President

Julian Lam

Julian is a fourth-year International Relations major with a focus on international development and economics. In addition to serving as this year’s president, he also presides over the Journal of International Affairs as its Editor in Chief. Having grown up in both Hong Kong and Vancouver, Julian has fostered an interest in the dynamic relations between Canada and the Asia Pacific, which has translated into the desire to pursue a career as an international policymaker.

VP-Internal

Nancy Luo

Nancy is a fourth-year double major student in International Relations and French from White Rock, BC. She chose to major in IR because of the program's intersectionality and the wide variety of classes it offers. Nancy is also in Arts Co-op and has worked at two departments in the Government of Canada. Her career goal is to work in governmental relations and affairs to connect the private and public spheres. 

Co-VP External

Patricia González

Patricia was born and raised in South America and her upbringing has encouraged her to take a deeper look into the relationship between power, politics, and corruption. She chose International Relations at UBC because the interdisciplinary nature of the program allows her to further examine the links between these topics on a broader, more detailed scale.

​

Co-VP External

Jackie Pelayo

Jackie was born in Mexico, grew up in Houston, and then moved around a lot throughout her teenage years. Now a third-year transfer student at UBC, Jackie is majoring in International Relations and minoring in Economics. Some of her areas of interest include international development and migration studies.

VP Academics 

Melanie Law

Melanie (she/her/hers) is a fourth-year student from California, double majoring in International Relations and Sociology. IR stood out to her because of the opportunities it offers to further your understanding of global issues and because of the interdisciplinary nature of the program. She is interested in the intersection between globalization and development, alongside environmental disparities and climate change. 

Co-VP Finance

Kristy Shum

Kristy is a fourth-year student at UBC, majoring in International Relations. This is her second year at IRSA as well as her second year on the finance team. Some of her favourite courses include economics and geography, which has inspired her to direct her degree towards the International Economy and Development (list B) stream.

Co-VP Finance

Viktoria Loncar

Viktoria has been a part of the IRSA Team for four consecutive years and now shares the role of Vice-President Finance. She has displayed a particular interest in working on large projects that require diligence and commitment and has enjoyed the responsibility of having an overview of everything that goes on within the club, especially considering that everything can be related back to finance.

Associate-VP Internal

Luiza Giocondo Teixeira

Luiza, originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, currently holds the position of Associate Vice President Internal. She chose to study at UBC because it gave her the opportunity to interact with people of various cultures and backgrounds. It is her interest in cultural and language exchange, policymaking, migration studies, and international law that has pushed her to pursue a major in International Relations and a minor in Law & Society.

Associate-VP External

Zohrah Kahlili

Zohrah is a fourth-year International Relations major and Commerce minor originally from Afghanistan. Having lived a very global life, she chose to major in International Relations because of the wide variety of perspectives it offers. She is especially interested in the future of the IPE and the role MNCs will play in it. 

Associate-VP Finance

Allison Cadigal

Allison is currently a fourth-year student studying Political Science and International Relations. Her academic interests include international security and environmental politics, more specifically, the implications of environmental governance and crisis management among civil societies and local-global actors. After graduation, she hopes to pursue a career in the legal field.  

Associate-VP Academics

Aliza-Marie Smith

Aliza is a third year International Relations major and Environment and Sustainability minor from interior B.C.. She is currently on her second co-op work term with Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, working as a Junior Analyst! She chose IR because it offered her the opportunity to learn about the unique perspectives and experiences of her peers and staff in the program, as well as widen her limited worldview during her time here at UBC. 

Global Lounge Officer

Bowen Wright

Bowen is a fourth-year International Relations major and Spanish minor. She grew up on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lō and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations. She chose IR because it allows her to explore global topics from different disciplines. As the Global Lounge Officer, she is excited to deconstruct the idea of international development and to hold events to build a community for globally-minded students. 

Director of Public Relations

and Outreach

Taylor Tang

Taylor is a 4th year student of the UBC Sciences Po Dual Degree Program. She completed her first BA at Sciences Po where she majored in Political Humanities. At UBC, she is studying International Relations. She has worked with the Journalism, Writing, and Media Department as well as the UBC Arts Co-op Program and is proud to serve as an editor of the GRSJ in-house journal as well as the Journal of International Affairs. Her academic interests revolve around 19th and 20th century historiography and environmental policy. In her spare time, she reads fiction and drinks hot tea regardless of the temperature outside. 

Associate Director of Public

Relations and Outreach

Hannah Edward

Hannah is originally from Surrey, BC, and chose to major in International Relations because of the interdisciplinary nature of the degree. Indeed, she has always been interested in a lot of areas of study and it was hard for her to narrow it down. IR not only allows her to study things that she is passionate about but also challenges her to learn new and ever-evolving perspectives. Topics that pique her interest include South Asian diaspora, political philosophy, and international nutrition

Associate Director of Public

Relations and Outreach

Katharina Frowein

Katharina (she/her), originally from France, is a third-year student double-majoring in International Relations and Geography (Environment and Sustainability).

Katharina chose IR because she has always fostered an interest in global events. She especially loves how interdisciplinary this field of study is, which has enabled her to study and understand topics she is passionate about from a variety of perspectives, including sustainability and environmental politics. 

Podcast Director

Alex Miller

Alex is a fourth-year student majoring in International Relations. She is this year’s podcast director for Global Get Down, IRSA’s student-run podcast. Her goal is to make this season accessible to those within and outside of the IR field. As a student, she is focused on Eastern Asian politics, specifically the rise of China, China-U.S relations, and inter-regional politics between China and its neighbours. 

Podcast Producer

Shreya Bejgam

Shreya, from Hyderabad, India, is a second-year student at UBC hoping to major in International Relations and minor in Economics. Since she can remember, Shreya has always been interested in diplomacy, global issues, and the world economy, which motivated her to seek to pursue a career in International Diplomacy. She particularly enjoys learning new languages and can introduce herself in about 11 languages!

Podcast Producer

Jessica Wang

Jessica was born and raised in Harbin, China, and immigrated to Canada at the age of 13. She is pursuing an honours degree in Political Science and IR, with a dual degree in a Master of Management. She enjoys IR because of the degree's interdisciplinary nature, which provides a more holistic understanding of the world and encourages her to think further about common challenges we face as global citizens. She is especially interested in political theory, the rise of China, and global governance. She aspires to help facilitate cooperation between China and the West, and to tackle their common challenges, including climate change and inequality, through innovative global governance.

Podcast Producer

João (Johnny) Cerqueira

João (Johnny) is a second-year student hoping to major in International Relations with a minor in Psychology. He is currently interested in furthering his understanding of Foreign Policy from the perspective of workers, Social-Psychology, and Philosophy, with the aim of using these multi-disciplinary fields in order to better understand the current political system.  As a member of IRSA, he is working on the multi-platform podcast project “The Global Get Down”, where he hopes to dive into the genealogy of current systems of thought.

Director of Sustainability

Thanh Le

Thanh (she/her), from Hanoi, Vietnam, is a third-year International Relations major with a minor in Law and Society.

Her favourite part about being an IR major is the flexibility to choose from a wide array of disciplines and the tight-knit community. She has a particular interest in global environmental politics within the field of study. While her future is largely undecided, she would love to work in something sustainability-related and potentially go to law school. 

AUS Representative

Van Nguyen

.Van is a third-year student majoring in International Relations and minoring in Economics. She is particularly interested in learning about different cultures and keeping up with current events happening around the world. This is her first year on the IRSA Team as the AUS Representative and she hopes to contribute to the community by creating and planning events that will bring IR students together to connect on similar interests. 

CUPC Associate External

Sofia Lopez

Sofia is a second-year student looking to study International Relations and Urban Geography. She has created and moderated many conferences and events with the Richmond School District, Junior Achievements BC, YWCA, and many others. She hopes, through her events, to connect people of all different walks of life around a common goal by promoting communication and deliberation. 

Director of Professional Development

Jasmine Ashley-Dy

Jasmine is a third-year student majoring in International Relations with a minor in Law & Society. Jasmine spent her first two years at SciencesPo, as part of the Dual BA Program between SciencesPo-UBC. Having worked as a staffer to former Minister of Justice & Attorney General of Canada, The Hon. Jody Wilson-Raybould; as a public servant at Immigrations, Refugee, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC); research assistant; and in various non-profit roles, has allowed her to learn a lot about navigating professional environments, which she looks forward to applying in her role as Director of Professional Development.

Director of Prospective Students

Maria Robayo

Maria's passion for human rights, social justice, and climate change have all prompted her to seek a major in International Relations. She has had the privilege to live in Canada and Latin America throughout her life, and studying IR now allows her to continue meeting people from all over the world, who share different perspectives and knowledge. Now in her third year, Maria is currently IRSA's Prospective Students Director in charge of planning panels and information sessions for lower-year students interested in the IR program and she is awaiting her international exchange at Sciences Po Paris next term!

Director of Mentorship

Brianne Dy

Brianne is a third-year International Relations major from Richmond, B.C. Her favourite part about IR is that it encourages her to consider different perspectives when learning about global issues. Within the diverse field of IR, she is particularly interested in studies surrounding Southeast Asia. In the future, she hopes to pursue a Master's degree in Law or Global Affairs and also visit every country in Southeast Asia!

Director of Student Development

Danilo Angulo-Molina

Danilo is a fourth-year Honours Political Sciences and International Relations double-major student. Having grown up as an Internally Displaced Person (IDP) in the oldest armed conflict of the Americas in Colombia and having lived in the Middle East , experiencing and learning about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Danilo explains how conflict has always been a part of and significantly contributed to shaping his life. These experiences have motivated him to focus his studies on areas such as international law and criminal law, the rule of law, and the role of international tribunals and other institutions in preventing crimes against humanity and holding responsible parties accountable, on the world stage, for their actions. In his spare time, he directs and moderates the Let’s Talk About series at IRSA.

Director of Event Innovation

Jenny Jung

As a dual-degree student between SciencesPo and UBC, it has always been a personal aspiration for Jenny to become an executive member of IRSA, as she believes it plays a vital role in fostering a greater community within and beyond the International Relations program. As the Director of Event Innovation, she aspires to contribute my educational foundation in political, geopolitical, and global economic issues to the ongoing growth of IRSA.

She looks forward to enriching the student involvement in International Relations beyond IRSA.