Executive Chair

The Executive Chair’s duties include:
● Serving as primary liaison to the Office of Student Affairs and administration regarding Student Council;
● Facilitating the development of the Student Council’s Strategic Plan and annual report,
● Working with Committee Chairs to establish agendas for each meeting;
● Presiding over all meetings of the Student Council,
● Planning any Student Council retreats,
● Overseeing changes to the Constitution and By-Laws
● Coordinating the annual budgeting process

(Select 1)

Ines Bescos Vera (LDIT)
Why are you interested in serving on Student Council?
I am interested in serving the student council because in only 2 weeks I believe that we need to work towards improving the student experience. Additionally, I think that diversity in the council is crucial when communicating peers' ideas to the HGSE Faculty and staff.
What about your previous experiences positions you to effectively serve on Student Council?
I have been class representative in my previous program as well as university ambassador.

Flora Choi (SLP)
Why are you interested in serving on Student Council?
Hello everyone! My name is Flora, a second year School Leadership Program student. I would like to serve on the Student Council because I want to be YOUR advocate in addressing issues. My goal is to meet your needs so that you can have the BEST possible experience at HGSE. I care deeply about representation, which is not to pursue my own goals and ideas - but yours. As a part-time remote student, I am fully aware that some of us are very disappointed in how our program has turned out this year. And I hope to change that by relaying your concerns and thinking of innovative ways to enhance our experience academically and socially. If I am elected, I am committed to fight for the rights and interests of all HGSE students and to build a diverse and inclusive community together. Whether you are a part-time, full-time, remote, and residential student, let us be heard!
What about your previous experiences positions you to effectively serve on Student Council?
Being part of school committees previously has given me the skills to communicate effectively, work with members from diverse cultural background, plan events and set up meetings, and community building. I genuinely love listening to people, hear about their problems, and care about their well-being. I am open to new ideas for improvement, and I understand the importance of confidentiality. I will do my best to engage with you and seek for your input on crucial decisions because your voice matters. Thank you for your consideration. Together, we can work together to envision our ideal HGSE!

Dessiree Cuevas (ELOE)
Why are you interested in serving on Student Council?
After being heavily involved with Associated Students Incorporated (ASI) at the California State University East Bay (CSUEB), I strongly believe I will contribute positively and professionally on a graduate level. During my undergrad, I held different student government positions (First Year Intern, Committees Member, Director of Programming Council, Senator of Online Students & Executive Vice President/Chief of Staff) for ASI. During my time in ASI, I hosted over seventeen events, attended university-wide committees as a voting member, was an advisor from the ASI Senate, and mentor the first-year interns. I also had the opportunity to write around twelve resolutions and had them implemented at my university. As a student leader of CSUEB, I was fortunate enough to be mentored by some of the most innovative minds in higher education and student affairs. Under their guidance, I've honed my advocacy and leadership skills, as well as my knowledge of writing resolutions, developing university-wide events, and advocating at the local and state level. Though serving different student government positions, I have gained valuable knowledge, even having the opportunity to be involved in university projects, but it's time to use my skills to advocate for all HGSE students and make sure we are all being heard and value.
What about your previous experiences positions you to effectively serve on Student Council?
A leader is someone that does not need a title to make a difference. A leader is someone who is dedicated and is willing to learn and listen from others. Throughout my years of being a part of ASI, has help me understand what it truly means to advocate for all. My dedication is what makes me an unstoppable leader. In every position that I have served, I always give it my all. As the previous Executive Vice President/Chief of Staff of ASI at California State University East Bay, I helped start a toiletries initiative, worked with the University President and VP of Student Affairs to have free feminine products located in the restrooms, and worked with the Academic Senate to include a resource statement for homelessness students on the syllabus, and so much more. If given the opportunity to serve on the Student Council, I know I will make sure to find solutions to the current issues impacting our community.

Andrew Epifanio (EPA)
Why are you interested in serving on Student Council?
How we listen to others is a way in which we honor their humanity. As an HGSE Student Council representative, I aim to listen to understand the diverse perspectives of my peers and synthesize those perspectives into advocacy that leads to more effective policies. The experiences students have at the school will last a lifetime, and I understand the responsibility that comes with influencing policies which affect those experiences. As an aspiring policymaker, I hope to humbly serve my HGSE peers and honor the richness of their collective experiences.
What about your previous experiences positions you to effectively serve on Student Council?
The entirety of my professional history is one of public service. From my two years of civilian national service in Washington, D.C. with AmeriCorps to my time as staff co-chair of the campus-wide StanfordVotes initiative at Stanford University, I have been firmly committed to amplifying the voices of others and advancing issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). While at Stanford, I was also a member of, and rotational facilitator for, a DEI affinity group examining and challenging white privilege in order to advance equity and inclusion. Finally, my three years of professional experience in higher education equips me to skillfully navigate administrative bureaucracy while representing the voices of my peers.

Natasha Esteves (LDIT)
Why are you interested in serving on Student Council?
I've seen areas for improvement in building a positive cohort culture that could be facilitated by better communication and/or a liaison setup between incoming students and HGSE's leadership and teaching team.
What about your previous experiences positions you to effectively serve on Student Council?
Since I first joined the Whatsapp group that incoming/ formerly newly admitted students self-organized, I've organized two virtual Happy Hours and have gathered questions from the students for Rilda, one of our program directors, in order to gain and spread some clarity where I saw my fellow classmates confused. Being this sort of liaison/ organizer has been my natural inclination since I accepted the admission offer earlier this year.

Erica HyoWan Jang (SSP)
Why are you interested in serving on Student Council?
As a returning part-time virtual student, I witnessed what my classmates were going through and how the school responded last year. The global situation may have slightly recovered now compared to the previous year and schools are opening up accordingly, but we can tell that it can not be the same as the time before the pandemic.
I am grateful to the school for the effort of making our learning space safe and professional. However, while we are heading to the post-pandemic era, different systems and administrations can be necessary for embracing both in-person and virtual students.
I would like to participate in ongoing deliberation for improving students' academic, social, and emotional experiences here at HGSE and within the whole of Harvard, on behalf of part-time, virtual, international, female students. By serving on the Student Council, I believe that I will have more chances to speak up for my peers and deliver their voices which I've been hearing from both in-person and virtual students.
Moreover, actively participating in Student Council activities will allow me to develop diverse skills that I would need after graduation. I want to build great experiences by contributing to the school and help my colleagues through communication and collaboration.
It will be an honor to have the chance to serve on the Students Council as a part of the last cohort in the Specialized Studies Program.
What about your previous experiences positions you to effectively serve on Student Council?
I have served as a class president many times in my early ages, and I loved working for my classmates. I have volunteer experience as a Public Relations Committee Chair at my Rotary club, where communication was essential for the job. I served as a concertmaster of orchestras on three continents, leading and guiding musicians to enhance the orchestral sound, frequently mediating arguments between my team and conductors when there were discords.
My years-long living abroad experiences in 6 countries because of studies and careers gave me a broader outlook and a deeper understanding of diverse cultures with unique insights into real-world issues. In addition, being a nonprofit CEO and aspiring social entrepreneur who wishes to contribute to reducing inequality worldwide through education will surely share the school and peers' perspectives.
I think of myself as a bridge-builder who connects people, initiates relationships, and shares ideas and resources through my communication skills. If I could serve on the Student Council, I would contribute to the student body based upon my multicultural experience, artistic and philanthropic background, and communication skills. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sharad Sagar (ELOE)
Why are you interested in serving on Student Council?
Shut out of formal education for the first 12 years of my life, I know how much school, education and a school of education matter to the world. And today, fortunate to study at one of the finest schools of education in the world, I would like to matter to my school. I have a clear vision for the Council as we step into the next 100 years of HGSE. Like the great class of 1989 that wrote the preamble for the Council, we have the great opportunity to write the future of the Body. With our Masters programs redesigned, the world opening up after COVID and our students ready to lead from the front, I have a simple vision for our council, "Ed Anywhere is Ed Everywhere."

I will work with the student council, the student body and the school administration to bring new opportunities to Appian Way - from deep and meaningful engagement with the unsung, unheard and yet unmatched practitioners of education from all across the world to real-world integration of our students in the world of education as interns and advisors and full-time champions. I will work with our alumni and friends of HGSE (and, that will mean, anyone in education with a HGSE heart, not just those with a HGSE degree) to secure new opportunities for our Ed.M candidates. And, at the same time, I will work with the Council to provide and increase funding for unpaid internships, research opportunities and related travel. For the creative and the entrepreneurial, I will work to set up an experimental fund that will allow every HGSE student to take a leap of faith and test a new idea or launch a small project. I will work with every student at HGSE to build a space where we are all included, all heard and all embraced.

As an international student, a person of color, a first generation post-graduate student in family history, as a non-native English speaker, as a low-income student who worked his way to school and to college on full scholarships, I know what equity and opportunity and inclusion and justice have meant to me and every day on the Council, I will work with my fellow students to advance these within HGSE and through our experiences outside of it. I know that none of this will be easy and that is why I am running to be the Executive Chair and that is why I need your support, not just in getting elected but also in getting the job done.
What about your previous experiences positions you to effectively serve on Student Council?
Raised in small towns and villages of India, I was 12 when I first went to school, 16 when I founded an organization to connect low-income students with educational opportunities, 18 when I was appointed the Regional Ambassador for Asia-Pacific for a UNEP platform and 24 when I landed on the Forbes 30 under 30 list for powering the next generation of leaders.

I have seen poverty and exclusion and I have seen access and opportunity. I have experienced the lack of representation and I have had the honor to represent. I have seen the challenges and aspirations that low-income communities live with everyday and I have been to global cities and spoken at global platforms that often attempt to set a vision for the world. It is the best and the worst that I have seen, lived and experienced that have shaped me and inspire me everyday.

Life has trained me to be a servant leader, an effective enabler, a relentless builder and a resilient bridge. I am proud to lead an organization today that I founded at the age of 16 that connects over 6 million students with educational opportunities every month. It has produced some of India's finest young achievers and leaders from remote, far-flung, low-income districts and brought over 720 million INR in scholarships. It happened because I was always listening - to people, to ideas, to feedback and specially, to our children and that is the vision I hold for the council. We need a council that is always listening. My vision is to build a student council that is forward-looking, all-embracing and of real, practical value in everyday life of our proud HGSE students and through them in the lives of millions of others.

Jasmine Stecker (ELOE)
Why are you interested in serving on Student Council?
Representation is an issue that is at the heart of my goals as an EdM student. In my HGSE statement of purpose, I wrote "I truly believe equitable support and representation are two key factors at the heart of creating an environment in which all students can thrive academically and personally." I believe joining HGSE's Student Council will be an opportunity to turn my beliefs into action. As a Student Council member I will seek out my HGSE colleagues who are in need of support, listen to my colleagues' voices and stories, collaborate with my colleagues to find solutions, and make solutions into actions towards change. Even though we have only been at HGSE for a few weeks, I've learned so much from my fellow students and I am eager to give back to our community by serving on Student Council.
What about your previous experiences positions you to effectively serve on Student Council?
Harvard politics and administrative systems are a conundrum. I know this because I have been working at Harvard for years. I've witnessed Student Council members at Harvard Medical School balance the needs of their constituents with the inflexibility of the HMS administration. I've also seen how beautifully students and administration can work together when both sides approach each other with respect and motivation to make positive change. I've had to practice this balance in my own work at HMS as well, and I'm confident that my skills in this area can help HGSE's Student Council as it collaborates with HGSE administration on the issues of community, academics, and policies.

In addition to knowing how to play the Harvard game, I serve on the Black Staff Caucus at HMS as the Communications Committee Chair and previously served on the City of Newton, Mass Youth Commission Advisory Board, both of which have mechanics and goals similar to HGSE's Student Council. These experiences will allow me to comfortably navigate the logistics of serving on Student Council, so I can help the group focus strongly on the needs of HGSE students.

Ethan Westfall (LDIT)
Why are you interested in serving on Student Council?
Over my years in school, I rarely felt that student councils knew my needs or were improving my experience in any tangible way. While at HGSE, I want to help the Student Council be more empathetic and impactful for every HGSE student.
What about your previous experiences positions you to effectively serve on Student Council?
In undergrad I was a program director for a large local organization that sponsored activities to connect adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities with student peers. Planning, adjusting, and executing these activities gave me valuable insight into what it takes to build an inclusive community and I feel that experience will be valuable at HGSE.