2009-2010 Elections

Candidate page for campaigning for the 2009-2010 academic year. Please email your nominations to gsaexternalchair@ucdavis.edu or annouce them at any General Assembly meeting.

Nominees:

• Malaika Singleton- I'm running for Chair again because I have enjoyed working for and with graduate students this past year. I really enjoyed serving as Vice-Chair, offering assistance to students and recruiting students for committee service. I was nervous taking the Chair position in the beginning as it was unexpected but with the help of the current EC, I was able to pick up where our previous Chair left off. So that's my message to anyone who is thinking of running but unsure if they will be able to do this job or perform well in any of the other positions. You can do it and we will be here to help. However, if I am re-elected next year, my goals are to continue working in various ways to enhance the graduate school experience for all graduate students. I will continue working on the Grad Women Thrive in Academia 'Zines and I'd also like to reach out to other organizations such as the Postdoctoral Scholars Association in the hopes of building informal mentoring relationships between graduate students and postdocs. I will also continue reaching out to professional students via the Law School Association. I've also recently accepted a nomination to serve as a representative for the western region on the NAGPS Social Justice Committee and will be working on campus climate and diversity issues in the western region. This will also make it possible for our GSA to form relationships with other schools in the region and learn from one another. There are a number of other student organizations and activities that I stay involved in which put me in a unique position to do this job effectively and I thank you for your support thus far and hope you will continue to support me in the future. If you'd like to read up on my past activities please check out the GSA Chair page which will be updated soon.

Nominees:

• Karinna Hurley - I'm running for Vice Chair again because I've really enjoyed participating in the GSA and would like to continue serving graduate students. During the 2007-2008 year I served as the Public Relations Officer and had a wonderful experience organizing social events and working with other graduate students on student-life issues. I was elected as Vice Chair 1/2 way through the 2008-2009 academic year in a special election. So far, I have recruited several new graduate students to serve on campus-wide committees, and next year I hope to expand these efforts and help even more interested graduate students participate. I worked with the Excellence in Service to Graduate Student committee members to improve the selection process for this award - making the process easier for both the nominators and selection committee members. If re-elected next year, one of my goals is to increase communication and feedback opportunities for all graduate student committee members. I am also committed to helping organize the GSA records - this year I'm working on creating binders for each EC member. Documentation of each years events will help newly elected EC members transition into their position and help reelected members build on the projects of the previous year.

Nominees:

• Marrah Lachowicz-Scroggins - Although if elected this would be my 3rd term on the EC, I wanted to make a declaration that I am graduating in June 2010. Therefore, I will not serve again, this would be my last year! I am running for External Chair again for the 2009-2010 academic year as this is a critical time for advocacy for graduate students at Davis. We left UCSA two years ago, a key voice to the Regents. I have been working diligently to ensure that we have a voice by a variety of different means. I have spent this year generating connections at the local, state and national level to help address our issues. I feel that more work needs to be done at the local level. I plan to focus on lobbying at the state capitol and investigate potential partnerships with other advocacy groups working on similar issues in the next academic year. I will continue to serve as an executive officer of NAGPS until at least middle-November and therefore this facilitates my ability to lobby for our issues at the national level. I also plan to continue with all of the current work such as partnering with other GSA's from schools in CA (we've already established relationships with Stanford, UCSD and UCLA) and service on campus (UCD-City Liaison commission, HFOC and SHIP committees). My goal is to establish all of the necessary connections future External Chairs to ensure they will be successful in advocating for the needs of graduate students on campus, at the state and national levels. If you would like more information on my work for the 2008-2009 year, please see GSA External Chair.

Nominees:

• Erica McKenzie - I have served as the GSA treasurer these last two years and am running again for the 2009-10 year for the position of treasurer again. Let me first say that I welcome other to run against me — anyone can do this job. All it takes is interest, and that is something that I have. The official position of the treasurer is well defined (e.g., develop the budget, determine rep allotments, department fund allotments, and the GSA travel awards). Developing the budget is the best part, as this is where the Treasurer really gets to shape the GSA. The rest is mostly book keeping, and mostly formula driven. Additionally, the Treasurer is a non-voting member of the Student Services and Fees Administrative Advisory Committee, and this has been extremely interesting this past year, given the budgetary climate. Though this is a non-voting position, I believe that this is a place that I have made a significant contribution to promoting/protecting graduate student issues at UC Davis. I enjoy the "treasurer-specific work", but I also very much enjoy hearing about, responding/critiquing, and participating in the ventures of my co-EC members as we all work to serve the GSA. If you would like more information on my work for the 2008-2009 year, please see my treasurer web page.
  

Nominees:

• Trina Filan - I am running for GSA secretary because I am interested in taking an expanded leadership role within the Association. I have served on the GSA as a rep for the Geography Graduate Group for the past two years, and this year I had the opportunity to serve on the (G)SHIP committee. Through these experiences, I have come to appreciate the role that effective leadership (and sometimes just one's presence when decisions are made) can play in the lives of grad students, and I wish to make a greater contribution to the well-being of all grad students at UCD. This position presents a terrific chance to engage more deeply in service and to understand the pathways and ramifications of decision-making in the lives of a rather under-appreciated community - US. Plus, I take terrific notes, and I plan to continue with Margaret's efforts to organize, catalog, and make available electronically all past minutes, posters, and other relevant information. You won't miss a thing, I promise.
  

Nominees:

• Stacey Ellis - I am running for reelection for the 2009-2010 academic year because I have really enjoyed having the opportunity to organize so many graduate student events, and those in attendance seem to have enjoyed the events as well. I have learned a lot of lessons along the way, and I will be able to carry those lessons forward with me if I am elected to serve next year. The first event of the year is the GSA Barbecue which was a huge undertaking! I would be able to pass on many of the lessons about a successful barbecue to future PROs, obviously, but so much of it is just intuition that I will be bringing with me. Every event that I have organized has served as not only a chance to reach out to grad students, but has been a lesson on what works and what does not. Please see the GSA Public Relations Officer page for information about the various events that I have organized this year. In general, feedback has been good at the events, and I definitely take all feedback from grad students into account as I plan more events. If given the chance to serve as PRO next year, I will likely be working with a smaller budget, but I have ideas for similar events to this year, and am open to the possibility of entirely new events if grad students show interest.
  

Nominees:

• Adam Costanzo - For the past year I have served as the Campus Organizing Director for the GSA. Over that time I’ve had the opportunity to serve the graduate community is a variety of ways. Unlike some of the other EC positions the COD position has very few specific duties laid down in the bylaws. Mostly the COD provides support for the other members of the EC. In addition to these duties, I’ve chosen to focus my committee work on technology and computing issues. It’s been great to get an active grad student voice on the committees that determine where technology funds are spent and how key software initiatives like SmartSite are developed and put in place. In addition, I’ve begun to seek out opportunities for grads not only to socialize but also to make a difference in their community. I’m currently organizing a volunteer group for the Summer Games of the Special Olympics of Northern California. The Campus Organizing Director wiki page has all the details of that project and more. I’m seeking reelection to the post of Campus Organizing Director because I feel like there are more ways that I can help both grads and our community. Now that I have a feel for the position and the campus bureaucracy, I plan to grow our partnership with Outdoor Adventures as well as other campus organizations and I hope to work with EIT to find better ways for all grads to connect with each other.