up the California sunshine. Upon graduation, Emily hopes to attend graduate school focusing on mass media and public relations.
Grace Le, Director of Marketing
Grace Le is a sophomore Pre-Med Psychobiology Major from Huntington Beach, CA. Having been extremely involved in MUN for all four years of high school, she is excited and honored to be the director of marketing for the UCLA chapter. Outside of MUN, she is involved in greek life as an active member of the Kappa Alpha Theta international sorority and hopes to land an internship at the Ronald Reagan Medical Center in the near future. With eight years of piano experience, Grace has an affinity for music and loves attending concerts and musical festivals. In her free time, she loves to hang out at the beach or go to the movies with friends. Her role models are the boys from the Buried Life, Lady Gaga, and baby Jesus.
Andrew Odom, Director of Conference Services
Andrew Odom is a fourth year Geography Major, Geospatial Information Systems & Technologies (GIS&T) and Urban and Regional Planning double minor. Hailing from sunny Orange County, Andrew enjoys long walks on the beach (seriously), going to Disneyland, and travelling as much as he can. A self described “dixiephile,” Andrew is a lover of almost everything southern, from sweet tea to country music, and plans on living in the south for one year before retreating to the beautiful weather of California. After graduating from UCLA, Andrew plans on attending an Urban Planning graduate program.
Mark Warwick, Director of Technology
Mark is sophomore Mechanical Engineering major at UCLA and hails from Danville, California. He has also lived in Texas and Illinois and prides himself on his half-Dutch heritage. Model UN helps Mark stay connected with the humanities side of his brain as he works through and math and science curriculum. He works as a resident assistant, and enjoys longboarding, photography, and videography. His number one passion, however, is building stuff. Mark has tackled numerous projects, from pinball machines to air cannons, and one day hopes to work on large machines like planes and trains.
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Outgoing 2010-2011 Executive Board:
Yash Vasant, President
Yash is a Business Economics and Neuroscience double major at UCLA. Apart from MUN, Yash is a member of several social and educational organizations. He is a member of the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity and also a member of the National Society for Collegiate Scholars. He is a musician, who plays the bamboo flute, and derives immense pleasure from meeting new people and traveling the world! Yash is an international student, and plans to get his MBA after he graduates. He plans on going back to India before his masters and work for a couple of years. But before that Yash cant wait to get his bartenders license and travel the world for at least a year!
Milagros Villalobos, Chief of Staff
Milagros is currently a fourth year Political Science and Spanish double major with a minor in Latin American studies ambitiously seeking change in the world. Originally from Lima, Peru, she enjoys reading Noam Chomsky, obsessing over Michael Scott’s mishaps on “The Office,” running and power yoga. In addition to her participation in MUN at UCLA, she is heavily involved with Amnesty International and various honor societies. Strongly supporting Margaret Mead’s belief- “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has,” she hopes to attend law school and pursue an international political career to be the change she seeks.
Jennifer Patton, Secretary General (High School)
Jennifer is a fourth year Global Studies and German major from Orange County, California. She proudly considers herself an MUN nerd and is honored to serve as Secretary General of the High School Conference. Aside from MUN, Jennifer is obsessed with the German language and culture, and enjoys traveling to new places. Jennifer lived and worked in Washington, DC as a part of the CAPPP program during Spring 2010. After graduation she intends to enter the workforce or delay reality for a few years with graduate school, eventually to pursue an internationally focused career in global management.
Chris Janney, Secretary General (College)
Chris Janney is a 3rd year Economics major from Bronxville, New York. Aside from Model UN, he is a leading member of the UCLA film organization FPS Productions. Chris spends his spare time reading about history, watching movies, following current events, and learning about the financial world. Unsure as to whether or not he will stay in LA after graduation, he is planning on pursuing a career in the business of film making.
Frida Alim, Travel Team Coordinator
Frida Alim is a fourth-year political science major with a minor in Scandinavian studies. Originally hailing from Sweden, she harbors an obsession with languages, traveling, Scandinavian hip-hop and Egyptian mangos. Her hobbies include traversing desert terrain on horseback, consuming copious amounts of coffee, and going on spontaneous adventures. Her experiences as an intern with Doctors Without Borders, undergraduate research, and her previous adventures with MUN travel team have inspired her goal to pursue a law degree with the hopes of working with questions pertaining to international law in the near future.
Asad Ramzanali, Finance & Facilities Manager
Asad Ramzanali is a fourth-year economics and global studies student from Texas. He loves coffee, sports, beef jerky, and above all UCLA. Aside from Model UN, Asad is a columnist for the Daily Bruin, the coordinator for Campus Tours, and miscellaneous other things. One day, Asad hopes sing for a boy band.
Roopak Bhatt, Director of Training
I will be a third year Ecology Evolutionary Biology major at UCLA. I have been a part of MUN for 6 years now and as Director of Training hope to contribute to creating a memorable experience of MUN to all those involved in UCLA’s MUN conferences. Aside from MUN, I enjoy reading, watching TV and movies and namely watching/rooting for the Lakers! After college, I plan on pursuing a higher education in biology and perhaps going into research/teaching.
Elaine Codd, Director of Internal Relations
Elaine Codd is a 3rd year Psychology major and a dual citizen of Brazil and South Africa. She has participated in Model UN for 6 years and recently staffed UNA-USA’s high school conference in New York City. She is President of UCLA’s Panhellenic Council and an active member of Gamma Phi Beta International Sorority. She is also a research assistant for the Social Interaction and Social Stigma Lab at UCLA. One day she hopes to own her own Psychology practice or work for the UN in any capacity. In her precious spare time Elaine enjoys going to concerts, eating ethnic food, watching sunsets, and spending time with her friends.
Alex Jaksha, Director of Marketing
Alex Jaksha Alex is a second year Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology major from San Diego. After five years of MUN, she is happy to continue her involvement at UCLA. She spends her time playing lacrosse, drawing, and participating in the international sorority Gamma Phi Beta. She loves laughing at Flight of the Conchords, Arrested Development, The Soup, The Office, and Chuck. She loves to dance wherever she is, eat, and listen to indie music. She hopes to eventually become a doctor and travel to learn as much of the world as she can.
Min Sung Ahn, Technologies Manager
Min Sung is a third year Mechanical Engineering major and international student from South Korea. He enjoys watching and playing soccer, building and managing online projects, running his multi-million dollar company during holidays, and studying for and taking TOEFL and SAT tests. Despite majoring in engineering, his short-term goal is to graduate from UCLA and move on to University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business and the world of business/marketing. One day, he also hopes to release a music album, direct a movie, manage Samsung, and maybe even become the President of South Korea.
Ethan Scapellati, Director of External Relations
Ethan Scapellati is a third year double major in history and political science. Growing up in South Orange County, California, Ethan loves the beach, music, sushi, community service back home, and the Lakers and Angels, but also is an adamant fan of literature, poetry, art, and The Legend of Zelda, and will often be talking either politics or 19th century history. When he’s not involved in Model United Nations, Ethan is an Executive Board member for the Pre-Law Society at UCLA as the Law Forum Director – a stepping stone toward ultimately going to law school. Ethan will also be studying in Washington through the CAPPP Program next Spring. Ethan is very excited to continue his involvement on the Model UN at UCLA Executive Board and contribute to its professional and fun atmosphere.
Vicki Nee, Director of Conference Services
Vicki Nee is a second-year Political Science major and Chinese minor from Orange County, California. Apart from participating in MUN for the past 5 years, Vicki is a member of both an all women’s A capella group, Cadenza A Capella, and UCLA’s Pre-Law Society. She loves eating delicious food, watching movies, reading historical fiction novel and going to any and all museums. It is Vicki’s goal in life to take a year off after graduation and travel the world, filming and writing about different cultures and peoples. When not at class on UCLA’s beautiful campus, she also likes to hang out with her friends around the city, go shopping for cute shoes, and soak up all of the sunshine Los Angeles has to offer. Vicki is excited about the upcoming school year and all of the new experiences UCLA has to offer!