The Executive
The WLUGSA Executive is made up of the President, VP: Finance, VP: Policy, VP: Advocacy, and VP: Student Life. These are volunteer positions with terms from May 1 to April 30.
PRESIDENT - Christinia Landry
Office Hours: (by appointment in the Summer)Email Address:
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Duties: The President represents the GSA internally at Laurier, oversees all business and services operations, including managing staff, and is the Executive Liaison to the Priorities and Planning Committee. The President and VP: Finance sit on the university Student Services Advisory Committee.
Christinia, is the GSA President for 2010-2011, which follows her year of volunteering for the GSA in the capacity of VP:Policy. During her tenure as VP:Policy, Christinia enjoyed working with other student volunteers to advocate for the needs of Laurier’s graduate and professional students. In order to further these efforts, Christinia decided to run for GSA President.
As President, Christinia will ensure the quality of support for graduate and professional students provided by the GSA remains constant. In addition, she will work with the executive team and staff members to increase the operational transparency and accountability established these past years by the GSA. And finally, Christinia will begin to plan for the needs of future graduate and professional students at Laurier Brantford by working with the Priorities and Planning Committee on a GSA governance plan.
Christinia is a fifth year PhD Candidate in Philosophy and holds a BA from The University of Western Ontario and an MA from Brock University.
VP: FINANCE - Julian Mason-Espin
Office Hours: (by appointment in the Summer)
Email Address:
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Duties: The Vice President: Finance oversees the finances of the GSA and Grad Lounge operations, and chairs the Finance Committee.
As VP: Finance, Julian intends to qualify and quantify the goals of the projects he is involved with. His reasoning is that measurable outcomes should result in comprehensive accountability and opportunities to analyze projects in an on-going fashion. Julian plans to enhance information sharing throughout the graduate student body and he guarantees that his budgeting will be conducted with transparency and with care.
Julian is an MBA Candidate who will actively apply his business training to his work with the GSA. He holds a B. Arts & Sc. from McMaster University and an M.A. from Queen’s University. He held a co-op position as Market Intelligence and Development at TurboSonic Technologies Inc., a Waterloo-based green technology company. In the past, Julian has worked as administrative support, as a personal trainer, and as a Shakespeare teaching assistant.
VP: POLICY - Michael Wright
Office Hours: (by appointment in the Summer)Email Address:
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Duties: The Vice President: Policy maintains accurate and up-to-date records and policies of the GSA, makes recommendations for and creates new policies, and chairs the Policy Committee.
Michael Wright is in the 2nd year of his MSc in Integrative Biology. His research focuses on the evolution of flowers and sexuality in the dodders, genus Cuscuta L., a group of about 200 species of parasitic plants related to the Morning Glories and Sweet Potatoes.
Michael has completed a BMus in Composition and Early Music, and a BSc in Biology, both at WLU. In the past, Michael has worked with many different groups facing institutional barriers, including children with learning disabilities, blind students, and the LGBTQ community. Michael worked with Laurier’s Office for Student Diversity and Rainbow Centre, working on a variety of awareness campaigns and initiatives to create safe spaces and reduce institutional barriers for LGBTQ members of the Laurier community during his undergraduate years. Michael also served as Academic Issues Commissioner for WLUSU, acting as a delegate to the Ontario Undergraduate Students Association and aiding in the development of their policy manual, “Solutions: a Vision for Higher Education in Ontario.”
As VP: Policy, Michael is committed to policy that is both practical and flexible to the needs of the GSA while ensuring coherence, fairness and inclusivity. This academic year Michael aims to continue the development of the GSA’s comprehensive policy manual, and work with the VP: Advocacy to create position documents that outline the continuing needs of graduate students at Laurier and how the GSA believes these needs can best be addressed.
VP: ADVOCACY - Melissa Skerritt
Office Hours: (by appointment in the Summer)
Email Address:
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Duties: The Vice President: Advocacy represents the GSA to external advocacy groups, coordinates information and activities regarding external issues affecting graduate students, and is the Executive Liaison for the Graduate Student Issues and Sustainability committees.
Melissa is the GSA Vice President of Advocacy for 2010-2011. She has also been an executive member of the Master of Social Work Students Association (MSWSA) at the Faculty of Social Work in downtown Kitchener since 2009 & will remain as such until completion of her program in 2011. Last year she served on the GSA Board of Directors as one of three Social Work Representatives in addition to being a member of the Events Committee & sitting on an ad-hoc committee to draft a proposal for Laurier’s Centennial in 2011. She received an undergraduate Bachelor of Applied Sciences Degree in June 2009 from the University of Guelph’s Gerontology program and plans to work in Geriatric Social Work upon graduation from WLU. As a Social Work Student, Melissa recognizes & appreciates the need for advocacy.
For the 2010-2011 academic year, Melissa is focused on advocating for graduate student issues that are brought to her attention in addition to carrying on advocacy issues initiated in the past. She plans to organize & implement a “Town Hall” in the fall for any graduate students at WLU who would like to speak on an issue that matters to them. She hopes that students will see her as a resource for advocacy at WLU.
Melissa serves as the Executive Liaison of the Student Issues Committee & the Sustainability Committee. As the GSA is part of The Canadian Federation of Students, Melissa will be serving as the Local 56 Executive Representative on the Ontario Board for the WLUGSA for 2010-2011.
VP: STUDENT LIFE - Jeremy Beggs
Office Hours: (by appointment in the Summer)
Email Address:
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Duties: The Vice President: Student Life oversees Departmental Graduate Associations and Clubs, social and academic events for graduate students, including Orientation, and chairs the Events & Orientation Committee.
Jeremy Beggs is a graduate student working towards his MSc in Kinesiology. He completed his undergraduate degree of Kinesiology with a minor in Biology at Laurier and was very involved with many facets of university life, ranging from programming within residences to women's "Powderpuff" flag football.
As VP: Student Life, Jeremy plans to incorporate the graduate student body in order to provide for the diverse programming needs of all graduate programs here at Laurier. He is thrilled at the opportunity to further expand the use of the Grad Lounge and promote interdisciplinary collaboration and social outlets.
Jeremy prides himself on his ability to seek input from others and as such, if you have any questions, comments or ideas for events that you would like to see run this year, please stop by his office hours or send him an e-mail. He's looking forward to an awesome year at Laurier in 2010-2011.