OUR STAFF
20+ Diverse Instructors with
Experience in 7 Debate Formats
10 USA Debate Team Members
7 National Champions in LD, Congress, & Worlds
5 Harvard Students
1 highest-ranked female debater in the world
MEET OUR TEAM
Brian Zhou
Founder, CEO
Brian Zhou is a junior at Harvard. As a two-time national LD champion, Brian won in 10th grade the Woodward National Championships and in 11th grade the Tournament of Champions. Brian was a 2-year member of USA Debate, captaining the team in the Germany EurOpen Invitational to 2nd place. Brian has coached debate for 6 years, with their students reaching top 8 of MSTOC (the most difficult national championship) the first time they competed.
Anh Cao
Founder, COO
Anh is a sophomore at Harvard College. In high school, she was captain of the U.S. National Debate Team. Anh competed at the Debating World Championships twice, and in 2019, she was the top-ranked female speaker worldwide. Anh was a two-time state champion in Congress and IX. She is the former assistant coach of the Greenhill School and also works with Team USA in their training.
Selim Kim
Director of Technology & LD Instructor
Selim Kim is a junior at Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire and debates in both the Parliamentary and Lincoln Douglas format. She has ranked in the top 10 speaker rankings across many New England parliamentary circuits. Selim has also competed in multiple Tournament of Champions bid tournaments this past year. She has also had prior experience with Public Forum and Oratory in middle school.
Hannah Zhou
Founder, Executive Director
Hannah Zhou is a senior at Greenhill School with 3 years of experience in Lincoln Douglas Debate. Hannah has reached the late elimination rounds in several tournaments, championing the Hockaday Invitational and placing in the top 16 in LD at the 2019 Middle School NSDA Nationals. They are passionate about engaging with gender and Asian American queer theorists through debate!
Shruthi Krishnan
Senior Staff - LD
Shruthi Krishnan, Cornell '22, is a
3-time national champion and was the #1 ranked LD debater in the country. Shruthi won the NDCA National Championships twice, the Woodward Academy National Championship, and 9 other national circuit tournaments. Shruthi has taught previously at Project Dialogue, the Global Debate Symposium and Cornell’s China Debate Foundations Workshop.
Ranen Miao
Senior Staff - Worlds
Ranen (he/him) is a rising senior at Washington University in St. Louis studying political science and sociology. In high school, he was president of his debate team and a two-year member of the USA Debate Team. He was ranked 1st in the nation for Congressional Debate, winning the TOC, Harvard, and Glenbrooks, and won international championships in Slovenia, California, Texas, and New York. He’s excited to return to Project Dialogue to support students!
Justin Hu
Senior Staff - LD
Justin Hu is a rising junior at Harvard College intending
to major in History & Literature and Computer Science. He has 6 years of debate experience and familiarity, especially with critical theory and philosophy. On campus, he is involved in the student radio station (Harvard Radio Broadcasting) and various advocacy + studies organizations. In his free time, Justin enjoys reading, biking, exploring music, and practicing martial arts.
James Hu
Senior Staff - Worlds
James debated for Mira Loma High School in California, was a member of the U.S. National Team his senior year, and currently assists the USA Development Team in their training. He placed 4th at NSDA Nationals in International Extemp and was a member of the 2020 WSDC team. James attends Columbia University, where he is involved with the debate society, and hopes to study political science and data science. He worked with Project Dialogue last year and is unbelievably excited to be back on this year’s staff.
Ashley Shan
Director of WS Operations
Ashley Shan competed in World Schools Debate for Greenhill and USA Debate. She championed NSDA nationals in 2020, NDCA nationals in 2021, Stanford, Greenhill, and Delores Taylor Arthur, and reached finals at TFA State. Outside of debate, Ashley serves as the president of her school’s East Asian Affinity Group, Project Dialogue Club, Student Culture Committee, Model UN team, and Political Action Club, as well as serving as a representative on the Dallas Youth Commission.
Varsha Gande
Director of LD
Operations
Varsha Gande has competed in LD debate for 3 years. Her major accomplishments include championing the Delores Taylor Arthur National Tournament, placing 3rd at Isidore Newman, and being prelim seeded in the top 10 at the Tournament of Champions. Varsha is also passionate about advocacy and frequently attends marches like the Dallas Women’s March and Climate Change rally.She is excited to teach again this summer at Project Dialogue!
Abbey Xu
Worlds Instructor
Abbey was a two-year member of Team USA Debate and represented the USA at the 2021 World Schools Debate Championship, where her team advanced to elimination rounds. Abbey has placed second at NSDA Nationals, championed Stanford, and placed third at Harvard and Winter Holiday Open.
Kelly Meng
LD Instructor
Kelly Meng attends the University of Southern California, and debated at Greenhill School with 5 years of experience in both Policy debate and Lincoln-Douglas debate. She was awarded a bid to the Tournament of Champions, a double octo-finalist at the TFA, and cleared into the top-advancing teams at NSDA as a two-time national qualifier. Kelly is excited to teach again at Project Dialogue!
Miles Wang
Director of Finance, Worlds Instructor
Miles is an incoming Harvard student competes in World Schools Debate for his school and as a 2-time member of the USA Debate Team. His debate accomplishments include placing 3rd at Croatia’s Winter Holiday Open twice (2nd place speaker) and 1st at Stanford. He is looking forward to meeting and working with everyone at Project Dialogue!
Guyberson Pierre
World Schools Division
Guyberson is a graduating senior from Dreyfoos School of the Arts and will be attending Emory University this fall. He is a member of the USA Debate Team and a two-time state champion. He has also championed Greenhill, Delores Taylor, and Harvard-Westlake, and reached outrounds at the Europen Debates in Germany and at Harvard. He’s incredibly excited to work with everyone this summer!
Nirmit Chandan
World Schools Division
Nirmit Chandan debated for Dreyfoos School of the Arts, where he amassed 18 bids to the Tournament of Champions and has been ranked as high as #1 in the nation in Congressional Debate. Nirmit is also a 2-time state champion and finalist or champion at over 7 other national tournaments. In World Schools, he has championed the Florida Forensic League State Tournament and placed 3rd at the 2019 NSDA National Championships.
Cassandra Berlin
World Schools Division
Cassandra Berlin is a rising sophomore at Emory University as a Goizueta Scholar, where she plans to major in Finance. After winning the NSDA National Championship in World Schools in 2019, Cassandra competed for Team USA, reaching the final rounds at EurOpen, Greenhill, Harvard Westlake, among others. Cassandra is excited to teach at Project Dialogue this summer!
Joie Zhang
LD Instructor
Joie Zhang championed the 2020 JW Patterson Invitational in Varsity Lincoln-Douglas Debate. Joie has received two career bids and reached late elimination rounds at many other national circuit tournaments as well, including Meadows and Golden Desert. Prior to attending HW, Joie was the top speaker and champion of the 2017 NSDA Middle School National Tournament.
Alyssa Li
Worlds Division
Alyssa is a rising senior at the University of Toronto Schools. In 2021, she championed Canadian Senior Nationals and Ontario Senior Provincials, as well as placed third individually at the Canadian Junior Nationals in 2020. For WS style, she has advanced top 12 at the Harvard World Schools invitational and top 16 at the Pre-Worlds Vancouver Championships in 2020. She is excited to be part of Project Dialogue!
Elaine Li
Director of Business
Elaine graduated from Cornell University majoring in Finance and Strategy and a minor in Information Science. She did debate back in high school and believes that her high school debate experience had helped substantially, especially being a women of color in a male dominated space in Finance. She is currently pursuing a career in the Finance sector. In her free time, Elaine likes photography, videography, playing basketball, and playing video games.
Victor Tong
World Schools Division
Victor Tong debated for Phillips Academy in Massachusetts since his freshman year. He servesd as the co-president of his school team. Additionally, Victor competed on behalf of the USA Development for three years, during which he championed the Bluebonnet Invitation and the Blake tournament, reached quarterfinals at Europen while simultaneously earning third top speaker in his division, and reached quarterfinals at the Harvard World Schools Tournament as the top seed. He is incredibly excited to be a part of the Project Dialogue community!
Alex Lee
Director of Outreach, LD Division
Alex Lee is a rising junior at Harvard-Westlake School. He championed in JV at Damien Chuck Invitational and broke to late elimination rounds at Harvard-Westlake and NDCA. Prior to attending HW, he was the three-time California State Champion in 6 events and was the 2020 National Champion in LD.
Jane Oh
LD Division
Jane Oh is a rising junior at Harvard college. She’s planning to major in History with a potential minor in educational studies. Jane focuses on original oratory and has been a part of her high school’s speech and debate team for all four years. She was a captain her senior year of HS and has always enjoyed teaching underclassmen.
Liana Schmitter-Emerson
Former WS Staff
Liana is Yale University student, who was a 3-time member of USA Debate. She won Harvard Westlake, the Alfred Tuna Snider Worlds Tournament at Cornell, and Harvard (placing as top speaker too). She has also reached finals in PF and Congress Debate at NSDA Nationals.
Shreya Agarwala
Former WS Staff
Shreya is a graduate at UT Austin attending Columbia Law School. She was a two-time USA Debate Team member, winning first place at over 4 national tournaments and reaching top 8 at 5 other international WS competitions. Shreya has led the Worlds Division at both Project Dialogue and the Global Debate Symposium, and she played an important role in designing the curriculum and electives.
