
About Us
IMUNA Board of Directors

Richard Murgo was selected as Dean of the College of Social Sciences at Tallahassee Community College (TCC) in 2017. Dr. Murgo joined the faculty of TCC in 1994 as an assistant professor, later becoming professor of political science. He subsequently became the college’s Director of Academic Enrichment, latterly promoted to Associate Dean of Social Sciences. He retired from TCC in 2021. He holds master’s degrees in political science from Florida State University and in Applied Economics from the University of Central Florida. He received his Ph.D. from Florida State University. Dr. Murgo served as faculty Senate President 2005-2006, has served as the dual enrollment education coordinator of the statewide Florida Boys State and Girls State programs, and was advisor and co-founder for the TCC Model United Nations program at TCC. He founded and developed a faculty exchange program with Tianjin Foreign Studies University, as well as developed partnerships with other colleges for students’ study abroad programs in China and the Czech Republic. Dr. Murgo has also served on the United Nations Association of American Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Community Colleges Committee. Dr. Murgo served has served as vice president, treasurer, and currently president of the National Model United Nations Board of Directors. He is a current member of the Executive Board of Directors of the Florida Political Science Association, a former board member for the Florida College System Activities Association, a current member and elected chairman of the Holocaust Education Resource Council board of directors, well as a member of the Board of Directors for Tallahassee Southern Model United Nations Association. He has been the political contributor for WXTL, ABC News affiliate for Tallahassee and Southern Georgia. Dr. Murgo has presented numerous papers including, “United Nations Human Rights Treaties: Obligations and Compliance” and most recently, “EU-China Relations: Balancing Economic Opportunities with Political Challenges”. Richard Murgo is the recipient of the 2012 NICSOD Excellence in Teaching award, as well as the 2011 recipient of the TCC Club Advisor of the Year award.

Max was a Model UN delegate throughout high school and a NHSMUN volunteer during his college years, ultimately serving as the conference’s Secretary-General. He has served on the NHSMUN Board of Directors for over a decade, and he served as the first Executive Director for NHSMUN during its pilot program in 2015-2016.

Patrick is currently the manager of government affairs for The American Waterways Operators, a maritime trade association headquartered in the Washington, D.C. metro area. He earned bachelors degrees in International Relations and Animal & Nutritional Sciences from West Virginia University and his juris doctor from American University's Washington College of Law.
Patrick's involvement with NMUN has spanned a decade of involvement in every type of NMUN conference as a delegate and member of the volunteer staff at conferences in New York, Washington DC, Quito, Rome, and Xi'an. During his time on staff, Patrick served in several roles from Assistant Director to Secretary-General of NMUN•DC in 2015 and NMUN•NY in 2017, and Deputy Secretary-General of NMUN • China in 2018.

María teaches history and foreign language at a secondary school in Bogota, Colombia, where she also serves as Head of Humanities. Maria participated in Model UN as a student as well as a volunteer staff member in college, and she currently serves as the advisor of her school's Model UN program. In addition to her role as an educator, she practices estate law. Having lived and worked in various countries in South America, she plays a significant role in supporting NHSMUN's schools and partners throughout all of Latin America.


Michael has served as full-time Executive Director of NMUN since 2004 and has helped expand its annual programming to include more than 5,000 college participants. Prior to his current position, he was the Director of Enrollment Services and Marketing for the Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs (www.hecua.org), an educational nonprofit offering social justice-based off-campus study programs.
He began his undergraduate studies at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and attended NMUN as a student delegate. He ultimately received his B.A. in Economics, summa cum laude, from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN and his M.A. in Nonprofit Management and the scholar award from Hamline University in St. Paul, MN. Additional honors include being named a Truman Scholar. He is (slowly) completing a doctorate in International Education at the University of Minnesota (ABD).
Michael has served as an adjunct faculty member at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota; a Trustee of the Center for UN Reform Education, a board member and past-President of the United Nations Association of Minnesota, as well as multiple terms on the National Council of UNA-USA. He resides in Minnesota.

Staff

Michael has served as full-time Executive Director of NMUN since 2004 and has helped expand its annual programming to include more than 5,000 college participants. Prior to his current position, he was the Director of Enrollment Services and Marketing for the Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs (www.hecua.org), an educational nonprofit offering social justice-based off-campus study programs.
He began his undergraduate studies at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and attended NMUN as a student delegate. He ultimately received his B.A. in Economics, summa cum laude, from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN and his M.A. in Nonprofit Management and the scholar award from Hamline University in St. Paul, MN. Additional honors include being named a Truman Scholar. He is (slowly) completing a doctorate in International Education at the University of Minnesota (ABD).
Michael has served as an adjunct faculty member at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota; a Trustee of the Center for UN Reform Education, a board member and past-President of the United Nations Association of Minnesota, as well as multiple terms on the National Council of UNA-USA. He resides in Minnesota.




NMUN Advisory Council


Qazi Shaukat Fareed, became the Permanent Observer of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean to the United Nations in 2015.
Prior to his appointment, Mr. Fareed was an adjunct professor at Long Island University, since 2010, following a 40-year career as a diplomat and an international civil servant. From 2006 to 2011, he was Special Adviser to the Director-General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and from 1998 to 2006 he served as Director of the Secretariat of the United Nations Systems Chief Executives Board.
He was Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator and Deputy Coordinator for Chernobyl at the United Nations Department for Humanitarian Affairs between 1992 and 1998. Prior to that position, from 1987 to 1992, he served at the office of the Director General for Development and International Economic Cooperation as Senior Adviser to the Director-General and as member and then Director of the Special Commission on Review of Intergovernmental Structures in the Economic and Social Sector.
Two decades of diplomatic service saw Mr. Fareed serving as Director-General of Pakistan’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1987 after holding several positions in the Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the United Nations between 1980 and 1987, including Deputy Permanent Representative and Ambassador.
He also held various positions at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Between 1975 and 1980, he was Chef de Cabinet in the Office of the Secretary-General and in the Office of the Foreign Secretary. During that time, he also served as Director for Africa and for External Publicity. Between 1968 and 1975, he served in Pakistan’s missions in Mexico, Portugal, Saudi Arabia and Spain. He was Section Chief of Economic Coordination and United Nations Affairs between 1966 and 1968.
Mr. Fareed holds master’s degrees in economics from Cambridge University in the United Kingdom and from the University of Karachi in Pakistan. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce from Government College in Karachi.
He is married and has two children.


Bonian Golmohammadi was elected Secretary-General of the World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA) in August 2009. Since then, WFUNA has substantially grown in its programmatic activities, organizational structure - including the establishment of new offices in Seoul, Korea, Brussels, Belgium and New Delhi, India - and partnerships.
Previously, Mr. Golmohammadi served as Secretary-General of the United Nations Association (UNA) of Sweden for eight years. Under his leadership, UNA-Sweden increased its budget from $1 million to $5 million, and expanded its staff from 10 to 30 full-time employees. During his tenure, Mr. Golmohammadi introduced several new programmatic initiatives, such as a bilateral international project in more than ten countries including China, Georgia, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The projects ranged on issues from the Millennium Development Goals, conflict prevention, human rights and organizational capacity building.
In addition to programmatic initiatives, Mr. Golmohammadi guided UNA-Sweden to increase its marketing and public relations capacity. As a result, UNA-Sweden was awarded a Gold Medal at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival 2009 for True Evidence of War, a media campaign to support war victims of Georgia. UNA Sweden won a gold medal at the EuroBest Advertising Awards in 2009 as well as several PR, advertising and marketing awards in Sweden. UNA Sweden now has over 110 local chapters all over Sweden and more than 100 national organizations as members.
Since 2015, he serves as Co-Chair on the Steering Committee of the Transparency, Accountability and Participation Network (TAP Network), a broad network of CSOs that works to ensure that open, inclusive, accountable and effective governance is at the heart of the UN's Post-2015 Development Agenda. Since 2005, Mr. Golmohammadi has served as President of the UNA Europe Network, coordinating United Nations Associations from all over Europe. He has served or is serving on various advisory boards for Swedish Ministers for Development, international development corporations, UN entities, and civil society organizations. Prior to joining UNA-Sweden, Mr. Golmohammadi worked with consultancy and private businesses in Sweden and the Czech Republic, including developing a national globalization project for high schools, working with publishing as well as project management.
Mr. Golmohammadi earned a degree in Political Science, and has studied International Law, Human Rights and Philosophy, from Stockholm and Uppsala Universities.

H. Stephen Halloway is Director, Center for Comparative Legislative Management at the International Law Institute and Course Advisor for Governance and Anti-Corruption. He also serves as a Senior Advisor to the World Bank. He was Head of Mission, United Nations Industrial Development Organization at United Nations Headquarters in New York. He was formerly Senior Advisor in the Inter-American Development Bank’s Office of External Relations where he had responsibility for Congressional Affairs and Private Sector Outreach related to the IDB Group. He served as Senior Advisor, North-South Trade and Investment, Ltd. Edmonton, Canada as well as Senior Advisor to the President, Andrade Gutierrez Environmental Group (Brazil). He also served as the Chief Regulatory Officer of the U.S. Department of Commerce and Chief Counsel of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison; MA in Political Science (Ford Fellow at the Eagleton Institute of Politics) from Rutgers University and a J. D. from the Boston University School of Law.

capacity, she participated in meetings, programmes and events related to the United Nations General Assembly Third Committee (Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs), ECOSOC funds and programmes, issues related to climate change and other UN issues. Amierah has extensive experience in negotiating resolutions, working bilaterally and fostering relationships with member states, other intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations. Prior to her time at the OIC Observer Mission, Amierah managed Alumni Events for hundreds of Law School Alumni at the New York University School of Law. Additionally, Amierah served as the Global Classrooms Coordinator for the Global Classrooms programme at the United Nations Association of the United States of America in New York. Amierah's NMUN experience spans more than 10 years, from delegate to Assistant Director to Chief of Staff to Secretary-General in 2007. Amierah graduated with a degree in Political Science from The American University and a Masters in Global Affairs from New York University.


Rachel Bowen Pittman serves as Executive Director of UNA-USA, a grassroots movement of more than 20,000 Americans in over 200 chapters across the U.S. who are dedicated to supporting the work of the United Nations in communities, on campuses, and on Capitol Hill. Rachel works to maximize UNA-USA’s advocacy impact by guiding the strategic vision for the organization, overseeing membership expansion, and managing partnerships. Rachel works closely with UNA-USA’s National Council and Affinity Group leadership to spearhead new initiatives that support a strong U.S.-UN partnership.
Before she was appointed Executive Director in June 2019, Rachel served as UNA-USA’s Senior Director of Membership and Programs. In this role, she managed UNA-USA’s national programs and events, including the annual Global Engagement Summit at UN Headquarters, Global Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C., and UN Day events across the country. She also led a nationwide fundraising campaign to provide education to youth in refugee camps.
Prior to joining UNA-USA, Rachel served on multiple leadership teams for several professional associations that represented lawyers, surgeons, regulators and engineers. In her many accomplishments, Rachel strengthened membership programs, directed rebranding initiatives and secured agreements with national associations representing China, Korea, Argentina, India, Peru, Egypt and Mexico. While Rachel has worked with inspiring professionals across a diverse range of industries and cultures throughout her career, supporting UNA-USA staff and members in their efforts to make the future brighter is her greatest inspiration.
Rachel holds a B.S.B.A in International Business from American University and an MBA in Marketing from Johns Hopkins University.

Ramakrishna was a Visiting Professor of International Law at Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. He taught at Harvard Law School and at Boston University, Yale University, Brandeis University and Boston College Law Schools. He was an elected Life Member of the US Council on Foreign Relations and served on a number of Boards. Ramakrishna is part of number of scientific assessments and was one of the Lead Authors of IPCC, Fifth Assessment.
In his role as the Director and Head of UN Subregional Office for East and North-East Asia, he is responsible for implementing UN activities in the subregion comprising China, Mongolia, South Korea, North Korea, Russia and Japan and also provided secretariat services to the North East Asia Subregional Programme for Environmental Cooperation.


Douglas James Roche, OC, KCSG (born June 14, 1929) is a Canadian author, parliamentarian, diplomat and peace activist. Roche served as Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Edmonton—Strathcona from 1972 to 1979 and for Edmonton South 1979–1984.[1] In 1984, he was appointed Canada's Ambassador for Disarmament, a position he held until 1989. He was appointed to the Senate of Canada on September 17, 1998, where he served until June 13, 2004. Currently he resides in Edmonton, Alberta.

Hina Shamsi (@HinaShamsi) is the director of the ACLU National Security Project, which is dedicated to ensuring that U.S. national security policies and practices are consistent with the Constitution, civil liberties, and human rights. She has litigated cases upholding the freedoms of speech and association, and challenging targeted killing, torture, unlawful detention, and post-9/11 discrimination against racial and religious minorities. Her work includes a focus on the intersection of national security and counterterrorism policies with international human rights and humanitarian law. She previously worked as a staff attorney in the ACLU National Security Project and was the acting director of Human Rights First’s Law & Security Program. She also served as senior advisor to the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions. Hina appears regularly in the media and has been quoted as a national security expert by numerous outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Associated Press, and Reuters, and has appeared on MSNBC, Fox News, CNN, NPR, ABC News, and the BBC. She is the author and coauthor of publications on targeted killing, torture, and extraordinary rendition, and has monitored and reported on the military commissions at Guantánamo Bay. She is also a lecturer-in-law at Columbia Law School, where she teaches a course in international human rights. Hina is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College and Northwestern University School of Law.

Chris Whatley joined HALO in June 2019. Prior to HALO, Chris served as Executive Director of the United Nations Association of the United States. Chris previously served as Deputy Executive Director of The Council of State Governments (CSG) and began his career as a field-based officer for the International Republican Institute (IRI), leading programs in Liberia, Nigeria, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.
Source: https://www.halotrust.org/about-us/who-we-are/our-people/

Robert is an award-winning investigative reporter focusing on national security at NBC News and a writer at NBCNews.com. He has been a member of the National Model United Nations Advisory Council since 2009.
He has covered international relations and national security at NBC News for more than three decades. During that time, he’s reported on the rise of Al Qaeda, having produced the first network TV report on the group in January 1997. He was also the first network TV producer to bring TV cameras inside CIA HQ in 1993. He’s reported from more than 50 countries, winning more than 40 national and international journalism awards.
In 1994, he and William E. Burrows co-authored Critical Mass: The Dangerous Race for Superweapons in a Fragmenting World, all or significant excerpts of which were translated into seven languages. He taught Television Writing at NYU for 17 years.
He is also a Life Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a Fellow at the Center on National Security at Fordham Law School and a member of the President’s Advisory Group at Seton Hall University, his alma mater where he received a B.A.
in Communication Arts.
NMUN Advisory Group


Eugene Chen is the Director of the Prevention and Peacebuilding Program at the NYU Center on International Cooperation where his research focuses on the interplay of substantive policy, intergovernmental politics, and bureaucratic processes at the United Nations.
Prior to joining NYU, Eugene worked in the United Nations Secretariat in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General, the United Nations Mission for Justice Support in Haiti, the Department of Field Support, and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations. Earlier in his career, Eugene served as lead negotiator for the US government at the United Nations General Assembly on subjects including peacekeeping financing and cross-cutting policy issues, the scales of assessments, and institutional reform. Eugene is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations and holds both a BA in Government and an MPA from Cornell University.


Francine is Teaching Professor of Political Science at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs of Syracuse University. She received her PhD and MA from Cornell University (Ithaca NY) and BA from William Smith College (Geneva NY). She teaches courses on international law and organizations, global governance and the United Nations system, international security and diplomacy, and Latin America and the Caribbean.
Her research projects include analysis of the 2016 UN Secretary-General election process and human rights/SOGIE issues. Recent publications include “LGBTQ and (Dis)United Nations: Sexual and Gender Minorities, International Law, and UN Politics,” in Sexualities in World Politics: How LGBTQ Claims Shape International Relations, eds. Picq and Thiel (New York: Routledge, 2015: Chapter 3: 54-74) and “Critical Feminism: Gender-at-Work in Waging War,” in Making Sense of International Relations Theory 2E (Iraq), ed. Sterling-Folker (Boulder, CO: Rienner, 2013: 283-299).
From 2003-2022, she served as Director of Undergraduate Studies in International Relations and faculty advisor for the Syracuse University-Maxwell School Model UN Club and Team, OXFAM@SU, UNICEF@SU, Alpha Chi chapter of Sigma Iota Rho Honor Society for International Studies, and International Relations Learning Community.

Tobias is from Regensburg, Germany. He has a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Nanoscience from the University of Regensburg and currently works as a hardware developer for electric cars in his hometown. Furthermore he works as a commentator for baseball and American football and is very involved with the local baseball club in his spare time. Tobias started doing Model United Nations in 2007 and attended NMUN•NY in 2013 as a delegate. He served on NMUN•NY volunteer staff from 2015-2023.

Ismail was raised in Chicago, Illinois and currently works as an associate dentist in Belvidere, Illinois. Ismail graduated with a BA in International Business and a BS in Health Sciences from Benedictine University in 2012. He earned his Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) in 2017 from Midwestern University, and completed his Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) residency at the University of New Mexico. In his spare time, Ismail is an avid traveler and loves to play and follow tennis. He attended his first NMUN•NY conference as a delegate in 2009 and served on the NMUN•NY volunteer secretariat from 2015-2023.



Dr. S. Rashid Naim is a Principal Senior Lecturer in the Political Science Department at Georgia State University
Dr. Naim was born and brought up in India. He earned his undergraduate degree in history with honors from the Aligarh Muslim University in India, a Master’s degree in International Studies from the Jawaharlal Nehru University in India. He also earned another Masters in International Relations from the Australian National University and his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
Dr. Naim has taught and held research positions at the Centre for Islamic Studies at Oxford University in the UK, at the University of California Santa Cruz, and Union College in upstate New York. He has been with the Department of Political Science at Georgia State University since 1993.
Dr. Naim’s areas of research and teaching are International Relations, religion and politics, Middle East politics, international relations of the Middle East, South Asian politics and Nuclear Proliferation. He is also a consultant on matters pertaining to Islam, the Middle East and South Asia.
Dr. Naim founded the Model United Nations and the Model Arab League Programs at Georgia State University and has run them for the past 16 years.
In 2017 Dr. Naim won the Georgia State University Faculty Award for Global Engagement and the Georgia State University College of Arts and Science Outstanding Teaching Award.

Adam works as a Communications Officer for The HALO Trust, the world's largest humanitarian landmine clearance NGO. A native of Wisconsin, Adam earned his Bachelors in International Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh. He currently lives in Washington, DC, where he is an active member of the United Nations Association of the National Capital Area. Adam spent seven years volunteering with NMUN•DC and five years at NMUN•NY.

