Alex Merchant

Editor in Chief

Alex Merchant is a third year in the college studying political science and Hispanic studies (Spanish & Portuguese). This past summer Alex worked in Colombia for the National Security Archive researching freedom of information processes and their use in human rights prosecution. Academically he is interested in Latin America, security issues, and political economy.

Spencer Seconi

Executive Editor

David Spencer Seconi was the co-founder of the Colgate International and is currently the Managing Editor of CheatingCulture.com. He is a History major with a specialization in modern European political and economic integration. He hopes to sell his soul to an international corporation and fly first-class British Airways for the rest of his life.

Divya Subramanian

Lead Senior Editor

Divya Subramanian is a Barnard junior majoring in philosophy and history. She recently interned at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, working on climate-related health risks in sub-Saharan Africa. Among her interests are modern British history, political philosophy, and international monetary regimes. Divya also enjoys chamber music and pick-up soccer games.

Austin Moukattaf

Managing Editor

Austin is a junior at Columbia College, currently working towards a double-major in History and French Literature. On campus, Austin is actively involved in Inside New York, a guidebook for New York City. During his free time, Austin loves to write about food and travel.

Ross A. Bruck

Publisher

Ross Bruck is a junior in Columbia College majoring in Financial Economics. He is also the Editor in Chief of the Columbia Undergraduate Law Review and is a contributing writer for the Columbia Political Review. In his free time he enjoys reading, skiing, golfing, and traveling.

23rd Editorial Board

Amna Ahmad

Associate Editor

Amna Ahmad is a Columbia College junior studying Sociology. She can be found admiring beautiful works of art and architecture or reading JPS submissions over coffee in Brooklyn when she should be studying.

Elaine Baynham

Speakers Series Coordinator and Associate Editor

Elaine is in her third year at Columbia College, double majoring in History and English. This past summer she worked at the Council on Foreign Relations and began research on her History thesis to be completed Spring 2012. On campus Elaine is the publisher of the Blue and White Magazine, a member of the Undergraduate Recruitment Committee, and part of the Music Performance Program.

Alex Bedrosyan

Associate Editor

Alex Bedrosyan is a Columbia College junior majoring in political science and concentrating in Russian. Last Spring he studied abroad at the Russian State University for the Humanities in Moscow, and this past summer interned at the James Martin Center for Non-proliferation Studies in beautiful Monterey, CA, focusing on efforts to combat illicit nuclear trafficking in ungoverned territories and weak states. Originally from Toronto, Canada, Alex enjoys playing basketball and keeping up with world affairs.

Erin Bilir

Associate Editor

No bio

Antonia Blue-Hitchens

Associate Editor

Antonia is a freshman in Columbia College, likely majoring in History. She is also interested in American studies, international affairs, and public health.

Rebecca Chan

Associate Editor

Rebecca is a Columbia College senior studying environmental chemistry and political science. Specializing in international relations, she is interested in climate change, human rights, and international law. She enjoys playing the piano, meandering through the city, spending too much time in coffee shops, and practicing yoga.

Ortal Cohen

Associate Editor

Ortal Cohen is a junior in General Studies, majoring in Political Science and Economics. She also works as a Diplomatic Liaison in the Israeli Mission to the United Nations, where she develops and coordinates work relations with the UN Protocol and US State Department. On campus, Ortal is on the Editorial Board of the Columbia Undergraduate Law Review, and enjoys singing Soparno with the Columbia Collegium.

Manuel Cordero

Website Manager

Manuel Cordero is a third year in the college studying architecture. Outside of Helvidius he is also the Treasurer of the Architecture Society and runs his own design business, Jackson Heights Studio. When he isn’t designing skyscrapers or gluing pieces of balsa wood to magnets, he enjoys dabbling in Tibetan Studies.

Michael Discenza

Associate Editor

Michael Discenza is a Columbia College junior double majoring in statistics and sociology. At Columbia he also serves as a Resident Advisor, a research assistant in sociology department and an executive board member for the Application Development Initiative, a group for computer programers. His academic interests include economic sociology, quantitative sociology, the built environment, and international trade flows. He also enjoys photography and cycling.

Ben Drucker

Advertisement Manager and Associate Editor

Ben is a freshman in Columbia College majoring in Economics. He is active in the New York City startup community and is also an avid photographer and Yankee fan.

Matthew Gladstone

Senior Editor

Matthew Gladstone is a Columbia College sophomore studying Economics-Political Science and History with a particular interest in U.S. foreign policy. In his free time, Matt is both a baseball and football fanatic and a Snapple addict.

Caroline Park Kim

Subscriber Liaison and Associate Editor

Caroline Park Kim is a junior at Barnard College double majoring in Economics and Political Science. In her free time, she enjoys picnicking, cooking, gardening, knitting, brisk walking, and most other hobbies associated with the elderly.

Katherine Cheasty Kornman

Associate Editor

No bio.

Emma Manson

Manager at Large

Emma is a junior in Columbia College and a Morningside Heights native. She is spending the year abroad at the University of Cambridge, where she is reading history, writing essays, and learning to live outside Manhattan.

Melissa Marichal

Associate Editor

Melissa Marichal is in her third year at Columbia College, double majoring in Anthropology and Political Science. Melissa’s academic interests concern the intersections between politics and culture and include more specifically citizenship, nationhood and identity formations, public policy, and international law. Outside of JPS, Melissa enjoys serving as a research assistant in the Department of Political Science, supporting a number of social justice initiatives in her community, learning Mandarin Chinese and cooking.

Richard Medina

Associate Editor

Rich Medina is a junior in Columbia College majoring in Economics-Political Science and concentrating in Hispanic Studies. He focuses on International Relations and is interested primarily in security studies and economic development in Africa and Latin America. Outside of class, Rich is active on the college Model UN circuit and is a tour guide with Columbia’s Undergraduate Recruitment Committee. This past summer he worked as an intern in the membership affairs department at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Isha Mitra

Distribution Manager and Senior Editor

Isha is a sophomore who is interested in public policy and international affairs.

Robert Petito

Senior Editor

Robert is a sophomore at Columbia College. He plans to major in Econmics-Political Science or History. In addition to academics, Robert loves to watch documentaries and is an avid Yankee fan.

Tehreem Rehman

Senior Editor

Tehreem Rehman is a junior at Columbia University majoring in Women’s & Gender Studies. Along with helping put the spotlight on vaginas everywhere as an Assistant Producer for the Columbia-Barnard Vagina Monologues production this year, she also recently co-founded the Gates Millennium Scholars Public Service Initiative to provide students here with further opportunities for civic engagement. She is interested in health policy, reproductive rights, and looking at access to healthcare services within urban communities.

Simon Rimmele

Senior Editor

Simon Rimmele is a senior in the college, studying economics and German literature. He is currently looking for someone to pay for his graduate degree and spends his free time trying, without success, to drag his friends to Brooklyn.

Kyu Seok Andrew Shim

Associate Editor

Kyu Seok Andrew Shim is a sophomore at Columbia College majoring in Political Science and History. He hopes to get paid above minimum wage in the future.

Alexander Simmonds

Associate Editor

Alexander is a junior in the college double majoring in History and Political Science (both of which he will be studying abroad this year at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford University). A member of the varsity rowing team, he spends what little spare time he has serving in leadership roles within the CU College Republicans and the Columbia chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, in addition to JPS. His long term interests are in international business law and consultancy.

Jonah Smith

Associate Editor

Jonah Smith is a sophomore in Columbia College where he is planning to major in Sociology with a concentration in Statistics. His academic interests center around the role of education in social stratification. In his free time, he enjoys tutoring local middle and high school students and playing jazz (trying, at least!) as often as he can.

Sibo Wang

Associate Editor

Sibo Wang is a sophomore in Columbia College studying economics and political science. His academic interests include political economy, international relations, and critical theory. He enjoys discovering new restaurants, reading about current events in the news, and playing the devil’s advocate in late-night discussions with friends.

Evan Welber

Associate Editor

Evan Welber is a junior in the College studying Political Science and Anthropology. He recently interned at the UN Headquarters, where he translated and edited UN Resolutions and Reports. He speaks English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Italian. When not unraveling the knot of politics and culture or learning languages, he enjoys composing music and playing flute in the Columbia University Orchestra.

Patrick Woolsey

Senior Editor

Patrick is a junior in Columbia College studying Political Science and Sustainable Development. His academic interests include environmental policy, climate change law, American politics, and development economics. He spent the summer working in the environmental policy office of the U.S. Department of State. Patrick is also a senior editor of Consilience: The Journal of Sustainable Development. He sings in an a cappella group on campus and enjoys bicycling in his spare time.