NYPDL Board 2020-21
Completely student-run!
Michael Ding
Executive Director
Hi! I'm Michael and I'm a senior at the Trinity School in NYC. My main interests are math, debate, journalism, and public policy. When I'm not busy, I like to read, walk, and hang out with friends. Two of my favorite Parli topics are "TH, as a high schooler, would just vibe" and "THBT 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.
Rohan Mehta
Assistant Director of Outreach
Hi! I’m Rohan -- a Senior at Trinity!! I’ve been involved in Parli since ninth grade and when I’m not running tournaments you can see me involved in other debate formats, coding, or at student government meetings. Non-academically, I love reading, cooking, baking, gardening, and spending time with friends. I hope to see you at future tournaments, and remember, ~work hard, parli harder~.
Ariel Kirman
Assistant Director of Outreach
Hi everyone! I'm Ariel, and I'm a junior at Trinity, where I do Parliamentary and Public Forum debate. My favorite Parli topic to debate was: this house believes the pen is mightier than the sword. I'm really excited for this season!
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.
If you would like to learn about previous student leaders of the league, please view the document below:
From Our Founders
from Radhika Mehta (Horace Mann '18, Columbia '22), Co-Founder of the NYPDL
We started the NYPDL towards the end of my sophomore year of high school to provide a platform for students across the metropolitan to engage in a form of debate that emphasizes critical thinking and public speaking skills. During my sophomore year, we held spars with Stuyvesant and Dalton, but without a league, we were unable to hold large formal tournaments that had a high level of competition. Starting the NYPDL allowed students across the tri-state area to learn and compete in a debate league that deemphasized time commitment and outside preparation, thus creating a level playing field for all competitiors.
from Rodda John (Stuyvesant '17, Columbia '22), Co-Founder of the NYPDL
As high school students ourselves, Radhika Mehta (Horace Mann '18, Columbia '22) and I founded the NYPDL to create a space for Parliamentary Debate, the most popular form of debate at college, at the high school level. We wanted to create opportunities for students from schools without traditional debate teams to participate and form teams of their own. The league was built with an emphasis on student leadership. Though there are teachers and alumni of the league who oversee some of the activities requiring adults, the student-led board ultimately runs the league -- scheduling, programming, and planning are all organized and executed by the students.
