New York Parliamentary Debate League
NYPDL Board 2022-23
Completely student-run!
June Lin
Outreach Director
Hey y’all! I’m June—debater, artist, and Ghibli-movie-enjoyer hailing from Connecticut. I captain the infamous BOW (Bacon On Wheels, of course) debate team, and my favorite things include philosophy resolutions, snow, and topokki :)
Sophie Rukin
Outreach Director
Hi!!! I’m Sophie and I’m a Junior at Horace Mann School in the Bronx. I’ve been debating since Freshman year, and I absolutely love it. When I’m not debating you can probably find me obsessing over my two dogs (please ask me to show you pictures), going on runs, writing for my school newspaper and working on women’s rights advocacy. I am so excited for this debate season and I hope to see many of you there!
John Lieberman
Tournament Committee
Hi! I’m John, and I’m a junior at the Trinity School in New York City. I have been in parliamentary debate since my freshman year. Outside of debate, I play competitive water polo, swim, listen to a lot of music, and do Academic Quiz Bowl. I’m super excited to be a part of this amazing board!
Kevin Yang
Tournament Committee
I'm Kevin, a junior at the Trinity School in New York City. I have been doing parliamentary debate since my freshman year of high school and I am now one of the captains of our team. Philosophy or pop culture motions hold a special place in my heart, and I am warming up to IR and foreign policy. I'm play volleyball and basketball, occasionally skateboard, and read, write, or draw in my free time.
Norah Kiely
Tournament Committee
Hi! I’m Norah, a junior at Trinity in NYC. I’ve been debating since Middle School, and in addition to Parli, I participate in Model Congress and Public Forum. If I am not in a round or judging, I am probably writing for a school publication, working with younger students, playing violin, or hanging out with my friends. I love listening to music and would love any song recommendations. So excited for the upcoming year!
Mingyue Zha
Equity Officer
Heya, I'm Ming (she/her), a member of BOW (allegedly dubbed "Bacon on Wheels") debate team and a senior at ARHS. Outside of debate, I enjoy snazzy things like drawing, singing, and engaging in local activism. All in all, I'm very excited for a new and amazing year of NYPDL debate ;D
Molly Bordoff
Executive Director
Hi! I’m Molly (she/her) and I’m a senior at Trinity. I’ve been involved in Parli debate since my freshman year and I’m a captain of Trinity’s Parli team. When I’m not working with the NYPDL, I’m doing Public Forum debate, figure skating, writing for my school’s newspaper, or spending time with friends. I’m excited for the upcoming debate season!
Zach Berg
Tournament Director
Hey! I'm Zach, a junior at Dalton NYC. I have debated for 4 years and I am the captain of Dalton's Parli team. In the words of Ryan Lafferty, outside of debate, some of my hobbies include debating, débáting, and dëbätïng. In all seriousness, when I am not debating, you can probably find me skiing, hiking, playing soccer, playing tennis, traveling, writing for Dalton's political journal, or spending time with family and friends. I truly could not be more excited for the debate season, and I hope to see many of you at tournaments this year!
Hannah Riegel
Tournament Director
Hi! I'm Hannah, a senior at Stuyvesant High School. I started parli my freshman year and this year, I'm the captain of Stuy's team. Outside of debate, I love reading, hiking, and hanging out with friends. Super excited for the upcoming season!
Rose Weathers
Social Media Director
I’m Rose and I’m a senior at Harriton High School and co-captain of Harriton's Parli team. When I'm not debating, I'm taking care of my pet fish, playing guitar, or binge-reading science fiction novels.
Molly Carroll Thompson
Treasurer
Hi! I’m Molly, a senior at Stuyvesant High School. I’ve been debating since my freshman year and I’m one of the directors on Stuy’s parli team. Other than debate, I enjoy reading, hanging out with friends, and crocheting!
Veikko Toikka
Outreach Committee
Hello! I'm Veikko and I'm a senior at Harriton High school. Besides debating, I compete as part of the science olympiad team and play drums in jazz band and drumline. My favorite parli motion so far has been "this house believes that Valentine's Day should be moved to the summer". I'm excited to be serving as part of the board this year!
Bridget Zelin
Outreach Committee
Hi! I'm Bridget, a junior at Blind Brook High School. I've been involved in both parliamentary and CDA extemporaneous styled debate since 8th grade, and I am currently one of the captains of my school's team. When I'm not debating, I love spending time with my friends, drinking coffee, doing research in biomedical informatics and running. I also love watching movies, listening to music, and educating myself on current day issues.
Jennifer Levine
Outreach Committee
Hi, I'm Jennifer Levine and I'm a junior at Friends Seminary. I started debating in the NYPDL as a freshman, so I'm super excited to be a member of the Outreach Committee and a Junior Captain of the Parli team at my school. I love discussing music, literature, and current events in politics and pop culture, so reach out if you're interested in learning more about parli, or just interested in a friendly informal debate!
Emily Grant
Outreach Committee
Hi! I’m Emily, a sophomore at Horace Mann School. I have been doing Parliamentary Debate since my freshman year, and I can’t wait for great season this year! When I’m not debating, I’m probably playing tennis, practicing piano, tutoring younger kids, listening to econ podcasts, or spending time with friends.
Isaac Houts
Outreach Committee
Kyra McCarthy
Outreach Committee
Hi! I’m Kyra, a junior at Trinity in NYC, where I’ve been doing both parliamentary and public forum debate since my freshman year! In my free time, I love to play piano, read, listen to music, and spend time with my friends. I can’t wait for this upcoming season!
Zachary Kurtz
Tournament Committee
Hi! My name is Zachary and I’m a senior at the Horace Mann School. I have been a part of my school’s Parliamentary Debate team since freshman year. I love to read, watch comedy TV shows (like Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Hacks, and The Good Place), and travel. When I’m not debating, I’m hanging out with my friends and family and working on refugee advocacy.
Adrian Turkedjiev
Onboarding Director
Hi! I'm Adrian, and I am a sophomore at Stuyvesant. I've been doing Parliamentary debate since sixth grade, and when I'm not debating, I am probably pondering debating, conceptualizing of debating, reflecting on debating, or watching debates. When I am not doing any of those things, I am likely practicing drums, guitar and bass and recording, performing and playing around the city. I'm very excited to be able to take part in what I know will be a great season!
Julia Schroers
Equity Officer
I'm Julia (she/her), a member of the equity committee and resident Connecticut-New York Parli infiltrator. I debate in Parli, British Parli, World Schools, and any other format of debate that lets me go by fancy names like "prime minister". Outside of debating, I spend free time listening to Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift rerecordings, and Glee versions of other songs. I also like to paint my friends as cartoon bears, run a remarkably administratively censored school newspaper, and care for houseplants. Very excited to serve on the board this year!
Elizabeth Lee
Equity Officer
Hi! I'm Elizabeth (she/her), a junior at Trinity. I've been debating since my freshman year. In my free time, I enjoy writing, reading, and hanging out with my friends. I am very excited for a fun and fulfilling debate season!
Elise Kang
Onboarding Committee
Hi! I’m Elise, a sophomore at the Horace Mann School and the Tournament Director of Horace Mann’s parli team. I’ve been debating since 7th grade, and I’m so excited to make the NYPDL the best of the best this year. When I’m not debating or working with the NYPDL, you’ll probably find me playing flute, listening to Halsey, or talking too much. My favorite topic to debate is: TH, as the United States, regrets political parties. Looking forward to another great year!
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Luca Vicisano
Onboarding Committee
Hi! I'm Luca Vicisano, a junior at Berkeley High School in California. I've been doing parli since my freshman year and occasionally humble myself in impromptu. Outside of school, my hobbies include skiing, film photography, pulling off coveralls, jealously crying over the aesthetic lives of book characters, and explaining to my friends how I'm more indie than them.
Eesha Gupta
Onboarding Committee
Hi!! I’m Eesha, a junior at Aragon in California, and captain of our team. I’ve been debating since freshman year, and dabble in everything public speak-y possible - model congress, mock trial, etc. When I’m not debating, you can find me pole vaulting, writing for my school paper, drinking coffee, or meticulously organizing my Spotify. I’m so excited for this year and can’t wait to meet y’all at tournaments!
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 new, engaging, and non-technical debate format!
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 expand 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.
