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Our Board

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Rianna Johnson-Levy was born and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan. After graduating from Yale University in 2017, she spent two years falling in love with Boston and its vibrant communities while working at GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD). She's since moved across the country to work in development and outreach at Human Rights Watch in Los Angeles. She's excited to be able to use her passion for event planning and fundraising to support Debate Spaces!

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Kate Fetrow is a civil rights attorney and former high school and college debater. She is a John L. Cochran. Jr. Fellow at Neufeld Scheck & Brustin, LLP, where she litigates on behalf of people wrongly incarcerated for crimes they did not commit. 

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Erica Barbanel has been involved in debate since she was 15 as a competitor, trainer, and leader. Today she uses her debate training to advocate for foster youth. 

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Ben Kornfeld grew up in New Zealand where his involvement in debate started at age 12 and has continued ever since as a competitor, adjudicator, and coach. In addition to bringing over a decade of debate experience to the board, Ben has served as a board member and advisor to a number of non-profits; ranging from educational to maternal-health-focused in scope. Ben currently lives and works in Boston with a professional focus on new energy finance.

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John Sadek is a public defender in Worcester, Massachusetts. John attended the University of Vermont and Boston University School of Law.  John has run a weeklong debate academy for Vermont High School Students and has served as an instructor at debate programs in Beijing, China and the West Bank, Palestine. John is passionate about access to debate and programming that seeks to promote debate as a tool to empower people to think critically and speak persuasively. 

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Katrina Webster is an international education development consultant and M.A. student in the International Educational Development program at Teachers College, Columbia University. She has developed academic enrichment programs for youth and has worked with the private sector, nonprofits and multi-stakeholder partnerships to improve educational outcomes for the marginalized. 

Former Board Members:

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Richard Weisbach is a debater at heart, having debated in high school and college, as well as coached. He has experience running successful debate non-profits and is excited to help spread debate education to a new generation with Debate Spaces. Richard is currently a management consultant in Boston and has earned a B.A. from Brandeis University, an M.Ed from Boston University, and an MBA from MIT.

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