Structure & Timelines
New Executives are elected in the March meeting, and take office on August 1st unless the outgoing Executive is graduating in the spring (and then they take over following their graduation). If you are UNSURE who the current executive team is, please reach out to gpssexec@iastate.edu at any time.
This allows for a long transition/shadowing period for the incoming officers, as a measure to ensure institutional memory remains.
Current Executive Council (AY2024-2025)
President
Wren Bouwman
Wren Bouwman (she/her) is a 3rd year Ph.D. student in Applied Linguistics and Technology. She has her bachelor's degree in English with a minor in Speech Communication and a master's degree in Teaching English as a Second Language and Applied Linguistics, also from Iowa State. Her doctoral research is focused on understanding and improving the writing process using biometric data collection and discourse analysis. She hopes to create better educational technology and teaching methods for student writers. Wren has been a Senator in GPSS for the Department of English since 2022 and served as the LAS College Chair in the '23-'24 academic year. Outside of her academic career, Wren loves sewing, playing board games, and reading fantasy and romance novels.
She can be reached at: gpsspresident@iastate.edu
Vice President
Ceren Ordas
Ceren Ordas (she/her) is a 5th year Ph.D. student in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. She has a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a double minor in Biochemistry and Psychology from Knox College. Her research focuses on understanding the visual systems of marine organisms, focusing on the distributed visual system of scallops, investigating eyes and how they function on a molecular and morphological level, and their energetic demands. Yes, you heard it right! Scallops are fascinating organisms with tens to hundreds of eyes. She uses them to provide new insights into the morphological adaptations of visual systems and better understand the functional diversity that comes with them provide new insights into the morphological adaptations of visual systems and better understand fictional diversity that come with it. Ceren has been a senator in GPSS for both the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Program and the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology since 2022. As the Vice President, Ceren hopes to be a voice for the graduate students, represent them to the best of her abilities, and make sure to keep the monthly meetings engaging for all. She was previously the Vice President of the Turkish Student Association, a social committee representative for her program of study at ISU, Class Secretary and Treasurer in her college, Alumni Ambassador, and Diversity Chairman/Vice President/Treasurer of her sorority. In her free time, Ceren likes to watch hours-long commentary videos on YouTube about random topics, mostly focused on cinema, listen to music, and sleep.
He can be reached at: gpssvicepres@iastate.edu
Treasurer
Elijah Bouwman 
Elijah Bouwman is a second-year Ph.D. Student in Industrial and Agricultural Technology with a certificate in Human and Computer Interaction. He has his master's degree in Industrial and Agricultural Technology from Iowa State University, as well as his bachelor’s in Industrial Technology with a minor in Economics from Iowa State University. His doctoral research is focused on using computer vision to better understand and assess biological risks in agricultural settings. He hopes to use this research to help protect sensitive areas from biological hazards. Elijah served as the Graduate and Professional Student Senate representative for the Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering: Industrial and Agricultural Technology department during the ‘23 - ‘24 academic year. During this time, he served on the Finance committee, helping rewrite the funding process for allocations. As Treasurer, he hopes to expand access to funding for Graduate Student Organizations and increase communication about the programs GPSS funds.
In his off time, he is usually off playing board games, video games, or futzing with his 3d printer.
He can be reached at: gpsstreasurer@iastate.edu
Senate Information Officer
Gaurav Arwade
Gaurav Arwade is a 5th-year Ph.D. student in Industrial Engineering. He currently serves as the GPSS Senate Information Officer. Previously he has served as College of Engineering Chair for GPSS 23-24. His research focuses on Machine Learning models for precision healthcare and foundational model for Agriculture UAV data and Semiconductor Metrology. He deeply enjoys Hiking, tennis and concerts.
He can be reached at: gpsssio@iastate.edu
Senate Engagement Officer
Charity Njeshi
Charity Njeshi (she/her/hers) is a PhD student in the Interdepartmental Toxicology Program. Her home department is Biomedical Science in the College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM). Her research involves pharmacological characterization of ion channels as potential drug targets for parasitic infections.
Charity holds a Bachelor’s and Master's degrees in Microbiology from the University of Buea, Cameroon, where she took up some leadership roles. In her Bachelor’s she served as the Public Relations Officer of the University of Buea Microbiology Students Association; and during her Masters study, she served as the Vice President of the Faculty of Science Postgraduate Student Association of the University of Buea, in charge of Academics.
Since she enrolled at Iowa State University, she has served as the GPSS Senator for the Interdepartmental Toxicology program, and the Social Chair of the Toxicology Graduate Student Organization (TGSO). She currently serves as the Senate Engagement Officer of the Graduate and Professional Student Senate and the president of the TGSO.
She can be reached at: gpssseo@iastate.edu
Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) Officer
Veronica Kiuna
Veronica Kiuna is a 2nd year Ph.D. student in Civil engineering with a geotechnical engineering specialization. Her doctoral research focuses on the cyclic behavior of fine-grained soils. She has a master's degree in geotechnical engineering from Erciyes University, Turkey, where she focused on ground improvement methods for organic soils. She also holds a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Kenyatta University, Kenya. Veronica has been serving as a senator in GPSS for the College of Engineering and is currently the Graduate Student Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) officer. During her free time, Veronica loves watching soccer, traveling, and trying out new recipes.
She can be reached at gpssidea@iastate.edu
Conference Chair
Alycia West
Alycia West (she/her) is a 5th year Ph.D. candidate in Higher Education. She has her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Northern Iowa, and her master’s degree in higher education from Iowa State University. Her doctoral research focuses on telling the stories of Asian American transracial/transnational adoptee communities and understanding how students within this identity make meaning of their racial identity. She believes in co-creating knowledge that centers truth-telling, collectivism, and care in working to dismantle systemic racism and violence in educational spaces. Alycia has been a senator in GPSS for the School of Education since 2023. She has served as College Chair, and Social Media Chair during her tenure. Alycia loves trying new foods, exploring new cities, crushing anyone who crosses her in a board game, and baking all the pastries!
She can be reached at gpssconfchair@iastate.edu
Wellness Chair
Esther Kim
Esther Kim is a 4th year Ph.D. candidate in Social Psychology and Human-Computer Interaction. She received her B.A. in psychology from Bryn Mawr College and her master's in psychology from Iowa State University. Her research focuses on leveraging technology to explore habits and exercise behavior and exploring the intricate relationship between habits and physical activity engagement. Additionally, she is involved in meta-analyses and systematic reviews to provide comprehensive insights into the field of behavioral medicine. She hopes to advance the understanding of how habits influence exercise behavior and inform strategies to promote healthier lifestyles. She strongly believes that better health starts with a healthier lifestyle. Esther has been a senator in GPSS since 2023, representing the psychology department. She enjoys plant-based baking and cooking, sharing food & recipes with friends and reading history books!
She can be reached at gpsswellness@iastate.edu
GPSS Advisors
| Dr. William R. Graves | graves@iastate.edu |
| Dr. Heather Greenlee | mheather@iastate.edu |
The entire Executive Council can be reached at gpssexec@iastate.edu
The entire Senate can be reached at gpss23-24@iastate.edu
Memos from the Executive Council
Executive memos are statement/opinion/position pieces released from the Executive team of the GPSS. These memos reflect the views and ideas of the Executive members who sign the document, and do not pass through the Legislative branch (the Senate).
(AY2020-2021, President E. Field)
Black Lives Matter Solidarity statement