Student Senate Members
The Senate consists of a six-member Executive Board, a Legislature responsible for major decisions, and the ten students who sit on the College’s Judicial Council.
- The Executive Branch of the Student Senate consists of the Executive Board and the Cabinet, which collectively organize, coordinate, and oversee all actions and activities of the Pitzer College Student Senate.
- The Executive Board consists of the President of Student Senate, as well as five Vice Presidents.
- Each member of the Executive Board is independently elected to their respective office, and each has a number of unique duties and responsibilities.
- All members of the Executive Board serve on a variety of different college and student committees, often in leadership capacities. They meet privately at least once a week in addition to all regularly scheduled Student Senate meetings, and they work closely with both the Legislature and the Cabinet to ensure all branches of government-run smoothly and effectively.
- The Cabinet, which supports the Executive Board, consists of a Presiding Officer, Treasurer, Internal Secretary, Secretary of Student Organization, Public Relations Director, and Co-Events Board Chairs.
- The legislative branch of the Student Senate consists of a unicameral body, composed of a mixture of elected and appointed Senators.
- The majority of Senators represent the student body at large and are assigned to serve on a college committee.
- A small number of senators are elected to represent special constituencies.
- The legislature convenes on a weekly basis during the academic year, or in special circumstances when the Executive Board calls an emergency meeting. They collectively vote on and approve all legislation, including resolutions, bills, and constitutional amendments.
- The Pitzer College Judicial Council is a policy enforcement body that is charged with reviewing violations to the Pitzer College Student Code of Conduct.
- The Pitzer College Student Senate Adjudication Board bears sole responsibility for adjudicating disputes regarding the meaning or interpretation of its own governing documents.
- It consists of five members, including the acting presiding officer as chair and four senators.
Paa Thompson, President
The President of the Student Senate is the official representative and spokesperson for the students of Pitzer College and helps guide Senate in implementing its priorities and objectives. The President oversees the operations of the Executive Branch and Senate as a whole.
Richard Julian Ampah, Vice President of External Affairs
The Vice President of External Affairs (VPex) is responsible for managing and overseeing Student Senate’s interactions with the college, and joint projects with staff, faculty, and administration. VPex provides coordination and guidance to student representatives on standing committees of Pitzer College and students in those positions. While every member of the Executive Branch must engage with staff, faculty, administration, and trustees, it is the responsibility of the VPex to ensure that Senate is a vigorous participant in the shared governance process.
Jasmine Ali, Vice President of Internal Affairs
The Vice President of Internal Affairs (VPin) is responsible for coordinating the internal operations of Student Senate. It’s the VP’s role to guide and advise the Internal Secretary, helping members of Senate draft legislation, helping students get involved on task forces, and stepping in wherever Senate needs additional support.
Ella Hale, Vice President of Finance
The Vice President of Finance (VPf) manages the budget of Student Senate. It is the VP’s role to plan and track the annual budget of Student Senate and implement long-term changes to the system. This involves several major duties including chairing Budget Committee, club and organization budget hearings, preparing the annual budget, reporting the finances of Student Senate, and managing the credit cards.
Siya Bhola, Vice President of Student Engagement
The Vice President of Student Engagement (VPse) coordinates Senate’s efforts to enrich student life at Pitzer College. It’s the VP’s role to oversee all clubs and student organizations at the College and work closely with the Secretary of Student Organizations, Secretary of Diversity, and Secretary of Events.
Lola Latan, Vice President of Diversity
The Vice President of Diversity (VPd) provides guidance to all identity groups. It is the VP’s role to coordinate between identity groups and other parts of Student Senate and emphasize the interests and needs of historically marginalized communities on campus.
Maryam Jamali, Treasurer
The Treasurer’s primary duty is to manage reimbursements for Student Senate, as well as assisting the Vice President of Finance with running Budget Committee meetings.
Leonardo Capozzi, Public Relations Director
The Public Relations Director facilitates public communications by regularly updating the Senate’s website and uploading on social media pages to spread awareness to the student body of agenda items. The Director also works closely with the Vice President of External Affairs and student journalists to ensure all written reports and news articles are accurate and contain factual information only.
Megha Madhabhushi & Kaitlyn O’Connor, Events Board Co-Chairs
The Events Board Co-Chairs serve as the chair of the Pitzer College Events Board, which is Pitzer’s primary programming board for student-organized events. The Events Board oversees an annual programming fund and works closely with events staff, student organizations, and the Vice President of Student Engagement to create a wide variety of successful events every year.
Frederica Aboagye, Secretary of Student Organizations
The Secretary of Student Organizations oversees student organizations and ensures that they adhere to the rules and regulations of the Student Senate bylaws. The Secretary conducts a semesterly review of all student organizations chartered by the Student Senate in order to verify their active status as a standing organization.
Vitumbiko Kambilonje, Internal Secretary
The Internal Secretary is responsible for keeping the proceedings of Student Senate well-documented and organized. The Secretary record minutes, track attendance, and ensure that documents are properly distributed. The Secretary also informs the student body of updates in Senate.
Sara Orr, Identity Board Chair
First-Year Class Representative
Sophomore Class Representative
Junior Class Representative
Senior Class Representative
Devran Orens, Anco Veiga
Inside Student Representative
Liaison for the Inside Student Representative
New Resource Student Representative
Office of Discrimination, Harassment, and Sexual Misconduct Representative
Student Affairs Committees
Alexander Grigorian, L. Brock, Vera Rosenblum, Zurayna Fatima Saif
Campus Aesthetics Committee
Akniyet Aldabergen, Cephas Omono Asamoah, Kirk Lord, Samara Bainton, Sid Goldfader-Dufty
Teaching, Learning & Campus Life Committee
Carter Soe, Callia Kanaaneh
Mana Hashimoto, Sam Hanson
Student-Alumni Relations Committee
Academic Affairs Committees
James Oliver Dean, Jordan McCornock, Shannon Wong, Yaw Danquah Acquah
Academic Planning Committee
Jasper Broad, Taylor Marshall
Academic Standards Committee
Aidan Henrikson, Chi Adi
Appointments, Promotions, and Tenure Committee
Finnan MacRunnels, Marley Thomson, Sebastián Maldonado
Diego Tamayo, Mateo Sanguinetti-Zelikow
Study Abroad and International Programs Committee
Annie Voss, Elena Fields
Faculty Executive Committee
Judicial Council Representatives
Judicial Council Representatives: The Pitzer College Judicial Council is a policy enforcement body that is charged with reviewing violations to the Pitzer College Student Code of Conduct (see page 55 of the Student Handbook).
Adjudication Board: The Pitzer College Student Senate Adjudication Board bears sole responsibility for adjudicating disputes regarding the meaning or interpretation of its own governing documents. It consists of five members, including the acting presiding officer as chair and four senators.