Executive Board Members
2019 – 2020

Sergio Sepúlveda
President
Sergio is a third year PhD student in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department; he works at the Institute of Energy Conversion in how to integrate renewable energies to the electric grid and how to make the electric grid more resilient using Microgrids. He is from Cucuta, Colombia. He loves playing basketball, racquetball, squash, and volleyball. He enjoys watching horror, sci-fi, and super-hero movies.

Martín Vivero
Vice President
Martín is a Speech and Language Pathologist and a PhD student in Communication Sciences and Disorders. While working at a hospital in his country of origin, Chile, he realized his vocation for helping people to improve their quality of life through communication. Currently, he is interested in understanding the intricate relationships between the voice and the brain. He loves singing and music, learning languages, and meeting people from different countries and cultures. Therefore, he really likes traveling.

Yuksel Karahan
Secretary
Yuksel is a second-year Ph.D. student in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. He is currently working on data science techniques for semisupervised domain transfer. Besides his interest in machine learning algorithms, he likes discovering cultures and learning languages. He is proud to be part of the Hispanic/Latino community at the university where he is also learning Spanish as his fourth language. Yuksel is a gym enthusiast doing CrossFit for more than six months.

Mariano Burich
Treasurer
Mariano is a third-year Ph.D. student in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of Delaware. During his M.Sc. in Curitiba, Brazil (his hometown), he discovered how interesting telecommunications could be, motivating him to further pursue a Ph.D. Currently he works on error correcting codes, coded modulation, and analog coding; areas that aim to increase efficiency of communication systems by decreasing error rates, increasing throughput, or by saving energy. He can also be found riding his bike around Newark, playing FIFA, drinking coffee, trying to discover a new hidden band, or watching movies.

Gabriela Paredes
Webmaster
Gaby is a second-year master student in the Economics Department. Her interests are government and public policy evaluation. She is currently working on her master’s paper and taking the final credits to finish her studies. Gaby is from Quito, Ecuador and came to the USA with a Fulbright Scholarship. She loves sharing her culture!

Edgar Salazar
Student Relations Officer
Edgar is a fourth year PhD student, in the Electrical and Computer Department, currently working on hyper spectral image processing. He is originally from Colombia and has previously lived in Mexico city and Hamburg, Germany. Being in Hamburg, he discovered his passion for folkloric Latin American Dance. Together with his wife, Edgar created a Dance Group called “Lo Nuestro”, which performs in events close by Newark.

Akshay Bhosale
Student Relations Officer
Akshay is a first year PhD student in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and he works in the field of High Performance Computing. Besides being the Student Coordinator for HLGSA , he is the Secretary in-charge of the Blue Hen iBuddy program of OISS, a member of the International Student Advisory Committee (ISAC) and a member of the Student Diversity & Inclusion Advisory board. He loves volunteering and leadership roles, soccer, trying different cuisines and can be found in the gym any day of the week.

Juan Pablo Domínguez
Executive Officer
Juan Pablo is a second-year Master student in the Earth Sciences Department at CEOE. He is focusing on hydrology and groundwater resources on the Argentinean Andes where he is from. He lives in center-west Argentina in San Juan Province, a semi-arid region where the water is the most important resource for domestic and industrial uses. He loves outdoor sports such as hiking especially high mountains, biking, camping and enjoying nature besides spares time with friends and shares each other customs.

Nancy Contreras
Executive Officer
Nancy Contreras is a third year criminology doctoral student, and she is currently conducting an ethnographic study of culture-specific programs addressing the needs of urban youth of color. Nancy previously earned her Master of Criminal Justice degree at the University of Colorado Denver. Her previous practitioner experience includes providing services for women experiencing homelessness, group facilitation in the juvenile justice system, and assisting behavioral health outpatient care. Nancy is also president of the Graduate Council in her department. She is originally from California, and enjoys cross-country road trips back home. Nancy also loves traveling and playing with her dog Frida.
Past Executive Board Members
2018-2019
President – Carlos Mendoza
Vice President – Edgar Salazar
Secretary – Ricardo Llamas
Treasurer – Nancy Contreras
Webmaster – Nick Valdes
Officer – Luisa Turbino Torres
2017-2018
President and Founder – Barbara Romero
Vice President – Graciela Perez
Secretary – Nick Valdes
Treasurer – Sam Allgood
Webmaster – Carlos Mendoza
Officer – Edgar Salazar
Officer – Luisa Turbino Torres
Officer – Nancy Contreras