The current CMUNCE Secretariat will oversee CMUNCE 2012.

Secretary-General
Heriselda Begaj
hb2322@columbia.edu

Heriselda is a junior at Columbia University studying Political Science with a focus on International Relations and Political theory. She started participating in Model U.N. as a freshman in high school and has staffed several conferences since arriving to Columbia. She has acted as Vice-Chair for CMUNNY, Columbia's collegiate Model U.N. Conference, as well as CMUNCE. Having served as Under-Secretary General of Public Relations for CMUNCE X, she is excited to once again be a part of the Secretariat as Secretary-General for CMUNCE 2012. She is looking forward to helping create an incredibly dynamic conference full of exceptional committees and great memories that will surely please both new and veteran delegates alike! When not fulfilling her CMUNCE duties, she can be found going for runs in the park, creating adventures with her friends, and always with Starbucks coffee in her hands.

Director-General
Christopher Szablewski
cls2173@columbia.edu

Chris is a junior in Columbia College studying Political Science. He has been active in Model UN since he was a freshman in high school and has remained active throughout his time at Columbia. Originally from Piscataway, NJ, Chris loves living in New York and experiencing everything the city has to offer. Since arriving at Columbia, he has been active in the Columbia International Relations Council and Association (CIRCA) as a staff member of CMUNNY, Columbia’s college-level MUN conference, the Columbia Model UN Travel Team, as well as CMUNCE. He is very excited to serve as Director-General for CMUNCE 2012 and looks forward to an exciting weekend of debate, intrigue, and explosions. When he is not involved in activities relating to CIRCA (which isn’t often) Chris enjoys spending time with friends and exploring New York City.

USG Committees
Samantha Plotner
sdp2133@Barnard.edu

Samantha is a junior at Barnard College majoring in Political Science and Human Rights Studies. Home is Northern Virginia where she participated in Model UN starting in the eighth grade. She’s been active in CIRCA since her arrival in Morningside Heights staffing CMUNNY (Columbia’s college-level conference) and CMUNCE as well as being a member of the travel team. At CMUNCE X Samantha spoke in a bad British accent as the crisis liaison for the Special Committee on Northern Ireland. When Model UN is not taking over her life she can be found exploring New York, fulfilling her duties as the Co-Editor-in-Chief of The Nine Ways of Knowing, or watching crime shows on television. As Under-Secretary General of Committees, Samantha is looking forward to facilitating a great committee experience for all of the delegates.

Chief of Staff
Recruitment and Training
Andrew Ramos
alr2170@columbia.edu

I'm a member of Columbia College's class of 2013, double majoring in Environmental Science and Ancient Civilizations from Massachusetts(the country's greatest state, contrary to what you may read below). I've been a member of CIRCA since I was a freshman, and I've staffed all of Columbia's conferences(CMUNCE and CMUNNY) each year. I'm a member of the traveling team, and have been competing in MUN conferences since my freshman year of high school. CMUNCE should be a blast and I cannot wait for it to begin. GO RED SOX!

Chief of Staff
Veteran Affairs
Lesedi Mbatha
lnm2115@barnard.edu

Lesedi is a senior at Barnard College who is slightly horrified by the prospect of entering the real world. She is majoring in Political Science and Human Rights with minors in Psychology and History. Her place of origin is fairly ambiguous and often changes depending on her mood. She was born in New York, where she lived until the age of four before moving to South Africa and living there for six years. She subsequently moved back to New York, where she lived before moving to Beverly Hills for high school. She now switches between homes in New York (father) and Accra, Ghana (mother) and South Africa. Because of her mother's wandering ways, Lesedi occasionally slips into an a pseudo-British/South African accent and uses words like "serviette" instead of "napkin." When not collecting minors or pronouncing things weirdly, Lesedi spends her time scaring her friends, making (and sharing) grooveshark playlists, playing the violin and playing for CIRCAroos, CIRCA's intramural soccer team. She also enjoys listening to CSPAN while papers and making nerdy political references that only a handful of ultranerds understand. As Chief-of-Staff for Veterans Affairs she hopes to make CMUNCE XI a thoroughly enjoyable experience for the people who make CMUNCE what it is: the staff.

USG Crises
Matt Yeaton
myeaton1@gmail.com

USG Public Relations
Grace Rosen
gar2117@gmail.com

Grace is a sophomore in Columbia College. Though thoroughly undecided, she is interested in Art History, Economics, and American Studies. She hails from Princeton, New Jersey and has been an active Model UN-er since 10th grade, even participating in CMUNCE as a delegate twice. Since arriving at Columbia she has been an involved member of CIRCA, both staffing conferences and traveling. At CMUNCE X, Grace acted as the vice-chair on the NBC Board of Directors, facilitating a merger with Comcast and making many, many 30 Rock references. As Under Secretary General of Public Relations, Grace looks forward to making your CMUNCE XI experience as smooth and fun as possible. Outside of CIRCA, Grace is a writer and editor for Columbia's satirical newspaper The Federalist and contributor to The Columbia Daily Spectator.

USG Administration
Ariel Yu
ariel.carter214@gmail.com

/>
Ariel is a sophomore in Barnard College, planning on majoring in Economics and Political Science, minoring in Philosophy. Hailing from Shanghai, China, She loves exploring the equal or even more exciting city, New York and discovering new restaurants in the city. Studying in a British high school, she always unintentionally confounds people with multiple accents she has and she started to miss British English after moving to New York. Besides her academic studies in Columbia, she’s a part of Kappa Phi Lambda Sorority, CIRCA and Economics Society. In the little spare time she has, she chooses to watch soccer games or at least highlights instead of sleeping. As USG-Admin, she hopes to provide smooth logistics that make the conference most inspiring one ever to all the delegates.

USG Sponsorship and Outreach
Lauren Birriel
lmb2205@columbia.edu

Lauren Birriel is a sophomore in Columbia College. She is currently majoring in Sociology and hoping to minor in Latin American Studies. Lauren became involved with Model UN at her small Catholic high school in Richmond, Virginia. Hailing from the South, she has yet to relinquish her perpetual use of ?ya?ll? and makes no plans to do so. She is looking very forward to assisting the rest of the secretariat to make this year?s CMUNCE the best is has ever been.

USG Technology
Ramzi Abdoch
raa2148@columbia.edu

Memphis man Ramzi Abdoch is a Junior in SEAS studying Computer Science and Architecture. When he's not in the radio station playing "habibi beats", you can find him floating around campus, always looking to spread some love. He's been involved with Model UN for over 5 years, and for this year (and many more to come) he'll be CMUNCE's wireframe underbelly, also known as USG Technology. If you've got an issue with the site, or anything tech-related during the conference, he's your man.

USG Finance
Alex Collazo
amc2272@columbia.edu

Welcome to CMUNCE! My name is Alex Collazo, I'm a rising junior studying Economics-
Philosophy and Creative Writing, I hail from the greatest state in the Union,* and my goal is to make your weekend as enjoyable as possible. Hopefully we'll all learn something too, but that's
really a very secondary priority for me. I look forward to meeting you!

*Which is California. This should be obvious.