Our Executive Board is composed of eight Harvard students working tirelessly to plan HMCA 2027.
Top row (left to right): Ellyce Butuyan (Faculty Liaison), Angelina Xu (Director of Programs), Kaitlyn Vu (President), Ian Chen (Director of Programs)
Bottom row (left to right): Caleb Thompson (Director of Finance), Connor Cowan (Chief of Staff), Joanna Rawlings (Director of Operations and Technology), Nathan Tesler (Vice President)
Kaitlyn Vu — President
Kaitlyn is a senior in Adams House, concentrating in Government with a secondary in Global Health & Health Policy. She is originally from Quincy, Massachusetts. Outside of HMCA, Kaitlyn analyzes polling data for the Harvard Public Opinion Project, serves on the Harvard Global Health Institute Student Advisory Committee, and researches the patent environment surrounding biosimilars. In her free time, Kaitlyn loves exploring coffee shops, cheering on the Boston sports teams, and visiting history museums. She is incredibly excited to serve as President for her fourth and final year with HMCA!
Nathan Tesler —
Vice President
Nathan is a senior from Hingham, Massachusetts, a seaside town just south of Boston. He is a member of the Class of 2027 at Harvard studying Applied Math and Economics and a resident of Eliot House. He is pursuing a secondary field in Government and a language citation in Spanish. He is very excited to serve as HMCA’s Vice President this year. Outside of HMC, he DJs for the radio and plays a lot of jazz. During his free time, he enjoys running, exploring new places, jamming with his band, and playing Mario Kart with his roommates.
Ian Chen — Director of Programs
Ian is a junior in Kirkland House, concentrating in Social Studies. He is originally from Los Angeles, California. Ian is passionate about public interest strategy, civic education programs, and student political engagement. Outside of HMCA, he teaches civics in local schools and leads Harvard's First-Year Outdoor Program—while still making time for his love of acting. This is Ian’s third HMCA conference, and he’s excited to return to Asia for the debate, the people, and (of course) the street food. In his free time, he swims, schemes new adventures with friends, and cheers (loudly) for the LA Dodgers.
Angelina Xu —
Director of Programs
Angelina Xu is a junior in Dunster House studying Applied Math in Economics with a secondary in History. In the future, she hopes to work on antitrust or securities lawsuits as an economic expert. She is excited to serve as a Programmatic Officer and help plan the conference of a lifetime for everyone! When she’s not speed-walking between class, you can find her leading backpacking trips and cooking quesadillas at Dunster Grille.
Ellyce Butuyan — Faculty Liaison
Ellyce is a sophomore living in Lowell House and is studying Government with a secondary in Global Health and Health Policy. Outside of HMCA, Ellyce is also involved in the Institute of Politics, Harvard Undergraduate Capital Partners, the Global Research and Consulting Group, and the Organization of Asian American Sisters in Service. In her free time, you can find her hunting down her next good read or convincing her friends to go on karaoke excursions.
Joanna Rawlings — Director of Operations & Technology
Joanna is a sophomore living in Eliot House and is currently planning to study Human Biology, Behavior, and Evolution with a secondary in Integrated Biology. She loved her experience of HMC in high school, and is so excited for her second HMCA conference! Outside of HMCA, Joanna is also involved in Radcliffe Choral Society, HMC San Francisco, HMC Boston, the Crimson's design team, and Student Astronomers at Harvard Radcliffe. In her free time, you can find her people-watching with a breakfast croissant sandwich at Tatte and drawing temporary tattoos on her friends.
Caleb Thompson — Director of Finance
Caleb Thompson is a senior at Harvard studying Statistics and Economics. Growing up, he had the opportunity to embark on several impactful trips with his family, including month-long visits to Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, and Taiwan, which sparked a passion for learning more about the world. For his senior year of high school, he had the opportunity to expand his knowledge of the world even more by living in Adana, Türkiye as an exchange student. In his free time, he enjoys playing the piano, learning new languages, and spending time outside. Whether he is hiking or discussing international relations, exploration and curiosity unite his passions.
Connor Cowan
Chief of Staff
Connor is a junior in Lowell House concentrating in Social Studies and Economics. This will be his third HMCA conference and fifth HMC conference overall. Connor is passionate about the geopolitics of the energy transition, and is particularly interested in how to leverage public-private partnerships to support the world’s growing energy needs. He is also interested in education policy. Connor is excited to cultivate an exceptional experience for staffers and students this year as Chief of Staff!