Meet the Staff

Adam Fertmann enters his second year as the Associate Director for The Block.  Originally from Ronkonkoma, NY, Adam spent six years “downtown” at New York University as both an undergraduate and a graduate student.  Adam holds a B.S. in Music Education and a M.A. in Higher Education Administration.  Since that time Adam has served as a Residence Director at Bentley College in Waltham, MA and as the Assistant Director of Residential Life at Iona College in New Rochelle, NY.  He truly enjoys supporting and advising college students and is thrilled to be a part of the Columbia community.

Graduate Assistant for McBain, Watt, Ruggles, 548 West 113th Street: Mike Blackman

Location: Watt/Ruggles/McBain/ 548 West 113th Street
School Year: 1st Year Teacher College
Major/Minor: Higher and Postsecondary Education

Graduate Assistant for Broadway and Hogan: Kassandra Frederique

Location: Broadway/Hogan
School Year: 2nd Year Social Work
Major/Minor: Social Work

Gunnar Aasen

Location: Broadway, Hogan
School Year: SEAS 2010
Major/Minor: Chemical engineering
Campus Activities: ESC, Representative for Class of 2010, Interschool governing Board, Treasurer
Interests: Energy issues/policy, swimming, entrepreneurship

Tushar Khandelwal

Location: Ruggles
School Year: SEAS 2010
Major/Minor: Mechanical Engineering / East Asian Languages and Cultures
Campus Activities: Columbia Japan Society, Model United Nations
Interests: Biking, FIFA 2010, All Things Google, Web 2.0, Tech

Alex Rosen

Location: McBain, Watt, 548 West 113th Street
School Year: CC 2011
Major/Minor: Economics and History
Campus Activities: Columbia Daily Spectator, Let’s Get Ready SAT tutoring, CIRCA
Interests: Jazz, piano, swimming, travel, cooking, food

Elizabeth Robinson

Location: Broadway 3rd Floor
School Year: CC 2011
Major/Minor: Neuroscience and Behavior
Campus Activities: Columbia Science Review, Columbia Orchestra, Columbia Classical Performers, Columbia Neuroscience Society
Interests: Brains, Music (violin), writing, science media

Charlene Lee

Location: Broadway 4th Floor
School Year: CC 2011
Major/Minor: Economics, Environmental Science
Campus Activities: Columbia Orchestra
Interests: Photography, shopping, cooking, painting, concerts, playing instruments (violin, piano, guitar)

Leeza Mangaldas

Location: Broadway 5th & 6th Floor
School Year: CC 2011
Major/Minor: English and Philosophy
Campus Activities: Columbia Scholars Program, Global Scholar, and Tutor for the Columbia Tutoring and Translating Agency
Interests: Art, Cinema, music, animals, travel, people, and food

Ranjan Upadhyay

Location: Broadway 7th & 8th Floor
School Year: SEAS 2010
Major/Minor: Biomedical engineering, Economics
Campus Activities: CAVA, Temple Youth Group
Interests: Poker and football

Sang Jung

Location: Broadway 9th & 10th Floor
School Year: CC 2011
Major/Minor: Economics & Political Science
Campus Activities: Activities Board at Columbia and Korean Students Association
Interests: Reading, listening to Rock and Jazz, Japanese food, and Vocalists: Norah Jones and Michael Buble

Shernel Thomas

Location: Broadway 11th and 12th floor
School Year: SEAS 2011
Major/Minor: Chemical Engineering
Campus Activities: Stressbusters, Ho-Heup, Ivy Life/Ivy Council
Interests: Anime/manga, reading, music, popular culture, reality tv, movies

Caroline Lee

Location: Broadway 13th floor
School Year: CC 2011
Major/Minor: Economics- Operations Research
Campus Activities: CAVA, SEAL, KCCC, AMSA
Interests: Interior Design

Veronica Colon

Location: Hogan 2nd and 3rd Floors
School Year: CC 2010
Major/Minor: Political Science
Campus Activities: Notes and Keys, Undergraduate Recruitment Committee, Korean Students Association
Interests: Law, music, and International Relations

Albert Lee

Location: Hogan 4th and 5th Floor
School Year: SEAS 2010
Major/Minor: Chemical Engineering-Economics
Campus Activities: Society of Automotive Engineers
Interests: Building cars, racing, video games, cooking

Aylesse Sordillo

Location: Hogan 6th and 7th Floor
School Year: CC 2010
Major/Minor: Evolutionary Biology of the Human Species
Campus Activities: Columbia University Global Medical Brigades
Interests: Travel, art, dogs, and competitive cheerleading

Justin Chow

Location: McBain 1st and 2nd Floor
School Year: SEAS 2011
Major/Minor: Earth and Environment Engineering
Campus Activities: Moy Yee Kung Fu, CUTTA, EWB-India
Interests: Alternative Energy, environmentalism, machine shop, outdoor activities, guitar

Matthew Poss

Location: McBain 3rd Floor
School Year: SEAS 2011
Major/Minor: Mechanical Engineering
Campus Activities: FSAE, Sailing, FIJI
Interests: Cars, Engineering, Food, Art, Columbia Athletics

Ashley Lherisson

Location: McBain 4th Floor
School Year: CC 2012
Major/Minor: Psychology/Sociology
Campus Activities: Undergraduate Recruitment Committee, Multicultural recruitment Committee, Emerging Leaders Program, Chinese Student Club, Black Student Organization, and Columbia Mentoring Initiative
Interests: Basketball, Lacrosse, Education, and Travelling

Kathrin Sears

Location: McBain 5th  Floor
School Year: CC 2011
Major/Minor: Environmental Science
Campus Activities: GHAP and Hiking Club
Interests: Outdoors and learning new things

Philip Verma

Location: McBain 6th  Floor
School Year: CC 2012
Major/Minor: Undecided
Campus Activities: Roosevelt Institute, CU Democrats, Jazz Ensemble, Community Service Committee
Interests: Music, running, and politics

Huili Zhu

Location: McBain 7th  Floor
School Year: SEAS 2012
Major/Minor: BioMedical Engineering
Campus Activities: Global Health, Engineering Student Council, CU Science Journal
Interests: Running, reading fictional novels, writing creative non-fiction pieces, volunteering in hospitals

Shefali Kumar

Location: McBain 8th Floor
School Year: SEAS 2011
Major/Minor: Engineering Management Systems
Campus Activities: Berrie Buddies, Dhoom Dance Team, Colleges Against Cancer, URC
Interests: Trying new foods, exploring NYC, spending time with family and friends, and traveling

Anum Akram

Location: Ruggles 1st and 2nd Floor
School Year: CC 2011
Major/Minor: Political Science
Campus Activities: Model UN and CU Global Health
Interests: Social work, teaching, talking

Krishna Khanna

Location: Ruggles 3rd and 4th Floor
School Year: SEAS 2010
Major/Minor: BioMedical Engineering
Campus Activities: CAVA and Engineers Without Borders
Interests: Helping others, saving the world, guitar, and motorcycling

John Murphy-Teixidor

Location: Ruggles 5th and 6th Floor
School Year: SEAS 2010
Major/Minor: Civil Engineering and Computer Science
Campus Activities: CTV and CTV News
Interests: Travel, architecture, and television/news production

Cindy Guan

Location: Ruggles 7th and 8th Floor
School Year: CC 2010
Major/Minor: Economics and Statistics
Campus Activities: MBA and Economics Society
Interests: Drawing

Lorraine White

Location: Watt 1st and 2nd Floor
School Year: CC 2010
Major/Minor: French and Economics
Campus Activities: CU Artist Society, Council on Foreign Relations
Interests: French culture and painting

Ashley Nieves

Location: Watt 3rd and 4th Floor
School Year: CC 2010
Major/Minor: evolutionary Biology of the Human Species
Campus Activities: FitNut
Interests: Cooking, baking, reading, and getting to know new people

Mark Fisher

Location: Watt 5th and 6th Floor
School Year: CC 2010
Major/Minor: Neuroscience and behavior
Campus Activities: Formula SAE
Interests: Photography, computers, racing, skiing

Alex Rosen

Location: McBain, Watt, 548 West 113th Street
School Year: CC 2011
Major/Minor: Economics and History
Campus Activities: Columbia Daily Spectator, Let’s Get Ready SAT tutoring, CIRCA
Interests: Jazz, piano, swimming, travel, cooking, food