About Us
Elected annually from the student body, the President and Vice President lead the Executive Branch of the ASSU. They select a Chief of Staff and Executive Cabinet in order to coordinate the activities of the association and carry out student initiatives.
Our Mission
The Executive Branch of the ASSU is tasked with leading initiatives that advocate for the well-being and collective empowerment of the Stanford student body. We aim to strengthen students’ relationships with other students, campus workers, administrative staff, faculty, alumni and our neighboring community.
Our Initiatives
Our team is dedicated to the values of transparency and accountability and we are committed to proactively sharing as much of our work as possible. As such, the Executive team maintains a publicly accessible google drive where members of our community can garner detailed insights into the work that we do. Our drive contains information about reports, proposals, surveys, and other data related to the initiatives we’ve undertaken. It also contains a directory of the newsletters sent to the Stanford student body. You may access the Executive Team’s public drive by using this link. You may access archives of previous newsletters sent to the student body by using this link. In addition to our google drive, the ASSU maintains a publicly accessible calendar where you may find all meetings that are open to the student body. You may access the calendar here.
Our Team
This year, the Executive Core Team is comprised of Darryl Thompson, Executive President, Christian Sanchez, Executive Vice President, Michaela Phan, Executive Chief of Staff of Internal Operations, and Lisa Lu, Chief of Staff of External Relations. Along with the Executive Core Team, the Executive Cabinet members focus on projects that improve student life on and off campus while also benefiting the broader Stanford community.
Darryl Thompson
ASSU President
Christian Sanchez
ASSU Vice President
Michaela Phan
Chief of Staff of Internal Operations
Lisa Lu
Chief of Staff of External Relations
Cabinet Directors
Edward Tran
Co-Director for Student Mental Health & Well-Being
Edward (he/him) is a senior studying Computer Science, and coterming in Management and Science Engineering. He is passionate about mental health and well-being and serves as a peer counselor for The Bridge. Edward also works with Well-Being at Stanford, where he collaborates with Student Affairs to create new student resources while making already existing resources on campus easier to navigate and more accessible. In his free time, he enjoys playing volleyball, cooking, baking, and listening to music.
Yesenia Garcia
Co-Director for Student Mental Health & Well-Being
Yesenia Garcia (she/her) is a junior pursuing a degree in Political Science and a minor in Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. She is currently a member of the 5SURE on Foot team and is a Co-PEER Lead Educator of the Stanford PEERs Program, supported both by the SUPER and SHARE offices. Yesenia is passionate about increasing the agency of students and their accessibility to campus resources. In her role, she wishes to recognize how topics such as substance use and addiction, sexual citizenship and sexual violence prevention, and mental health and well-being do not exist within their own vacuum but can rather overlap. By acknowledging this overlap, she hopes that it will allow her to better understand individuals and the ways to fully support them. In her free time, Yesenia enjoys watching films, attending concerts, and spending time with friends and family. Yesenia is also excited to answer questions that you may have, so please feel free to reach out!
Divya Ganesan
Co-Director for Community Engagement
Divya Ganesan is a sophomore at Stanford studying computer science and political science. After serving on the executive board of Frosh council last year, she is excited to apply her experience in community building and cross partisan conversations to the Co-Director of Community Engagement role on ASSU.
Alain Perez
Co-Director for Community Engagement
Alain (he/they) is a rising senior majoring in Philosophy and has been involved in the ASSU since their frosh year. He is passionate about advocacy and is grateful to be part of the ASSU Exec Cabinet this year.
Ezekiel Earl Contreras-Forrest
Director for Transfer Advocacy
Ezekiel is a second-year transfer-student studying science, technology, and society with a special interest in social entrepreneurship and sustainability. Ezekiel is a transfer-student program coordinator at the FLI office, is a transfer 101 class co-lead, and an RA at Kimball; the transfer student dorm. Ezekiel is interested in the intersection of real estate development, technology, architecture, urban design and climate transformation. Ezekiel is passionate about building green and sustainable cities and finding ways to “build better” by applying technology to real estate development in meaningful ways to address issues in the built environment like affordable housing availability, equitable urban development, and sustainable urban systems. Ezekiel loves traveling the world, experiencing new cultures, swimming in the ocean, playing basketball, and listening to music.
Antonio Cruz Preciado
Co-Director for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion & Social Justice
Antonio Cruz Preciado (He/Him/El) is a second-year undergraduate at Stanford majoring in Sociology & Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity with a minor in Human Rights. Born and raised in Inglewood, CA, he is passionate about urban education, resistive forms of language and presentation of Latinx and/or Black students, and immigration reform. As a member of the Leland Scholars Program, Antonio strives to bridge the cultural disconnect when working with first-generation and low-income Latinx students through his position as Co-Director for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion & Social Justice. Outside of the ASSU, he is a tutor for Dream Catchers, collects fitted hats, and loves hanging out with his dog, Paloma.
Gerald Richardson III
Co-Director for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion & Social Justice
Gerald Richardson (He/Him/His) studies Sociology and Public Policy. Passionate about social justice and human rights, Gerald’s research investigates the intersections of law, socioeconomic status, systems of accountability, and punishment. Richardson founded a community service and advocacy organization that was awarded by Governor Gavin Newsom for service. Gerald has also authored college board policies and implementation strategies that led to measurable change in hiring, curriculum, and improvement of cultural competency and resources for student services and processes. Gerald has a long record of service and activism from community organizing to authoring passed legislation. Gerald will leverage this leadership experience, his lived experiences from his intersectional identity, in addition to his zeal for social justice to drive the many programs and initiatives ASSU plans to implement this year. With an implacable passion for addressing the needs of students made vulnerable by lack of access and institutional policies and support, Gerald plans to shift DEI advocacy on campus from cosmetic to sustainable. Gerald looks forward to learning and empowering all groups of students in pursuit of establishing equitable practices, policies, culture, and initiatives on campus!
Lizbeth Luevano
Co-Director for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion & Social Justice
Lizbeth Luevano (she/her) is an undergrad from Indio, CA studying Earth Systems and Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity with a focus on Environmental Justice. Hailing from a community of field workers, Lizbeth writes stories that focus on the intersection of labor and land exploitation and is especially passionate about the role mutual aid and storytelling play in reasserting community agency. As Co-Director for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion & Social Justice, she looks forward to creating sustainable measures that ensure a better working environment for service workers and address critical needs of the FLI community, while also departmentalizing CSRE. In her free time, Lizbeth loves reading magical realism and enjoys creative writing, hiking the desert landscape, and listening to Omar Apollo, Steve Lacy, and Calle 13.
Xochilt Lorenzo
Director for Social Affairs
Xochilt Lorenzo (she/her) was born in Los Angeles and raised in Palmdale, CA. She is a junior majoring in Human Biology and minoring in Sociology, hoping to Coterm in Community Health and Prevention Research and possibly go to Medical School. She is so excited to be this year’s Director for Social Affairs to develop programming for campus life. Outside of school, she enjoys spending her time drinking coffee and boba, going to SF, making playlists for every possible mood, biking around campus, and having a good time with friends.
Ivan Jimbangan
Director for International Student Advocacy
Ivan is a rising sophomore born and raised in a small but developing country in Southeast Asia called Malaysia. An Economics major and an MS&E minor, he is interested in all aspects of business, finance, public policy, development, and tech. At Stanford, Ivan is an ISO coordinator, a SIB Mentor, the VP of the Malaysians at Stanford, an Altar Server for the Catholic Community, as well as a CDA for Chemistry in the Kitchen (his favorite class) in the upcoming winter quarter. Outside of school, he loves to travel and spent the summer in 8 different countries across 3 different continents. His favorite part about Stanford is the international community and getting to know people from all over the world. As such, he will do his best to serve the interests and needs of all international students at this amazing school.
Lloyd May
Director of Disability Advocacy
Lloyd is a 3rd year Ph.D. candidate in Computer-Based Music Theory and Acoustics (CMBTA) at Stanford’s Computer Based Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA). He was born and raised in Carletonville, a small mining town in the highveld of South Africa. He graduated from Dartmouth College (2018) with an AB in Engineering Sciences & Economics, a BE in Analytical Engineering, and an MA in Digital Musics (2020). His research interests are centered around Disability and interactivity in music. He had been fortunate enough to serve in various Disability advocacy roles on campus in the past and looks forward to working with the Disabled community on campus to create a better Stanford. In his spare time, Lloyd loves listening to overly energetic pop music and playing video games.
Ari Gabriel
Co-Director for Sexual Violence & Relationship Abuse Prevention
Sofia Scarlat
Co-Director for Sexual Violence & Relationship Abuse Prevention
Previous Executives
Erica Scott and Isaiah Drummond, 2019-2020
Shanta Katipamula and Rosie Nelson, 2018-2019
Justice Tention and Vicki Niu, 2017-2018
Jackson Beard and Amanda Edelman, 2016-2017
John-Lancaster Finley and Brandon Hill, 2015-2016
Elizabeth Woodson and Logan Richard, 2014-2015
Dan Ashton and Billy Gallagher, 2013-2014
Robbie Zimbroff and Will Wagstaff, 2012-2013
Michael Cruz and Stewart Macgregor-Dennis, 2011-2012
Angelina Cardona and Kelsei Wharton, 2010-2011
David Gobaud and Jay de la Torre, 2009-2010
Jonny Dorsey and Fagan Harris, 2008-2009
Hershey Avula and Mondaire Jones, 2007-2008
Elizabeth Heng and Lauren E. Graham, 2006-2007
Melanie Kannokada and Anete Okonkwo, 2005-2006
Chioke Borgelt-Mose and Kory Vargas Caro, 2004-2005
Nadiya Figueroa and Joseph Natoli, 2003-2004
Monica Henestroza and Nick Rodriguez, 2002-2003
Matt Brewer and Christine Cordero, 2001-2002
Seth Newton and Malia Villegas, 2000-2001
Michael Levin and John Mills, 1999-2000
Maren Norton and Santos Marroquin, 1998-1999
Emily Andrus and Ben Decker, 1997-1998
Bill Shen and Nick Thompson, 1996-1997
Change from Council of Presidents to President/Vice President
Mike Choo, Jon Oram, Rich Stolz and Nicole Vasquez, 1995-1996
Vanessa Alvarado, Anietie Ekanem, Lisa Lee and Mork Murdock, 1994-1995
Ron Brown, Ying Ying Goh, Delia Lopez and Jason Snyder, 1993-1994
Blake Ilstrup and Ed Mun, 1992-1993
John Louie, Beth Morgan, John Overdeck and Benny Sandoval, 1991-1992
Jamie Green, Goodwin Liu, Ingrid Nava and J. Forrest Tucker, 1990-1991
David Brown, Chin-Chin Chen, Aimee Allison and Ingrid Nava, 1989-1990
Leonard Adler, Maria Canas, Jim Durkin and Roechelle Smith, 1987-1988
Kim Crawford, Rodolfo Fuentes, Mary Thuber and Carey White, 1986-1987
Mike Collins, Andy Frisch, Leslie Leland and Tim Quirk, 1985-1986
Melissa Auchard, Todd Kerr, David Porter and Alice Wells, 1984-1985
Vinnie Freda, Peter Spivack, Su Uhland and Karol Watson, 1983-1984
Rod Beckstrom, Mark Epstein, Cynthia Mathewson and Yolanda Townsend, 1982-1983
Fred Buhl, Mariann Byerwalter, Chris Greene and Dragan Popov, 1981-1982
Dick Butterfield, Dayna Goldfine, Nancy Takahashi and Marc Ventresca, 1980-1981
Sibby Freeman, Mary LeBlanc, Laura Mead and Thom Gart, 1979-1980
Fred Estes, Andrew Goldenkranz, Mary Morimoto and Regina Petty, 1978-1979
Anne Henkels, Glenn Jordan, Greg Larson and Steve Westly, 1977-1978
Carol Houck, Deric Jennings, Vic Petroff and Al Tomaszczuk, 1976-1977
Dave Galligan, Charlotte Germane, Josie Jaramillo and Lee Rosenbaum, 1975-1976
Kevin O’Grady, Elisabeth Garfield, James Friend and Charles Ogletree, 1973-1974
Scott Burke, Elaine Wong, Peter Van Petten and B. Appel, 1972-1973
Douglas McHenry, Diane Fields, Ann Kimball and Larry Diamond, 1971-1972
Patrick C. Shea, Robert Grant, Adam Levin and Hal Michelson, 1970-1971
Patrick A. Shea, John Grube, Joyce Kobayashi and B. Askinas, 1969-1970
Change from President/Vice President to Council of Presidents
Dennis Hayes and Victor Von Schlegall, 1968-1969
Cesare Massarenti and Dennis Hayes, 1967-1968
David Harris and Peter Lyman, 1966-1967
William S. McKenzie and J. Clark Brown, 1965-1966
J Scott McBride and Mary Ann Odegaard, 1964-1965
Vernon Wedin Jr. and Steven Aden, 1963-1964
Armin Rosencranz and Priscilla Ferguson, 1962-1963
Robert Sayler and Martha Sweeney, 1961-1962
Larry Royse and Sandy McCarty, 1960-1961
Richard Sundeen and Julie Hirsch, 1959-1960
Peter Bing and Dianne Goldman, 1954-1955
