Brianne Watkins – President

Brianne is a second year philosophy graduate student at TMU. She graduated from the undergraduate philosophy program at TMU in 2021 with a minor in biology and extensive background in chemistry. Her main philosophical interests are in phenomenology and social philosophy. In her free time, Brianne likes to play videos games, read literature, and be a part of community initiatives.

Raquel Vengroff – Vice President

Raquel is a second year philosophy graduate student in the Department of Philosophy at TMU. She graduated with a double major in English and philosophy at TMU in 2021. Raquel’s primary research interest is moral psychology, specifically investigating the nature of moral knowledge. In her free time Raquel enjoys hot yoga, listening to the Beatles (Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is currently on repeat), and hanging out at the park with her cats, Luna and Bowie.

Ron Buenaventura ­– Conference Coordinator

Ron is a second year philosophy graduate student in the Department of Philosophy at Toronto Metropolitan. He received his bachelor’s degree downtown from the University of Toronto, majoring in philosophy and minoring in political science. His primary research interests are ancient philosophy, especially Hellenistic philosophy. Outside of philosophy, Ron’s hobbies are playing an unhealthy amount of video games and Magic: the Gathering, as well as learning to play chess (without success).

Evelyn Stoesser – Co-Social Chair

Evelyn is in her second year of the MA Philosophy program here at TMU. She completed her BA (Hons.) in philosophy at Brock University back in 2020. Philosophically, her primary interests lay in Phenomenology and Existentialism, and she is currently focused on understanding the implications said areas hold in discussing the lived experience of mental illness (specifically social anxiety disorder). Outside of her academic work Evelyn enjoys creative writing, relaxing in the green spaces Toronto has to offer, hiking, spending time with friends, and unironically keeping up with the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

Felix Mürrle – Co-Social Chair

Felix received his BA in philosophy with a minor in comparative literature from the University of Alberta in 2015, and is now a second year student in the TMU philosophy MA program. He is primarily interested in 20th century continental thought (existentialism, phenomenology, and post-structuralism in particular), and the way these traditions approach science and objectivity. Aside from his academic pursuits, he likes to play soccer, go climbing, and binge-watch Netflix shows.

Jessica Chan – Treasurer

Jessica is in her second year of the MA in philosophy program at Toronto Metropolitan University. She previously completed her BA (Hons) in philosophy with a linguistics minor at University of Toronto. Her main philosophical interests lie in meta-ethics. Outside of academia, Jessica can be found playing volleyball, doing crafts, or reading manga.