Contact

Welcome! The Chair for the Spring 2020 Expansion Committee is Ben Koch (Chicago). The Expansion Committee email is apdaexpansion@gmail.com. You can reach Ben at kochb@uchicago.edu. Feel free to reach out to any committee member, especially the one who serves your reigon!

Committee Chair

Ben Koch (New York and Midwest) is a senior at the University of Chicago from New York City, majoring in Math and Astrophysics. He is the Vice President of Training on the Chicago Debate Society. Any bizarre, out-of-left-field case is sure to grab his attention. Like any debater worth their salt, he has a pen and pencil collection to last several lifetimes, with recommendations for any purpose you need! He’s excited to help new teams navigate the confusing world of pandemic-era APDA. You can reach him at kochb@uchicago.edu.

Expansion Coordinators

Yannick Davidson (DC and South) is a sophomore at Williams College planning to major in Mathematics and Political Science. He is the Co-President of the Williams College Debating Union. He is excited to get to know debaters at new schools, and help them build lasting teams. Outside of debate he enjoys playing bass, sports analytics, and reading graphic novels. You can reach him at yrd1@williams.edu.

Gabby Pavlakis (Mid-Atlantic) is a sophomore at Temple University and uses she/her pronouns. She started debate for the first time last fall and wanted to make Apda more accessible for any school that wants to join the league! You can reach her at pavlakis.gabby@gmail.com.

Jason Alder (Boston and North) is a senior at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst majoring in Spanish and minoring in Catalan and Modern European Studies. Originally from Alabama, he is a transplant from the IPDA format of debate. He loves to write cases about the arts, mythology, and legislation. When he’s not debating, he is probably tap dancing, talking about Catalan independence, or being dramatic. Jason is excited to use his love of debate and outreach to help increase the accessibility of the league to as many schools/ people as possible. You can reach him at aalder@umass.edu.

Lawrence Wu (West) is a sophomore at Northeastern university majoring in Finance. Last year, he was a newcomer to debate without high school experience and is now excited to mentor novices and assist expansion schools. When he’s not debating, you’ll find him rock climbing, running, and cooking. You can reach him at wu.la@northeastern.edu.