Executive Director
Michelle Jimenez
Deputy Executive Director of Operations
Micah Draper
Michelle (she/her) is a rising junior majoring in Economics and Global Affairs originally from El Paso, Texas. Last year, Michelle was YIRLI’s Director of External Affairs. On campus, Michelle is involved with student government and Dwight Hall, our service hub on campus. She is super excited for this year, and always happy to answer any questions at yirli@yira.org.
Deputy Executive Director of CONFERENCE
Isabel Nuño
Isabel (she/her) is a rising senior in Davenport College from Fort Smith, Arkansas, pursuing degrees in Global Affairs and Anthropology with a certificate in Portuguese. She is a first-generation Mexican-American with family roots in Baja California and Guadalajara, Jalisco. She is passionate about space policy, artificial intelligence, and the empowerment of underserved communities. Isabel is currently a Social Innovation Intern at Freedom Reads, a choreographer in Ballet Folklórico, a FOOT leader, and an incoming FroCo. In her spare time, she enjoys listening to music, hanging out with friends, and spending time in nature. This is her second year with YIRLI, as last summer she served as Co-Director of Curriculum. She’s always happy to connect and answer any questions—feel free to reach out to her at yirli.conference@yira.org!
Director of Communications
Mary Fahy
Mary (she/her) is a rising sophomore in Saybrook College majoring in Global Affairs and History. She was born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas. Outside of YIRLI, Mary is also a staff writer for YIRA’s semi-annual publication, the Yale Review of International Studies. Outside of YIRA, Mary is Director of Communications and a staff writer for the Yale Undergraduate Legal Journal and a member of the Moot Court team and Club Field Hockey team. In her free time, Mary loves trying out new coffee spots in New Haven, so please ask her for recommendations. Mary is studying abroad in Paris this summer learning about international economics and law. Feel free to reach out to her at yirli.communications@yira.org.
Director of branding & Technology
Hannah Yang
Hannah (she/her) is a rising sophomore in Silliman College, originally from Queens, New York, majoring in Global Affairs and Environmental Studies. At Yale, she is the editor-in-chief of the Yale Globalist and a member of the Yale Foreign Policy Initiative’s project through the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) Asia Program under Dr. Sheila Smith. Outside of extracurriculars, you can usually find her baking cookies or going on a slow run around campus. Hannah is very excited to join YIRLI this year after serving as USG of Delegations for Yale Model United Nations Korea XIV and USG of Branding for Yale Model United Nations Taiwan XII. Please reach out to her at yirli.b-t@yirli.org!
Director of curriculum
Riyashi Varia
Riyashi (she/her) is a sophomore in Pierson College, and is thrilled to serve as the Director of Curriculum for YIRLI. She is from Bergen County, New Jersey, and is a Mechanical Engineering and Political Science major. Within the Yale International Relations Associations, Riyashi also serves as the Director-General of Committees for YMUN LIII and USG of Committees for YMUN South Asia. She is a former US Youth Delegate to the UN Ocean Decade, and an UN High Level Political Forum Delegate. In her free time, she loves going on food crawls, side-questing with friends, and fine-tuning her ever-growing Spotify playlists. Please reach out to her at yirli.curriculum@yira.org.
Micah Draper! Micah (he/him) is a rising junior at Yale University studying History and Intensive Education Studies. Raised in the small town of Wallburg, North Carolina, he’s committed to providing international relations educational opportunities to other rural students. In addition to YIRLI, Micah currently serves as President of the Yale International Relations Association (YIRA) and competes on the Model United Nations Team at Yale. Previously, he served on the secretariats of YMUN Europe XIV, YMUN Europe XV, and YMUN Dubai III. Additionally, he is a New Haven Public School Intern and is a hiking leader for Yale’s outdoor and backpacking first-year orientation program. This summer, Micah is working at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City for Uruguay’s Permanent Mission. He can’t wait to meet everyone at YIRLI at the end of July! Until then, feel free to reach him at yirli.operations@yira.org.
Deputy Executive Director of Conference
Alicia Deng
Alicia (she/her) is a junior majoring in Computing & the Arts. She has been in Model UN since my first year of high school and continued renewing her interest for global diplomacy through Yale’s international relations organization, YIRA. Please feel free to contact her at yirli.conference@yira.org!
Director of External Affairs
Wilson Jang
Wilson (he/him) is a rising sophomore from SoCal majoring in Mechanical Engineering and pursuing a certificate in Energy Studies. Outside of YIRLI, you can catch him on-campus involved with research on renewable energy storage, bouldering with the Yale Climbing Team, meditating in Yale’s Buddhist shrine room, or helping manage other YIRA conferences, namely YMUN Taiwan. Less seriously, he’s a huge basketball and baseball fan, loves some good jazz rap, and is excited to meet everyone in a few weeks! Please reach out to him at yirli.externalaffairs@yira.org!
Director of branding & Technology
Anthony Mendias
Anthony (he/him) is a rising junior in Saybrook College from San Diego, California majoring in architecture. He is a Mexican-American, with his family’s roots in Jalisco, Mexico. Outside of the architecture and art studios, he spends his time at Yale dancing Ballet Folklorico, playing squash, and organizing events for De Colores de Yale. He is passionate about how architecture and urban infrastructure can shape communities and social connection across diverse urban contexts around the world. This is his first time with YIRLI, and he is really excited to meet everyone at this year’s conference. Anthony can be reached at yirli.b-t@yirli.org.