1. Ashton Mathias – Project Manager
Ashton is a second-year student at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs (NPSIA) and the Institute of European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies (EURUS). Ashton is currently a co-op student at Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), specifically the Trade Unit, which co-leads Canada’s negotiations on the environment chapters in Canada’s free trade agreements (FTAs). Prior to CMNATO, he was also a Young Diplomats of Canada (YDC) delegate to the WTO Public Forum and a policy intern at the Canadian Permanent Mission to the International Organizations in Vienna. Finally, Ashton has been involved in Model United Nations for over 8 years, including working on McGill’s SSUNS and McMUN conferences.
2. Jazlyn Melnychuk – Secretary General
Jazlyn works in Public Environment Analysis at DND and is the Research Manager for the Foreign Policy Director at the Macdonald Laurier Institute. At Carleton, Jazlyn is a EURUS student and is Co-President of Carleton’s Women in International Security Chapter. Jazlyn previously worked at the NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence in Latvia and was named a 2021 Kathryn Davis Fellow for Peace at Middlebury College, spending the summers of 2019 and 2021 studying Russian. In 2017, Jazlyn co-founded the Canada-NATO Field School, and thanks to the field school and conferences Jazlyn has organized since 2014, more than 300 students have received applied training in NATO studies and international relations.
3. Aidan Jay Oliver – Director of Operations
Aidan is a master’s candidate at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs. She recently graduated from the University of Toronto where she studied Political Science with minors in Environmental Science and French. For her BA, she wrote a thesis on Arctic Security in the face of geopolitical and climatic change. She has also been working with Defence Research and Development Canada on the Environment-Security nexus for the last year and a half. She hopes to study in France as part of her MA, as an opportunity to learn more about European defence policy and the French language.
4. Arad Farhadi – Crisis Director
Arad is entering his first year of Graduate studies at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, specializing in International Organizations and Global Public Policy. He grew up in Ottawa but spent his undergraduate years at the University of Toronto where he studied International Relations with a focus in International Law and Human Rights. During his time in Toronto, he served as a Crisis Analyst at UTMUN’s crisis committee pertaining to the potential re-unification of Ireland.
As this year’s Crisis Director, Arad hopes to leverage his previous experiences within crisis committees alongside the rest of the secretariat in order to elevate this year’s conference!
5. Nathan Harlan – Representative from Carleton UN Society
Nathan is a second year undergraduate student at Carleton University majoring in European & Russian Studies and Political Science. His main interests are the foreign and domestic policy of the European Union and Russia, and multilateral institutions. A veteran of several simulation conferences, including the State University of New York Model European Union and the National Collegiate Security Conference, Nathan is excited to both participate in and contribute to Carleton Model NATO this year.
6. Emmett Mark, Chair – North Atlantic Council (NAC)
Emmett is a second year MA student studying at Carleton’s Institute of European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies. A passionate political organizer, Emmett believes sharing understanding of government through simulations like Model NATO are key to strengthening democratic institutions in Canada and abroad. He has previously held work terms in the Canadian House of Commons and Senate, and recently spent a summer in Central Asia. Emmett holds a BA in International Relations and Russian from UBC, and is excited to be contributing to the North Atlantic Council.
7. Hannah Velle, Representative from Carleton UN Society
Hannah (she/her) is a fourth year student in the Global and International Studies program at Carleton University, specializing in Global Law and Social Justice and minoring in History. Born and raised in Waterloo, Ontario, Hannah moved to Ottawa to continue developing her interests in global affairs and international law. Hannah joined the Carleton United Nations Society in first year to cultivate her skills in these areas. She currently serves on their executive as the Director of Media. In her free time, Hannah enjoys hiking, cooking, travelling and exploring bubble tea shops.
8. Matthew Selinger, Chair – Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC)
Entering his second year at NPSIA with a specialization in Conflict Analysis and Resolution, Matthew is excited to serve as a committee chair for Carleton MNATO 2022. He holds a BA in Modern Languages and another in Political Studies and Ukrainian Studies at the University of Saskatchewan. During this time, he participated in several conferences, notably Carleton MNATO and Harvard World MUN in 2017. He also assisted in hosting two conferences as USask MUN club president and training coordinator. Matthew recently completed a work term with the Canada Revenue Agency and now works at Global Affairs Canada, aiming to continue working within government after graduation.
9. Mattias Thuns, Chair – North Atlantic Council (NAC)
Mattias is a second-year MA student at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University, specializing in Security & Defence Policy. He completed his Bachelor of Global and International Studies with a specialization in Global Politics at Carleton University, where he participated in numerous Model UN and Model NATO conferences. Mattias has previously delegated at Carleton Model NATO, and was one of the chairs of the Military Committee at CMNATO 2021.
10. Caelan Midwood – Chair – Military Committee (MC)
Caelan Midwood, EIT is a practicing engineer in the field of Command and Control; Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance and Combative Systems having worked within the Canadian aerospace-defense sector for five years. As a practitioner of both Systems Engineering and Innovation Engineering, Caelan champions the inclusion of diverse individuals throughout a solutions’ lifecycle for it has been his experience that these “grey area and cross-boundary discussions” yield the greatest results. Caelan resides in Victoria, BC and is currently employed by Lockheed Martin Canada in support of the Royal Canadian Navy’s VICTORIA-Class Submarine program. Academically, Caelan holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Systems Engineering from Simon Fraser University (SFU) during which time he took part in the Canada-NATO Field School and Simulation Program. During the program, Caelan received applied training in NATO crisis management simulations at the NATO Defense College in Rome.
11. Nicolas Smit-Keding, Chair – Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC)
Nicholas is a graduate student at Carleton University’s Norman Patterson School of International Affairs, specializing in Diplomacy and Foreign Affairs, and with an interest in global conflict. Prior to coming to Carleton, Nicholas attained his undergraduate degree with distinction from the University of Alberta, majoring in history, and with a certificate in Peace and Post-Conflict Studies.
12. Cameron Cadogan – Representative from the University of Ottawa’s Model United Nations Associations (UOMUNA)
Cameron (he/him) is a fourth year Honours Political Science CO-OP student at the University of Ottawa. Growing up in Toronto, Ontario, he learned about Model UN in high school, and continued to participate in university. Active since 2017, Model UN helped to develop his interest in politics and international affairs. Cameron has attended more than twenty conferences as a delegate and has chaired along with being a crisis staff. He is currently serving as the Vice President of Delegate Coordination for the uOttawa Model United Nations Association: he was previously a co-Vice President of Training. Cameron likes to go on walks, consume media relating to cars, play video games, and follow political news.