Student Leadership Council
The Student Leadership Council (SLC) is composed of current high school student members of the National Speech & Debate Association who provide feedback and recommendations throughout the year to ensure we are meeting students’ needs.
Council members have a variety of ways to be involved in the organization’s operations, including:
- Providing feedback on NSDA programs, offerings, and initiatives from the student perspective to drive improvements.
- Consulting on the organization’s execution of its mission and vision as it relates to students.
- Helping to create NSDA resources for students.
- Writing for Rostrum magazine.
- Creating content for NSDA social media.
It is not necessary for students to have experience or interest in every area; we welcome applicants with a strong interest in a single area. Please consider recommending students who have skills or interest in one or more of the following:
- Have a passion for shaping the NSDA’s future
- Enjoy leading team practices, peer coaching, or developing resources for your program
- Value collaborating with diverse groups of people
- Have strong writing skills
- Excel in creative problem solving
- Have familiarity with social networking platforms
2025-2026 SLC Selection Process
High school students who graduate in 2026, 2027, or 2028 are eligible for nomination. Coaches can submit nominations by February 15 through a standard online form, which sends a copy to both the national office and the district chair, if applicable. Each district has the opportunity to nominate one member student for consideration. District winners must be reported by the district chair by March 1. Each country or U.S. territory also has the opportunity to nominate one student. An NSDA committee reviews international applications to select one nominee from each participating country or territory. International nominations are also due by February 15.
District and international nominees who are finalists for the SLC will be emailed and asked to submit a short video by the end of March explaining why they’d like to be part of the SLC and how they envision contributing in their own words. The final SLC will be selected in April. Students can expect to commit to three to five hours per month for the council.
This is a unique way to influence the organization’s future and an excellent addition to any student’s resume. If you know a student passionate about improving speech and debate, please tell them about this program!
2024-2025 Student Leadership Council
Alani Avila
Our Lady Of Lourdes Academy, FL
Alani Avila Bio
Alani has immersed herself in speech and debate since her freshman year. Alani primarily competes in the Lincoln-Douglas category, and her favorite things about tournaments are meeting new people and hearing everyone’s unique story. Outside of debate, you will find Alani deeply involved in environmental advocacy. Whether holding electronic waste drives for her nonprofit Green Guards or writing about sustainable fashion for her school newspaper, Alani enjoys learning and research. Alani is excited to contribute to the Student Leadership Council and build friendships with people across the country.
Spencer Chaisanguanthum
The Dalton School, NY
Spencer Chaisanguanthum Bio
Spencer is a sophomore at The Dalton School in New York. He has been involved in speech and debate since sixth grade, competing in Public Forum. In his freshman year, he reached elimination rounds at various national tournaments, such as Yale, Columbia, and Villiger, in addition to bidding to the UK Tournament of Champions. Inspired by his passion for debate, Spencer founded Eloquence Academy, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that aims to increase speech and debate accessibility through classes and tournaments. Fifty percent of Eloquence’s tournament entry fees are donated to charity, culminating in $5,000 in donations so far. He is excited to join the Student Leadership Council in hopes of continuing to pursue debate equity. Outside of debate, Spencer enjoys playing the oboe, musical theater, and watching tennis.
Brandon Chang
University Laboratory School, HI
Brandon Chang Bio
Brandon has been competing in speech and debate for five years. Last year, as a sophomore, Brandon was a triple state qualifier in Original Oratory, Impromptu Speaking, and Humorous Interpretation, and even qualified for Nationals in Original Oratory. This past year, Brandon’s leadership as speech team captain went beyond competition. He managed food and team events, even cooking for the team during competition and parties. He’s grateful for the mentorship of Mr. Teter and current-coach, Mr. Fox. Speech ignited Brandon’s passion for the arts, leading him to found the drama and piano clubs at his school. This passion extends to his community, where he offers piano lessons. Brandon also serves as an emcee at events and celebrations, including school assemblies, graduation and anniversary parties, and other events. Every Sunday, he volunteers as a chef at his church. This dedication earned him third place in a major cooking competition out of 219 competitors, where he cooked one of his Hawaiian recipes. As the treasurer of his school, Brandon uses his love for stocks, investments, and accounting to educate and spread the culture of Hawai’i. Driven by Aloha, Brandon desires to represent Hawai’i and empower underprivileged speech leagues within the NSDA.
Taylor Clayton
Horizon High School, FL
Taylor Clayton Bio
Taylor has been involved in speech and debate since freshman year and currently serves as president of her school’s team. Throughout her freshman and sophomore years, she mainly competed in Public Forum Debate, placing top 12 at the Florida Varsity State competition where she and her partner were the last public school team standing in the competition. She also competed in Duo Interpretation at the end of her sophomore year, qualifying and breaking into octafinals at the National Catholic Forensic League National Tournament. In her junior year, she ended up changing events, mainly competing in Congressional Debate. She was a semifinalist at the Florida Blue Key tournament, a finalist at the Sunvitational, placed eighth at the Florida Varsity State competition, qualified for both NCFL and NSDA Nationals, and was the first person from her high school to qualify and attend the Tournament of Champions! Besides debate, Taylor enjoys spending time with her friends and family and loves to be involved in her school’s clubs and organizations. One of Taylor’s main goals for the Student Leadership Council is to continue making speech and debate more accessible for students around the world and to make an impact on those around her.
Adele Fuzaylov
Shrewsbury High School, MA
Adele Fuzaylov Bio
Adele began her speech and debate journey in middle school. Since then, she has become a NSDA national semifinalist in Prose and a quarterfinalist in Storytelling. In her main category of Dramatic Interpretation, Adele is a Yale Invitational finalist, Harvard National semifinalist, and a NSDA digital e-champion. She is also a two-time St. Joseph’s University Invitational champion and the runner-up at the National Tournament of Champions. On her speech team, Adele has served as the historian and treasurer, acting as a liaison between team members and coaches. Outside of speech and debate, Adele has a passion for both performance and education. Over the years, she has been honored to play lead roles in her school’s theatrical productions. Adele is also committed to coaching her middle school speech team and tutoring English to Ukrainian refugees. However, Adele’s passion for helping others communicate doesn’t end at spoken language. The past two years, she has made a point to utilize American Sign Language (ASL) within her performances to bring attention to its lack of a presence in society. Through her time on the Student Leadership Council, Adele hopes to spearhead an effort to implement ASL into the activity in order to promote further inclusion for students who may not feel that speech and debate has a space for them. This past year, Adele created and led the ABCD of Public Speaking Club: an elementary school class that teaches the foundation of public speaking to children. Adele is beyond honored to serve on the Student Leadership Council and continue to use her voice to give back to the NSDA community.
Suriya Gadh
American Heritage Broward High School, FL
Suriya Gadh Bio
Suriya has been involved in speech and debate since she was in sixth grade. She has competed in several events, including Declamation, Informative Speaking, and Original Oratory. As a member of the American Heritage speech and debate team, she has advanced to elimination rounds and placed at several national tournaments including the Yale Invitational, Florida Blue Key, Harvard University’s National Tournament, and the NSDA National Tournament. She also serves as a mentor for Lower School and Junior High speech and debate students. Outside of speech, Suriya competes in Mock Trial, is a member of the National Honor Society and Rho Kappa Social Studies Honor Society, and is a Black Belt in Taekwondo. In her free time, she loves to sing and give back to the community, partnering with organizations such as Soles4Souls, Icing Smiles, and the Jason Taylor Foundation. Suriya is grateful to be on the Student Leadership Council and is eager to continue making a positive impact on a community that has given her so much.
Creighton “C.J.” Getting
Naperville Central High School, IL
Creighton Getting Bio
Creighton is a two-year captain of the Naperville Central debate team, where he has helped lead the team to place as high as second at the Illinois Congressional Debate Association (ICDA) state tournament. Although he mainly competes in Congressional Debate, C.J.’s favorite event is World Schools Debate, having served on the NSDA’s WSD Education Program over the past year; he is ranked #1 in Illinois in both events. C.J. is also the operations director of Equality in Forensics, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to making speech and debate more accessible through free resources and events. Outside of debate, C.J. is a managing editor for his school’s NSPA 100 newspaper and president of the Naperville Central Student Advisory Council. He is incredibly excited to work with the Student Leadership Council in serving the speech and debate community.
Waleed Haider
Hendrickson High School, TX
Waleed Haider Bio
Waleed is a senior at Hendrickson High School who has competed in speech and debate since his freshman year. After giving his first Extemp speech, Waleed has poured himself into improving in Extemp, winning the Texas state championship and finaling at Harvard, among other achievements last year. He serves as a board member on Equality in Forensics and Academy37, working to improve access to Extemp resources across the country.
Maxwell Harrison
Edmond Santa Fe High School, OK
Maxwell Harrison Bio
Maxwell is a junior in high school in Oklahoma. He has been doing speech and debate for three years now and loves to compete in Original Oratory. Others in his family are in the speech and debate community, and Max is thrilled to help contribute to this community by being on the Student Leadership Council. In his free time, Max enjoys other arts—digital illustrations and creative writing. Maxwell hopes to contribute these skills (and more) to the SLC this year.
Dariel Herrera
Plymouth High School, IN
Dariel Herrera Bio
Dariel has been involved in speech for four years. He primarily competes in Duo Interpretation as well as Original Oratory. Notably, he won a state championship in Duo Interp, and in the same year was a semifinalist at the 2023 National Tournament in Phoenix/Mesa, Arizona. He is now a three-time national qualifier. Back at his own school, Dariel serves as the Class of 2025 president as well as treasurer for his school’s YFA (Young Feminist and Allies) Club. Additionally, he is a member of the National Honor Society and serves on the Executive Council of his school’s speech and debate team. He wishes to share his love of performing and public speaking with others and encourage them to use their voices to create change.
Aspyn Kaskalla
Navajo Preparatory School, NM
Aspyn Kaskalla Bio
Aspyn has been involved in speech and debate since she was a freshman. She has competed in several events, including Informative Speaking, Extemporaneous Speaking, and Storytelling, among others. She serves as the Senior Public Address chair and Junior Captain for her team the Gavelin’ Eagles.
Outside of speech, Aspyn is a member of the National Honor Society, and competed as a 2024 International Science and Engineering Fair Finalist. She plans to be a professional violinist and spends much time on the violin as her passion.
Aspyn is incredibly grateful to serve her second term as a member of the Student Leadership Council and is excited to continue supporting the community which has provided much joy and many opportunities to her.
Taite Kirkpatrick
Mount Vernon High School, WA
Taite Kirkpatrick Bio
As the child of a debate coach, Taite likes to say they began their debate career at the age of six, being raised at local tournaments by the Washington State debate community. As a freshman competing for Mount Vernon High School, they won top speaker in Policy Debate at the Washington state debate championships. Last season, as a sophomore, they placed second in Lincoln-Douglas Debate, second in Impromptu, and first in Extemp at the state championships. Their Worlds career began as a freshman when they attended NSDA Nationals with Team Puget Sound. Additionally, last season, they were a proud member of the Team USA Development Team and happily joined Team USA this season. When not with their extended debate family, Taite also participates in the National Honor Society, Key Club, Skagit Teen Court, and even tried softball last year, resulting in just one black eye. In their free time, Taite loves creating playlists of his favorite 80s music, reading Ray Bradbury short stories, and eating Denny’s with the debate team. Taite believes that everyone deserves access to the benefits of speech and debate. They are very excited to be a member of the Student Leadership Council.
Christopher Lee
Bishop Gorman High School, NV
Christopher Lee Bio
Christopher is an incoming senior at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, Nevada. He currently serves as team captain of his school’s debate team and vice president of the Student Council. In competition, Chris has been a national qualifier for Public Forum, a Golden Desert District finalist, a two-time co-champion at the NSDA Last-Chance Qualifier, and a finalist at state. His favorite events include Public Forum, Extemporaneous Speaking, and Original Oratory. Outside of the school speech and debate team, Chris loves wrestling, MMA, and long-distance running. Recently, he shared his love for debate by developing a political discourse app that won him the Congressional App Challenge.
Taylor Luna
Mountain View High School, CA
Taylor Luna Bio
Taylor has been involved in speech and debate since her sophomore year as a member of the Mountain View – Los Altos speech and debate team. She has competed and succeeded in many events, from Parliamentary Debate to Lincoln-Douglas. On her team, Taylor serves as the vice president and diversity, equity, and inclusion chair and will be the Parliamentary Debate captain during the 2024-2025 school year. She also coaches with the Youth Forensic League, her team’s program that teaches speech and debate to local middle schoolers. Outside of competition, Taylor dedicates herself to making speech and debate accessible to underserved communities and has spearheaded many efforts to break down barriers marginalized communities face. She initiated a community closet for professional clothing at a local teen center and established a volunteer judge system to support students who could not cover judging burdens. On the Student Leadership Council, Taylor aims to make speech and debate accessible to marginalized students, as everyone deserves to experience this incredible activity. Taylor believes in the saying, “If there’s not a space that’s ready for you, then you just make your own space.” While deeply understanding the barriers individuals may encounter in speech and debate, she strongly encourages everyone to continue advocating for themselves and making space. Taylor is honored to serve on the Student Leadership Council and looks forward to an amazing last year in speech and debate.
Suhas Nallam
North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, NC
Suhas Nallam Bio
Suhas is a senior at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics. He has been involved in speech and debate since his freshman year as a Public Forum debater. Some of his most notable accomplishments include qualifying twice for the Tournament of Champions and once for NSDA Nationals. Additionally, Suhas has been recognized as a semifinalist at the Laird Lewis Invitational and as the champion of the Carolina East District Tournament, one of the nation’s most competitive NSDA qualifying tournaments. Apart from his competitive side, Suhas works with local middle schools to set up workshops and teach the younger generation about speech and debate. He has helped host multiple tournaments and coaching sessions that help the next line of students find comfort in this activity. When he’s not debating, Suhas enjoys spending time with friends, watching movies, listening to music, and playing sports.
Manvitha Narasimhan
Bentonville High School, AR
Manvitha Narasimhan Bio
Manvitha is a sophomore at Bentonville High School and has been involved with speech and debate since seventh grade. She began her career competing in speech before transitioning to debate her freshman year. After experimenting with several styles, she’s landed on and primarily competes in Congressional, Public Forum, and World Schools Debate. Manvitha participated in the inaugural 2023-2024 World Schools Education Program, has qualified for the UKTOC in Congress, NSDA Nationals in Congress and World Schools twice, and competes in World Schools with Team Arkansas. Outside of debate, you’ll find her playing the violin, attempting to learn French, struggling through the IB program, or reading another murder mystery. Manvitha is very passionate about civic engagement and is a student legislator in the Arkansas Model House of Representatives, where she also creates social media content and writes for their newsletter. She is a social media worker and representative on the Arkansas United Youth Committee, a local immigration advocacy nonprofit, is a part of her local city youth council, and is an active ambassador for the Clinton Foundation’s Student Presidential Leaders Series. She hopes to one day pursue a career in law and public policy. Manvitha is incredibly grateful for this opportunity and excited to represent Arkansas and advocate for rural speech and debate nationwide. She can’t wait to make a difference with the Student Leadership Council.
Nir Pechuk
Davidson Academy Online, NV
Nir Pechuk Bio
Nir is a junior at Davidson Academy Online. He has been competing in Public Forum Debate for three years, qualifying for the Tournament of Champions and NSDA Nationals, and also does Big Questions Debate. His notable achievements include placing third in the varsity division of Public Forum at the Stanford Invitational 2024 and winning six TOC bids in the 2023-2024 school year. Along with competing, Nir helps mentor the novices on his team. Nir built up his school’s debate team using the NSDA’s resources, and he is excited to contribute to those resources in his time at the Student Leadership Council. Outside of speech and debate, he enjoys programming and teaching Taekwondo.
Husam Ramadan
Clovis North Educational Center, CA
Husam Ramadan Bio
Husam has established himself as a force to be reckoned with in the world of speech and debate. As a junior at Clovis North, his competitive accomplishments have earned him recognition on both the national and international stage. Husam’s upward trajectory began in 2022 when he was a national semifinalist in Congressional Debate as a freshman, placing him in the top 45 competitors. He backed up this elite status with a stellar 2023 season, finishing as a national finalist in Congressional Debate, ranking him among the top 20 in the entire nation. He also took third place at the Berkeley National Congress Invitational, was a semifinalist in Congressional Debate and an octafinalist in Public Forum Debate at the CA state championships, and serves as a two-time champion of the University of the Pacific Invitational in Lincoln-Douglas Debate and Oral Interpretation, along with qualifying to both the state and national championships three years in a row. Beyond the competitive circuit, Husam has dedicated himself to empowering underrepresented communities. For three years, he served as executive director of the Muslim Community Association, coordinating over 100 events to engage the Muslim community in Fresno. Under his leadership, the organization raised over $500,000 and secured funds to establish the city’s first Muslim women’s transitional home. Husam’s impact also extends to the national stage through his White House internship, producing Arabic content that reached over 300,000 global readers. His accolades also extend beyond speech and debate. He was selected as one of 100 out of a group of 4,100 applicants nationally to be a part of the 2024 Coolidge Senator class; he was among one of approximately 400 students out of nearly 14,000 applicants across the U.S. to receive a $10,000 Live Más Scholarship; he received an achievement certificate from the Princeton Prize in Race Relations; and he will be attending the Telluride Association Summer Seminar in his junior year summer! Coming from a low-income background and overcoming challenges with tics and OCD, Husam now embraces this chance to pay it forward to the organization that unlocked his potential and set him on a transformative path through the Student Leadership Council.
Anish Thota
Charlotte Latin School, NC
Anish Thota Bio
Anish has been involved in speech and debate since the seventh grade, competing in numerous events including Public Forum, Extemporaneous Speaking, and Congressional Debate until settling upon the event he wanted to do for the rest of his high school career: Lincoln-Douglas Debate. In LD, he has qualified to Nationals every year he has competed, advanced to quarterfinals at JV Yale and Laird Lewis, advanced to semifinals at the TFL North Carolina state tournament, and co-championed the 2023 North Carolina West district tournament. Anish is the captain of his school’s LD program and takes part in the recruitment of new LD debaters. Outside of debate, Anish is a star rank Boy Scout, president of his school’s class of 2025, and an avid player of Super Smash Brothers. Additionally, he writes for a news outlet that he has created called The Politalk. This news outlet has a website, podcast, and YouTube channel. In his free time, you can find Anish playing video games with his brother, volunteering at his local food bank, producing content for his news outlet, and running long distance for his school’s track and cross country team.
Pegah Vasighi-Ansarifar
St. Andrew’s Episcopal School, MS
Pegah Vasighi-Ansarifar Bio
Pegah is a junior at St. Andrew’s Episcopal school in Ridgeland, Mississippi. This is her third year in speech and debate. She has competed in a wide variety of events, but her favorites are Duo, Congress, and Oratory. She has had the honor of competing at national tournaments such as NSDA, Emory’s Barkley Forum, and Harvard’s National Tournament. In her free time, Pegah loves to tell bad jokes like, “Why can’t you eat a clock? Well, it’s time-consuming!” Pegah also finds joy in cheating at Monopoly whenever she is able to. Pegah is a proud member of the Magnolia District and cannot wait to represent her peers and contribute to the Student Leadership Council in the best way possible.
Theo “Symphanie” Williams
Clear Creek High School, TX
Theo Williams Bio
Theo is a senior of Clear Creek High School in Texas. They have been in speech and debate since their freshman year and a team captain since their sophomore year. Among other events, Theo regularly competes in Program Oral Interpretation (POI), Original Oratory (OO), and Poetry. Throughout the past three years, Theo has qualified for NSDA Nationals three times in both OO and POI, advancing to quarterfinals in Poetry. They participated in the Texas Forensic Association state tournament two times, advancing to quarterfinals of POI both times, and qualified for the University Interscholastic League’s state tournament two times in Poetry. Theo is also a part of their school’s National Honor Society and Black Student Association. They also volunteer at a local food bank and participate in various nature conservation/restoration efforts. Theo’s goals include furthering accessibility within the speech and debate community and ensuring this remains a safe and open space for people of all backgrounds and identities to feel welcome and supported in, just as it has been for them. Theo is so excited to be able to give back to a community that has given them so much.
Brianna Zhang
Portage Central High School, MI
Brianna Zhang Bio
Brianna absolutely loves speech and debate! She joined her middle school’s forensic team in eighth grade when it was a new club at her middle school. She has competed mainly in Original Oratory for the past three years and tried a bit of Impromptu as well. She has qualified for the National Tournament twice and loves meeting other students involved in this activity. Speech and debate has helped her develop confidence in speaking, and she wants to help others have as positive of an experience as she has had. She is a mentor for her former middle school’s forensic team and enjoys staying after school to practice with peers to work on speeches. Outside of speech and debate, she likes to work on her youth sports equity nonprofit Leaders for Youth Sports, which she co-founded, get involved in the student senate, cook and bake food for her friends and family, and dance at her local dance studio. She is super excited to be a part of the NSDA Student Leadership Council.
Rosalie “Rosie” Zubrod
Cheyenne East High School, WY
Rosalie Zubrod Bio
Rosalie started her speech and debate journey in eighth grade and appeared at middle school Nationals that same year. Throughout her time in speech and debate, she has found success in Informative Speaking, Lincoln-Douglas Debate, and Expository Speaking. Most notably, she was the 2023 NIETOC Expository champion. To continue to grow the speech and debate program in her community, Rosie volunteers to help coach local elementary debate students, whoshe affectionately calls her “speech and debabies.” She strives to use this platform to advocate for rural communities just like hers, and the power of this activity to empower student voices, especially girls. As the self-appointed “Rosie the Riveter” of Wyoming, she sets the example that girls can do the same work, if not more, as boys. Outside of speech and debate, she enjoys being the vice president of the Class of 2025, head clarinet section leader in the marching band, and a Girl Scout ambassador. In her free time, Rosie loves binge watching her favorite TV shows, spending time with her friends and family, and listening to Olivia Rodrigo.
2024-2025 Student Leadership Council
Student Leadership Council Mentor
John Otto
John Otto Bio
John Otto is a freshman at the University of Missouri–Columbia, pursuing a double major in Business Administration and Economics. In high school, John competed in Congressional, Lincoln-Douglas, and Extemporaneous Debate. Most recently, he was a finalist in Congressional Debate at the 2024 National Tournament.
In 2023-2024, John was a member of the inaugural Student Leadership Council (SLC). During his tenure, he authored articles for Rostrum, created content for Ozark District and NSDA social media, and co-developed criteria for selecting future SLC officers. Additionally, he contributed to resource development aimed at improving support for members.
He now serves as a mentor for the SLC, guiding student leaders as they lead national projects, develop outreach strategies, and grow as NSDA advocates. John believes empowering young voices is essential to shaping a more inclusive, impactful, and innovative NSDA.
Outside of speech and debate, John is involved in marketing research exploring how fashion model diversity influences consumer behavior. In addition, he serves as a representative of the University of Missouri as a part of the Stamps Scholars program. He is also involved in student government and a member of Alpha Kappa Psi.
In his free time, John enjoys playing tennis, following Formula 1, and exploring new cuisines. He looks forward to advancing the SLC’s mission to inspire and equip the next generation of student leaders!