Board of Directors

John Kennedy

John T. Kennedy is in his tenth year of Model United Nations involvement. He first became interested in the activity when his long-time mentor and social studies teacher offered it as an alternative to full-fledged debate club. It is a good thing, because John came to enjoy the informed discussions, role-playing and consensus building inherent in MUN more than the competitive debate styles. As a high school student in San Antonio, John attended conferences all around Texas, including the Central Texas MUN and the International Monterrey MUN Simulation in Mexico. In college, he attended an invitational conference in Washington, D.C., and had the privilege of being able to participate in the National MUN conference in New York City as a high school and college student. John has served as the Secretary General of the Central Texas MUN and Undersecretary General of the Houston Area MUN conferences.

John now works as a Policy Analyst for the United States Department of Transportation, Office of the Secretary in Washington, D.C., where he has accepted a Presidential Management Fellowship. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with degrees in Journalism, Government, Urban Planning, and Public Policy, and looks forward to participating in CTMUN's continual growth as an organization.

Ashwin Kumar

Ashwin Kumar is in his 12th year of involvement with Model UN programs. He began his Model UN career in Kuwait, attending regional conferences in Kuwait and The Hague International Model United Nations (THIMUN) conference in the Netherlands. Ashwin has served as the Secretary General for Central Texas MUN and Under Secretary General for Houston Area MUN. He has also attended collegiate conferences as a delegate and has coached the UT MUN traveling team. Ashwin is currently the Director of Worldwide Marketing for tei Technology in Austin, Texas. Ashwin graduated from the University of Texas with a BA in Political Science and Economics.

Andrew Roush

Andrew Roush has been a part of CTMUN since 2005. He served as Secretary-General of CTMUN in 2008, and has represented the UT collegiate Model UN club in New York, San Francisco and Bonn, Germany. In 2009 he, along with Board Chairman Ashwin Kumar, served as an advisor to the club's trip to WorldMUN in The Hague. Andrew has also been involved with HAMUN and UNA-USA Model UN, and served as the Secretary-General of UNA's Global Classrooms: Houston conference. He also serves as Editor-in-Chief of Reply Magazine, an Austin-based nonprofit.

Clare Liguori

Clare Liguori is in her 14th year of involvement with Model UN programs. She first got hooked on Model UN when her middle school Social Studies teacher conducted a simulation of the Security Council, and she made a passionate speech as the delegate from China! Clare has served as Secretary-General of both the Central Texas MUN and Houston Area MUN conferences. She has also attended collegiate conferences as a delegate, including National MUN in New York City and the Invitational MUN conference in Washington, D.C. Clare is currently a Senior Software Engineer at Motorola in Austin, Texas. Clare graduated from the University of Texas with degrees in Computer Science and French.

Vishal Kumar

Vishal Kumar has been involved in Model UN since 2002. He has been an integral part of Central Texas MUN since 2006, serving as Secretary-General from 2008-2009. Vishal participated extensively on the UT MUN collegiate team, bringing awards home from conferences in The Hague and San Francisco as well as coaching the team. He has also been a part of the UNA-USA Model UN staff since 2008. Vishal is currently a Finance Rotation Analyst for Microsoft Corporation in Redmond, Washington. Vishal graduated from the University of Texas in May of 2010 with degrees in Business Honors and Finance.

Alexandra Fu

This year marks Alexandra Fu's eighth involved in Model UN. She first helped reestablish the MUN chapter at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy (LASA) after years of its inactivity, participating in various MUN conferences as a high school delegate, including serving as a chair for Central Texas MUN her senior year. Today, LASA boasts a thriving program that comprises three classes, a middle school outreach program, and competition at the national level. On the collegiate level, Alex has represented UT Austin internationally at the WorldMUN conference hosted by Harvard University in The Hague, The Netherlands, in addition to the Chicago Model United Nations (ChoMUN) conference hosted by the University of Chicago. Alex graduated from the University of Texas with a BS in Psychology this past May, and is currently employed as a clinical assistant at Seton Shoal Creek Hospital while she finishes her senior honors thesis to receive her BA in Plan II Honors. She will continue to serve an active role in coaching and advising the UT MUN team.

Jordan Penland

Jordan has been involved with CTMUN for 7 years and is looking forward to his last and certainly best year with the program. He was first introduced to Model UN by his older brother and esteemed teacher and mentor in his freshman year of high school. Since then, Jordan has participated in state, national and international conferences, winning awards at many. In 2010, Jordan served as CTMUN's Secretary General and is currently serving as the collegiate travelling team's captain. He has also had to privilege of participating in UNA-USA's New York high school conference the Chair for the World Food Program.

Currently Jordan is in his 4th year at the University of Texas and is slated to commission as an Ensign in the United States Navy in May 2011 as a Nuclear Surface Warfare Officer. Jordan is looking forward to a bright and fruitful year of Model UN with CTMUN's upcoming conferences in Washington, Montreal and Singapore.