Welcome!
The LSA team is a bunch of busy bees. Together, we organize social events, arrange student Intramurals, publish The Who’s Who student directory, provide lockers, manage access to The Gavel student lounge, and maintain a database of class notes known as CANs.
Scroll down to meet us and learn more about the roles.
We’re here to represent you and your concerns. Please reach out to any one us with any comments you may have. We love to hear from you!
VP Finance
President
VP General
VP Academic
ILSA Rep
VP EDI
VPs Services
VP External
VPs Sports
VPs Social
1L Reps
President
Emilio Filomeno
Hi all! My name is Emilio (he/him), and I have the pleasure of serving as your LSA President this year. I also am joined by an incredible group of individuals on the LSA executive team—all of whom I’ll help make this year nothing short of amazing.
Being President also means I can’t just leave in the middle of the semester to go backpacking around some foreign continent—if you know me at all, you know this is a problem. Besides travelling, I like spending too much money at cafes and coffee beans. Like any good law student, I like to drink black coffee. I had to let you know in case you were wondering…which you weren’t.
I was born in Argentina but was blessed with the opportunity to grow up in…Saskatchewan! Yes—I’m a proud prairie boy. And like most Prairie lads I’ve met, we enjoy the finer things in life: a glass of Chardonnay, a round of crib, and a good weekend spent camping. All at the same time, of course.
When I'm not caught up in something LSA related, you might catch me working away with On the Run. A running group started by my two classmates and me! If you’ve always wanted to run a 1/2 or full marathon, please sign up and join us!
That’s all for now. If you see me in the hallways, do not hesitate to stop and introduce yourself, ask me questions about exotic animals (I worked at a zoo for 4 months, so I’m basically an expert), or do it all in Spanish so you can practice.
VP General
Stephen Raitz
Howdy! I'm Stephen Raitz (he/him) and I am your VP General for 2022-2023. I'm here to support the executive in advocacy matters as well as run the mentorship program, student group granting program, and elections!
I am from Leduc, AB which is very important to my identity. Prior to Law School, I worked in urban planning on land development and municipal policy projects. When not in the Law Library, you can find me yelling at Edmonton City Council, making Tik Toks, or going for a nice long run. I am one of the many tall, skinny, white guys who is also an improviser. You can find me improvising with Rapid Fire Theatre in Edmonton! My mantra is feel good, look good, do good.
VP Finance
Alexander Akiki
Hey guys, my name is Alex (he/him) and I have the pleasure of being your Vice President of Finance. I’m in charge of doing a lot of basic math for the next year by compiling the LSA’s annual budget, taking care of reimbursements and working with every team to ensure that their events don’t make us broke.
When I’m not in the law centre, you can find me on the ski slopes, the golf course or playing video games. I’m a huge dog person and am known for my infamous maple butter recipe that makes people cry. I’m pretty sure of happiness. Feel free to reach our if you have any questions, I’m happy to help out however I can.
LSA ILSA Representative
Emily Szeryk
Hi, I’m Emily (she/her). As the Indigenous Law Students’ Association (ILSA) Representative on the LSA, I am responsible for facilitating relationships and bridging communication between the Indigenous Law Students’ Association and the Law Students’ Association to further Indigenous initiatives for current law students and ensure the well-being of the Indigenous student body within the faculty.
I am from Winnipeg, Manitoba and will be returning after graduation to article with Legal Aid Manitoba working in the areas of family law and child protection. My previous degree is in Criminal Justice from the University of Winnipeg.
Outside of school I love to travel, golf, eat ice cream, listen to podcasts, and hang out with my friends. My favorite movies are Me Before You and the Twilight series (don’t laugh), my favorite tv shows are Schitt's Creek and The Office and my current book obsession is anything by Colleen Hoover because I am clearly very original. My favorite color is pink, my favorite food is ice cream and I have a cat named Bella. My motto: always be kind :).
VP EDI
Céleste Kwok
Hey, my name is Céleste (she/her) and I’m excited to be the LSA’s first VP Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion! As an advocate for equity-deserving student groups and law students, I aim to make the Faculty of Law a safer and more inclusive space. I also take on an ombudsman role, resolving EDI-related issues affecting students and/or Faculty members. An anonymous reporting form can be found here.
I took Criminology in my undergraduate so that I could master the art of doing crime. Beyond school, I love interior design and fashion. You’ll often find me watching the Bachelorette/The Summer I Turned Pretty or playing video games. My current dream is to live in a surf shack in Hawaii - snowboarding is a transferable skill, right?
Always down to talk about EDI initiatives (and/or our shared crush on Timothée Chalet - come on, it’s no coincidence that he and I both have fancy French names).
VP Academic
Gabriella Gader
Hey everyone! My name is Gabriella (she/her) and I’m your VP Academic, which means I get the extreme honour of compiling the CANs we all depend on as well as organizing the PASS sessions!
On top of the LSA, I’m also a member of the Women’s Law Forum and I act in Law Show to try and get closer to my far-fetched dream of winning an Oscar (that is, if Covid finally lets us go forward with a show this year). When I don’t have my nose in a book at the library you can find me being oUtDooRsY going for a run, hike, or yeeting myself off a mountain on my snowboard. I can also be found trying to squeeze as many clothes as possible into my tiny closet because the only thing that gets me up for 8am law classes is the opportunity to make it a fashion show. *Cue THE montage from The Devil Wears Prada*
If you ever have questions about school or just need to complain about anything, I’m your gal!
VP External
Inna Dymouriak-Tymashov
Hello! My name is Inna (she/her), which rhymes with words like ballerina, bambina or my oft-used nickname ‘Mean-a’ because I AM the villain of the LSA. Miranda Priestly has nothing on me.
Kidding. I wish I had the presence (and wardrobe) of Ms. Priestly. The truth is that I am just your scrappy VP External. I’m the one that uploads LSA meeting minutes and connects you to the LSA team through some very informative and very serious posts on our very official Instagram page.
A few of my favourite things are debating whether Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg’s friendship is a publicity stunt, catching up on celebrity memoirs (Gucci Mane’s was surprisingly compelling??) and wondering what Clippy is up to these days. I’m on the Law Show, OUTlaw and the Rugby Exec teams too!
Feel free to reach out as I love any opportunity to chat/procrastinate.
VP Services
Kaitlyn Viteychuk
Hey everyone! My name is Kaitlyn (she/her) and, along with Grace, I am one of your 2L VP Services this year which means we’re in charge of getting the LSA money from firms so you can all party away the woes of law school.
Outside the LSA, I can often be found grabbing my third or fourth cup of coffee of the day from Steve’s (I wish I was joking). I spent 15 years doing gymnastics and am now able to tell people that I can do a backflip. Clearly a great investment.
Since quitting gymnastics and naturally losing all sense of purpose, I now enjoy being humbled by new activities; currently this involves losing an embarrassing number of golf balls every time I go golfing. Feel free to reach out anytime, I could always use the company when grabbing one of my many coffees!
VP Services
Grace Lo
I’m Grace Lo (she/her) and, along with Kaitlyn, we are the VPs Services keeping things — lockers, the LSA’s sponsorship $$$, the Gavel whenever it exits construction purgatory — running from behind the scenes! If you have a question, I might not have an answer but I will probably know someone who does.
Come find me if you wanna talk about ideas for the law school, the student experience, or just to talk. In exchange, you can hear me talk about EDI, the Panda Bearristers Rugby Team, and what I wish I could do with my life if living in Vancouver wasn’t so darn expensive.
I am a major homebody so if I’m not redecorating my Animal Crossing island or binging yet another K-drama (my most recent spiraling addiction), I’m probably in the library studying (read: wondering if there’s a sustainable career as a modern-day town fool).
VP Sports
Emily Wagner
Hi friends! My name is Emily (she/her) and I am one half of the VP Sports duo. We take care of intramurals and other super sporty fun events (AKA we are the jokes and the jocks of the LSA).
Some of my favourite pastimes are obsessing over Australian accents, spikeball, everything Guy Fieri, and forcing all of my friends to enter March Madness brackets with me. However, if any firm recruiters ask, my favourite pastimes are ending world hunger and hiking :)
If you see me in the hallways please come say hi! Or even better, "ello mate" with your best Aussie accent.
VP Sports
George Gagnon
My name is George (he/him), and I’m also one half of VP Sports. We are responsible for planning different sport-related events throughout the year as well as running the intramural program.
A fun fact about me is that I work at a local Edmonton brewery. I am also the President of the Golden Bearristers Rugby Club and I love to spend my time going to concerts and hiking. I am from Calgary and I did my undergrad there as well but I wanted to move “away” for law school so I chose Edmonton and that is probably what I would bring up in a therapy session if I was given a free one tomorrow.
VP Social
Alanna DeCorby
Hi friends! My name is Alanna (she/her) and I’m your 2L VP Social. I like to think I was elected for this position for two reasons: my organizational skills and my partying skills. Although, I think it was mostly the latter.
My job is to plan all the best events (including Pre-O, First Friday Back + Carbolic Smoke Ball!) and ensure that all of you have fun in between the hours of studying and crying that law school will surely bring!
Fun Facts About Me: I have matching sunglasses with my cat. I drink 8L of water a day (and about the same amount of coffee). I snore excessively loud (apparently).
Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or ideas for social events this year!
VP Social
Azan Esmail (He/Him)
I am entering my final year of law school. I’m an Edmonton local and wrapping up my 7th year at the University of Alberta. I enjoy travelling, reading and watching movies.
After 2 years of COVID, my goal as VP Social is to make up for all of that by hosting some of the best events this faculty has ever seen.
1L Rep
Damon Atwood
Hello friends! My name is Damon Atwood (he/him) and I make up half of your 1L Rep team for the 2022/2023 year. I'm a bit more... grey... than my colleagues, but that just means you can talk to me like you would your grandfather (if he had a super cool hat like this one I borrowed from my daughter, 10 points for whoever knows what it's from)! If you want to know about me just know I'm a huge nerd with a passion for painting miniatures, writing, coding, learning, and sometimes just staring into space in existential terror that we're all STANDING ON A ROCK IN INFINITE NOTHINGNESS... oh boy, just breathe...
Phew, anyway, all you need to know is that I'm here to help in any way I can. That includes challenging the "way things are" if you think we can make things better, or if something needs a change. Just a heads up, I'm also blessed(?) with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and while I'm not as cool as Extraordinary Attorney Woo, I do often forget to say hello. Don't be afraid of my Resting Bruh Face, I'm super friendly I promise.
Looking forward to meeting you all!
1L Rep
Joshua Kim
How you doin! My name is Joshua Kim (He/Him) and I have the honour and pleasure of being one of your 1L reps. I’m here to represent the 1L body of 2022/2023, raise any concerns or ideas you have to the LSA, and maybe throw some events along the way to get to know you all!
I was born in South Korea but I was raised in Edmonton my whole life. In the summer you can find me 8 beers deep on the golf course. In the winter you can find me 8 beers deep on the slopes. 🏂
My areas of expertise include: Taking a nap right after chugging a coffee, Coming last place in March Madness every year, Applying too much hair gel, and tripping on the ramps in the McLennan Ross hall.
I’m looking forward to getting some experience on the LSA and serving the student body, and hopefully next year you’ll see me higher up on this page!