The Graduate Student Assembly Executive Committee is elected by the graduate student body and is comprised of the President and seven Vice Presidents. The Executive Committee is responsible for convening monthly general body meetings, advocating for graduate student issues, and contributing to the creation of a holistic graduate student experience. GSA also has two dedicated staff members, our Program & Events Coordinator and our Financial Assistant, who support the day-to-day operations of GSA.
Mary Anna Ebbert
President
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Bio
Mary Anna Ebbert is a 3rd year PhD student in Mechanical Engineering. She is a Pittsburgh native but has lived in the Philadelphia and Seattle areas after graduating with a BS & MS in Mechanical Engineering from Villanova University. She worked for a few years in the aerospace industry as a materials researcher engineer at MR&D before returning to Pittsburgh to shift her research focus to clean energy. Her PhD research is focused on improving the efficiency of proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers for hydrogen generation. In her free time, she loves to go for runs, read books, make art, and take her dog, Gus, for walks around town.
Preom Sarkar
Vice President, Internal Affairs
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Preom Sarkar is a 4th year PhD student in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department. Preom is a Pennsylvania native, hailing from the suburbs of Philly. Her background is in Bioengineering; she graduated with her undergraduate degree from Lehigh University located in Bethlehem, PA. Preom came to CMU after undergrad to pursue her M.S. from CMU 2018-2019. After her master’s, Preom was in a fellowship with the National Energy Technology Laboratory for 2 years before she decided to return to CMU in 2021 to pursue her PhD. Her PhD project is regarding biological wastewater treatment for contaminant remediation and stabilization, where she utilizes molecular ecology, biogeochemistry, and particle characterization approaches. Her interests lie in utilizing bioengineered or bio-inspired approaches to solve some of the world’s climate issues.
Anthony Cheng
Vice President, Campus Affairs
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Anthony Cheng is a 4th year PhD student in Engineering and Public Policy. After growing up in the suburbs of Salt Lake City, Utah, he graduated from MIT in 2020, where he majored in Materials Science and Engineering with a double minor in Computer Science and Energy Studies. Anthony’s general research interests lie around understanding manufacturing and commercialization of clean technologies needed in the energy transition, with recent research focusing on battery electric vehicle supply chain vulnerabilities. He is very passionate about advocating for improved transportation (especially bike infrastructure), public art, sustainability, and other topics on campus. Outside of his role on GSA Exec, Anthony enjoys going to the gym, visiting museums, and beatboxing with the CMU C Sharp a cappella group.
Zia Lyle
Vice President, External Affairs
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Zia Lyle is a 5th year PhD student in the Civil and Environmental Engineering department and Engineering and Public Policy department. She is from Austin, Texas and attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Plan II, an interdisciplinary liberal arts honors program. At CMU, Zia’s research currently focuses on helping drinking water utilities prepare for the effects of climate change hazards on utility operations and understand future changes in reliability.
Nihar Pathak
Vice President, Finance
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Nihar is a 4th year PhD student in the School of Architecture and the Civil and Environmental Engineering department (AECM Program). She is from India and holds a bachelor’s degree in architecture and master’s degree in Sustainable Design. Her research focuses on the applicability of bio-based materials in interiors and their environmental impacts. She is also a graduate instructor at the School of Architecture with a focus on sustainability and indoor environment quality, productivity, and occupant health. Some of her favorite things include coffee, baking, and reading manga.
Matteo Sanchez-Dahl Gonzalez
Vice President, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
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Luis Garcia
Vice President, Academic Affairs
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Bio
Luis is a Teaching Fellow at Carnegie Mellon University's School of Design. He is also a Teaching Consultant Fellow at the Eberly Center, where he works with graduate student instructors and postdoctoral fellows to implement evidence-based strategies to improve their teaching. He is an Ecuadorian designer interested in the intersection of design and the public sector, and he seeks to understand how to develop design capabilities in non-designers to support collaborative processes tackling wicked problems. He wants to contribute to the reimagining of design education and challenge the dominant perspectives in the field.
Aditya Khandelwal
Vice President, Graduate Student Life
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Bio
Aditya Khandelwal is a Master’s student in Electrical and Computer Engineering. Hailing from Akola, India, Aditya did his graduation in Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering. Passionate to contribute to solving complex challenges, he has pursued research in the domain of IoT and blockchain to develop solutions for deforestation management. Presently, he is exploring the design and development of digital ICs and ASICS. A keen learner, he’s very excited about the developments in nanotechnology, which transcend to applications in medicine and devices. Aditya is a high-energy individual who believes that the diverse perspectives gained through social exchange contribute to an individual's wider development. He intends to promote the same through social events undertaken during his term as GSL Vice President. When not working on projects, you can find him on the lawn reading or in the fitness center.
Haley Kenney
Program & Events Coordinator
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Haley Kenney joined the GSA team in April 2022. In her role, Haley handles much of the administrative needs and event coordination for GSA and serves in an advisor role for the Executive Committee and GSA Reps. Haley received her Bachelor’s degree from Ohio University in 2018 and her Master’s in Higher Education from the University of Pittsburgh in 2020. In her free time, Haley can be found hanging out with her dog Charley and her cat Rosie, tending to her many houseplants, reading, or exploring the city.
Suzanne Flieschel
Financial Assistant
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Bio
Suzanne Fleischel is the Financial Assistant, hired in March 2023 to help the Graduate Student Assembly manage and spend their funds. She was born and raised in Pittsburgh, and happy for the chance to return here after living in eastern Pennsylvania for many years. She works part-time, remotely from Bridgeville, but is on campus occasionally for events and some meetings. Outside of work, she likes spending time with her family, re-discovering the Pittsburgh area, reading and walking her dog, Piper.