Student LEADERSHIP
Hemanshu Boppana
Director of Operations
Hemanshu Boppana is a senior at Naperville North High School. Being a student of Congressional Debate for three years and counting, he’s been consistently growing as a debater while helping others improve as well. Among his many accolades as a debater are clearing to the final rounds of the 2021 IHSA State Championship, the 2021 ICDA Tournament of Champions, the 2021 Nova Titan Invitational, and the 2022 Durham Invitational. At Youth Voices, Hemanshu is involved in almost every department within the organization, and helps to supervise the marketing team. Outside of the debate world, you’ll often find Hemanshu screaming at the Chicago Bears on his TV, stressing over his fantasy football team, and sampling new cuisines.
PUSHKAR BETSUR
Director of Activism
Pushkar is a senior at Naperville Central High School. He has competed at the state level for Congressional Debate and has won first place awards in local level competition, as well as a treasure trove of Best Presiding Officer gavels. Pushkar is a semifinalist at the 2021 IHSA State Championship. He also serves as the Vice President of Naperville Central's Junior State of America chapter, which is where he developed a passion for advocacy and activism. Pushkar is involved in robotics, is a varsity shot putter, and finds great achievement in being Zach's most dependable pick-and-roll partner in pickup basketball games.
Nick Chen
Director of Program Management
Nick is a sophomore at American University studying International Relations and Data Science. Having worked with Youth Voices since its inception in the spring of 2020, Nick has been involved in every aspect of the YV ecosystem, from volunteering his time at club sessions, to teaching multiple semesters of debate courses, to co-managing the Leadership Program. As a Congressional debater, he was captain of the Conant High School Team, where he won the 2021 IHSA State Championship, placed 3rd at the 2020 Sunvitational, and qualified to the Tournament of Champions twice. His students have reached national semifinal and final rounds at the middle and high school level. His students represented 25% of the Congress finalists of the 2022 Middle School Harvard Tournament.