Our Team
The 2020/2021 Moot Court Executive Team consists of 13 undergraduate students of interdisciplinary backgrounds.
Scroll down to learn more about this year’s team!
Raveena Grewal, Moot Court Chair
Raveena is a third-year student, majoring in Political Science. Upon completion of her degree, she intends on going to law school to pursue her Juris Doctor. Raveena’s decision to go down this path stems from her passion for helping others. She is also a logical thinker with a strong sense of justice, making this career choice a perfect fit. As a result, Raveena has worked at multiple law firms, including the one she is currently at – Cote and Evans Trial Lawyers. During her employment at these firms, she has gained experience, as well as insight into the dedication it takes to pursue a career in this field. In her spare time, Raveena enjoys travelling all around the world and exploring hidden gems in the lower mainland. She is incredibly excited to serve as the Moot Court Chair for the 2020/2021 season and looks forward to this year’s events!
Madalyn Arjomandi, Deputy Chair
Madalyn is a second-year student that wishes to pursue a major in Political Science and has declared a minor in Law and Society. After her undergraduate studies, she hopes to attend law school. She is particularly interested in family and criminal law. This is Madalyn’s first year working with UBC Moot Court. In her spare time, she volunteers at her local Member of Parliament’s office. You can usually find her studying at the nearest Starbucks.
Divya Dhami, Legal Brief Writer
Divya is a fourth-year undergraduate student at UBC studying Political Science and Economics. She is originally from Seattle. Divya has had a longstanding passion for politics, political activism since early high school, and decided to continue pursuing these fields in her higher education. She was heavily involved in extracurricular activities related to political science and economics, which allowed her to take on regional positions and afforded her opportunities to travel around the United States. Concurrently, Divya naturally gravitated towards compassionate service. In her leisure time, Divya is a board director that advocates and serves the interests of a small business in the city of Vancouver. In the past, she’s served for a plethora of volunteer organizations, including the American Cancer Society, University of Washington Autism Centre, and American Red Cross. Divya is excited to be a part of the Moot Court executive team this year. She looks forward to contributing her skills to the position as Legal Brief Writer, as well as continue her interest in law and civic engagement.
Genevieve Varelas,
Legal Brief Writer
Genevieve is a fifth-year student, double majoring in Political Science and Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice. She is in the last year of her undergraduate degree and hopes to pursue a future career as a lawyer. This is Genevieve's first year on the UBC Moot Court Executive Team and she is beyond excited to share her passion for politics, human rights, and law as the Legal Brief Writer. In her spare time, Genevieve can be found volunteering for various organizations, such as Shelter Movers Vancouver. She is looking forward to an exciting year on the UBC Moot Court Team.
Cecilia Wei,
Lead Editor
Cecilia is an incoming second-year student studying International Economics. Upon graduation from her undergraduate degree, she hopes to pursue her Juris Doctorate at a law school in the United States. Cecilia is currently an Intellectual Property Research Volunteer at Simon Fraser University and a Corporate & Legal Affairs Specialist at lleTTonna. Her interest in law stems from her passion for helping others and her love for writing and research. An avid runner and hiker, Cecilia loves to spend time outside and in nature, especially with her dog Coco. She is super excited to be a part of the Moot Court team for the 2020/2021 year!
Alicia Ying,
Lead Editor
Alicia is a third-year student, majoring in English and minoring in Law and Society. She first gained an interest in law in high school, where she discovered her passion for debate and argumentative writing. In her spare time, Alicia enjoys making music, watching movies, and travelling. Last year, she studied abroad in Sweden, where she took several political science courses and became fascinated with their unique political framework and egalitarian society. Alicia is extremely passionate about social justice and seeking equity for marginalized groups. She aspires to attend law school and pursue a career in human rights law, or criminal law as a defence attorney. She is looking forward to her first year as a part of the UBC Moot Court team!
Sophia Huang,
IT Coordinator
Sophia is a second-year Commerce student planning to specialize in Business Technology Management & Accounting with a concentration in Business Analytics. Her curiosity in the legal field began after watching the TV show Suits in high school and her interest has only grown since. Through combining her knowledge in technology and artificial intelligence, Sophia hopes to understand how technological innovation can play a role in the future of law. Her position as IT Coordinator on the UBC Moot Court team gives her the opportunity to pursue her legal interests and witness legal proceedings. In her spare time, Sophia enjoys volunteering as a tax filer, playing sports, and binging on investigative journalism.
India Coates, Financial Coordinator
India is a third-year student in International Relations and the Master of Management program. She has an ongoing ambition to both serve and create long-lasting connections. Through her role as Finance Coordinator, she hopes to both serve the community as well as fuel her learning and skillset to become an improved and well-rounded person. Her career aspirations in hotel management and positions at Lululemon Athletica and the Museum of Anthropology have piqued her interest in understanding the roles of business in facilitating law and hopes to merge the two passions.
James LaRose, Logistics Coordinator
James is a third-year Political Science major who has a keen interest in pursuing law school after graduation. In the field of political science and sociology, he is specifically interested in the problem of disproportionate corporate power in global contexts. Some of the things that he enjoys doing in his free time are playing tennis, going swimming, and making music (particularly with his guitar and piano). Of course, in this modern COVID world, James has been doing more hiking and biking rather than tennis and swimming, among many other changes that he has had to make in his life to remain physically distanced from others.
Harish Raju, Logistics Coordinator
Harish is a third-year Arts student majoring in Political Science. Upon completion of his undergraduate degree, he aims to pursue a law degree. As a Political Science student, he is passionate about creating safe spaces for people to debate and voice their political opinions and ideologies. Harish has been interested in law from a very young age, starting from when he watched and read an autobiography by a criminal lawyer in Singapore. When he is not busy with school assignments, he can be found biking and hiking around Vancouver as well as café hopping with friends. Being part of UBC Moot Court will be Harish’s first venture into Canadian Law. He hopes that his experience on the team will broaden his knowledge about the legal field and further his passion of becoming an attorney. As this year’s conference will be online, Harish hopes that with his experience in logistical management and event planning, he will be able to contribute his expertise to the executive team.
Nicola Vanderveer, Logistics Coordinator
Nicola is a fourth-year Political Science and Commerce student. She is currently writing her law school applications and is hoping to attend UBC’s Allard School of Law to remain part of a school culture that she has become so fond of. In addition to her studies, Nicola is actively involved in the UBC community through various volunteer positions. She is currently the Vice Chair of the Governance Committee at UBC as well as a Legal Aid Intake Assistant at Access Pro Bono Law Firm. Nicola also serves as a Team Lead Logistics and Policy Consultant for the NGO AssistList on weekends and in her spare time. She is very excited to be on the team and is looking forward to an amazing year with UBC Moot Court!
Elena Chen, Marketing Coordinator
Elena is a second-year student pursuing a major in Political Science. She has had an interest in law since high school and plans to attend law school after graduation. She is fascinated by how the justice system influences our lives and society. Outside of school, Elena works as a piano tutor, where she assists her students on improving their piano technique. She also volunteers at the Canuck’s Place Children’s Hospice as a Peer Volunteer. In her spare time, she enjoys watching Netflix, painting, and building LEGO. Her favourite shows include The Office, Friends, and Modern Family. Elena attended the Moot Court as a participant last year and loved the event so much that she decided to be a part of the executive team. She is excited to serve as the Marketing Coordinator and looks forward to a successful Moot Court competition in 2021.
Benjamin Stanislawski, Marketing Coordinator
Benjamin is a fourth-year undergraduate student at UBC pursuing a major in Political Science and a minor in Jewish Studies. Last semester, he studied abroad in Barcelona at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra, gaining an appreciation for Catalonian history, politics and culture, while also pursuing his love for travel. After completing a summer communications internship with the Jewish Democratic Council of America, Benjamin is continuing his work with the organization through a JDCA fellowship that involves volunteer recruitment and organizing phone banks to help elect Democratic candidates across the United States. He is excited to be a part of the Moot Court at UBC and is looking forward to helping make the event as successful as possible.