SRMUN is sponsored by an educational not-for-profit corporation, the Southern Regional Model United Nations, Inc. In 2021, the SRMUN Board of Directors made the decision to modernize itself through a restructuring and these changes will take effect on December 1st, 2021. As of December 1, 2021, the Board of Directors for SRMUN, Inc. will comprise a seven-member panel (with a minimum of one faculty advisor) and the Executive Director who are responsible for the overall state of the organization from year to year. Board members are responsible for meeting two or more times a year to conduct organizational business, including reviewing financial statements, creating strategic priorities of the organization, and approving all substantive content for the conference. The Board also selects the Executive Staff of each conference. These offices are the Secretary-General, the Director-General, the Deputy Director-General, and the Under Secretary-General.
Reporting into the Board of Directors is the Advisory Group. The Advisory Group comprises individuals who have applied and been approved by the Board to serve the organization by making recommendations to the Board on all substantive matters relating to SRMUN conferences, including conference theme, committees, and topics selection, the hiring of staff, and the writing of delegate Background Guides.
Any person who has served as Staff, Executive Staff, or in a Faculty Advisor capacity for a minimum of two SRMUN conferences is eligible to run for a seat on the Board of Directors. Approximately half of the Board is appointed per year, to staggered two-year terms. To be considered, a person must turn in a completed application to the Executive Director. A slating committee determined by the Board of Directors will select the incoming Board Members from the pool of applicants each year, prior to December 1st. Any person may submit an application to serve on the Advisory Group. To do so, interested applicants must submit a completed application the Executive Director or a member of the Board of Directors by the end of the first night of the fall or spring conference.
The Executive Director manages daily corporate affairs for SRMUN. The Board of Directors is responsible for the hiring of the Executive Director. The Executive Director reports directly to the Board.
Makayla McDermott , President - makayla.mcdermott@srmun.org
Makayla McDermott received her Juris Doctorate with a concentration in International Law and Policy from the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Religious Studies from Pace University. Makayla is a licensed attorney currently working at a New York-based general liability and corporate litigation law firm specializing in commercial litigation actions, primarily defending a top Fortune 500 company. Makayla was a four-time delegate and an eight-time SRMUN staff member for both the SRMUN Charlotte and SRMUN Atlanta conferences. She previously served as the Secretary-General, a three-time Under Secretary-General, the Director for the Group of 77, the Director for the General Assembly Plenary, the Director for the African Development Bank, and the Assistant Director for the Security Council. Makayla was elected as the Vice President of the SRMUN Board of Directors at the close of SRMUN Atlanta 2023.
Keith Brannum, Treasurer - keith.brannum@srmun.org
Keith Brannum holds an undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Asheville (2013) in History and a Master of Public Administration from North Carolina State University (2015). Keith has been involved in SRMUN since 2012, first as Head Delegate for the UNC Asheville team and then as part of the NCSU team up to 2014. He has served on staff for both SRMUN Charlotte and SRMUN Atlanta from 2015 to 2021 as an Assistant Director, Director, Deputy Director-General, and Secretary-General. He served as a founding member of the SRMUN Advisory Group in 2021. Together with former delegates, staff and board members in 2022, he founded and currently leads the SRMUN Alumni Network. Keith has worked as a political/nonprofit manager and consultant across the United States, most recently as Finance Director for the Georgia Senate Democratic Caucus. When not working, Keith enjoys reading histories, studying Indonesian & French, and traveling.
Dr. Matthew Clary, Secretary - matthew.clary@srmun.org
Dr. Matthew Clary is a Lecturer in the Department of Political Science at Auburn University. He teaches courses in International Relations and Comparative Politics, including American foreign and national security policy, Strategic Intelligence, Asian Politics, and Model United Nations. He is also the faculty adviser for Auburn's Model UN team. He is also currently serving as a Faculty Fellow for the Biggio Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning at Auburn University. His research interests include the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, the Development and Promotion of National Reputations, and US-China Relations in the Context of American foreign policy. Dr. Clary has recently published a book entitled, From Pariah to Phoenix: Improving a National Reputation from the Ashes of the Past (Rowman and LIttlefield, 2020) as well as a chapter on the global governance of the Oceans/Seas in a forthcoming text on Global Environmental Policy. His Ph.D. is in Political Science and International Affairs from the University of Georgia (2014).
Dr. Jennifer Forshee, Member - jennifer.forshee@srmun.org
Jenn Forshee is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Santa Fe College. She earned her BA in Political Science and History from the University of Kansas and her PhD from the University of Florida. Her research has focused on the development of cosmopolitanism and the capabilities approach. She teaches classes on political theory, international relations, and the politics of developing countries. She is the faculty advisor for Santa Fe College's Model United Nations team and the Global Society Club. She frequently co-leads study abroad programs including those to China, Italy and Jamaica. In her spare time, she tends to her garden and enjoys spending time with her husband, daughter, and ridiculously cute (though somewhat dim) dog.
Dr. Josiah Marineau, Member - josiah.marineau@srmun.org
Dr. Josiah Marineau is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. He specializes in Comparative Politics and International Relations with a focus on the South Caucasus as well as central and Eastern Africa. In addition to ongoing fieldwork in Georgia, he has conducted fieldwork in Uganda, Malawi, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Tanzania. He has published in Studies in Comparative International Development, Conflict Management and Peace Science, the Commonwealth Review of Political Science, and the Journal of Political Science Education, among others
Michael Engelhardt, Member - michael.engelhardt@srmun.org
Michael returns for his second non-consecutive term to the SRMUN Board of Directors. Michael brings 8+ years experience within the SRMUN organization to the board having previously served as an AD, Director, DDG, board member, as well as serving on the advisory committee. When not thinking about model UN, Michael enjoys traveling, hiking, and reading. He has a master's degree in International Security from the University of Denver and a bachelor's degree in History from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. Michael works for the federal government and lives in Arlington, Virginia.
Dr. Martin Slann, Founding Member - martin.slann@srmun.org
Martin Slann received his doctorate in political science from the University of Georgia. He is a long-time member of the American and Midwest Political Science Associations. He is a former member and chair of the political science faculty at Clemson University and a former faculty member and Director of Academic Affairs at Pennsylvania State University Wilkes-Barre. He has served as the chair of the Division of Social Sciences at Macon State College. After Macon State, Martin moved to UNC Pembroke but now works at The University of Texas at Tyler. Dr. Slann has been the faculty advisor for the Model United Nations student organization at all three institutions. With Cindy Combs, he has co-edited the Encyclopedia of Terrorism (Facts on File, revised edition, 2007) and is the author of Introduction to Politics: Governments and Nations in the Twenty-First Century, 4th ed. (Thomson Learning, 2006). He has received awards for advisement excellence at Clemson University and Penn State. Teaching and research interests include Middle East Politics and political terrorism. Along with Cindy Combs, Dr. Slann has served on the SRMUN Board of Directors since the conference's genesis in 1991.Dr. Cindy Combs, Founding Member - cindy.combs@srmun.org
Cindy Combs received her doctorate in Political Science from George Washington University in Washington, DC in 1984. She is a professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, teaching at the University since 1988. She became the faculty advisor for the University's Model UN organization in 1990. Cindy has served as a member of the SRMUN Board of Directors since the conference conception in 1991, as well as on the board of the National Model UN and the Carolinas Model UN Conferences. Dr. Combs is the author of the text, Terrorism in the Twenty-First Century, (Prentice-Hall, in its 4th edition, 2006), and with Martin Slann has co-edited the Encyclopedia of Terrorism (Facts on File, revised edition, 2007). She has been the recipient of the Bank of America Teaching Award (1997), the Bonnie Cone Distinguished Professorship of Teaching (2003), and in 2005 the Carnegie Foundation Professor of the Year for North Carolina Award. She has served as a member of a national Task Force on Terrorism; a consultant for local, state, regional, and national law enforcement agencies on terrorism; and a resource person for more than eighteen years with a wide range of educational, religious and media groups seeking to deal with the role of terrorism in the contemporary world.
Jordin Dickerson, Executive Director - jordin.dickerson@srmun.org
Jordin is an Assistant Professor of Political Science and Public Administration at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke (UNCP) where she teaches courses on Constitutional Law, Criminal Procedure, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, and Judicial Processes and Behavior. She is a licensed attorney with a background in indigent defense. Jordin has been volunteering with SRMUN since 2016 and has held a variety of roles including Assistant Director, Director, Deputy Director-General, Secretary-General, and Deputy Executive Director. She was appointed as Executive Director in December 2022. Jordin has a Bachelor’s in History and Political Science from UNCP and a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia.