INFORMS Student Chapter Meeting, UMass Amherst
Friday, September 5, 2025
Meeting started at 10:00 a.m.
Officers present:
Ismael Pour, Samira Samadi, Joshua Gladstone, Semih Boz, Solmaz Abbaspoursaeedabad, Yongdong Chen, Sarvagya Jha, Yukti Kathuria, Parisa Lotfibagha, Mohammad Derakhshi, Faustina Sarfo, Honon Lee, James Kibiro
Summary
The meeting began with introductions, especially welcoming new faces from the Industrial Engineering (MIE) and Operations & Information Management (OIM) departments, including Sarvagya Jha, James Kibiro, and Honon Lee.
There was strong interest in officership roles from returning and new members alike.
The officer roster for the 2025–2026 academic year is as follows:
- President: Samira Samadi
- Vice President: Joshua Gladstone
- Treasurer: Mohammad Derakhshi
- YouTube: Yongdong Chen
- Social Media: Sarvagya Jha & Faustina Sarfo
- Blog: Yukti Kathuria, Sindhoora Prakash, & Honon Lee
- Secretary: Solmaz Abbaspoursaeedabad
- Treasurer Assistant: Parisa Lotfibagha
- Secretary Assistant: James Kibiro
Several officer transitions were noted:
- Busra is unavailable for this year and stepped down from her role.
- Semih attended the meeting but is also not available for this academic year.
- Sindhoora, although not present at the meeting, confirmed her interest in continuing in her current role.
Last year’s president, Ismael Pour, shared all Chapter-related materials with the new president and officers to ensure a smooth transition.
Preliminary discussions were held about the Chapter’s first event for the year: the INFORMS Annual Meeting Tune-Up, in preparation for the 2025 Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia.
Meeting adjourned at 11:00 a.m.
