Neel Kalamangala

Ascend Academy - Public Forum Coach

Neel is a current senior at the University of Michigan and was formerly the president of the speech and debate team at Plano East Senior High School in Texas. Neel split time across PF, WSD, and LD, notably being the Texas State top speaker in LD, placing in the top 16 twice at NSDA Nationals in WSD, and clearing at nearly every bid tournament they attended in PF. Students that Neel has worked with have placed in the top 4 at NSDA Nationals, the TOC, Bronx, UT, Florida, and many more. Neel co-founded The Debate Group and PFForward, two entities focused on expanding access to educational content, coaching, and more. As a coach, Neel prioritizes flexibility. Whether students want to specialize in one argumentative field or flip through many, Neel cares most about enabling students to effectively convince anyone. The combination of technical proficiency and strong storytelling ability is Neel’s recipe for a strong debater. External to debate, Neel is an incoming associate consultant at Bain & Company. Neel enjoys triathlons, collecting records, bouldering, and frequently updating Beli.