Walker Model Congress 2016 - Board of Directors
Contact any of the directors by clicking on their image!
Executive Director - Yashna Nainani
Yashna Nainani is a junior at MLWGS and could not be more thrilled to serve as the Executive Director for Walker Model Congress 2016! In the past few years, she has participated in WMC as an observer, delegate, vice chair, and Chief of Staff. In addition to WMC, Yashna attends other Model Congress conferences along with the club, and is active in Future Medical Professions, Academic WorldQuest, Voice International, LiNK, Drama, and many other clubs. In her limited free time, she enjoys volunteering, taking more pictures than necessary, listening to music, singing off-key renditions of said music, sleeping, obsessing over Disney movies and Hamilton: an American Musical, making references to anything and everything, and dancing through the night. Yashna is looking forward to this year’s conference, and she hopes it will open up a whole new world for all participants.
Undersecretary of Conference Preparation - Andrew McCullough
Andrew McCullough, a junior at Maggie Walker, is thrilled to be serving as the conference’s Undersecretary of Conference Preparation. Last year, he chaired the House Committee on Oversight Reform and loved working with the delegates in the committee. In addition to Model Congress, Andrew participates in Model United Nations, is the co-president of the Programming Club, and runs on the Maggie Walker Cross Country and Track teams. In what little free time remains, Andrew enjoys spending time with his dog, Kali, indulging in his obsession with all things Apple, reading up on political and legal news briefs, and watching “House of Cards.”
Undersecretary of Staff Relations - Priya Kundur
Priya is very grateful and excited to have a chance to make this an amazing conference! Having started participating in Model Congress in her sophomore year, she has served as chairs of the Senate Judiciary and Senate Foreign Relations committees and has loved every minute of it. In addition to Model Congress, she loves playing tennis and catching up on current events. As a senior, she is glad to have a voice in leading the conference this year!
Director of External Relations - Asha Iyer
Asha Iyer is a junior at Maggie Walker, and is delighted to be serving as Director of External Relations year at WMC. She was first introduced to WMC when she volunteered at WMC 2014, and then went on to co-chair at WMC 2015. In her free time, Asha loves reading/writing poetry, sleeping when possible, and playing with her beloved dog. Asha is a dedicated vocalist and has been singing for as long as she can remember. She also is an editor of The Jabberwock, the school newspaper, and is quite passionate about a variety of things including European history, competitive cooking shows, and Nutella.
Chief of Staff - Emily Slaughter
Emily Slaughter is a junior at MLWGS and cannot be more excited to serve as the Walker Model Congress 2016 conference’s Chief of Staff. In past years she has chaired, vice-chaired, and delegated, and Emily hopes to make this year’s WMC as memorable and rewarding as previous conferences. Aside from serving as Chief of Staff, Emily is the class of 2017 co-historian, plays on the varsity softball team, and participates in a number of Maggie Walker clubs. When she finally leaves school, she enjoys listening to music, watching way too many sitcoms and movies, and making impromptu coffee runs.
Director of Publications - Sophia McCrimmon
Sophia McCrimmon, a junior at Maggie Walker, is thrilled to be serving on the WMC Board of Directors as the Director of Publications. Sophia first attended WMC in her eighth grade year and since then has sought to make sure every delegate has a similarly rewarding experience. Sophia’s passion for writing and publications extends far beyond Model Congress: She currently serves as Assistant Editor-in-Chief of Maggie Walker’s school newspaper the Jabberwock and participates actively in the Youth Writers Association. In addition, Sophia is a member of the debate team and Newtowne Tutoring. Outside of school, Sophia enjoys listening to One Direction, reading feminist prose, and taking naps.
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Director of Logistics - Dana Slayton
Dana Slayton is ecstatic to be serving on the Board of Directors a second time as this year's WMC Director of Logistics. A Maggie Walker junior, Dana has been involved with Model Congress since eighth grade as a delegate and in ninth grade as a Vice Chair, and this is her second year occupying a Director position. She loves all of the work she is privileged to complete with the club and looks forward to improving delegate experiences once again behind the scenes. Outside of Model Congress, Dana is an avid musician and songwriter, as well as a singer with the Maggie Walker Deadbeats. She is a self-professed linguaphile who studies German, Arabic, Japanese, and Russian, and looks forward to studying abroad in Morocco during the summer of 2015. You can most often find her somewhere around the school speaking something other than English.
Director of House and Senate Committees - Kiera Goddu
Kiera Goddu is a junior at Maggie Walker, and is elated to be Director of House and Senate Committees this year. She has been involved in Model Congress since the 8th grade, and has served as Vice-Chair of Senate Judiciary, and Co-Chair of the Modern Cabinet in previous Walker Model Congresses. Beyond her responsibilities of WMC Kiera enjoys serving on the Honor Council, playing soccer, singing in Maggie Walker’s a cappella group, Deadbeats, Co-Coordinating the Student Ambassador Program at MLWGS, and baking all things vegan. She hopes that this year will be a massive success and will be full of lively debate on topics currently being faced by the U.S. Congress.
Director of Special Committees - Mara Guyer
Mara Guyer is a junior at Maggie Walker and absolutely thrilled to serve as this year’s WMC Director of Special Committees! Involved in the conference since its inception as a delegate, vice chair, and chair of Agriculture, JCC Antebellum Civil War, and Modern Cabinet, respectively, she has always sought out Special Committees and hopes to help make the 2016 conference one of the most memorable yet. Mara can usually be found wildly gesticulating, quoting lyrics deadpan from 80s power ballads, and telling anecdotes about 18th century politicians that she, at least, finds funny. At school, Mara is a member of the field hockey and basketball teams and co-coordinator of the Newtowne Tutoring program. She loves music, college basketball, political theory, and waffles.
Director of Crisis Simulations - Ben Rhoades
Though this is his first year as a Walker Model Congress Director, Ben Rhoades has the experience of a 70 year-old diplomat when it comes to Crises. Beginning his career in Crisis Operations at a young age, Ben worked first as a confidant and consultant with friend and Mentor Zachary Bampton for WMC 2012. Throughout his high school career, Rhoades has been assassinated and kidnapped, and as a crisis staffer, has done just that to others. WMC 2014 gave a great deal of experience to a young, Benjamin as he returned to work under Mr. Bampton. This year will cap off his career as a high school crisis staff member, and hopefully will be his most successful.
Director of Fundraising and Philanthropy - Quan Chau
Quan Chau is a Junior at Maggie Walker and is elated to serve as the Director of Philanthropy and Fundraising at this year’s conference. He started his bipartisan journey in 8th grade when he served as a delegate, and last year as Deputy Director of Philanthropy. Alongside Model Congress, Quan runs with the Cross Country and Track teams, and has performed for the past two years in the school musical. In his free time, Quan enjoys listening to music, jamming out in the practice rooms, doing non cult-like things with the Cross Country team, and looking up synonyms for the word “excited”.
Director of Technology - Emily Martin
Emily Martin, a junior at Maggie Walker, is aflutter at the opportunity to reprise her role as Director of Technology for WMC. After first being introduced to WMC as a delegate in the 8th grade, she has had the opportunity to both be a Vice Chair and serve on the Board of Directors as Director of Technology. Outside of Walker Model Congress, Emily is an active participant in the school's Model Congress club, a member of Model UN, and serves as the Secretary-Treasurer for Maggie Walker's Gender and Sexual Alliance, where she seeks to help crush traditional gender norms. In her woefully limited free time, (when not asleep, of course) Emily can be found baking more food than she knows what to do with, reading various Supreme Court opinions, learning as much as possible about political philosophy and economics, and determining the most efficient and "legal" path towards world domination.
Club Sponsor - Dr. Jeff McGee
Dr. Jeff McGee, the Director of Maggie L. Walker Governor's School, is enthusiastic to join the MLWGS Model Congress community as the club's faculty sponsor. He entered the United States Army in 1983, and following graduation from the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center, he served in the Fifth Special Forces Group. Subsequent to his Special Forces tenure, Jeff earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education from Virginia Tech and a Master of Education and Ph.D. from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). Jeff has more than 20 years professional experience as a high school teacher, coach, and administrator as well as experience via four middle school principalships in Virginia. In addition, he has educational leadership experience with the U.S. Department of Defense. These tenures include selective public settings for highly gifted learners and include experience in urban, suburban, rural, and international settings. Jeff’s goal as the faculty sponsor is to work closely with all students, whether WMC staff or delegates alike, to ensure a successful conference. He considers it both an honor and a privilege to be a part of the WMC community and to extend its wonderful legacy.