BISF Leadership 2023-2024

Christina Boufarah

Co-President

Email: ceb@rice.edu
Majors: History

Christina Boufarah is a senior at Wiess College majoring in History with minors in Jewish Studies and Politics, Law, and Social Thought. She is passionate about foreign policy with a focus on the Middle East. Christina joined BISF as a freshman as a member of the General Board. This year, she is serving as Co-President and is excited to broaden BISF engagement and connect students with exciting opportunities and events through the club. Christina loves rewatching American Vandal, coffee, and sushi.

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Kayla Peden

Co-President

Email: kmp12@rice.edu
Major : Political Science; minor in Politics, Law, and Social Thought

Kayla is a senior from Duncan College, majoring in Political science with a minor in Politics, Law, and Social Thought. She is passionate about reforming the criminal justice system and has a strong interest in foreign and domestic policy. She is very excited to co-direct the policy competition this year and hopes to get as many people involved on campus as possible. Outside of BISF, you can find her hanging with friends, singing karaoke, or finding events that give away free food and t-shirts.

Samantha Wibawa

Editor-in-Chief of RJPP

Email: ssw15@rice.ed
Major: Civil & Environmental Engineering

Samantha Wibawa is a junior at Martel, studying Civil & Environmental Engineering with a minor in Transnational Asian Studies. She loves anything energy policy - think green energy transition, water/ wastewater reuse & recovery, green hydrogen production, and nuclear storage/ waste sites. She has been involved in BISF General Board as a member, and served as the Co-Director of General Board the past academic year. This year, as Co-Vice President, she is excited to increase campus policy engagement and foster a greater appreciation for policy among the general Rice student body. She loves running the outer loop, finding her friends at Fondy, and looking for coffee shops with the best flat whites.

Shalin Mehta

Editor-in-Chief of RJPP

Email: mgs8@rice.edu
Major: Mathematical Economic Analysis, Social Policy Analysis

Miriam Shatto is a junior at Brown College majoring in Mathematical Economic Analysis and Social Policy Analysis. Her areas of interest include climate policy, environmental justice, and extended producer responsibility programs. This is her third year working with the Rice Journal of Public Policy. As RJPP Editor-in-Chief she hopes to make policy writing more accessible and approachable for the Rice community. A fun fact about Miriam is that she enjoys cooking for her roommates in her free time!

Rithikar Iyengar

Co-Director of Events

Email: rki2@rice.edu
Majors: Mathematical Economic Analysis, Math

Rithika is a junior at McMurtry college double majoring in Mathematical Economic Analysis and Math, and minoring in Poverty, Justice, and Human Capabilities. Last year, Rithika was co-director of General Board, and is excited to serve as your co-director of events this year! She is interested in the implications of economic, political, and cultural context on policy outcomes, especially in a developing context. In her free time, Rithika enjoys reading a good book, hiking, and long walks. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions! 

Ian Wright

Co-Director of Events

Email: icw2@rice.edu
Majors: Economics and Social Policy Analysis

Ian Wright is a junior at McMurtry College majoring in Economics and Social Policy Analysis. His areas of interest include economic equity, racial justice, and housing policy. He was involved with BISF last year as the Co-Director of the Policy Competition, where he helped plan the undergraduate public policy competition. This year, as the Co-Director of Events, he is excited to engage with the Rice community to help host events and get as many students involved as possible. Outside of Rice, he enjoys exploring Houston with friends, finding new coffee shops, spending money on boba, and binging TV shows.

Angelo Chen

Co-Director of the General Board

Email: ac221@rice.edu
Majors: Biosciences and Health Sciences, Minor in Medical Humanities

Hi! My name is Angelo Chen and I’m a Biosciences and Health Sciences double major from Will Rice College! I was a member of the BISF General Board last year, and I’m excited to be leading it this year. My policy interests lie in health policy, more specifically on how we can address healthcare gaps with by combining policy and practice. A non-academic fun fact about myself is that I’m always down to play pickleball! 

Bryson Jun

Co-Director of General Board

Email: bjj4@rice.edu
Majors: History, Asian Studies

Bryson Jun is a senior at Brown College majoring in History and Asian Studies. His interests include US-East Asian relations, human rights in North Korea, and Asian American history. As Co-director of General Board, he looks forward to enhancing the General Board's role as a hub for students passionate about domestic and foreign policy to explore their interests as a team. Outside of BISF, he is involved in the Rice Historical Review and Houston Asian American Archive. In his free time, you can find him trying out exercises to boost his vertical jump and jogging around the outer loop with the latest Korean rap music blasting in his ear.

Zain Rahman

Co-Director of General Board

Email: zur1@rice.edu
Majors: Computer Science and Finance.

Hey Y'all! My name is Zain Rahman, a sophomore majoring in Computer Science and Finance. As an active member of the Rice community, I serve as the Senator of Brown to the Student Association, a curator for Rice’s TedX club, and an officer here at the Baker Institute Student Forum. Additionally, I’m a student researcher in Professor Kaitlyn Robinson’s lab. Last year, I attended numerous BISF events and talks, and am excited to be on the executive team this year. My policy interests include Foreign Affairs in the Middle East, Defense, and the implementation of technology in global affairs. In my free time, I enjoy watching soccer (Chelsea fan!), diving into the works of Kafka and Ishiguro, and playing chess. 

Ava McCormick

Director of Logistics

Email: acm21@rice.edu
Majors: Political Science

Hi! My name is Ava McCormick. I am from Lovett College and am majoring in Political Science with minors in Business and Spanish. I am also pre-law. Within BISF, I am the Director of Logistics and am particularly interested in US policy, specifically relating to the border, language, and education. Some fun facts about me are that I am from Long Island, New York and that I have four French Bulldogs. 

Siddhi Narayan

Senior Advisor

Email: sn61@rice.edu
Majors: Computer Science and the Study of Women, Gender and Sexuality Majors

Siddhi Narayan is a senior from Sid Richardson College majoring in Computer Science and the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality. She has been involved with BISF for her entire time at Rice, and enjoys learning more about policy fields she was unfamiliar with through BISF events! Her policy interests lie in health policy, technology and AI policy, and education policy. Outside of BISF, she likes to bake (currently dabbling in cheesecakes) and go to coffee shops with friends.