Kirsten Badame

President

Kirsten (she/her) is a student at the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, where she is completing her master’s degree with a focus on forced displacement, conflict and security. Since completing her undergraduate degree in Global Development at Queen’s University, Kirsten has worked as a technical writer for the Government of Canada on the unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe Nation (Ottawa) for the past five years. In this role, Kirsten has completed projects relating to ideologically and religiously motivated violent extremist insurgencies, and human rights violations committed by private military corporations. Most recently, Kirsten led a one-year intelligence investigation into the security effects of climate change on conflict zones. Kirsten is a member of the Women in Cyber and Intelligence chapter at her organization and has represented her department at the pan-government National Security Secretariate on Bias Sensitivity, Diversity and Inclusion. Her research and professional interests lie in gender, peace and security, and early warning indicators of conflict. She is especially interested in the demilitarization of Canadian missions in conflict settings, peace processes and peacebuilding.

Nozomi Shirakawa (she/her)

Co-President

Nozomi is a graduate student at the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, where she specializes in Gender, Governance and Security. She obtained her undergraduate degree in International Relations from UBC, which sparked her interest in issues surrounding gender and human rights. On top of her school work, she currently works for the Inclusive Trade Division at GAC as a Junior Policy Analyst, where her main task is to use GBA+ lens to ensure that the interests of women and other underrepresented groups are being represented in Canada’s trade policies, as well as evaluating trade policies through an intersectional lens for the WTO.

Nishi Kant

Senior Vice president

Nishi Kant Dixit is a first-year MPPGA student. A development practitioner with more than two decades of experience in the fields of community development and rural livelihoods in India, Nishi has focused on access to markets and sustainable livelihoods for rural communities across the country. Before coming to SPPGA, he was supporting the implementation of the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM), the Government of India’s flagship program for poverty alleviation. Previously, he has worked with leading social development organizations such as Pradan and Reliance Foundation.With MPPGA at UBC, Nishi plans to build on his current work to establish sustainable business institutions across the commodity value chain, owned and governed by rural women at a large scale across rural India. 

Nishi holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Studies and a Master’s degree in Social Work from Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi, India. He is also an Acumen India Fellow.

Zachary Nanji

VP of Finance

Zachary Nanji is a second-year Master of Public Policy and Global Affairs student, specializing in environmental sustainability. He holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in International Development Studies with a Minor in Management from McGill University. Zachary’s professional experiences include working with two non-profit organizations in India and Kenya, as well as with the United Nations Financing for Sustainable Development Office in New York City, and the British Columbia Climate Action Secretariat. He is passionate about policy issues including climate change, development, and social equity.

Mercy Gakii Muthuuri

VP of External Affairs

Meet Mercy, a powerhouse at the intersection of finance, policy, and climate adaptation. Currently pursuing a Master of Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia, she holds a Master's of science in Finance and a Bachelor's of Commerce from University of Nairobi. She is armed with over 12 years of private sector experience, channelling her passion for sustainable infrastructure investments and public-private partnerships. Certified as an Expert in Climate Adaptation Finance,she led the advocacy, development and adoption of investment guidelines for green Financing and impact investing in Kenya. As the Head of Investor Relations for the Kenya Pension Funds Infrastructure Consortium, Mercy's commitment to unlocking capital for sustainable projects led her to champion domestic resource mobilization and sustainability initiatives leaving an indelible mark on the pension industry. She has participated in private sector infrastructure funding and climate change discussions with impactful publications and presentations in Africa.Now, Mercy's expertise extends to the Canadian landscape, where she serves as a Carbon Strategy Analyst for a cutting-edge nature-based blockchain technology company. Mercy is on a mission to reshape the narrative of climate finance and policy analysis,driving change one green investment at a time.

Rachel Thibeault (She/Her)

VP Social Affairs

Rachel Thibeault is a current Master of Public Policy and Global Affairs student at the University of British Columbia, with a special focus on global governance and security of the Asia Pacific. She holds a bachelor’s degree (Hons.) in history, primarily modern Chinese and Korean, from Queen’s University. She currently works in Chinese, Taiwanese, and Japanese foreign policy, CCP history, and is part of a consulting team for the Energy Regulatory Commission of Mongolia. In her research, she is especially interested in combining great-power politics with intersectional, grassroots approaches to understand the sociopolitical effects that geopolitical rivalry has on smaller nations and the people within them. Rachel is hoping to use this year to generate deeper social relationships between both years, prioritize mental health and well-being for students, and create an open, fun, and welcoming community for all MPPGA students.

Nivedita Harsh (she/her)

VP Professional Development

A first year MPPGA graduate student with a passion for policy processes in sustainable trade. Nivedita holds a Bachelor of Laws (B.A.LL.B.Hons) degree from a prestigious institution in India, and is a lawyer by profession. The legal field is where she developed a profound understanding of legal frameworks and their impact on businesses and society. Her commitment to justice and ethical business practices led her to further her education, and she is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Public Policy and Global Affairs. 

During her academic journey, Nivedita has demonstrated a keen interest in the intersection of law, policy, and sustainability. Her research and coursework have focused on topics such as environmental impact assessments, ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) principles, and the regulation of corporate activities to combat violations of CSR.

One of her central ambitions is to play a pivotal role in shaping policies that address environmental and social concerns. She envisions herself working at the crossroads of government, industry, and non-governmental organizations, facilitating dialogue and collaboration to create a more sustainable and just future.

Anna Leila Szigeti (she/her)

VP Communications & Marketing

Before MPPGA, Anna Leila Szigeti did her BA in Philosophy and French with a specialization in ethics at Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario. Anna immigrated with her family to Hamilton in 2010 from Lebanon. Although she was born and grew up in Lebanon, she comes from a Hungarian heritage. Her multicultural upbringing has allowed her a versatile and diverse outlook on life. She aspired to be a global change maker ever since she saw the injustices her parents and other immigrants faced after moving to a new country. She hopes to focus on her background and bridge the gap between cultures and nations through educational and immigration policies.

She shadowed Fiona Sampson, CEO of the Equality Effect, a non-profit charity organization that uses international human rights laws to help women and children in Africa. Fiona Sampson has been one of her role models in her last year of undergrad, and Anna hopes to pursue similar work where both laws and policies come together to help those who need justice in the world. However, her main goal is to make the change she desires and retire early to open up a cultural oasis with her sister and live peacefully until retirement. Food, culture, and music are what bring people together, so she hopes to create an environment both with her policy work and her oasis where people from all over feel welcomed and can share stories and experiences, where ignorance will no longer be bliss and where knowledge will drive change and equity in the world.