SSD Council Members 2025

The SSD is run for and by students who identify as having one or more disabilities. The Council is responsible for making decisions, passing motions, and ensuring that the SSD is supporting UVic students with a Disability(ies).

Council members are nominated at the yearly Annual General Meeting or at Special General Meetings. Council positions are available for all self-identified Disabled students at the University of Victoria to run for.

In total, there are 15 SSD Council positions. Check out our About Us page to learn more!

Hannah in front of a brick building with a golden-coloured tree branch overhead. They are wearing a spotted blue blouse, purple-tinted purple glasses, and their hair is dyed purple at the ends.

Co-Chairperson

Hannah Brown (They/Them)

My name is Hannah (they/them) and I am a neurodiverse, multiply disabled, nonbinary (trans+), and queer graduate student. I have a passion for promoting equitable and accessible higher education and I work as an advocate to bring an equitable and accessible lens to many areas of the UVic community. I have been involved in the SSD in a variety of roles since May 2021 and I am privileged to be able to continue this work as co-chair. I enjoy working within my community at the SSD to support my fellow students in flourishing. You can reach to me at hlbrown@uvic.ca.

Fun fact: I took up artistic (previously known as synchronized) swimming in 2021 and fell in love with the sport! I love being in the water and you can often find me floating about when I can 😊

Co-Chairperson

Julia Denley (She/They)

Hi folks, I’m Julia (she/they) and I’m a neurodivergent, chronically ill, disabled, and queer settler. You can reach me at jdenley@uvic.ca. I am grateful to be in this role again; I love having the opportunity to use my dedication to disability justice, equitable access to education, and community care to help uplift other disabled UVic students and make our university a more inclusive place. I have two cats and will never say no to seeing a picture of someone’s pets!

Treasurer

Mia Zhou

UVSS Representative

Dacian Filipescu (He/Him)

Hello, my name is Dacian (he/him) and I am the SSD UVSS board rep. I am in my third year of my sociology degree and first year on the SSD board. I am really looking forward to working on the ACCESS4ALL campaign this year, accessibility is a huge priority of mine and I hope to improve all accessibility on campus this year. In my spare time I enjoy playing video games, reading, and playing trading card games

A close-up picture of a tabby cat named Thomas wearing gold-rimmed circle-frame sunglasses.

Student Liaison

Valentine Anderson (They/He)

Hello! I’m Valentine Anderson (they/he) and I’m a second-year biology/psychology major. As Student Liaison, I’m excited to advocate for students and their needs, help make communication between students and the SSD easier, and help welcome those new to our community!
In my free time, I like to play cozy video games, draw, and spend time with my cat Thomas (pictured left).
Feel free to send me an email at any time at viander@uvic.ca! I’m also active on our community discord as Valentine.

International Student Representative

Kush Gulati

Graduate Student Representative

Jitendra Palaparty

Secretary

Zoe Peterson

General Member at Large

Acorn Wasserman (They/Them)

General Member at Large

Gabi Gallego

General Member at Large

Kat Taylor-Hood

General Member at Large

Lola Farago