John Mannes
Northwest HS
John_B_Mannes@mcpsmd.org
John Mannes, a Junior at Northwest High School, is the appointed MCR Chief of Staff. This year John hopes to work diligently with this years staff to ensure transparency as well as accountability . He has experience in graphic arts and media production from attending seminars at Georgetown University. John also serves as the Maryland State Director of the National Youth Association, through this John consistently completes work in order to increase advocacy among youth and grant them genuine collective bargaining power in politics. In the past he has held the appointed MCR position of Montgomery County Junior Councils (MCJC) Liaison as well as the elected position of SGA President of Kingsview Middle School. John has served on the SMOB Special Elections Committee for the past four years, even serving as Special Elections Deputy. He was a student aide for the 2008 Presidential Election and the 2010 Midterm Elections working for Montgomery County as well as the Montgomery County Board of Elections. He has also worked with the Maryland Association of Student Councils (MASC) in attending their annual convention in Ocean City, Legislative Session, High School Leadership Conference and the Maryland State Department of Education Conference in Baltimore. He is also a certified trainer for MASC and a member of National Honors Society. John has consistently worked on both TV News Crews and Radio programs. He enjoys all things politics and prefers nothing more then a great round of golf. |
Dira Djaya
Richard Montgomery HS
Dira_Djaya@mcpsmd.org
Dira Djaya is a Senior in the International Baccalaureate program at Richard Montgomery High School. Dira has been coming to MCJC and MCR General Assemblies since middle school but has only been an appointed staff since last year, where she was Public Affairs Deputy. As the Chief of Staff Deputy, she strives to have this year be the best and most efficient year for MCR. Dira is also Richard Montgomery's Student Government Association's President and an Editor for the Centerspread section of Richard Montgomery's award-winning student newspaper The Tide. She is very excited to work with MCR and her fellow peers again this year!
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In order to ensure that the MCR staff is completing its duties, the chief of staff must have outstanding time management and organizational skills. Regular communication with staff members requires strong communication skills and the ability to be assertive and direct, but also understanding.
o Ensure, through regular phone calls and email messages, that all members of the Executive Board are completing their duties
o Conduct routine evaluations of all MCR activities (including executive board meetings and general assemblies) and present these evaluations to the Executive Board each month
o Compile the annual MCR report to the Board of Education
o Collect regular staff and committee reports
o Make recommendations on improving MCR activities
o Serve as a general assistant to the President of MCR |
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Ahmen Elnaiem
Richard Montgomery HS
Ahmen_Elnaiem@mcpsmd.org
Ahmed Elnaiem, a senior at Richard Montgomery High School, is the appointed MCR Events Director. This is his first year on the MCR Executive Board but he has been attending General Assemblies since his sophomore year. He is the Vice President of the Richard Montgomery SGA and he will be playing Varsity soccer in the fall. He looks forward to fulfilling all his responsibilities as the Events Director and plans to enjoy his senior year.
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Bintu Traore
Richard Montgomery HS
Bintu_Traore@mcpsmd.org
Bintu Traoré, a freshman at Richard Montgomery High School, is the appointed MCR Deputy Events Director. This is her first year on the MCR Executive Board and she is very excited to be involved. She was the Vice President of MCJC and President of her SGA last year. She will be on Poms this year and will continue to do Ballet. She looks forward to working with the MCR staff and cannot wait to start High School.
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The MCR events director is responsible for planning MCR events. It goes without saying that extensive event-management skills are needed for the position along with strong communication skills and creative thinking for when facing challenges or obstacles in planning an event.
o Work with the executive board in planning food, snacks, facilities, and clean-up for MCR executive board meetings and other special MCR events as needed
o Ensure recycling is practiced at all meetings and promote environmental awareness among the Executive Board and General Assembly attendants
o Organize and coordinate the delegate breakout sessions at the General Assembly
o Assist MCR with the development of supplemental programs as may be appropriate
o Work with the MCPS Department of Family and Community Partnerships to coordinate the fall MCR study circle and follow-up action plan |
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Richard Shu
Richard Montgomery HS
In the time I've been at Richard Montgomery, I've been eager to help the community in any way I can. By volunteering at every opportunity in programs such as KAST (Kids Are Scientists Too), LIT (Leaders In Training), Teen Court, and others, I hope that as Lobbying Deputy I can help in a totally new way.
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The lobbying coordinator is charged with coordinating all MCR lobbying on the county and state level. Excellent research, organizing, and planning skills are required for the position, along with an acute knowledge of the county and state legislative process. The lobbying coordinator must also have strong communication and event-management skills in order to organize lobbying and testimony events.
o Research and monitor the development of legislation related to education and youth issues under consideration by the Board of Education, the County Council, and the Maryland General Assembly
o Propose positions and draft testimony on said issues for presentation in the appropriate forums
o Coordinate MCR lobbying and testimony efforts
o Empower student leaders with legislative resources, information, and training
o Attend MASC Lobbying Day and MASC Legislative Session and BOE and County Council Meetings as appropriate
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Jessica Li
Richard Montgomery HS
Jessica Li is very excited about serving her community along with other members of the MCR-SGA. As the logistics director, she plans on informing students about service opportunities on a frequent basis through working closely with the MCR advisor Mrs. Crawford on updating the MCR webpage. As an immigrant from China, Jessica is fluent in both Chinese and English; and has worked for various organizations including the Chinese Culture And Community service Center, the Montgomery County Youth Advisory Committee, and Kids Are Scientists Too. At school, Jessica is a student of the International Baccalaureate Program. She has served as the vice president of the class of 2014 SGA, writer for the Tide Newspaper, and public agent for Postcards For Paraguay. Jessica enjoys playing the violin and volunteering for Singtao Daily, the largest Chinese newspaper worldwide.
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Richard Yarrow
Richard Montgomery HS
Richard_L_Yarrow@mcpsmd.org
Richard Yarrow, currently a freshman at the Richard Montgomery High School IB program, is thrilled to serve on the MCR Executive Board. He has been a SGA President and representative and PTSA Vice President at Eastern Middle School, and last year was President of the Montgomery County Junior Councils.
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The MCR logistics director must work with the MCR advisor and assist in any way possible. This involves keeping track of attendance at meetings, tracking SSL hours earned by staff members, and checking information and links on the MCR website for relevance and accuracy. The director must be proactive and show good time management skills, diligence, and responsibility.
o Assist the MCR Advisor on administrative tasks of MCR
o Keep accurate attendance records at all MCR events and track elected and appointed staff student service learning hours
o Write correspondence and messages on behalf of MCR at the request of the President/Advisor (thank you notes for schools hosting MCR events and to special presenters at MCR events, etc.)
o Work to ensure all phases of student service-learning (SSL) are followed for MCR activities
o Present quality SSL activity and program ideas at MCR meetings and/or in the MCR newsletters
o Work with the Student Affairs Office to maintain the MCR website |
The MCCPTA liaison will work with the MCR officers and Lobbying Director/Deputy to report to the MCCPTA and report from the MCCPTA to MCR any on-going discussion/positions on issues concerning students and coordinate any actions of MCR and the MCCPTA. This is a very large time commitment, as the MCCPTA liaison must attend both MCR and MCCPTA meetings. Time management skills and presentation skills are vital for this position.
o Work closely with the MCR officers to establish good communications with the MCCPTA and an active working relationship
o Coordinate with MCR lobbying director/deputy on student issues discussed by the MCCPTA that MCR wishes to pursue
o Prepare presentations about MCR to MCCPTA as needed
o Keep MCR informed on all pertinent student issues the MCCPTA is discussing
o Attend all MCCPTA meetings
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Jeffrey He
Richard Montgomery HS
Jeffrey_He@mcpsmd.org
Jeffrey He, a Junior in the International Baccalaureate program at Richard Montgomery High School, will be serving as Public Affairs Director. He is very excited about the upcoming year and hopes to be able to make a positive impact. Jeffrey will be bringing valuable experience to the executive board this year. He has served as Class of 2013 President, a member of SMOB council, President of the Chinese Honor Society, Director of Communications for the HSYDA and as Director of Communications for the National Youth Association. He has also attended MCR General Assemblies and MASC conventions. He loves to meet and work with new people and try new things, qualities he believe are crucial to being a public affairs director. One of his many goals this year is to raise more awareness about issues that affect the student body and get more youth involved in the political process because political efficacy must be cultivated at a young age in order for our democracy to thrive. Also, it would ensure that the student voice is heard and adequately represented. Besides leadership, Jeffrey has an interest in athletics. He currently swims competitively year-round and rows during the spring. In addition, Jeffrey has done a variety of volunteer work around the community such as tutoring through the CAPSA program, volunteering at local summer schools through the ELO program, and working in the Unity in Diversity group with the City of Rockville. Jeffrey hopes to utilize his new position in MCR effectively and to live up to the motto, "disciplined pursuit of excellence."
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Matthew Walters
Matthew_Walters@mcpsmd.org
Kennedy HS
Matthew Walters, a senior in the Medical Careers Academy in John F. Kennedy High School, is excited to be this year's public affairs deputy. It's his pleasure to help the Montgomery County Region with voicing student advocacy, concerns of the high school student population, and inform students of their many rights and responsibilities. Matthew is far from new at representing the interest of students in Montgomery County. He has served as a High School Outreach Coordinator for the Student Advisory Council of the Student Member of the Board of Education. Additionally, he has a strong reputation of leadership skills in his now finished Medical Careers pathway program as a former manager of American Red Cross Blood Drives and events with military medical students from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. This has led all to his license as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA). Matthew is presently a proud member of the United States Air Force Aux. as a flight commander for his squadron and has future endeavours to be a Acute Care (Trauma) Nurse Practioner. If you asked him what he does for fun, he would already be playing his drum in his school's drum line or producing videos as a manager of a well known video group affiliated with Youtube.
He too looks forward to fulfilling his duties on the executive board.
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The public affairs director must coordinate all MCR actions on affairs and items of interest to the MCPS high school student body. This covers a wide range of issues, including student advocacy, voter registration, and the environment, to name a few. The director must be knowledgeable in these issues, have excellent research abilities, and good planning and organization skills.
o Promote an understanding among MCPS students of their rights and responsibilities
o Plan and execute advocate training workshops
o Share student advocacy tips at MCR meetings
o Coordinate and oversee voter registration initiatives at each high school
o Coordinate MCR action on affairs and items of interest to the MCPS high school student body |
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Ankita Reddy
Richard Montgomery High School
Ankita_Reddy@mcpsmd.org Ankita Reddy is a freshmen in the International Baccalaureate program at Richard Montgomery High School. She is very excited to participate in the MCR executive board for the first time. As deputy public relations director, she would like to get more students involved with the county SGA and encourage high schools to write school reports for the semester newsletter. Ankita has been involved with the SGA for two years and was MCJC Publications Director last year. She also fences, plays the piano, and does Indian classical dance.
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The public relations coordinator is essentially responsible for all MCR communications and publications. The coordinator must demonstrate skill in writing, page layout and design, and art. Talking with adults (often teachers) and students will require excellent communication skills along with time-management skills. Most teachers can only be reached during the school day and the public relations coordinator must find a way to reach them.
o Promote awareness and understanding about MCR throughout the county’s high schools and community media outlets (morning announcements, school newspapers, etc.)
o Prepare press releases at the request of staff members
o Distribute correspondence at the request of staff members upon authorization from the President/Advisor
o Publish a MCR newsletter at the end of each semester
o Contact school Presidents and advisors at the request of the President
o Design and maintain the MCR scrapbook |
Stephen Lee
Churchill High School
Stephen_C_Lee@mcpsmd.org
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Sylvia Otieno
Damascus High School
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The special elections administrator is charged with organizing MCR’s largest responsibility – the Student Member of the Board of Education election logistics. The administrator must have stellar organizational skills and must be able to manage his/her time wisely in order to maximize efficiency. The special elections administrator must also be a charismatic leader, as he/she will need to recruit students to join the Special Elections Committee.
o Organize and monitor the annual elections of the Student Member of the Board of Education
o Evaluate the election and prepare a report that shall be submitted to the Executive Board
o Chair the Special Elections Committee |
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MCR Advisor and Coordinator of Student AffairsMrs. Karen Crawford
Karen_L_Crawford@mcpsmd.org
Office 301-670-1419 Cell 301-318-6384
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