Meet Our Team!

Joyce Calixton has served as the Customer Service Representative at Best Delegate since December 2020. Joyce loves helping families to select the programs that are going to help their students grow and learn.

Joyce is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a B.S. in Accountancy from Ateneo de Davao University, in the Philippines. Joyce previously worked as an Assurance Associate for Ernst & Young Global Limited.

Joyce is detail-oriented and wants to make sure families are signed up for the program that best meets their needs.

In her free time, Joyce loves to go on long walks with her pug, binge watch anime, and attempt to read a good book.

  

Maggie So

Director of Finance

Maggie So leads the finance department at Best Delegate as their Director of Finance. She is an experienced finance, accounting and operations professional specializing in working with small to mid-sized companies in building scalable infrastructure for growth. With a focus on people, processes, and planning, she supports leadership teams in tackling key challenges through a financial lens. Maggie enjoys diving into the technical details while also keeping the big picture and human elements front and center.

Prior to starting an outsourced account and finance services firm, Maggie worked in venture-backed software companies in accounting, finance, operations, client services, human resources, and marketing departments. She’s worked with clients in industries such as consulting, software, aerospace, cybersecurity, advertising, e-commerce and more. She also serves as an executive and leadership coach, where she helps leaders build their unique leadership systems and refine their personal management style.

Maggie is happiest when connecting with others about life, business, and food. She and her wife are raising a dog, two cats, and their baby daughter who all love to make guest appearances during her Zoom calls.

 

Keri James

Controller

Keri James is a Certified Public Accountant and serves as the Controller for the accounting and finance department at Best Delegate.

She focuses on fully supporting the accounting, finance and analytics needs of growing businesses. In her role, she works to ensure the financial and operational data is fully utilized to support informed decision making and is leveraged to develop a strategic plan for growth. 

Prior to working as an accounting consultant, Keri worked as Business Intelligence Manager for the U.S. Department of Interior and worked to deploy Tableau data visualization software across the bureaus. She’s worked with clients in industries to include technology, advertising, retail, food and beverage, manufacturing, construction, and e-commerce. 

Keri is happiest when outside in nature. She and her husband, Matt, enjoy hiking in the Appalachian Mountains and camping with their rescue dog, Bruce.

 

Megan Graham

AP/AR Specialist

Megan Graham is an accounting specialist with over 15 years of experience in the public and private sectors. Her genuine desire to help clients is reflected in her attention to detail, reliability, and collaborative communication style.

 

Isabella Liu (she/her)

Program Manager, New York University (2025)

Isabella (Bella) Liu is a senior at New York University studying Cello Performance (Steinhardt Dean’s Honors Program). Hailing from Cambridge, MA, Bella began competing in MUN in 5th grade, attending MUNI at Harvard in 2015. She attended over 30 conferences before college.

As a freshman, she joined NYU’s MUN Travel Team, where she was elected Deputy Head Delegate in 2023. She served as Under-Secretary General of Personnel (2023) and Director General of Logistics (2024), both of which contributed to her love of creating dynamic, exciting, and intellectually stimulating experiences for delegates. Bella joined Best Delegate in 2022 as a Diplomacy Fellow for MUNI/VMUNI. With BD, she has taught with the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Education, Columbia University, and numerous charter schools in the NYC area. This year, Bella is serving as Program Manager of BD’s NYC MUN Teams programs, using MUN as a way to empower students in underserved communities. 

As a classical music major, Bella is extremely passionate about creativity, excellence, and accessibility. As a member of the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra since 2019, she has participated in two outreach tours to Greece and South Africa, where she promoted classical music as a means to uplift youth living in poverty. Bella is extremely passionate about arts education, and in 2023, traveled to Calais, France, where she worked with refugees crossing the English Channel. Bella believes that MUN and music are not so different, and that politics and culture must work together for a better future. 

While she’s not teaching MUN or practicing cello, Bella loves playing all kinds of video games, finding new matcha spots, vintage fashion, and Wikipedia rabbitholes.

 

Hayley Serpa (she/her/ella)

Program Manager, Florida International University (2022, 2023)

Hayley Serpa is a Program Manager at Best Delegate. She has been involved with the Model UN community for 5+ years now, joining Florida International University’s (FIU) intercollegiate team as a college sophomore. During her time at FIU, she was Head Delegate of their team and competed at 25 conferences, snagging 10 first-place awards. Hayley has twice been recognized on the Best Delegate All-Stars List for her contributions to the collegiate circuit. She has taught Model UN with Best Delegate since 2022 as both an in-person and virtual Diplomacy Fellow. This past summer, she joined the BD team as Program Manager for the Virtual Model United Nations Institute (VMUNI).

She is a Ph.D. student in the History of Science and Medicine at Yale University and a nominated Graduate Fellow at their Center for the Study of Race, Indigeneity, and Transnational Migration. She is a double alum of Florida International University, graduating from their concurrent B.A./M.A. program in History. Hayley has professional experience coordinating federally-funded research projects with the University of Miami Libraries, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the U.S. Forest Service. She is a passionate advocate for research and the power it holds for empowering communities and creating meaningful change.

In her free time, Hayley enjoys spending time with nature, practicing Yoga, listening to music, language study, and reading or watching science fiction. She also deeply appreciates traveling and especially going back to her family’s home in Peru.

 

Model UN Mentors

Camila Flores Corsini (she/her)

Punto Fijo, Venezuela, Florida International University (2026)

Camila Flores Corsini has been doing Model UN for 4 years, starting her junior year of high school, all the way to present time. Cami is a rising junior at Florida International University double majoring in Health and Human Concerns and Women’s and Gender Studies. She is from a small town in Punto Fijo, Venezuela, and came to live in the United States in 2019 after living in Italy for 1 year.

During her freshman year of college, she served as the President for the Model UN team at Broward College. After transferring to Florida International University at the beginning of her sophomore year, Cami joined the Model UN team and assumed the role of social chair for the 2023-2024 season, which she will continue to hold for the 2024-2025 season. Cami has staffed multiple High School conferences such as: FIMUN 35, where she served as a staffer for a crisis committee, and later FIMUN 36, where she served as the Director for the Bilingual crisis committee. For the upcoming FIMUN 37 she is one of the assistant directors of delegate affairs.
Outside of Model UN Cami loves to read, play and listen to music, and do multiple outdoor activities.

This summer, Cami worked as a Model UN instructor for Best Delegate’s Model United Nations Institute and she aspires to share her enthusiasm for Model UN by teaching and guiding delegates to find their true potential during the school year as a MUN Tutor as well as a Workshop Instructor.

 

Anton Stover (he/him)

Redondo Beach, California, University of California, Los Angeles (2026)

Anton joined Model UN in his sophomore year in high school and has never looked back. In high school, Anton was his club's first director of training, helping his team win the most awards it ever had in a year.

Anton is a junior at UCLA and travels throughout the year as a member of UCLA’s delegate team and has served as the Undersecretary-General for ECOSOC and Specialized Committees for BruinMUN, UCLA’s high school MUN conference, as well as their Director of External Relations. Anton continues to do Model UN because of the people he met and the friends he has made, and during the school year, he hopes to continue to inspire people to pursue Model UN in the same way he has.

Julia O’Neal (she/her)

Atlanta, Georgia, University of Georgia (2024)

Julia O’Neal is a recent graduate of the University of Georgia with degrees in International Affairs and French and a minor in Political Science. She has spent the past 10 years competing in Model UN, attending over 40 conferences. Julia’s two years as Head Delegate of UGA MUN brought out her passion for teaching Model UN, where she helped her team reach new heights of achievement. She’s staffed many iterations of middle school, high school, and collegiate conferences, including chairing at UGAMUNC four times. She is a well-rounded delegate, from fantasy crisis to virtual general assembly to chairing specialized bodies. She is an avid artist in her free time, painting portraits, murals, and more.

The skills built in Model UN have made Julia the person that she is today. Model UN helped her unlock her creativity and confidence. She is excited to continue to work with Best Delegate and inspire a new generation of students to love Model UN as much as she does!

 

Jason Salguero

Miami, Florida, Florida International University (2025)

Jason Salguero is a current third-year at Florida International University studying International Relations, Political Science, and Philosophy with a certification in Law, Ethics, and Society. They have been doing Model UN for close to 7 years now! Starting way back when they were a middle schooler, they competed as a delegate all throughout high school and into college. Now, they serve as a Head Delegate for FIU’s Model UN team after having just served as the Secretary-General for their high school conference FIMUN. With over twenty conferences under their belt, they’re a highly experienced delegate with a passion for sharing their knowledge of Model UN with everyone. Outside of Model UN, Jason participates with the Debate Club and Philosophy Honor Society at FIU. They love any and all topics relating to international organizations or regional organizations of Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa but most of all they love getting the opportunity to share their love of Model UN through Best Delegate!

 

Samantha Weiss (she/her)

Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Florida State University (2025)

Samantha has over 7 years of Model UN experience, and has been a MUN Mentor at Best Delegate for the past two years, coaching students in both our online and in person programs. She has been competing and staffing Model UN conferences since her freshman year of high school, and even competed in Best Delegate’s BDMUNCs. She has taught students from all over the world through our 1:1 tutoring, chairing conferences, facilitating workshops, and through our summer camps both in person and online. Samantha loves connecting with our students 1:1 to give them a personalized MUN tutoring experience.

Samantha is a current Junior at Florida State University in the University Honors Program, graduating early this Spring 2025. She is studying Political Science and Media Communications, and receiving a certificate in U.S. Intelligence Policy. At FSU, Samantha competed on the FSU travel MUN team, has staffed high school and college conferences, and served on the Secretariat for FSU's Model UN conference, NoleMUN as the Under Secretary General of Public Relations. Samantha is also very active on campus and serves as the head of the Honors Student Association, Student Leadership Council of her college, and of FSU’s upperclassmen women’s leadership honorary society.

Samantha is so excited to be on our school year staff again and hopes students have a great experience, make lifelong friends, and gain a passion for foreign policy, diplomacy, and debate!

 

Abigail Lee (she/her)

Providence, Rhode Island, Boston University (2027)

Abby’s journey with MUN began four years ago, when she attended her very first conference as a sophomore in high school during the midst of the COVID pandemic.

While at first Abby struggled to adapt to MUN in a virtual setting, she soon came to appreciate everything that MUN had to offer, from meeting new people to immersing herself in a new topic. Because of this passion, she was so excited to watch her high school team grow from a roster of four in 2020 to fifteen by 2023, and was thrilled to lead her club in her junior and senior years. Now, having spent a year competing with MUN@BU, Boston University's MUN travel team, she has had the opportunity to travel to conferences across the country, hone valuable skills in research and public speaking, and make friendships that she knows will last a lifetime. Last summer, Abby loved her time as a Diplomacy Fellow, and is happy to serve as Assistant Head Delegate to her team at Boston University this year.

 

Zoe Ellingwood (she/her)

Düsseldorf, Germany, Clark University (2024)

Zoe has recently graduated from Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts with a degree in Political Science and a concentration in Genocide Studies and Human Rights. There, she gained research experience in peace education and mass atrocity prevention. Zoe works in the non-profit sector and now calls Boston, MA home!

Zoe found a passion for Model UN at Clark University, where she led the delegation as Head Delegate and President. She competed in over 30 conferences as a delegate, led multiple conferences, and coached students to individual and team success! She was drawn to and continues to participate in MUN due to the supportive and uplifting community it fosters and the diverse range of delegates it includes. Outside of Model UN, she can be found exploring in search of new coffee shops, playing tennis, or listening to house music!

 

Luna Valayannopoulos

Boston, Massachusetts, SciencesPo, UC Berkeley Dual Degree (2027)

Luna served as her club’s captain for two years, and was most excited by her ability to transfer her knowledge of MUN to experienced delegates and newcomers in her role! She is super excited to be spending this summer with our VMUNI students, and hopes we can make this an amazing experience for every student.

Luna has been an active MUN-er since seventh grade, when the mere thought of public speaking was terrifying to her. In highschool, Luna joined her Model United Nations team where not only did she become more confident in her public speaking, but was also able to mentor her fellow peers!

 

Grace Parish (she/her)

Toronto, Ontario, McGill University (2024)

Grace recently graduated from McGill University with First Class Honors in Microbiology and Immunology. She is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Biochemistry at the University of Toronto. Grace brings a wealth of experience and dedication to her role at Best Delegate. Originally from Toronto, Grace has been involved in Model United Nations since high school.

During her time at McGill, she was President of the International Relations Students’ Association, a non-profit with consultative status to the United Nations and the parent organization of McGill’s Model UN Team and conferences. She was also part of the McGill Model UN Delegation Team and served as Chargée d’Affaires for the high school Model UN conference, the Secondary Schools United Nations Symposium.

 

Gabriel Gaysinsky

Davis, California, University of California, Davis (2025)

Gabriel is a fourth-year International Relations and Middle Eastern/South Asian Studies Major. He has been a Model United Nations leader and competitor since his freshman year of high school. 

Through MUN, he's gained valuable skills, and lifelong friendships, all while having a ton of fun! As a competitive delegate and club president, he loves sharing his parliamentary procedure, diplomacy, and debate knowledge. Most importantly, he teaches students that being friendly and a team player can often outweigh strong public speaking skills.

 

Lucas Martinez

Cerritos, California, University of California, Riverside (2027)

Lucas Martinez is a second-year at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) studying Political Science/International Affairs. He joined the Cerritos High School Model United Nations program as a 9th grader and staffed his first conference as an Assistant Director at CHSMUN 2021.

In his senior year, Lucas served as Cerritos High School MUN’s Under-Secretary-General of Finance, as a MUN Instructor’s Aide, and directed three conferences including the largest committee at The International.

Lucas attended thirteen conferences in his high school career, including the National High School Model United Nations Conference in New York City, where he won Best Delegate and spoke at the conference’s closing ceremonies where he represented his committee as plenary rapporteur. Since high school, Lucas has joined the UC Riverside Model United Nations club, where he serves as Finance Director and represents his university as a delegate at international MUN conferences. In March of 2024, he won the most prestigious research award at the National Model United Nations Conference (NMUN) and staffed a specialized crisis committee on the Kutupalong Refugee Crisis at the National High School Model United Nations Conference (NHSMUN). In the future, Lucas hopes to attend graduate school and build a career in diplomacy.

 

Tara Ganguly

Bloomington, Indiana, UCLA (2025)

Tara Ganguly is a rising senior at UCLA double majoring in Environmental Science and French. She has almost eight years of experience in Model UN, starting in her freshman year of high school. At UCLA, Tara has crisis directed for BruinMUN, MUN at UCLA’s high school conference, and has served on the executive board as a crisis USG for LAMUN and the club’s Director of External Relations. Tara has worked for Best Delegate as a MUN Mentor since 2023, when she served as a Diplomacy Fellow for their summer MUN Institute. Since then, Tara has run workshops and private coaching sessions with students.

Having initially joined MUN at the behest of a friend, Tara competed in DISEC at her first conference and never looked back. She has competed in more than 20 conferences, recently stepping into Ad Hoc crisis committees. Tara continues to participate in Model UN because of the friends she has made across the collegiate circuit and the opportunity for self-expression.

Outside of her work in the Model UN community, Tara has served on UCLA’s Panhellenic Executive Council and works for Student Government Services at UCLA. In her free time, Tara enjoys baking, reading, and redecorating her room. She plans to apply to law school in the next few years, and hopes to eventually pursue a career in environmental law.

 

Sophia Bongiovi (she/her)

Washington D.C., University of Texas at Austin

Sophia Bongiovi is a Government Major on the Pre-Law Track at the University of Texas at Austin. A student of both the Liberal Arts Honors School and Jefferson Scholars Program, Sophia is heavily dedicated to her passion for Law. She is a delegate in the Texas Model UN Team while working in other leadership roles in TEDxUT Austin and on UT’s Residence Hall Council. As an Undergraduate College of Liberal Arts student one of her great priorities is her research work on the dynamics of rule in contrast to popular culture.

Back home in the Washington D.C. Area, she was a strong competitor in the DMV (D.C.-Maryland-Virginia) Model UN Circut, winning a record number of Best Delegate awards. She has 13 gavels in total from competitions across the country including ILMUNC (Ivy League Model United Nations Conference), VAMUN, WMHSMUN, and MUNCH. She served on Langley High School’s 5-person secretariat during the 2023-2024 competitive year when they won Best High School Model United Nations Team according to All-American Model UN.

Since then, Sophia has worked alongside Best Delegate, joining the team for Award Advice Panels, Private Tutoring, and Summer VMUNI Camp to pursue her Model UN mission alongside the team. She is a passionate believer in the mission of bringing the Best out of each Delegate in the Model UN community.

 

Riley Bryant

Mission Viejo, California, NYU (2025)

Riley Bryant is a senior at NYU double majoring in International Relations and Middle Eastern Studies. She has over nine years of experience in Model UN, starting in her middle school. At NYU, Riley has staffed NYUMUNC (college) and EmpireMUNC (high school), originating the role of Joint Crisis Director for their signature JCC committees; she is also serving as Head Delegate for NYU’s Travel Team this year. Riley has enthusiastically worked for Best Delegate for over a year now, and has loved every minute of it, even while studying abroad.

As a delegate, Riley specializes in crisis committees, but has experience in all types of MUN, including General Assembly and alternative parliamentary procedure models such as THAIMUN procedure. She is proud to say she has awarded at every conference she has competed at! In her free time, Riley is active with NYU’s Armenian Student Association, enjoys trying new coffee shops across NYC, and studies the Arabic language.

 

Julien Hector (he/him)

Somerset, NJ, American University (2024)

Julien Hector has been a MUN Mentor at Best Delegate for the past four years, working in both online and in-person programs. Since starting Model United Nations in his sophomore year of high school, Julien has taught thousands of students from around the world, chaired BDMUNC conferences, and facilitated workshops and summer programs for Best Delegate. 

Julien is a recent graduate from American University, where he received his Bachelor of Arts in International Studies. During his time at American University, Julien competed on the AUMUN team, the #1 team on the college circuit for three years in a row. He has served on AmeriMUNC staff, NHSMUN staff serving as Director for NHSMUN 2021, and later as Under-Secretary General (USG) for NHSMUN Mexico 2022.

Beyond his Model UN achievements, Julien gained experience in international diplomacy through various internships, including roles at the United Nations, the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs (HFAC), and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). He plans to continue his career in international education, starting next year with the North American Language Assistant Program (NALCAP) in Spain, where he will teach English to K-6 students. He is beyond excited to continue sharing his passion for inspiring students to find their voice, whether it be through Model UN or through his career in international teaching.

 

Kareem Shaheen

Rancho Palos Verdes, CA, UC Irvine (2025)

Kareem is a senior at UC Irvine majoring in Political Science and Sociology with a minor in Philosophy. He has 8 years of Model UN experience. Starting in high school, he found a passion for discussing foreign affairs and has not looked back. He rose to Secretary-General in his senior year after graduating high school and continued his Model UN journey into college there. 

At UC Irvine, he participated in both the conference and the competitive teams throughout his stay, holding multiple positions on board throughout his duration. He is now the Head Delegate of the UCI MUN team. In addition to his university’s Model UN program, he is also a part of non-profit organizations that host Model UN conferences. Now he has competed in over 40 conferences and hopes to make the most of his last year in his undergrad. Afterward, he hopes to take a year off and work hands-on directly with multiple of the topics he has debated throughout his time in Model UN and then pursue a degree and practice law.

 

Oyin Aderibigbe

Hamilton, ON, Canada, McMaster University

Oyin Aderibigbe is an individual who is passionate about community building, education and literacy, and youth engagement. Based in Hamilton, ON, she is a student at McMaster University's Arts & Science program, pursuing an Interdisciplinary Minor in Globalization and a Concurrent Certificate in Creative Writing and Narrative Arts. 

Oyin is incredibly passionate about how advocacy and social systems intersect with the law. She has been a member of the Best Delegate team since 2022, serving as a MUNtor for school year programs, twice as a Diplomacy Fellow at the Model United Nations Institute (MUNI), and as the Program Manager of the most recent Model United Nations Institute. 

Outside of Best Delegate, she has served as Head Delegate of her high school Model UN team, as a staffer at the National High School Model United Nations conference, and as the USG Committees/VP Internal Outreach on McMaster Model United Nations. Notably, she led Model City Hall as Senior Director of Operations and engaged hundreds of youth across southern Ontario in municipal politics at no cost, exploring the intersection of youth engagement and policy development. In her spare time, Oyin enjoys taking walks, making music, and learning new languages!

 

Ryan Villacorta

Miami, Florida, Florida State University

Ryan is a recent graduate of Florida State University, earning both a B.A. in English and an M.S. in International Affairs. After competing in collegiate Model UN and training delegates for four years, he continues to espouse the virtues of a strong globally-minded education and Model United Nations. Ryan currently works in the U.S. Intelligence Community and is a Presidential Management Fellow Finalist. 

While attending Florida State, Ryan competed at more than 35 conferences in addition to serving as the Director and Head Delegate of the Florida State MUN team where he trained dozens of high performing delegates. Ryan has also served as a Crisis Director for FSU’s conference NoleMUN several times, as well as high school conferences. Primarily a crisis delegate but experienced in all MUN formats, Ryan has been selected as a Best Delegate All-Star twice, and has worked for Best Delegate as a Diplomacy Fellow in the past.

 

Thibaut Stussi (he/him)

San Francisco, California, Boston University (2025)

Thibaut Stussi is a senior at Boston University double majoring in International Relations and Political Science with a double minor in Economics and Data Science. He first joined Model UN in high school with the first team his school ever ran, and competed all across the Bay Area. After going to college at Boston University, he joined BU’s competitive Model UN team MUN@BU.

While attending BU, he has helped organize, staff, and compete at a variety of conferences, alongside teaching for Best Delegate. He was twice a secretariat member for BU’s high school conference BosMUN, first as an Under-Secretary-General of GA Committees in his sophomore year and then as Director of Operations the following year. He has also staffed BU’s collegiate Model UN conference all four years he has been at BU, most recently as the Crisis Director for the Ad Hoc of the Secretary-General. As a member of the MUN@BU travel team, he has twice served as Director of Team Training and traveled all across North America to compete in mainly crisis-style committees. He has worked at Best Delegate since Summer 2023.

 

Jamey Battle

University of California Los Angeles, 2021

Jamey Battle served as UCLA’s Director of Training from 2020-2021 and was one of the three head delegates on the travel team. She chaired the LAMUN Ad-Hoc and trained UCLA team members weekly for UCLA’s high school conference, BruinMun, and the collegiate conference, LAMUN.

She has been with Best Delegate since 2019, first starting out as a Residential Counselor where she helped students with their MUN homework, planned fun activities for them and served as a mentor. She served on Best Delegate’s Media Team, has chaired 10+ BDMUNCs, and now has the honor to serve as a MUN Club Mentor. She is extremely excited to continue working with students and bringing out the best in delegates. Since graduating, Jamey now works for a New York State Assemblymember as the office’s Legislative Director. She uses all the research skills and coalition building strategies she has learned through MUN into her work!

 

Kristen Campbell (she/her)

MUN Mentor, New York University

Kristen Campbell is a senior at the New York University’s College of Arts and Science double- majoring in Data Science & Politics with a minor in the Business of Entertainment, Media, and Technology. Kristen is a poll worker for NYC and an NYU Votes Ambassador. She was born in Kansas and has lived in, London, New Orleans, Houston, Paris, and NYC. Her first experience with Model UN was being a staffer for her elder sister’s conference PAMUN when she was at the American School of Paris. She was not a very good staffer in her first committee because she spent the entire conference falling in love with the debate and passion of the delegates. She has been on the NYU Model UN Travel Team since freshman year and has staffed numerous EmpireMUNCs and NYUMUNCs. She teaches an NYU Model UN Training Initiative to the recruits for NYU’s Travel Team and to anyone at NYU looking to learn about what Model UN is. Last year, Kristen was the in-person MUN Mentor for Renassaince Charter School and loved every second of it! She enjoys reading books, watching cinematic limited series, and trying new coffee shops in her free time.