People
Program DIRECTOR
LEONIDAS (LEO) KIRBY
Leo Kirby comes to NHSEB with prior experience as a philosopher, a video game developer, and an educator. A graduate of the University of North Carolina’s Department of Philosophy, Leo has been involved with the National High School Ethics Bowl for many years. Leo believes in using normative thinking as a teaching tool to promote understanding and inclusivity. He’s interested in the intersection between ethics and action and how our beliefs shape our day-to-day lives.
Executive Committee
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Professor, Philosophy
Director, Parr Center for EthicsSarah Stroud is Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Parr Center for Ethics at UNC. She works across central areas of moral philosophy, with a particular focus on foundational issues in moral psychology and moral theory and on the intersection of such issues with metaethics and the philosophy of action. Sarah has published papers on such topics as partiality, moral demandingness and overridingness, lying and testimony, practical irrationality, and the moral implications and significance of personal relationships. She holds degrees from Harvard (A.B.) and Princeton (Ph.D.).
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Teaching Assistant Professor, Philosophy
Director of Outreach, Parr Center for EthicsMichael Vazquez is Teaching Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Director of the award-winning Outreach Program at the Parr Center for Ethics. He received his Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania in 2020, and specializes in ancient philosophy and the philosophy of education. He is committed to forging lasting, democratic, and collaborative partnerships between the academy and the community, and to cultivating the philosophical voices of people of all ages. Michael serves on the Public Philosophy Committee of the American Philosophical Association (APA) and the Academic Advisory Board of the Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization (PLATO). He is also a lecturer on the Social Foundations of Education for the Penn Graduate School of Education’s Mid-Career Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership.
Advisory Board
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Jaya Bharne
Assistant Principal, Gregorio Luperon High School
Coach, Gregorio Luperon High School -
Rhiannon Boyd
Director, JK-12 Capstones, The Collegiate School
Organizer, Virginia High School Ethics Bowl -
Tammy Cowart, J.D
Chair, Accounting, Finance & Business Law, The University of Texas at Tyler
Organizer, UT Tyler High School Ethics Bowl -
Mark Doorley, Ph.D.
Director, Ethics Program, Villanova University
Organizer, Delaware Valley High School Ethics Bowl -
Alex Feldt, Ph.D.
Chair, Case Advisory Committee
Distinguished Lecturer, University of Tennessee, Knoxville -
Jonathan Finnerty
Instructor, Middlesex College
Organizer, New Jersey High School Ethics Bowl -
Venus Kent, M.B.A.
Program Coordinator, Cincinnati Ethics Center
Regional Organizer, Cincinnati High School Ethics Bowl
Divisional Organizer, NHSEB Northeastern Division -
Robin Larson, Ph.D.
Executive Director, LeRoy Collins Public Ethics Academy, Florida Atlantic University
Organizer, South Florida High School Ethics Bowl -
Karen Mizell, PH.D.
Director of the Ethics Minor and Ethics Certificate, Founder of Utah High School Ethics Bowl
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Julie Piering, Ph.D.
Richard Wood Professor, Northern Arizona University
Assistant Director, Institute for Public and Professional Ethics in Leadership
Organizer, Arizona High School Ethics Bowl -
Alex Richardson, PH.D.
Associate Director, Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics
Regional Organizer, Indiana High School Ethics Bowl
Divisional Organizer, NHSEB Central Division -
Kyle Robertson, J.D. Ph.D.
Chair, Rules Council
Managing Director, Center for Public Philosophy
Lecturer, Philosophy, University of California, Santa Cruz
Regional Organizer, Northern California High School Ethics Bowl
Divisional Organizer, NHSEB Western Division -
Serena Robertson
Coach, New Manchester High School
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Kristen Fuhs Wells, M.B.A.
Chair, Committee on Equity, Access, and Community
Executive Director, Association for Practical and Professional Ethics (APPE)
ABOUT THE ADVISORY BOARD
OVERVIEW AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The NHSEB Advisory Board is responsible for counseling the National High School Ethics Bowl Director and Executive Committee on all aspects of the program, including (but not formally limited to): the direction and design of NHSEB’s annual case sets, the administrative and pedagogical design of NHSEB’s rules, regulations, and procedures, and work toward NHSEB’s commitment to ensuring that the Ethics Bowl activity is accessible to all high school students, regardless of their location, socio-economic background, or other demographics. Each member of the Advisory Board will be assigned to a working committee each year.
The NHSEB Advisory Board is composed of fifteen representatives from among NHSEB Regional Organizers, Coaches, the newly-formed Student Advisory Council and other partners and stakeholders on an ex officio basis. These members are appointed at the discretion of the NHSEB Director and Executive Committee, and will be appointed for terms of varying lengths:
Coaches: One year, non-renewable, by appointment. Terms run July 1-June 30
Organizers/Partners: Two years, renewable, by appointment. Terms run July 1-June 30
Ex Officio: Indefinite terms by appointment.
2023-2024 Advisory Committees
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The NHSEB Rules Council exists to consult on matters of rules and regulations for the National High School Ethics Bowl as a competitive activity, and to provide periodic recommendations in this domain for implementation by the NHSEB Executive Committee. The Council’s chief objective is to ensure that the program’s rules provide for fair and consistent competition across all levels and jurisdictions, as well as serve to create and maintain inclusive spaces for the rigorous and supportive discussion of ethical issues as expressed by NHSEB’s mission statement. The Council is also available to the NHSEB Director to consult and provide recommendations on rule and scoring questions and disputes as they may arise during the NHSEB’s competitive season.
Membership for 2023-2024: Kyle Robertson*, Courtney Kobos, Venus Kent, Ariel Sykes, Heather Lynch
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The NHSEB Case Advisory Committee exists to consult on and contribute to the design of the National High School Ethics Bowl’s most important pedagogical resource: the Regional and National Case Sets produced by the Parr Center each season. The Committee will play a key role in topic and case selection for both case sets, as well as serving a secondary editorial role alongside the NHSEB Executive Committee during the production of those case sets. The Committee’s chief objective is to ensure that the cases which lie at the heart of the program balance important design ideals like clarity, accessibility, ideological impartiality, and pedagogical focus.
Membership for 2023-2024: Alex Feldt*, Steve Michelman, Daniel Gellasch, Mark Doorley, Emily Knuth
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The Special Committee on Access, Equity, and Community exists to consult on programs and initiatives of the National High School Ethics Bowl whose chief goal is to make the academic, social, and civic benefits of participating in the program comprehensively available to all students, regardless of where they live or attend school. The Committee will play a key advisory role on programming under the NHSEBBridge umbrella, as well as broader outreach and community-building efforts, including NHSEB’s relationships with other important stakeholders (e.g., APPE/IEB, MSEB, etc.).
Membership for 2023-2024: Kristen Fuhs Wells*, Nick Tanchuk, Sean Riley, Julie Piering, Merry Guerrera
Student Advisory Council
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Aahelie Battacharya
Cupertino High School, CA
2023-2025 -
Cailin Bohm
Campbell High School, GA
2023-2025 -
Bridget Flynn
The Wheeler School, RI
2024-2026 -
Vishnu Vanapalli
North Carolina School of Science and Math at Durham, NC
2024 - 2025
Established in 2022, the NHSEB Student Advisory Council is responsible for providing the National High School Ethics Bowl Director and Executive Committee with student feedback, ideas, and counsel on relevant aspects of the NHSEB program. The NHSEB Student Advisory Council (SAC) is composed of four representatives from among the students participating in the NHSEB program across the United States. One representative from each of NHSEB’s four Divisions will be selected as the result of a competitive application process occurring early each Fall. Prior experience with the NHSEB program is a prerequisite for eligibility (i.e., students must be at least in their second year of high school and program participation in order to apply). Applications will be made available on August 1 of each year, and must be submitted in full by August 31.
After their selection, Council members will be appointed at the discretion of the NHSEB Director and Executive Committee, and will be appointed for terms of up to two years (i.e., typically a second-third year, or third-fourth year sequence). Terms on the Student Advisory Council will run from September 15 to August 31. The Student Advisory Council will be chaired and coordinated by NHSEB’s Undergraduate Program Assistant. The Chair will serve as the primary point of contact for the business of the Council, and a liaison between the NHSEB Executive Committee and Advisory Board.