{"id":13905,"date":"2025-05-24T16:19:24","date_gmt":"2025-05-24T20:19:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mdstudentcouncils.org\/?page_id=13905"},"modified":"2026-07-01T09:38:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T13:38:09","slug":"department-of-legislative-affairs","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/masc-temp.on-forge.com\/index.php\/department-of-legislative-affairs\/","title":{"rendered":"Department of Legislative Affairs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Saan Rhyne
\nEastern Technical High School
\nBaltimore County
\nSaan.Rhyne@mdstudentcouncils.org<\/h3>\n

Legislative Director<\/h3>\n
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Bio: Saan Rhyne is a junior at Eastern Technical High School in Baltimore County, where he is enrolled in the Law & Public Policy magnet program. He has been involved in student leadership since sixth grade and has previously served as a two-time Environmental Affairs Coordinator for MASC, as well as a State Legislative Affairs Coordinator for the Baltimore County Student Councils. Outside of student advocacy, Saan is interested in computer science and competes in cybersecurity on the local, state, and national levels. He also trains as an assistant instructor in Seido karate. This year, Saan is expanding MASC’s advocacy efforts statewide and branching out to work with external organizations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Gavin Falc\u00f3n
\n<\/strong>Long Reach High School
\nHoward County<\/strong><\/h3>\n

School Safety Liaison – The School Safety Advisory Board to the Subcabinet Student Member -Voting member
\n<\/strong>(Maryland Center for School Safety)<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n
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Bio: Gavin Falc\u00f3n is a senior at Long Reach High School in Howard County and is serving his third term as President of the Howard County Association of Student Councils (HCASC). He also serves as Maryland\u2019s representative to the National Student Council (NSC) and as the class of 2027 Vice President at Long Reach High School. Gavin has been involved in student leadership for the past six years and is passionate about amplifying student voice, building community, and promoting safe, inclusive school environments.<\/p>\n

Outside of student government, he enjoys lacrosse, martial arts, speech & debate, and staying active. Gavin loves meeting new people\u2014feel free to reach out and connect!<\/p>\n

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Ella Wan
\n<\/strong>Richard Montgomery High School
\nMontgomery County<\/strong><\/h3>\n

School Safety Liaison – The School Safety Subcabinet (public meetings)
\n(Maryland Center for School Safety)<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Bio:\u00a0 Ella Wan is a student leader, policy researcher, and advocate who serves as Secretary of the Montgomery County Regional Student Government Association (MCR-SGA). She is deeply interested in law, public policy, and legislative advocacy, with a particular focus on immigrant rights and educational equity.<\/p>\n

As Co-President of Students for Asylum and Immigration Rights, Ella has organized testimony drives, led advocacy campaigns, and worked directly with elected officials to advance protections for immigrant communities. She has helped introduce and support more than 3 county and state policies aimed at strengthening immigrant protections in Montgomery County, and has testified 13 times before various government bodies.<\/p>\n

Outside of her advocacy work, she enjoys debate, Model United Nations, Model Congress, DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America), horseback riding, scuba diving, and exploring current legal and political issues. She hopes to continue pursuing opportunities that allow her to combine law, leadership, and public service to create meaningful change for her community.<\/p>\n

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Benjamin H. Grimaldi
\nBaltimore Polytechnic Institute
\nBaltimore City<\/h3>\n

State Legislative Affairs Co-Coordinator (SLACer)<\/h3>\n
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Bio:\u00a0Benjamin H. Grimaldi is a sophomore at the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute in Baltimore City. He has been involved in the Maryland Association of Student Councils (MASC) for two years, and this is his first year as an appointed staff member.<\/p>\n

Benjamin has been involved with the Associated Student Congress of Baltimore City (ASCBC) for three years, and is serving as Chief of Staff this year. He is also involved in aquaponics, serving as the Co-President of the Aquaponics Club at his school. He is also active in politics, canvassing for many local candidates in the 2026 election cycle. Aside from that, Benjamin is involved in Mock Trial, Model UN, and co-founded the Debate Club at his school.<\/p>\n

In his free time, Benjamin enjoys reading history books, playing chess, gardening, and caring for his fish. He is excited to work to expand MASC’s Legislative Advocacy and ensure legislators take student interests into account when making decisions.<\/p>\n

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Saachi Shettar
\nGlenelg High School
\nHoward County<\/h3>\n

State Legislative Affairs Co-Coordinator (SLACer)<\/h3>\n
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Bio:\u00a0 Saachi Shettar is a sophomore at Glenelg High School. She serves as the Class of 2029 President and is a dedicated student leader committed to amplifying youth voices. Saachi has been involved in the Howard County Association of Student Councils (HCASC) since 7th grade and the MASC since 8th grade, where she has actively participated in the HCASC Legislative Affairs Committee and the MASC’s Civic Engagement Committee. With steadfast dedication to legislative advocacy for students, Saachi was selected as one of 30 representatives from over 500 applicants to contribute to the Howard County Safety and Security Advisory Workgroup. Additionally, she recently served on the Maryland State Department of Civic Excellence Program Workgroup, where she provided recommendations for the program’s development and regulatory framework.<\/p>\n

Outside of her leadership roles, Saachi enjoys playing basketball, listening to music, and reading books of various genres.<\/p>\n

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Blessing Chang
\nBowie High School
\nPrince George’s County<\/h3>\n

State Legislative Affairs Co-Coordinator (SLACer)<\/h3>\n
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Bio:\u00a0 Blessing Chang, a senior at Bowie High School in Prince George\u2019s County, has a passion for leadership, advocacy, and serving her community. She is the President of the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), the First Vice President of the Prince George’s Regional Association of Student Governments (PGRASG), the co-founder of Policy in Action: Youth for Justice and Equity (PAYJE), and an Alternative Senator for Maryland Girls State.<\/p>\n

Blessing is also a gun violence prevention advocate, and her work in this area is where her passion for advocacy first began. She is dedicated to helping others by speaking up for important issues, volunteering, and encouraging young people to get involved in their communities.<\/p>\n

In her free time, she enjoys public speaking and developing projects that create positive change. Blessing hopes to pursue a career in law so she can continue advocating for others and making a lasting impact.<\/p>\n

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Saan Rhyne Eastern Technical High School Baltimore County Saan.Rhyne@mdstudentcouncils.org Legislative Director Gavin Falc\u00f3n Long Reach High School Howard County School Safety Liaison – The School Safety Advisory Board to the Subcabinet Student Member -Voting member (Maryland Center for School Safety) Ella Wan Richard Montgomery High School Montgomery County School Safety Liaison – The School Safety […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-13905","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/masc-temp.on-forge.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/masc-temp.on-forge.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/masc-temp.on-forge.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/masc-temp.on-forge.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/masc-temp.on-forge.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13905"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/masc-temp.on-forge.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13905\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15590,"href":"https:\/\/masc-temp.on-forge.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13905\/revisions\/15590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/masc-temp.on-forge.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}