Meet the Secretariat

Sheisha Kulkarni - Secretary-General

Sheisha is in her fourth year at McGill studying economics and finance. Hailing from Toronto, she is thrilled to be in a city that makes Southern Ontario feel tropical most of the time. A dedicated and active SSUNS enthusiast, this is her fourth time staffing and fifth year being involved in the conference. She hopes that SSUNS 2009 is just as rewarding to the delegates as it is for her and that they have a great Montreal experience!






Vassili Bazinas - Chargé d'Affaires

Born in the capital of the world, NYC, Vassili grew up in Vienna, Austria in a trilingual environment, also picking up French along the way. After two years at McGill, he is currently enrolled in a Joint Honours Economics & Math programme with a minor in French and set for a career in economics or law. Despite this serene and weathered exterior, which Garcia Marquez may have had in mind when describing his chiseled Jose Arcadio, this year's Chargé will do the utmost to assure that your experience at SSUNS is as interesting and stimulating as possible!


Olga Redko - USG Committees

Having previously held the ridiculously long-titled position of Deputy Undersecretary-General Committees for Specialized Agencies and Crises, Olga is thrilled to return to her third year of SSUNS and her second year on the Secretariat. When not putting all of her energy into making this the best SSUNS yet, Olga is pursuing a major in Political Science with minors in English Literature and French. What little spare time she has is spent meandering around Montreal, cooking, and riding her bike while it's still nice outside. A long-time model UN participant herself, she hopes that this year's SSUNS delegates come away with a wealth of knowledge of international affairs and a fantastic conference experience overall!


Jessica Gallinger - Chief of Staff

Jessica Gallinger hails from Edmonton, AB where she spent her childhood on the prairies herding wild cattle and drilling for oil, liquid gold. She is currently in her second year at McGill with a double major in English literature and Psychology. This is her second year staffing SSUNS and her first year on the SSUNS secretariat. She hopes to use her knowledge of the United Nations and international affairs in social psychology research to grow new strategies that foster cooperation between groups. Aside from model UN and cattle herding, Jessica enjoys a wide variety of activities including yoga, kayaking, reading, and neuroscience research.




Lisa Burns - Director of Public Relations

Lisa is currently a fourth year student pursuing a degree in Political Science with a double Minor in Canadian Studies and Education. A Toronto native, this will be Lisa's first year as a Secretariat member but her seventh SSUNS Conference, having previously participated as both a delegate and a chair. In her free time she enjoys traveling, dancing, writing, and, of course, saving the world. As a model U.N. enthusiast, Lisa is extremely passionate about politics and the environment and hopes to one day pursue a career as a journalist. As your Director of Public Relations, Lisa is incredibly excited to work with this year's incredibly talented and entertaining Secretariat to make your Montreal experience the best one possible, and she looks forward to meeting each one of you at the Conference in November.



Robert Townley - USG Operations

Robert is a 3rd year student from New York City studying International Business at McGill University, with minors in political economy and french. In his free time, he enjoys playing guitar and flute, gaming (console, computer, tabletop... you name it,) martial arts, cooking and dreaming of a world where the International Chamber of Commerce has expanded credibility on the world stage. He also plays soccer. At SSUNS 2009, he will be taking on the role of Chief of Operations, and will be responsible for ensuring that the conference's equipment needs are met. He also co-organized the delegate dance, so if you enjoy yourselves there, a "nice job!" coupled with a high-five is always appreciated. Robert is a a part of SSUNS because, to him, Model UN truly is a unique and wonderful program. Seeing world peace brought about in 3 days by a few hundred high school and CEGEP students in suits is enough to make anyone optimistic about the world's future. Robert has made that optimism a part of who he is, and he is excited to be there as you all make SSUNS a part of who you are. Robert reminds everyone attending to have a great time, and not to break anything in the hotel!

Antoine (Beauvais-)Lacasse - USG Information and Technology

Antoine is entering his third year at McGill University and his second year on the SSUNS Secretariat. Known both for being probably the only secretariat member to be a chemistry major, and for his enthusiastic distribution of ice-cream sandwiches to the homeless of Montreal, Antoine takes pride first and foremost in doing his best to provide smooth and painless integration of technology to the conference. Antoine was born in Montreal but was uprooted to New Jersey (not the dirty part, he adds) at a young age, explaining his curious pronunciation of "coffee". He is excited about taking SSUNS IT to new heights.






Hussein Kapasi - USG Financial Affairs

Hussein, the man behind the cash has the position of USG Finance. He is responsible for overall budgeting and accounting for the whole conference. Hussein was born in India, but lived in Saudi Arabia before moving to Montreal. Currently studying at the faculty of Management, Hussein keeps great interest in International Relations.





Edmond Lu - Deputy Director of Public Relations
Having spent the half of his life in Qingdao, China, and the latter half of his life in Vancouver and now Montreal, Edmond would like to think that makes him "worldly" even though he has only lived in the suburbs everywhere he goes. Edmond is currently in the Management faculty and hoping to pursue a major in Marketing. Having never done MUN before SSUNS, everything has been a learning experience. He hopes that the delegates will enjoy their days in Montreal and that SSUNS 2009 will be a great success!








Suryadeep Seal - Deputy USG Committees, Specialized Agencies & Crises

Deep joins the SSUNS Secretariat for the first time from South Korea after having spent fifteen formative years of his life in India. Currently in the Faculty of Science, he hopes to pursue a double major in Physiology and Political Science. Having sold his soul to SSUNS, in his miniscule hours of leisure, Deep enjoys sleeping and embraces the Hakuna Matata way of life. A devout Model United Nations enthusiast, he hopes that this year's delegates are as thrilled to be a part of what is to be the most enthralling SSUNS experience ever. Get excited!





Michael Tong - Deputy USG Committees, GAs & ECOSOCs

Michael is entering his second year at McGill studying Anatomy & Cell Biology with desperate aspirations to attend medical school, or any form of postgraduate education (he's not picky). Born and raised in the suburbs of Toronto, Michael always wondered how someone became a member of the SSUNS Secretariat, but never really thought he would be one. Cut to today, where he spends his days and nights editing background guides and wondering why Boutros Boutros-Ghali has the same first and last names. This is his second year staffing at SSUNS, and he is quietly anticipating the intense delegate debates, productive committee sessions and giant name badge he gets to wear (mostly the name badge). Michael enjoys watching TV, reading blogs and pondering who will be the next contestant voted off of Survivor and Top Chef in his spare and not so spare time.