Core Committee

Yesenia Crespo

Yesenia Crespo is a rising senior originally from New York City, double majoring in Sociology and Women and Gender Studies with a minor in Business. After graduation, she plans on entering a career in the event planning industry as she loves to plan events and make others happy. Yesenia is involved as the Senior Coordinator for Jr/Sr Formal, Programming Supervisor for Shapiro Campus Center, and Student Support Services Mentor for first year students. She is the Commuter Student Coordinator and Co-Coordinator of Social Programs.

Debra Fricano

Debra is a rising Junior, originally from New York City, majoring in Sociology and Womens and Gender Studeis. Her interests include grass-roots activism, musical theater, awkward dancing, a cappella singing (the co-ed contemporary group Rather Be Giraffes), Pluralistic and Interfaith dialogue and education, and back massages. If there was a short stack of three pancakes, Debra would be the bottom pancake because she likes being at the foundational CORE of things, and is warm and sweet.

Ilana Galil

Ilana is a rising junior with a double major in Anthropology and Superheroism. When not designing the new Superhero major, she can be found rowing on the Charles River at the crack of dawn, puffy painting T-shirts for various occasions (or just for fun), working at the campus card office, or attempting to cook eggplant with the culinary arts club. Ilana is coordinating the International Student Program, Transfer Student Program, and Family Programs for the 2008 Brandeis University First-Year Orientation. She is looking forward to creating a spifftastic Orientation with the 2008 Orientation Core Committee and recruiting new first-years to her Superhero major. Aspiring to graduate in 2010, Ilana hopes that her superhero status will be enough to support her in the future.

Allyson Goldsmith

Allyson is a rising junior from Lexington, Virginia and is majoring in Sociology. She is the co-coordinator of the Mosaic pre-orientation program, diversity programs and Social Activism programming. Allyson is very involved in activism at Brandeis because positive change is something she is passionate about. She is on the executive board of Positive Foundations, the student organization working to end extreme poverty. She hopes to work for an NGO and change the world. When not engaging in activism she enjoys swimming, the beach, food and reading.

Leo Guyshan

Leo is a rising junior majoring in Politics and Russian. He was born Tashkent, Uzbekistan but he immigrated to America and grew up in Western Massachusetts. When he is not cooking up a storm in Culinary Arts Club he enjoys attending meetings of the Punk Rock and Roll Club and Art Attack. He loves Russian literature, long walks on the beach, unicycles, and cultivating his beard. Leo is working on the academics program for New Student Orientation 2008 as well as Orientation Leader training. He hopes to graduate from Brandeis University in 2010 and go to law school.

Ryan McElhaney

Ryan is a rising junior studying Philosophy, English Literature and Queer Theory. He is greatly interested in Orientation, not just of people but also of mind and spirit. He is currently the Managing Director of The Free Play Theatre Cooperative and thinks that if he were a pancake in a short stack; it would be the bottom one. If Ryan wanted you to read a quote, it would be this one "Service is the rent that we pay for living in this world."