MEET THE SECRETARIAT

Secretary-General

As the Secretary-General this year, Megan is incredibly enthused to be leading the conference alongside her fellow Conference Directors. Megan is currently a Senior studying Global Studies & Public Policy with a minor in Studio Arts. She has been involved in Model UN since her freshman year of college and has loved it ever since. This will be her third year serving on UNCMUNC Secretariat. She is passionate about cross-cultural communications, specifically with Asia, and is interested in international immigration and education. In her free time, she enjoys singing her heart out at concerts, baking sweet treats, and playing with her two dogs Kai and Miso!

Director-General

Paloma is a junior from Queretaro, Mexico majoring in Political Science and Data Science. Paloma has been passionate about Model UN since early high school, and had the pleasure of serving as Director General for her high school’s conference. She is beyond thrilled to reprise this role at UNCMUNC, a conference she has been involved in since her start at Carolina. Paloma is actively pursuing a French minor with hopes to study abroad in the near future! She enjoys going on long walks in nature, crocheting, and spending time with her cat. Paloma cannot wait to welcome you all to what we hope will be a very sweet sixteen for our conference!

Chief of Staff

Eileen is a senior from Clayton, NC studying Public Policy, Exercise Sports Science with a minor in Sport medicine. She’s been involved in MUN since her sophomore year of college, joining as an ACD in a crisis about Silicon Valley, and was a USG in last year’s UNCMUNC. This year she is excited to serve as the Chief of Staff. In her free time, Eileen enjoys watching movies with friends, yapping, working in the hospital, and watching sports. Eileen is always down to grab a sweet treat with friends, ignoring the lactose intolerance, her go to matcha order is an iced matcha, light ice, half & half, with classic syrup. She cannot wait to celebrate UNCMUNC’s 16th birthday!!

Director of Delegate Affairs

Sunhee is a junior from Wake Forest, NC, double majoring in PWAD (Peace, War, and Defense) and Economics. She has been involved in MUN since her freshman year of high school and continues to love attending and staffing conferences! Within CIRA, she also serves as the Co-director of moMUNtum, a project that focuses on accessibility and equity on the MUN circuit. When she’s not raising her placard or cramming for the next econ midterm, you will find Sunhee on the beach or watching basketball with her friends (roll heels!). She loves everything music, fun, and adventure and is looking forward to UNCMUNC’s sweet sixteen this October!

Director of Public Relations

Gared is a senior from Framingham, MA, majoring in Global Studies and Public Policy with a minor in Data Science. He joined UNCMUNC last year as an Associate Crisis Director for Sister Revolutions and is excited to continue his involvement. This year, he will also serve as Vice President of the Asian American Student Association. In his free time, he enjoys playing volleyball, watching roller coaster POVs, and spending time with friends. He looks forward to making UNCMUNC XVI an unforgettable experience—especially its Sweet 16 after-party!

Director of Design & Communications

Nilin is a senior studying Media and Journalism, with minors in Chinese and Studio Arts. She served on the secretariat during UNCMUNC XV and is excited to be on this amazing team that will help bring UNCMUNC’s sweet sixteen to life! In her free time, she likes to collect stuffed animals (specifically stuffed keychains) and explore places that she has not been to before. She looks forward to meeting all the new people that come to our conference!

Design and Communication Coordinator

Mahi is a senior studying Information Science with a minor in Media and Journalism, and she’s thrilled to serve on the secretariat for the first time. Outside of her academic life, Mahi loves to unwind by listening to music and going on scenic walks around campus. When she’s not in class or strolling around, she enjoys playing her Nintendo Switch with her roommates. Mahi can’t wait to meet everyone at the UNCMUNCXVI conference and looks forward to an unforgettable experience!

Design and Communication Coordinator

An is a senior from Morven, a small town, located in North Carolina. She is a senior studying Media and Journalism and Studio Art. In An’s downtime, she will be found baking desserts, drawing, reading, or writing stories! She is serving on the secretariat for the very first time and is looking forward to bringing her skills to UNCMUNC’s Sweet 16!

Director of Logistics

Marvin is a junior from Nashville, TN, double majoring in Public Policy and Peace, War, and Defense. He first got involved with Model UN during his first year at Case Western Reserve University and continued after transferring to UNC, where he competes on the collegiate circuit. This is his first year on secretariat after serving as a head chair for the Carmen Sandiego crisis at UNCMUNC XV. He is elated to serve as the Director of Running Around (Logistics) for UNCMUNC XVI!! Outside of CIRA, you can find Marvin in the press box as a sportswriter for The Daily Tar Heel, listening to an inordinate amount of music, and doing too many other extracurriculars.

Director of Training

Venisha is a second-year international student from Hyderabad, majoring in Economics with a minor in Data Science or Real Estate. She has been involved in Model UN since 9th grade, serving as a delegate, staffer, organizer, and member of the Secretariat. She began participating in the American collegiate circuit last semester and is thrilled to serve as the Director of Training for UNCMUNC XVI! Outside of MUN, you’ll catch her finding her next travel destination or in other law/consulting related clubs on campus.

Co-Director of Academic Affairs

Natalie is a senior from Raleigh, NC, studying advertising/public relations and psychology with a minor in history. This will be her second time serving on Secretariat for UNCMUNC, and she is incredibly excited to work with such a passionate team! In addition to Model UN, she is involved in student government and recently co-founded a UNC chapter of Ballet&Books, a national nonprofit striving to reduce the literacy gap through dance and reading instruction. In her free time, Natalie loves to dance, travel, and play with other people’s dogs

Co-Director of Academic Affairs

Aakanksha is a sophomore from the San Francisco Bay Area, double-majoring in political science and journalism with a minor in history. This is her first year being involved in MUN, and she is looking forward to attending conferences around the country as part of Carolina MUN’s travel team. UNCMUNC XVI also marks Aakanksha’s first year on Secretariat, and she’s beyond excited to work with such an incredible team to bring the conference to life. In her free time, Aakanksha loves listening to music and going on long evening walks, cafe-hopping, and rehearsing dances in the Union Underground.

USG of Adhoc and Fantasy Committees

Rithik is a junior at NC State studying Computer Science from Charlotte, North Carolina. With a decade now of MUN experience, he founded NC State’s travel team three years ago and has a passion for all things Ad-hoc and Fantasy. Last year, Rithik served as the crisis director for Save Mii: Nintendo BoD for UNCMUNC XV. On campus, he conducts research on various educational applications for AI. In his free time, he is a piano teacher/content creator and loves arranging music for the piano and playing sports with his friends.

USG of General Assemblies & GAPs

Pranav is a sophomore from Cary, NC, studying Public Policy and Media & Journalism with a Political Communications concentration. After joining Model UN in college and staffing UNCMUNC last year, Pranav quickly fell in love with the community and is so excited to serve on UNCMUNC Secretariat for the first time. As the USG of General Assemblies and GAPs, Pranav is excited to help make UNCMUNC an unforgettable experience for everyone involved! Within CIRA, Pranav is also on the CarolinaMUN travel team and the Campus Affairs branch. Aside from his work, you can find Pranav in the pool, enjoying the outdoors, or watching sports!

USG of History and Contemporary Committees

Irine Raju is a sophomore at UNC from Cary, NC, and is excited to be part of UNCMUNC as a USG of Historical and Contemporary committees. Irine is currently a Political Science & Peace, War, and Defense Major with a minor in Philosophy. She has been in Model UN since her sophomore year of high school and is currently on the Carolina MUN travel team. She was a crisis staffer for last year’s UNCMUNC. She loves to read, play soccer with her friends, and try new coffee shops in her free time. She cannot wait to be part of UNCMUNC XVI and meet all the delegates!

USG of Nontraditional and Joint Committee Crisis Committees

Amanda Carvalho is a junior from Nairobi, Kenya, double-majoring in Mathematics and Business Administration. This conference will mark her 10th year as a MUN-er, her 2nd year on the Secretariat, and her 6th country to do MUN with. When she’s not making dramatic piano covers to cope with her latest math proof, you’ll find her smiling on a dance stage, acting, picnicking, beach-tripping with her friends, or stargazing at Morehead Planetarium. She adores spontaneity, new ideas, and- above all- meeting new people! Amanda can’t wait to learn all about chaos, creativity, and curiosity from this year’s delegates.