Shaping the year ahead: Meet the MCR SGA Directors in charge of next year’s legislative direction

By Ian Chen

Montgomery County Regional (MCR) Student Government Association’s Executive Board is a group of student leaders, advocates and changemakers working to represent the over 50,000 high school students across the county. 

Every year, directors are appointed through an application process open to all MCPS high school students. Applicants submit materials highlighting their leadership experience, advocacy work and vision for the department they hope to lead. Each department director brings a unique focus, from shaping legislative priorities to directing student task forces, ensuring that MCR’s work reflects the diverse needs of MCPS students.

To better understand their vision for the 2025–2026 school year, we asked the Chief of Staff, Legislative Affairs Directors and Education Policy Director a set of questions about how they plan to carry out their mission of shaping MCR‘s policy priorities.

Interviews edited for length and clarity.

Chelsea Zhu – Chief of Staff

How do you plan to support communication and collaboration across departments to ensure MCR runs effectively throughout the year?

Being there for others is super important for me, and I try my best to initiate conversations, ask questions and follow-up on tasks during in-person department meetings, video calls and online communication. 

How will you ensure departments follow through on their commitments?

Everyone has their own leadership style of showcasing their projects and turning their ideas into reality; I hope to honor and learn about every individual’s guiding interests, motivation and direction in a time where advocacy is needed more than ever.

By the end of your term, what improvements do you hope to see in MCR?

Giving back to the student body is something I value; I resonate with students across Montgomery County from all grade levels and backgrounds, and I would love to continue speaking, meeting and cherishing these opportunities!

Jariane Martinez Mapp – Legislative Affairs Director 

Can you share any specific legislation MCR hopes to support or influence this year?

Because the Maryland General Assembly session has not started, and new bills have yet to be introduced, we do not have specific legislation we plan to support or influence. However, MCR’s Legislative Affairs Department is committed to supporting legislation that benefits all students in MCPS. The bills we will support and advocate for during our annual Advocacy Days will align with MCR’s Policy Planks, developed by our Educational Policy Department. These planks focus on student well-being, academics, facilities, equity and the subcategories that fall within these key areas. Ultimately, we hope to influence legislation in a way that ensures student input is considered and valued, so that students are truly represented in the laws that directly impact them.

How will your department prepare and deliver testimony to make sure student voices are heard by policymakers?

MCR’s Legislative Affairs Department will prepare and deliver testimony that reflects the perspectives of students across the county. MCR works closely with school SGAs to host events such as General Assemblies, where students gather to share their concerns, ideas, and overall experience within the school system. Additionally, our department holds meetings with legislators, like the Policy Making Panel, where students have the opportunity to speak directly to legislators. We work hard to gather this input and integrate it into the testimonies we deliver when speaking to our legislators. This year, we are working towards presenting testimonies during public comment and hearing sessions to amplify student voices. When all these efforts come together, we can ensure that students are heard by policymakers.

What changes do you hope students will see from MCR’s legislative advocacy by the end of the school year?

By the end of the school year, we hope that students, especially those outside of MCR, feel that they have had the opportunity to contribute to advocacy efforts. We aim to address some of the most pressing issues students face in Montgomery County. This could include comprehensive school safety measures, increased mental health resources—particularly after the implementation of the new grading policy—and advocating for bills that focus on expanding programs to all schools. We hope that students see an increase in the opportunities available to them, whether that be through meeting with legislators on a more regular basis or through being able to participate in testimonies during public hearings.

Michael Gannon – Legislative Affairs Director

Can you share any specific legislation MCR hopes to support or influence this year?

MCR supports legislation that aligns with our policy platform or “planks” which are compiled by our Educational Policy Department. Each year, we strive to select bills that represent this platform. This year, our focus will be on continuing to support programs that fund equitable education amidst mass cuts and supporting legislation that uplifts and protects all of our 160k students in the district, regardless of their background. 

How will your department prepare and deliver testimony to make sure student voices are heard by policymakers?

Each year, we follow a strict, structured process beginning in December and culminating in March to accurately and effectively select state and federal legislation and then equip our students to testify on these bills. We hold training sessions and emphasize to our student advocates the importance of finding a personal connection and data to back up their testimony. 

What changes do you hope students will see from MCR’s legislative advocacy by the end of the school year?

We hope that our advocacy will affect students in a meaningful way. For example, this past year, we successfully lobbied state legislators on a bill that mandated all new public construction or public buildings undergoing renovation be outfitted with water bottle filling stations, improving sustainability. 

Peter Boyko – Educational Policy Director

What key education policies will your department focus on this year, and why are they important to students?

The MCR Educational Policy department prides itself on selecting policies that best reflect the 55,000 high school student population. Each year, our department creates and revises MCR’s Policy Planks (our point-by-point policy platform) through student feedback surveys and our unique experiences as students. These Policy Planks establish our stances on key issues and are broken down into four main categories: Student Well-Being, Academics, Facilities, and Equity. We will work together with our other co-policy departments (Legislative Affairs and Task Forces) to carry out these Policy Planks throughout the year through advocacy on the county, state, and even national-level.

How will you ensure that MCR’s policy positions truly reflect the beliefs and priorities of the majority of students?

Through our own experiences as students, we believe we can truly reflect the beliefs and priorities of the majority of MCPS students. Our 100+ member Executive Board consists of students from 24 out of the 25 high schools in the county. In addition, we plan to collect student feedback through routine surveys during the school year, school visits, social media and general assemblies. (General assemblies are quarterly mass assemblies at different Montgomery County high schools that include student leaders outside of just MCR’s Executive Board)

By the end of your term, what changes or outcomes do you hope MCR’s educational policy work will achieve for students across the county?

While we can’t predict what specific policies MCPS will change as we approach the new school year, we plan to track the work of the Board of Education by tuning in to their biweekly meetings. Most recently, we tracked the Superintendent’s work around the new grading policy and organized a rally to push for more mental health accessibility for the stricter grading policy and more student representation in MCPS decision-making. Our overall mindset this year is that no decision about students is made without students. We will follow the Board and other local governments closely and aim to represent students’ voices with pride and poise.

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