About Us
History
Model United Nations at Arizona State University is a student and alumni-run club and conference. In 2010, its founders Stephen Protasiewicz, Elizabeth Thuenen, Joel Walker, Elizabeth Anson, and Taylor Ferguson drafted the initial Model United Nations at Arizona State University constitution, forming the organization as a student club. Bringing in diplomat-in-residence Dr. Amy Hyatt and Aziz Agbo-Panzo as initial advisors, the club's goal was twofold: to prepare students for the Model United Nations of the Far West (MUNFW) conference each spring, and to host a high school-level conference at ASU each fall. The first Model United Nations at ASU high school conference was small - only 60 students - but the conference quickly grew into a robust and lasting annual event, routinely bringing in hundreds of delegates and schools from across the Phoenix metropolitan area and beyond. On the collegiate side, the club team also developed rapidly, attending every MUNFW session since 2011, and successfully hosting both the 2012 and 2014 Model United Nations of the Far West sessions as the conference secretariat. If you are a Sun Devil enrolled in ASU, consider joining our club to attend conferences around the world and our country, such as NAMUN! We have some exciting plans in store for this school year! Through rigorous leadership, dynamic guest speakers, and the exceptional resources of the ASU School of Politics & Global Studies, MUN at ASU is dedicated to providing an outstanding academic experience for all students interested in international politics as they pave their paths towards becoming tomorrow's leaders.
Meet the MUN at ASU Team!
Ritisha (Risha) Das
Ritisha (Risha) Das
Ritisha (Risha) Das
President & Secretary General (She/Her)
Email: rdas25@asu.edu
Ritisha, who also goes by Risha, became President of MUN@ASU as a sophomore in 2021. She is double majoring in Mechanical Engineering & Mathematics at Barrett Honors College, ASU. She is, most notably one of Arizona’s 2020 Flinn Scholars, an annual prestige bestowed to the 20 top
President & Secretary General (She/Her)
Email: rdas25@asu.edu
Ritisha, who also goes by Risha, became President of MUN@ASU as a sophomore in 2021. She is double majoring in Mechanical Engineering & Mathematics at Barrett Honors College, ASU. She is, most notably one of Arizona’s 2020 Flinn Scholars, an annual prestige bestowed to the 20 top high school seniors in the state, for academic excellence and exemplary leadership. With 5+ years of Model UN experience, she has won Best Delegate/Position Paper awards & was the VP of her high school MUN club. In tandem with her STEM-oriented majors, Ritisha enjoys MUN because it allows her to channel her passion for global politics, specifically with issues highlighting minority rights. A fun fact about her is that she loves to sing jazz!
Liam Nelson
Ritisha (Risha) Das
Ritisha (Risha) Das
Vice President &
Under-Secretary General (He/Him)
Email: lnelso30@asu.edu
Liam became Under Secretary General as a Freshman in the class of 2025, currently in progress for a BA of Global Studies and a BA of History. He also plans to minor in the Japanese Language. He has been in MUN for five years as both the President of his High School MU
Vice President &
Under-Secretary General (He/Him)
Email: lnelso30@asu.edu
Liam became Under Secretary General as a Freshman in the class of 2025, currently in progress for a BA of Global Studies and a BA of History. He also plans to minor in the Japanese Language. He has been in MUN for five years as both the President of his High School MUN Chapter and the Undersecretary General of SunMUN at ASU. He enjoys Model UN not only because it helps him engage in critical debate about politics and international relations- a field he wants to base his career around- but it also gives him the opportunity to lead and help create meaningful experiences through meetings, committees, and conferences. A fun fact about him is that he knows how to do ceramics!
Karl Peterson
Ritisha (Risha) Das
Sohan Chollera
Treasurer (He/Him)
Email: kapete31@asu.edu
Karl is part of the Class of 2025 and became Treasurer as a freshman at ASU. He majors in Economics and has been doing MUN for 2 years. He founded and became president of his high school's MUN club in early 2020 so he has specialized experience in building and running an organization from the gro
Treasurer (He/Him)
Email: kapete31@asu.edu
Karl is part of the Class of 2025 and became Treasurer as a freshman at ASU. He majors in Economics and has been doing MUN for 2 years. He founded and became president of his high school's MUN club in early 2020 so he has specialized experience in building and running an organization from the ground up. He enjoys MUN because he loves to explore different sides of various geopolitical issues. A fun fact about our Treasurer is that he has played trombone for 8 years and loves all music, especially orchestral symphonies!
Sohan Chollera
Dr. Okechukwu Iheduru
Sohan Chollera
Secretary (He/Him)
Email: scholler@asu.edu
Sohan Chollera (He/Him/His) is a rising sophomore, majoring in Economics and minoring in Statistics. This year will be his 6th year in MUN as he led my high school's MUN program, and is now competing at ASU. Besides MUN, he participates in various other research projects at the university through
Secretary (He/Him)
Email: scholler@asu.edu
Sohan Chollera (He/Him/His) is a rising sophomore, majoring in Economics and minoring in Statistics. This year will be his 6th year in MUN as he led my high school's MUN program, and is now competing at ASU. Besides MUN, he participates in various other research projects at the university through the Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS). Sohan and his team are currently developing software to read PDF transcripts more efficiently, as opposed to manual data entry. He also has a firm, unequivocal belief that Dunkin' Donuts iced coffee is the best coffe e.
Dr. Okechukwu Iheduru
Dr. Okechukwu Iheduru
Dr. Okechukwu Iheduru
Club Advisor (He/Him)
Email: okey.iheduru@asu.edu
Dr. Iheduru joined the Arizona State University faculty in 2004 fall. He received his bachelor's from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, his master's from the University of Akron, and his doctorate from the University of Connecticut. Professor Iheduru is the author of "The Political Econom
Club Advisor (He/Him)
Email: okey.iheduru@asu.edu
Dr. Iheduru joined the Arizona State University faculty in 2004 fall. He received his bachelor's from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, his master's from the University of Akron, and his doctorate from the University of Connecticut. Professor Iheduru is the author of "The Political Economy of International Shipping in Developing Countries" (1996). He has written numerous book chapters, and articles in journals such as International Studies Review, African Affairs, Journal of Modern African Studies, etc. He has consulted for the World Bank and the Canadian International Development Agency/SPCS Transport Consortium on the maritime policies of African states. He is also a visiting professor-at-large of national security governance at the Nigerian Defense Academy, Kaduna, Nigeria. His current teaching interests straddle comparative politics and international relations. We are so lucky to have him as our advisor!