CDS Leadership

Meet the 2024-25 Board

  • Ale Perri

    Alessandro Perri — President

    Ale was an actor on Italian Disney Channel in 4th grade!

    As President, Ale is responsible for directing meetings of the team and the Officer Board, acting as Liaison with the Student Activities Office and University of Chicago administrators and students. He maintains unity on our team and oversees the other board members.

    Email Ale
  • Ethan Jiang

    Ethan Jiang — VP External Affairs

    Ethan worked for the Dallas Mavericks (as a Celtics fan)!

    Ethan is responsible for managing CDS’ relationship with other schools, acting as the CDS representative and voting member at intercollegiate debate association meetings, and managing CDS tournament bids.

    Email Ethan
  • Sarah Willrich

    Sarah Willrich — VP Finance

    Sarah was ranked 176th in the world in Mario Kart!

    Sarah is responsible for paying team bills and collaborating with university administration to purchase tournament transporation, as well as managing the team ledger. Sarah also oversees financial aid reimbursement for CDS.

    Email Sarah
  • Roy Tiefer

    Roy Tiefer — VP Training

    Roy has rescued three cats!

    Roy is responsible for planning and facilitating varsity trainings, as well as scheduling special practices, and for collecting information necessary for those trainings from the team. He also oversees the annual Langfan Constitutional Tournament.

    Email Roy
  • Jonathan Chen

    Jonathan Chen — VP Novice Programming

    Jonathan relies on lavender matcha lattes for sustenance!

    Jonathan is responsible for team recruitment and for overseeing the training of new debaters (novices), and well as providing new debaters with access to team and national resources. He also runs the annual CDS Novice Tournament.

    Email Jonathan
  • Feifei Mei

    Feifei Mei — VP Communications

    Feifei wants to be an alpaca farmer after she retires!

    Feifei maintains a list of all members of CDS in the quarter, keeps accessible notes of board meetings (that can be shared with CDS). She also manages routine correspondences to the team and for keeping attendance at meetings and practices.

    Email Feifei

  • Amy Ma — VP Outreach

    Amy's name is a palindrome!

    Amy is responsible for encouraging on-campus oratory and debate through public debates, collaborations and volunteering. She also oversees the Society's social media and online presence for publicizing events.

    Email Amy

Meet the Officers

Equity Officers

Equity Officers primarily address confidential equity complaints and clashes, subject to the processes in the Best Practices, as well as hold office hours with team members to address equity complaints upon request.

  • billchung@uchicago.edu

  • andreazhou2026@uchicago.edu

  • kobijohnsson@uchicago.edu

British Parliamentary (BP) Coordinator

BP Coordinators organize BP workshops and lectures for practice, creating a schedule of activities for both the school year and summer. They help identify BP tournaments to send competitors for.

  • helenwu@uchicago.edu

Gender Minority (GM) Retention Coordinators

“Gender minority” includes anyone who doesn’t self-identify as a non-cis male. GM Retention Coordinators will host gender minority social events, check-ins, and help facilitate GM mentorship on the team.

  • tarynmurphy@uchicago.edu

  • helenwu@uchicago.edu

Housing Coordinator

The Housing Coordinator works with the VP External and other schools to ensure adequate housing for all CDS debaters at a given tournament beforehand, and to assist in arranging housing should issues arise.

Financial Aid Officer

Financial Aid Officers assist with organizing and presenting annual financial aid and equity briefing for novices, as well as review and approve confidential requests for financial aid, subject to the processes in the Best Practices. They additionally work with the VP Finance and President to ensure that financial aid requests are funded in a timely manner.

  • rohansachdev@uchicago.edu

Social Chairs

Social Chairs assist with the planning and organization of regular team social events, group activities, and outings, as well as work with other officers/board members to promote greater inclusion and engagement on CDS.

Chancellor

The Chancellor serves as the team historians. They compile alumni databases for networking, career advice, and tournament assistance, as well as create resources and official communications for the University, parents, etc.

  • awolinska@uchicago.edu

  • sabrinachen@uchicago.edu

  • jesenia@uchicago.edu