The Executive Branch of Graduate Student Government represents the voice of the graduate student body to the faculty, administration, staff, and others inside the Georgia Tech community. The Executive Branch sets the tone for the Graduate Student Government, while planning and executing goals and activities that meet student needs.
The operation of the Executive Branch is overseen by the Graduate Student Body President and the Graduate Student Executive Vice President. These two officers further lead the Executive Board, Standing and Ad-hoc Committees, and other representatives designated to sit on Institute committees and boards. The Board discusses upcoming legislation and advises the President and Vice President on matters of importance to the Graduate Student Senate (GSS) and the Georgia Tech community. Four positions are shared between the Graduate Student Government and the Undergraduate Student Government (USG): the Joint Vice President of Finance, the Joint Vice President of Sustainability and Infrastructure, the Joint Vice President of Information Technology, and the Coordinating Officer.
The Joint Vice President of Finance serves as the financial advisor to the GSS and Undergraduate House of Representatives (UHR), and oversees the process of budgeting the student activity fee money. The SGA is charged with allocating this money, but the Joint Finance Committee recommends all spending to the GSS and the UHR.
The President, with the assistance of the Executive Vice President, appoints all graduate committee chairs and graduate representatives to Institute committees and also fills all vacant senator positions, with the consent of the Senate.
Executive Members
The President shall: be the spokesperson for the graduate student body in all Government affairs and in student relations with the administration; be responsible for the activities of all Standing and Ad-hoc Committees which are a part of the Executive Branch; have positive appointment powers for all Graduate members of Joint Standing Committees, Standing Committees, and Institute Committees; and appoint new Senators and members of the Judiciary with the advice and consent of the Senate. The President will further have the power to remove from office any appointed student, except for the Judiciary members, with the advice and consent of the Senate. The President shall submit proper and necessary legislation to the Senate and shall have the power to transact routine business that is in the best interest of the graduate student body. The President shall have the power to appoint and disband Ad-hoc Committees with the advice and consent of the Senate. The President shall be an ex-officio member of all Committees.
Executive Vice President – DongLai Yang
The Executive Vice President shall assist in the performance of the President’s duties, and in the absence of the President, the Executive Vice President shall assume those duties. The Executive Vice President shall be an ex-officio member of all Committees.
The Chief of Staff works with the President and Vice President, and represents their interests at meetings, on action items, or any agenda. The Chief of Staff works with other Executive Cabinet members in various committees to work for grad interests. The Chief of Staff works between SGA, administrators, and faculty. The Chief of Staff prepares and executes all regular and special elections for the Government, to maintain the Elections Code, and to investigate violations of the Elections Code.
Vice President of Academic and Research Affairs – Amitej Venapally
The Vice President of Academic and Research Affairs serves on academic committees and works to promote and support graduate research across all disciplines.
Vice President of Campus Services -Max Oglesby
The Vice President of Campus Services is responsible for working with each of the eight departments that are a part of Georgia Tech Campus Services to advocate for improvements and work collaboratively to enhance access for graduate students. The Vice President serves on advisory committees for each department and hosts regular feedback sessions with graduate students to gather feedback.
Vice President of Graduate Communications – Ghazal Kaviani
Reporting to the President, and serving as a member of the Graduate Executive Branch, the Vice President (VP) of Communications will be responsible for the development of the Graduate SGA’s communication strategy and will promote and enhance communication about Graduate SGA issues to the student body. The VP of Communications will be responsible for managing Graduate SGA social media, overseeing the GradSGA website, and working alongside other grad organizations to promote events and institution-wide announcements.
Vice President of Graduate Conference Funds – Marquise’ D Collins
The Vice President of the Graduate Conference Funds shall be responsible for the administration of the Graduate Conference Fund, the Career Development Fund, and the Undergraduate Conference Fund, which allocates money to graduate and undergraduate students who attend conferences.
Vice President of Government Affairs – Will Pavlick
The Vice President of Government Affairs will interface with Georgia Tech’s Government Relations office, national graduate student organizations, and the GT Graduate Body to relay information relating to Federal and State initiatives that affect graduate students.
Vice President of Graduate Events – Srinanda Nath
The Vice President of Graduate Events shall be responsible for organization and execution of the graduate student orientation (Fall), Grad Picnic (Fall), GSGA town halls, budget meetings, and any additional graduate social events throughout the year. The VP of Graduate Events also serves as chair of the CRIDC Committee and sits on the Student Activity Committee (SAC) that reviews new constitutions and constitutional updates of student organizations.
Vice President of Professional Development – Alina Gorbunova
The Vice President of Professional Development works with the Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Faculty Development to organize and host professional development initiatives for graduate students. The Vice President of Professional Development shall serve as the chair of the Career, Research, and Innovation Development Conference, and be responsible for organizing the conference.
Vice President of Student Life -Amaya McNealey
The Vice President of Graduate Student Life provides student input into graduate life on campus, and promotes programs and ideas to improve the quality of graduate student experience. The Vice President of Student Life serves on various committees and advocates for graduate well-being.
Vice President of Mental Health and Well Being
The Graduate Student Wellness Committee seeks to advocate for and protect the mental wellness of graduate students at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Our vision is to serve as a resource for students navigating the graduate experience at Georgia Tech, and to facilitate discussion pertaining to initiatives that foster or reinforce graduate student wellness at the institutional level. The main committee initiative is writing and advocating for the Graduate Student Researcher Bill of Rights & Responsibilities. Other initiatives include improved mental health resources, more graduate student community making opportunities, and more.
Joint Vice President of Finance – Will Miller
The Vice President of Finance sits on both the Undergraduate and Graduate Executive Boards, and is a joint position appointed by the Undergraduate and Graduate Student Body Presidents. The VPF serves dual roles at the Joint Finance Committee Chair and the Financial Advisor for all branches of Student Government.
Joint Vice President of Information Technology – Meenakshi Prabhakar
The Vice President of Information Technology is on the Undergraduate and Graduate Student Government Associations and focuses on developing the strategic plan for the future of academic and campus technology resources at Georgia Tech. Considering the changes in the software industry and Institute policy, as well as the effects of these resources upon students, this person is responsible for the continuation and stability of all IT resources under the position. This position will head the think-tank and the development and implementation of new technologies, maintenance and restructuring of current IT resources, and will interface with the Communications team for updating SGA’s website.
Joint Vice President of Sustainability & Infrastructure – Rohan Datta
The Joint Vice President of Sustainability and Infrastructure advocates for the interests of the student body by advising the President on issues related to campus infrastructure and sustainability. Serving as a liaison between students, the administration and the Representatives, the Joint Vice President of Sustainability and Infrastructure is also actively involved in both the Undergraduate House of Representatives and the Graduate Student Senate.
Executive Committees
Graduate Online Student Affairs Committee
Chair: Roque Mesa
Members of the Graduate Online Student Affairs Committee serve as the official executive representatives for the fully remote population at Georgia Tech. In addition to lending their expertise on policy discussions that may impact the online student body, they also serve to create and design initiatives that aim to enhance the online experience by fostering social, academic, and professional development among its constituency.
Graduate International Student Affairs Committee
Chair: Amaya McNealey
The Graduate International Student Affairs Committee implements, oversees, and maintains projects and initiatives that aim to ease the transition of international students to a new country, provide equitable support to graduate international students in the absence of institutional programs, promote inclusion, and celebrate diversity of culture among graduate students.
Academic and Research Affairs Committee
Chair: Amitej Venapally
The Academic and Research Affairs Committee serves to improve the experience of Georgia Tech graduate students, through enacting change and implementing ideas recommended by the graduate student body. This committee seeks to define and refresh academic standards for graduate students, through diverse efforts like review of curriculum or programmatic changes and definition of the graduate student position on use of large language models in classroom and research settings. At the same time, this committee seeks to develop and push for enforcement of policies that govern the advisor-advisee relationship and protect graduate student interests in a research context. Topics that may be explored to further these goals are numerous and can be explored and proposed by members of the committee.
Graduate Campus Services Committee
Chair: Maxwell Oglesby
The Graduate Campus Services Committee works on a variety of graduate student-facing initiatives pertaining to the facilities and services that enable or enhance life on campus. Among the project this committee works on are improved housing solutions for graduate students, more widespread access to healthcare options available for graduate students, better and more affordable dining options on campus, and improving access to auxiliary services such as Klemis Kitchen.
Graduate Professional Development Committee
Chair: Alina Gorbunova
The Graduate Professional Development Committee aims to support the career and leadership development of graduate students at Georgia Tech. The committee oversees professional development programs tailored to meet the unique needs and aspirations of graduate students. These initiatives encompass a wide array of career paths, encompassing industries, academia, entrepreneurship, government, and non-profit sectors, ensuring inclusivity for a diverse community. In addition, the committee takes an active role in the development and itinerary of GSGA’s annual professional and academic development conference, CRIDC.
Graduate Elections Committee
Chair: Julia Lin
The election committee oversees the senate elections and presidential elections of the Graduate Student Government to ensure fair elections. This includes but is not limited to promoting upcoming elections, checking whether people that are up for election fulfill the requirements as stated in our governing documents, promoting, and ensuring fair campaigning of candidates and finally overseeing voting and announcing of results.
Successful applicants will serve for the academic year 2023/2024 to oversee and manage the senate elections in September 2023, potential senate elections in January 2024 and the presidential elections in March and April 2024. They are expected to become familiar with the rules and policy that govern the elections. When elections are on-going, the committee will meet regularly. During periods without elections, we expect two meetings to plan the upcoming election. The committee will be chaired by the Chief of Staff, but successful applicants are encouraged to take on an active and leading role in the committee.
Joint Finance Committee
Chair: Will Miller
SGA’s Joint Finance Committee is a financial allocation body, chaired by the Joint Vice President of Finance, that is responsible for determining allocations of the Student Activity Fee. Other major responsibilities include but are not limited to, the preparation of a budget for over 400 student organizations, reviewing of bills, developing close relationships with student organizations, and ensuring the fair usage of allocated funds from the Student Activity Fee.
Mental Health Joint Allocation Committee
Chair: vacant
The Mental Health Joint Allocation Committee (JAC) manages the dispersal of the $1M fund allocated from the Student Government Association (SGA) and Georgia Tech administration in October of 2017. Any individual student, the office of Georgia Tech, or student clubs can apply for JAC funds. The purpose of JAC is to fund initiatives that improve the mental health and well-being of Georgia Tech students. For more information, visit https://www.sga.gatech.edu/jac/.
GSGA Stipend Information
| Position | Proposed 2023-2024 Salary |
| President | $6000 |
| Executive Vice President | $3200 |
| Chief of Staff | $2000 |
| VP Academic Affairs | $2000 |
| VP Graduate Events | $2000 |
| VP Campus Services | $1800 |
| VP Government Affairs | $1800 |
| VP Graduate Communications | $1800 |
| VP Professional Development | $1800 |
| VP Student Life | $1800 |
| VP Graduate Conference Funds | $1800 |
| Senate Leadership (Combined) | $5000 |
| Totals | $31000 |