Our Team

Deyansh

Deyansh

Founder & Lead Instructor

Deyansh Sisodia is a rising junior at Eastlake High School and the founder of 425 Speaks. When he first moved to the U.S. from India, speaking up in an unfamiliar place felt intimidating, and public speaking became the skill he built to change that. It ended up helping him everywhere, from STEM to DECA: in VEX robotics he reached the World Championship as the teammate who kept the engineering notebook and coached others through the judges’ interview, earning four Design and two Innovate Awards, and in DECA he became an ICDC finalist and his chapter’s Vice President of Finance. Today he is also Secretary of the Eastside Toastmasters Gavel Club and a three-time regional speech winner.

School Year Instructors

Teaching through the school year, and bringing public speaking into middle school classrooms.

Aarohi

Aarohi

Instructor

Aarohi is a sophomore at Eastlake High School. She has a strong passion for public speaking and is super excited to help others become confident communicators. She is an active DECA member and will serve as the VP of Prepared Events for the 2026–2027 school year. She competed in a prepared event last year and was an ICDC Top 20 finalist.

Aarohi specializes in delivering prepared speeches and brings the skills she has developed through DECA directly into her teaching. In her free time you could probably find her hanging out with animals, playing tennis, or writing her next blog post!

Amulya

Amulya

Instructor

Amulya is an accomplished DECA member and ICDC competitor with experience in marketing and competitive events. Her time in DECA has helped her build confidence while strengthening her presentation, communication, collaboration, and leadership abilities. As a member of the Eastlake DECA Board this year, she is excited to take on new responsibilities and continue developing as a leader. She is a motivated and outgoing person who enjoys exploring new interests and challenging herself. She has also pursued Taekwondo and classical singing, demonstrating her dedication to developing skills beyond the classroom. Amulya is always eager to meet new people, embrace new experiences, and continue growing.

Program Team

Running education and outreach behind the scenes, and teaching alongside our instructors.

Sanaya

Sanaya

VP of Education

Sanaya is an instructor at 425 Speaks and sophomore at Eastlake High School, using a strong background in DECA to help students find their voice. Having competed as a Top 20 ICDC Finalist and earned recognition in DECA, Sanaya knows what it takes to deliver a sharp pitch and stay calm under pressure. That competitive experience translates directly into coaching, helping other students build practical skills in public speaking, structured thinking, and persuasive communication.

Outside of the classroom, Sanaya can usually be found coding and building projects through programming, training in martial arts, or playing a competitive game of badminton.

Laasya

Laasya

VP of Marketing

Laasya is an ICDC competitor and experienced DECA member who has earned multiple awards in marketing. This year, she is serving on the Eastlake DECA Board, where she is continuing to develop her leadership, teamwork, and communication skills. Through her experiences in DECA, Laasya discovered that she enjoys presenting and has grown much more confident in speaking in front of others. Outside of DECA, she is a creative, fun, and adventurous person who enjoys trying new things, meeting new people, and taking on new challenges.

Summer Instructors

The team behind our free five day summer workshops across the Eastside.

Ilkay

Ilkay

Instructor

Sammamish · Klahanie

Ilkay is an upcoming sophomore excited to help other students grow their public speaking skills through this program. In his first year in DECA, he earned multiple awards at the state level and qualified for ICDC, DECA’s international business and public speaking competition, and he served as Vice President of ASB during his middle school years. For the 2026–2027 year, he will also serve as an officer within Eastlake DECA. Ilkay specializes in improvisation and on-the-spot speaking, especially within the business area.

Eric

Eric

Instructor

Sammamish · Sahalee

Eric is an ICDC qualifier. ICDC is DECA’s international business and public speaking competition. Beyond competing, he founded his own nonprofit, where he teaches more than 30 children core middle school subjects. A strong prepared speaker, Eric brings both competition experience and a genuine passion for helping younger students learn.

Emily

Emily

Instructor

Bellevue · City Hall

An incoming freshman at the Lakeside School in Seattle, Emily is the two-year Vice President of Membership for her Toastmasters Gavel Club, helping foster confidence and communication skills among members. She also works as a teaching assistant at Prime Factor, where she enjoys mentoring students, leading discussions, and creating an engaging learning environment. A two-time area-level public speaking competition winner, Emily is passionate about public speaking, leadership, and helping others grow while having fun and building connections.

Lauren

Lauren

Instructor

Bellevue · City Hall

A rising freshman at International School, Lauren has served as student body President for three years. She is a winner of regional Toastmasters public speaking evaluation and speech contests, has been Vice President of Public Relations at her Toastmasters Gavel Club for two years, and has earned speaker awards in both 3-vs-3 and 1-vs-1 debate competitions. For Lauren, holding a room’s attention is a responsibility she has grown to love. Having started out nervous, she now sees public speaking as a way to turn complex ideas into something audiences resonate with, and to spark meaningful change.

Our alumni

Past Instructors

Former instructors whose early work helped shape the program.

Jerry

Jerry

Past Instructor

Jerry is a senior and serves as an officer for both Eastlake DECA and the Eastlake Asian Club. He has qualified for DECA’s International Career Development Conference (ICDC). Jerry brought that competitive edge and leadership experience into his sessions with students, helping them sharpen both their delivery and their ability to think on their feet. He has since stepped back from teaching with the program, but his early work helped shape how 425 Speaks runs its workshops today.

Anika

Anika

Past Instructor

Anika is the President of the Voicemasters Toastmasters Gavel Club and serves as an officer in Eastlake DECA, the Computer Science Honor Society, and ISA. She is an ISEF finalist and placed top three internationally in her event at DECA’s International Career Development Conference (ICDC), alongside multiple wins at area-level public speaking competitions. Anika brought that same mix of technical depth and stage presence into her sessions with students, helping them build confidence in both what they said and how they said it. She has since stepped back from teaching with the program, but her early work helped shape how 425 Speaks runs its workshops today.

In their words

What families said about them

Deyansh is engaging, patient, and truly knows how to connect with kids. My son’s confidence has skyrocketed, and we couldn’t be happier with his progress.

Asha Prasanth

On Deyansh · Issaquah

Ilkay was a great mentor for my kid and for the rest of the group. We saw the final presentation and were surprised at how his input helped the kids grow in public speaking at a much higher level.

Ramya Rajendran

On Ilkay · Klahanie

Eric, my children enjoyed this quite a bit and I see they were very invested in the whole process from day 1. Thank you and hoping you all continue to encourage and mentor school kids.

Sukanya Pyne

On Eric · Sahalee

Emily and Lauren are simply amazing. My daughter loved everything about this experience. They are calm, patient, engaging and very resourceful.

425 Speaks parent

On Emily & Lauren · Bellevue

Their impact

See the impact they’ve had.

Three summers, 136 students, and a first-place finish.

Read our story