NPDL Board of Directors
The Board consists of seven directors who oversee day-to-day operations of the league. The directors are elected by representatives of NPDL member schools during the annual elections held in May.
The 2025-26 Board
Kyle hietala (he/him), President
Serving in his third term as President, Kyle Hietala is the Program Director and Head Coach of Palo Alto High School Speech & Debate, and also teaches at the Tessellations School. Having started his career as a Teach For America teacher, he is passionate about inclusive community-building and visionary organizational leadership. Kyle also serves as Vice President, Operations on the Board of the California Coast Forensic League. Kyle grew up in rural Maine and competed in Lincoln Douglas Debate and Original Oratory at Morse High School, followed by APDA Parliamentary Debate at Yale University. He previously coached for the St. Luke’s School and Sidwell Friends School. He lives in Menlo Park, California.
Karen Chen, SECRETARY
Biography coming soon.
Vy linh nguyen (She/her), Treasurer
Teaching has been my calling since I was 20. I taught MS and HS English for close to three decades and coached volleyball and debate for half that time. Starting in 2023-24 I will be coaching MS and HS debate full-time for the Head-Royce School in Oakland, CA. My wife and I are proud parents of three kids, one here in the US and two in Vietnam. Courage, kindfulness, and truth are values I try to live by.
Joel Jacobs (He/him), TOC Director
Joel is an environmental lawyer, and the head coach at Berkeley High School. His students have won the NPDL-TOC (twice) and California State Championship (twice), and the Yale (twice), Nueva, Cal Parli, Polygon, NYPDL, Vassar, Ridge, La Reina, and Jon Schamber Invitationals. He has been tournament director and tab director for some of the largest parli invitationals, and has served as the Director of Parliamentary Debate for the Golden Gate Speech Association. He competed in Policy and Lincoln-Douglas debate in high school in Southern California, and APDA parli at Wesleyan University. After college, he coached Lincoln-Douglas Debate at the Collegiate School in Manhattan. He is also the only debate parent ever to serve on the board.
Charlie synn, Reporting Director
I was a Policy debater in high school and college in the early 80s. I returned to the activity to coach my daughter's and son's high school speech & debate team. Canyon Crest Academy (San Diego, CA) is a public high school. There are ~100 team members, who compete in Speech and all debate formats. I look forward to expanding Parli through outreach.
KAITLYN CARPENTER, Curriculum director
Biography coming soon.
Hatim Malek, PR Director
Hatim is the Speech & Debate Director at Windward High School in Los Angeles, California. He has been involved in the activity for the last 14 years of his life, both as a competitor and as a coach. He has coached and competed in almost every category offered at the high school and college levels, including Parliamentary Debate, British Parliamentary Debate, Public Forum, Congressional Debate, APDA, and the various speech events offered across Interpretation, Limited Prep, and Public Address. This is his first year as a director, and he is incredibly excited to be able to support the growth of his colleagues and the NPDL. Outside of coaching, Hatim enjoys video games, board games, D&D, reading, and writing.
Past Boards
Board members listed as of the end of each term.
2017-18
President: Trevor Greenan
Secretary: Rishabh Meswani
Treasurer: Artem Raskin
TOC Director: Julie Herman
Web Director: Sierra Maciorowski-Hribar
Outreach Director: Sarah Sherwood
2018-19
President: Eliza Haas
Treasurer: Artem Raskin
TOC Director: Joel Jacobs
Web Director: Sierra Maciorowski-Hribar
Outreach Director: Rodda John
2019-20
President: Eliza Haas
Secretary: John McBlair
Treasurer: Artem Raskin
TOC Director: Joel Jacobs
Web Director: Sierra Maciorowski-Hribar & Shannon Bonet
Outreach Director: Rodda John
2020-21
President: Brier Buchalter
Secretary: Artem Raskin
Treasurer: Everett Rutan
TOC Director: Joel Jacobs
Web Director: Rodda John
Outreach Director: Mikendra McCoy
2022-23
President: Brier Buchalter
Secretary: Artem Raskin
Treasurer: Rodda John
TOC Director: Joel Jacobs
Reporting Director: Nick Hansen
Curriculum Director: Esha Shah
PR Director: Mikendra McCoy
2021-22
President: Brier Buchalter
Secretary: Artem Raskin
Treasurer: Karen Chen
TOC Director: Joel Jacobs
Reporting Director: Kate Clarke-Anderson
Curriculum Director: Izah Baird
PR Director: Mikendra McCoy
2024-25
President: Kyle Hietala
Secretary: Pascal Descollonges
Treasurer: Vy Linh Nguyen
TOC Director: Evan Streams
Reporting Director: Julie Herman
Curriculum Director: Nate Berls
PR Director: Hatim Malek
2023-24
President: Kyle Hietala
Secretary: Vy Linh Nguyen
Treasurer: Rodda John
TOC Director: Joel Jacobs
Reporting Director: Pascal Descollonges
Curriculum Director: Julie Herman
PR Director: Mikendra McCoy