Topic Summary

Welcome to North America, where the year is 2032 and the U.S. presidential election is fast approaching. In Western North America, a secession movement grows. Cascadia, roughly encompassing California to The Yukon in Canada, is gaining autonomy—and consequently, a legitimate basis for succession—as big tech has replaced the U.S. government’s role in managing infrastructure, including public transit and urban planning, and, to an extent, governance. Is civil war imminent? Is secession necessary or inevitable?

In this joint crisis committee, divided into the U.S. and the Northwest/Cascadia, delegates will play a critical role in determining the fate of the continent. Without a constitutional basis for secession, the United States is at a crossroads, and committee members must respond to fragmentation, political pressure and threats of violence, and the nuances of the increasing privatization of the bureaucracy. In the Northwest committee, delegates will tackle similar fragmentation within the territory as social media shapes and polarizes secession sentiments. And in such a high stakes deliberation, who’s to say who can be trusted at the round table?

Director’s Letter - Pacific Northwest

Esteemed Delegates,

My name is Alex Jun, and I am incredibly excited to be your front room chair for the Pacific Northwest committee of our amazing joint crisis committee, Claps of Cascadia! I am currently a sophomore at Harvard studying Economics. I consider myself a third culture kid, having been born in London, lived in Switzerland for 8 years, and 7 years in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, before coming to the US, my dad’s home country!

At Harvard, I am part of ICMUN, our competitive intercollegiate travel team for MUN. Last year, I was an assistant director for a specialized body for HMUN, our high school conference, and, most relevantly to this committee, for the JCC of HNMUN 2025. Outside of MUN, I am an editorial writer for the International Review, another branch of the International Relations Council, HNMUN’s parent organization, and am an analyst for the Harvard Undergraduate Venture Capital Group. In my free time, I love playing and watching sports, especially soccer, traveling, watching movies, and listening to all kinds of music!

For our committee, I am especially hyped to see how you all grapple with, in your speeches and directives, the challenges of highly unpredictable crisis breaks, and how you engineer creative crisis arcs. As a crisis delegate, I especially enjoy listening to passionate, emotive, and memorable speeches, reading truly substantive, groundbreaking directives, and love to see respectful collaboration in unmods. I want to see tough debate and negotiation, but not uncomfortable animosity towards delegates, which can arise in heated situations!

Please feel free to reach out to me before conference with any questions or concerns. Don’t worry if this is your first crisis or conference, I was in a very similar boat just a year ago! I really look forward to meeting all of you, hearing some fantastic speeches, and directing the amazing (and hopefully chaotic) committee that we have planned for you!

Sincerely,

Alex Jun

Director, Pacific Northwest, JCC: The Claps of Cascadia

Coordinated Crisis Director’s Letter - Pacific Northwest

Hello Delegates!

It is my distinct honor to welcome you to the Pacific Northwest Committee of Claps of Cascadia, the joint crisis committee of the 72nd iteration of Harvard National Model United Nations. My name is Sophia Lichterfeld, and I am excited to serve as your Coordinated Crisis Director throughout the weekend.

I am currently a Sophomore at Harvard College concentrating in Applied Mathematics with a focus in Economics and a secondary in Global Health and Health Policy. I am originally from Massachusetts, and last year, I assistant directed a specialized body for HMUN, our high school conference, as well as a GA for HNMUN. I also had a great time directing a GA at HMUN China this past summer and am part of Harvard’s Intercollegiate Model United Nations Team. Beyond MUN, I am the Science and Technology Editor of the Harvard Political Review and involved in the Charles River Economics Labs and Institute of Politics Policy Program. In my free time, I enjoy exploring new cafes with friends, playing squash and violin, and traveling.

I am thrilled to see how you tie together frontroom and backroom developments, create and respond to unpredictable and unprecedented crises, and debate, negotiate, and collaborate throughout this weekend as we explore the trials and tribulations of the Pacific Northwest’s moves. Please reach out with any questions, and I look forward to seeing you in committee!

Sincerely,

Sophia Lichterfeld

Coordinated Crisis Director, Pacific Northwest, JCC: The Claps of Cascadia

Director’s Letter - Pacific Northwest

Hello delegates!

It is my great pleasure to welcome you to the Pacific Northwest Committee of Claps of Cascadia. My name is Hyunsoo Lee, and I am honored to serve as backroom chair for this committee. I’m a rising sophomore at Harvard studying Economics and Neuroscience, originally from South Korea, and I am incredibly excited to bring this committee to life with you.

My journey in Model UN began back in high school, where I was a secretary general in Oregon Model UN and became an expert in resolution writing, position paper edits, and switching nations overnight. Last year, I was the assistant director of SOCHUM, the biggest committee in HMUN that year. At Harvard, I’m also a liaison for the Fellows and Studys Group, Part of the Harvard Student Government, and the Global Affairs Program. I’m particularly passionate about how policy, economics, and diplomacy intersect—and MUN has been my favorite place to explore that.

Whether you’re entering with years of experience or attending your first collegiate conference, I want this space to be intellectually challenging, inclusive, and genuinely fun. I’m confident in your ability to bring creativity, nuance, and ambition to every moment of debate, and I can’t wait to watch your ideas come to life.

I am here to support your success and ensure this is a meaningful experience. Feel free to reach out at any point in your preparation—I’m always happy to talk through questions, brainstorm ideas, or just say hi.

Let’s make this an unforgettable conference.

Warmly,

Hyunsoo Lee

Director, Pacific Northwest, JCC: The Claps of Cascadia

Director’s Letter - USA

Dearest Delegates,

Welcome to Harvard National Model United Nations 2026, and to the Clasps of Cascadia: United States of America! My name is Jimmy Merino, and I am incredibly honored to serve as your Coordinated Crisis Director for this committee. I am a sophomore at Harvard College, studying Economics and Government.

At Harvard, I am an active member of our Model United Nations community. What I love most about MUN is how it pushes us to understand the world through perspectives other than our own. I look forward to seeing how you all adapt to HNMUN’s unique structure and engage with each other.

In committee, I am especially excited to see the range of perspectives and solutions you will bring to the table. The topics that we’ll explore are complex and demand more than just immediate answers, but require adaptability, nuance, and willingness to engage with difficult trade-offs. I encourage you to think creatively, question assumptions, and collaborate to find meaningful paths forward.

I’m honored to have the opportunity to learn alongside you and get to know each and every one of you. You all bring unique perspectives, and I am looking forward to hearing from you!

Warmly,

Jimmy Merino

Director, USA, JCC: The Claps of Cascadia

Director’s Letter - USA

Dear all,

Welcome to the 72nd iteration of Harvard National Model United Nations. My name is Kiri-Anna Kingsbury Lee and I am honored to serve as your director for this committee. I am a sophomore at Harvard College pursuing a double concentration in Biology and Government. I hail from Aotearoa New Zealand but I grew up all around the United States, notably in Utah. Outside of HNMUN, I am a member of the Harvard Intercollegiate Model United Nations team and an employee of the Resource Efficiency Program. In my free time, I play ice hockey, read extensively, hike vigorously, and I operate a side hustle in interviewing for documentary films. 

In this committee, your presence in the front room – delivering engaging and humorous speeches and electing collaboration over sabotage – is equally important to your backroom. As a director, I value a creative backroom that synthesizes well-researched knowledge on nuances of the committee topic with outside-the-box thinking. As such, I advise you to take your preparation seriously and I will point you in the direction of historical and modern secession movements in North America (which may surprise you in their quantity and magnitude). When possible, I would like to see you address underlying issues of polarization, inequality, or other motivators for succession grounded in your research, but do not shy from ingenuity (and preferably theatrics). 

I am excited about the breadth of knowledge, enthusiasm, and creativity you will no doubt bring to this committee to launch it to life. See you soon in Boston. 

Until then, 

Kiri-Anna Kingsbury Lee

Director, USA, JCC: The Claps of Cascadia

Crisis Director’s Letter - USA

Esteemed Delegates,

Welcome to the 72nd session of Harvard National Model United Nations, and to The Collapse of Cascadia!

My name is Hanley, and I’m a sophomore at Harvard College studying Molecular and Cellular Biology and Government. I’m an active member of the MUN community at Harvard, competing with our intercollegiate team and serving as a director at both our Boston and international conferences. Outside of MUN, I’m a leader for Harvard’s First-Year Outdoor Program and an associate with Harvard Recreation.

I am beyond excited to be a crisis director for this joint crisis committee and can’t wait to see how you adapt to the fast-moving challenges of regional collapse, political fragmentation, and corporate power. I look forward to seeing how your ideas reflect the complex issues of sovereignty, infrastructure, and the future of governance that concern this committee. Whether you’re a public official, corporate leader, or civilian voice, your contributions will shape the direction and survival of the nation as it’s in crisis.

I encourage you to work collaboratively, fully inhabit your roles, and use the variety of tools in your possession, from backroom alliances to bold front-room policy, in order to drive the committee forward. The best crisis committees are built on both chaos and creativity, and I can’t wait to see what you all bring to the table.

If you have any questions before the conference, please don’t hesitate to reach out. See you soon!

Sincerely,

Hanley Poyer

Crisis Director, USA, JCC: The Claps of Cascadia