Meet the 2023-2024
AGSEM Executive Committee
Mario Roy
President
I am a master student in Agricultural Economics in the Department of Natural Resource Sciences from Macdonald Campus of McGill University. Recently elected as your new AGSEM President, I started to get involved with AGSEM a year and a half ago when I became the AGSEM Macdonald Campus officer. During this term, I had the opportunity to help and represent Macdonald campus TAs and Invigilators. Today as President of your union, my role as President is now to fight for all of you, TAs and Invigilators from both campuses. My goal is to have a strong union functioning well to be able to defend all your rights and make sure that your employers respect your collective agreements. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any ideas, questions or concerns, I will be more than happy to help you!
Kiersten van Vliet
TA Grievance Officer (Interim)
Hi! I am a PhD Candidate in Musicology and Gender & Women’s Studies and a long-time labour organizer with AGSEM. Previously, I have held the roles of Invigilator Chief Delegate (2017-18), Mobilization Officer (2018-19; 2022-24), President (2019-Nov 2020), and Invigilator Bargaining Committee negotiator (Nov 2020-23). I became the interim TA Grievance Officer in February 2024. I have many years' experience enforcing TA and Invigilator collective agreements through labour relations, and I know our contracts back-to-front, as I was part of the negotiation team for both. I am passionate about direct democracy and want to find ways to have a greater number of members of the union make decisions about our objectives, our priorities, and our future. I’m always open for a chat over coffee about your working conditions or how we can improve our union. Feel free to contact me anytime at grievance.1@agsem-aeedem.ca.
Matei Petrescu
Secretary-Treasurer
I am third year Ph.D. candidate in Physics Department of the Faculty of Science at McGill University. I have been an AGSEM delegate for my department for the past 4 yearswhile I have simultaneously fulfilled the VP Finance position for the McGill Graduate Association of Physics Students (MGAPS). I have gained valuable experience working in both positions. As a result, I have been elected as Secretary-Treasurer at the last General Assemble (GA - April 2018) for the 2018-2019 mandate. My main role is to manage the financial activities of the Union. In conclusion, I am holding the purse stings and I hold them tightly!
emma mckay
Mobilization Officer (Interim)
I'm a PhD student in the Department of Integrated Studies in Education. I was the Chief Delegate Mobilization for two years before coming into the Mobilization Officer role. In my PhD work, I study organizing in physics departments--especially organizing that is based on a mutual recognition of each others' humanity. My work in the union is also based on this strong principle of genuinely trying to see, understand, respect, and accommodate each other towards a world where we are freer. To do this, we need to use organizing techniques like face-to-face conversations and procedural techniques that genuinely facilitate democracy.
Teresa Joseph
Invigilator Grievance Officer
I am a PhD. student in neuroscience. Have been involved with AGSEM for a year now as a invigilator bargaining officer. Working in the union has broadened my perspective about working on campus and I am more than happy to help you with any invigilator grievances. You can either contact me via email or just come drop by during our office hours.
Aire McCall
Macdonald Campus Officer
I'm a second year Master's student in Animal Science at the Mac campus. I joined the AGSEM EC team because I'm passionate about having our unique experience at this campus heard, so our needs are met too. While I had not been involved in the union for long, I know how much it can benefit the people of Mac, so when I learned that we needed an Officer for the campus, I was happy to fill the position. I am now proud to fulfill my role to bring AGSEM to Mac in full force. This includes mobilization and recruitment, education, organizing and hosting meetings and assemblies, and any other non-grievance union business at Mac campus. My primary goal is to get a full complement of delegates for every department that will help us to represent diverse voices from across campus. Please remember that AGSEM fights for your rights, and we're always looking for new ideas!
Marta Beszterda
External Communications Officer
I am a PhD candidate in Musicology and Gender & Women's Studies at McGill University. Before joining the Executive Council in 2021, I was involved as an AGSEM Delegate for the Music Department, and as a member of the AGSEM Mutual Aid Fund Committee.
My role as an External Communications Officer is to support AGSEM President in creating and maintaining strong relationships between AGSEM and other student labor organizations and student associations at McGill and beyond. I am also responsible for supporting AGSEM Mobilization Officer in general communication with our members, educating members about their rights, taking care of the union's visibility on campus, organizing events, and maintaining AGSEM's presence online through the website and social media.
Office Hours:
President: By appointment
Mobilization Officer: By appointment
Secretary-Treasurer: By appointment
TA Grievance: By appointment
Invigilator Grievance: By appointment
Macdonald Campus Officer: By appointment
Invigilator Bargaining Chair: By appointment
Unionization Drive Chair: By appointment
​​​
​​​
All office hours will be held online until further notice.
​
All AGSEM members have the right to attend Executive Committee meetings. For information about the next meeting, email the President at president@agsem-aeedem.ca.
