OUR STAFF
Our Board
Samay Malde
Co - Founder of SSA
Samay currently competes at Livingston High School. In addition to being the team captain, he has reached elimination rounds at many national circuit tournaments he attended. He placed top 8 at Columbia and Lewis & Clark tournaments. Most notably, he has attended two national competitions, placing top 16 and top 8. He is excited to return this year to claim another national title. At Livingston, Samay is currently the best PF debater on the team, and hopes to help his team rise above with more top-notch debaters.
Rahul Shah
Co - Founder of SSA
Rahul currently competes on Rice University's Debate team. In high school, Rahul won silver TOC his freshman year, setting the record for youngest winner of this national competition. He also has placed at many different invitational tournaments, including Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. At Socratic he has worked to find and connect with many of the talented coaches and teachers that have been teaching the students.
Ethan Bassuk
Director of Marketing
Ethan Bassuk is a Sophomore at Northeastern University. He is currently the head of the marketing department for Tennis: Europe, an international student-athlete travel company that has been operating for the past 50 years. Amid the global pandemic, he launched the nonprofit Don't Be Square, which focuses on providing adaptive pocket squares that morph into high-quality face masks. Ethan’s passion for non-profits and marketing has led him to find a job at the Socratic Speaking Academy, where he sources organizations interested in public speaking and debate.
Saahil Sood
Director of Curriculum
Sahil has debated on national stages at TOC and NCFL national competitions. He has placed at multiple invitational tournaments and also has coached many students privately in his free time. At Socratic he works with a team to create curriculum for courses and summer camps. He works with students to take input and add their suggestions into course curriculum. With his team he instructs coaches on how to best present and teach the curriculum for different levels of students.
Vikas Nanduri
Director of Sales
Vikas currently is a sophomore at Penn State University and an avid debater. In his high school career, he focused on Public Forum debate, attending TOC multiple times. At Socratic he leads a team that generates leads for students to be coached. Using social media and word of mouth he works to find parents interested in signing up for the paid courses and boot camps. With his debate experience he has found students from multiple areas outside of New Jersey, leading Socratic to consider expanding fully into the DMV area.
