2019-2020 Officers

The Principal Officers of the organization consist of the President, Vice President, Chief of Staff, Treasurer and Secretary. The President and Vice President are elected by the student body in the Spring Elections, while the Chief of Staff, Treasurer and Secretary are nominated by the President and confirmed by the UA Council. Each Officer leads an Office, which assists them in performing their duties. There are typically five people in each Office. The authority of the Principal Officers, and their responsibilities, are derived from Article II, Section B of the UA Constitution.

President - Mahalaxmi Elango (ua-president [at] mit.edu)

Vice President - Charlotte Minsky (ua-vp [at] mit.edu)

Chief of Staff - Rishi Shah (ua-chief [at] mit.edu)

Treasurer - Andrew J Haeffner (ua-treasurer [at] mit.edu)

Secretary - Naomi Michael (ua-secretary [at] mit.edu)

Assistant Officer on Diversity - Danielle Geathers (ua-diversity [at] mit.edu)

Assistant Officer on Policy - Fiona Chen & Noah McDaniel (ua-policy [at] mit.edu)

Office of the President

The duties and responsibilities of the Office are detailed in Article II, Section B of the UA Constitution. The Office of the President is the entity that each elected President inherits upon their succession. It symbolizes the policies of former Presidents, and also the policies of the present office holder. Through the Office of the President, the President is the Chair of the UA Council, nominates Principal Officers, appoints and dismisses committee chairs and assistant officers, and executes the policies of the organization. The Office also chairs the Special Budgetary Committee, which prepares the UA Budget, and also chairs the UA Council-Exec Committee on Bylaws and Procedures. The Office is ultimately responsible for the functions, operations and decisions of the Executive.

The Principal Officers assist the President in executing their duties.

Democratic Mandate

The President and Vice President are elected on a platform. It is through accomplishing this platform that the President and Vice President gain and maintain their legitimacy. Once elected, the platform becomes the 'democratic mandate' of the President, and it is their responsibility to achieve the priorities laid out in their platform. As always, any changes to currently existing policies, or any new policies, must be approved by the UA Council.

President - Mahi Elango (Copy)

Mahi is a junior in Courses 6-2 and 9. She's from Seattle, Washington and currently lives in the AXO House. In her free time she enjoys going on runs, trying new restaurants & cuisines, and napping. Her favorite animal is most definitely not snakes.

Vice President - Charlotte Minsky (Copy)

Charlotte is a senior majoring in Course 12 (Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences) and 21E (History and Computer Science). She’s a native Massachusettsian who now calls MacGregor’s J Entry her home, and is the president of Queer West and the Prison Education Initiative. In her free time, Charlotte can be found listening to podcasts, exploring the hills of New England, and yelling into the void about her research.

Chief of Staff - Rishi Shah (Copy)

Rishi is a senior studying EECS, BCS, and Poly Sci. On campus, he’s involved with Army ROTC, his fraternity Phi Beta Epsilon, and Camp Kesem. From Mason, Ohio, Rishi enjoys running, watching food shows, and eating Ben & Jerry’s while a constant loop of podcasts play in the background.

Treasurer - Andrew J Haeffner (Copy)

AJ is a junior studying EECS with a focus towards Robotics and Autonomous Systems. He is from Fort Lauderdale, Florida and currently lives in Zeta Psi. He enjoys reading books from the Jack Ryan Series and other novels by Tom Clancy.

He is ambivalent about snakes, but can see himself making friends with one.

Secretary - Naomi Michael (Copy)

Naomi is a sophomore majoring in Mechanical Engineering. She’s originally from Asmara, Eritrea but grew up in Fayetteville, Arkansas. On campus, Naomi lives in Baker and is involved in Camp Kesem and MCG. In her free time, Naomi loves to travel, bake, do yoga, and eat ice cream.

Assistant Officer on Diversity - Danielle Geathers (Copy)

Danielle is a sophomore majoring in Mechanical Engineering with a concentration in Product Design and minoring in African and African Diaspora Studies. She’s from Miami, Florida and currently lives in Maseeh. Danielle is on the Women’s Varsity Soccer Team and enjoys going out to eat and watching movies.

Assistant Officer on Policy - Fiona Chen (Copy)

Fiona is a junior in course 14 (economics) and course 18 (mathematics). She is from Alameda, CA and now lives on Maseeh 4. She enjoys art museums, indie concerts, hiking, podcasts, egg fried rice, and butter pecan ice cream.

Assistant Officer on Policy - Noah McDaniel (Copy)

Noah is a senior majoring in City Planning and minoring in Economics. He lives in Sigma Alpha Epsilon and grew up in Pittsburgh, PA. Noah performs with Roadkill Buffet and hopes to grudgingly pursue comedy if his career doesn’t pan out. He likes to ride his bike while laughing at cars stuck in traffic.