Hasit Nanda, President
Hasit is a sophomore pursuing a dual degree in Computer Science and Finance in the M&T Program (Investment Banking Sellout Alert). He lives in Short Hills, NJ but has lived in the US, UK, and India! He has been debating competitively since high school in British Parliamentary and World Schools formats, which he strongly prefers to APDA despite his unhealthy addiction to the latter… Outside of debate, he enjoys singing, cooking, and playing football (soccer for the Americans :)
Ashwin Laksumanage, VP of Training
Ashwin Laksumanage(They/Them) is a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania pursuing a double major in Philosophy and Economics with a minor in History. They are a Penn World Scholar and Benjamin Franklin Scholar, and have debated competitively in the WSDC and BP formats for the past 5 years. Outside of debate, they enjoy Sri Lankan music and literature, exploring cities, and doing Comedy.
Ali Ahmad, VP of Internal
Ali Ahmad is a sophomore in the college studying Political Science and History. As VP Internal, he’s responsible for planning all of Penn Debate Society’s socials. He was previously VP Novice Trainer. Outside of debate, Ali enjoys traveling, playing poker, and trying new foods.
Executive Board - 2024
Viha Kedia, VP of Finance
Viha is a freshman in Wharton from Dubai, UAE. She began her debate career in the World Schools format and is slowly transitioning to BP and APDA. Outside of debate, she enjoys writing, filmmaking and listening to music.
Musab Chummun, VP of Novice Training
Musab is a freshman in the College studying PPE. He is from Seattle, WA where he competed in Public Forum throughout high school (and sporadically did speech events). Outside of debate, he enjoys exploring food places, chess, and formula 1 racing (ferrari *cry face*).
Rohan Ganesh, VP of External
Rohan is a sophomore in the College majoring in Health and Societies on a pre-med track. He is from Seattle, Washington, where he previously competed in public forum debate. In college, while he dabbles in British Parliamentary, he strongly prefers APDA (unlike the rest of PDS). Outside of debate, he loves watching/playing sports (his favorite is baseball), traveling, and biking.
Alexandra Uy-Tioco, VP of Strategic Initiative
Alexandra, the VP of Strategic Initiatives for 2024, is a freshman studying Physics and Materials Science as part of the VIPER program. She has been debating for nearly eight years, and was on the Hong Kong national team in 2022 and 2023. She mainly does BP as she has been traumatized by APDA. Outside of debate, she really enjoys listening to music and playing the guitar.
Tori Ling, VP of Administration
Tori is a freshman from Shanghai, China studying Economics and Fine Arts. In high school, she was on the Chinese national team and debated Public Forum, British Parlimentary and World Schools. Outside of PDS, she is involved in Wharton Investment Trading Group, Wharton Women and Penn Ice Hockey. In her free time, Tori enjoys photography, going out with friends and visiting cat cafes.