NYPDL Board 2020-21

Michael Ding

Executive Director

Hi! I'm Michael and I'm a senior at the Trinity School in NYC. My main interests are debate, journalism, public policy, and math. When I'm not busy, I like to read, walk, hang out with friends, and rewatch an episode or two of Avatar: The Last Airbender! My favorite Parli topic is: This House believes that imagination is better than knowledge.

Natalie Sweet

Assistant Director of League Affairs

Hi! My name is Natalie, and I’m a senior at Horace Mann. This is my third year on the NYPDL board, and when I’m not doing Parli, I’m organizing around climate justice or various other social movements! In my free time, I like to make pottery, play frisbee, and read and write news articles.

Ishq Gupta

Assistant Director of Tournaments

Hi! My name is Ishq and I'm a senior at Stuyvesant. I've been a part of my school's Parliamentary Debate team since freshman year and I'm incredibly passionate about debate. I'm an avid reader, and my hobbies include cooking and traveling.

Julia Bloch

Assistant Director of Social Media

Hi! I’m Julia and I’m a junior at Friends Seminary. I’ve been debating since freshman year and I‘m also the Secretary-General of MUN. When I have free time, I enjoy reading and hanging out with my friends.

Keerthan Kumarappan

Assistant Director of Finance

I am Keerthan Kumarappan and I am a sophomore at Stuyvesant High School. I enjoy playing basketball, doing karate, playing tenor saxophone, and teaching kids online. I am on my competitive school Math Team, and I am one belt from black belt status in Karate. I like Parli because it fits my speaking style. I also enjoy having a partner to collaborate with because it shows how well one can do as a team.

Stella Anderson

Outreach Committee

Hi! My name is Stella and I’m a junior at The Dalton School in NYC. I love debate, history, and playing on Dalton’s soccer and softball teams. When I have free time, I like to hang out with my family and friends and play with my dog, Gracie.

Gaurov Bansal

Outreach Committee

My name is Gaurov Bansal, and I am a senior at Westhill High School in Stamford, Connecticut. I love computer science, debate, and tennis. I personally do extemporaneous policy debate in my regular circuit,  but enjoy all new styles of debate, including parliamentary.

Ryan Lafferty

Outreach Committee

I’m Ryan, and I’m a senior at Westfield Academy, where I compete in American and British Parliamentary debate. I love debating, Malcolm Gladwell’s podcasts, debating, listening to Alex Trebek pronounce the word “genre,” and debating. In my free time, I enjoy scouring the depths of the Internet for NBA trade rumors, listening to the soundtracks from various Disney movies (Frozen 2, perhaps?), and attempting to find rational justifications for Pete Carroll running the ball on the 1 yard-line.

Myra Malik

Outreach Committee, Equity Committee

Hi, my name is Myra and I’m a sophomore at Horace Mann in Riverdale! When I’m not debating, I intern for a bioscience company and enjoy reading and creative writing. In my free time, I love to draw, paint, and design fashion!

Lorenzo Lizzeri

Outreach Committee

Hi, my name is Lorenzo. I’m a junior at Trinity and my favorite things are parli, skiing, and social sciences. I also love hanging out with my friends. I actually went to my first Parli tournament almost randomly, having no idea what I signed up for. Needless to say, after two years I’m happy I was in the right place at the right time.

Lola Owett

Tournament Committee

Hi! My name is Lola, and I am a senior at Friends Seminary in Manhattan. I captain my school’s Parli debate team along with running the Women in STEM Club and volunteering for the administration. When I’m not debating, I spend time reading, running, and volunteering for educational equity and anti-racism organizations.

Jack Klein

Tournament Committee

Hi, I’m Jack and I’m a rising senior at Horace Mann. I have been debating for four years now at a host of NYPDL tournaments and am currently the President of Horace Mann Parli Debate.

Julia Kostin

Tournament Committee

Hi, I’m Julia and I am a junior at Trinity School in NYC. I participate in both parliamentary and public forum debate. I recommend that debaters looking for inspiration watch the movie, “The Great Debaters”. It’s very entertaining and helpful!

Madhav Menon

Tournament Committee

Hi my name is Madhav Muralidharan Menon and I am a rising senior at Horace Mann School in the Bronx. I, along with the other members of the NYPDL board, love Parliamentary Debate and hope to help novice debaters grow into stronger and more confident speakers. Outside of the NYDPL I am the co-President of Horace Mann’s Parliamentary Debate Team, a member of Model Congress, and a member of Horace Mann’s Service Learning Team.

Arya Patel

Tournament Committee

Hi, my name is Arya Patel! As a senior at Horace Mann, this is my second year working on the NYPDL and third year at my school’s Parli club! I enjoy Parli because it’s accessible and moves at a quick pace. Outside of my classes, I enjoy constructing robotics parts in the workshop, rowing crew, working in microbial research labs, programming, and playing chess.

Benjamin Binday

Equity Committee

Hi! My name is Ben and I’m a junior at the Trinity School in Manhattan, NYC. I’ve gone to Parli tournaments since the beginning of my freshman year. In school, I do a lot of tennis and debate. In my free time, I love to watch sports and hang out with friends.

Nan Dickerson

Equity Committee

Hey! I'm Nan and I'm a junior at the Trinity School in NYC. I love literature, art and journalism. I've been debating since middle school! One of my favorite books is Tinkers by Paul Harding.