Hello, everyone! 

Thank you all for tuning into our last few newsletters. We apologize for the lapse recently, and will strive to return to a timely schedule. You can expect a blog post from a new Board member every month moving forward. 

My name is Aditi Inamdar, the current Chairwoman of the 501(c)3 James River Academy of Diplomacy. Our organization has experienced some recent leadership shifts and are now harboring new opportunities for our students—so keep reading to be fully updated on the exciting changes!

This newsletter also contains information on/applications for our travel teams, available department positions, and email list. Continue reading to find more! 

First, let’s start off with our team and leadership. Our Board consists of 6 positions, some of which are fulfilled by multiple personnel. Each board member leads a Department that executes the needs of that role. We hold annual voting for all of the positions. Below are the results of our 2025 Election: 

Aditi Inamdar – Chairwoman

Ethan Xing – Chief Executive Officer

Saanvi Sambangi – Director of Outreach

Anjana Peddapurapu – Director of Education,

Ishaan Patanker – Director of Finance/Legalities

Jason Dong and Akash Arun Kumar Soumya – Director of Technology.

This team of insanely dedicated and hard-working members is part of the reason I have so much hope for JRAD. Without everyone I just named, we wouldn’t have the resources, audience, or opportunities that we have today. 

To assist our directors and execute our plans, JRAD has implemented a Vice President system. Below are the current VPs we have now: 

Aditya Singal – VP of Education

Anish Konjeti – VP of Education

Advi Krishna Renjith – VP of Education

Prithwish Chatterjee – VP of Education

Giovanni Grandini – VP of Education

Luqmaan Khan – VP of Finance/Legalities 

(If you are interested in joining the JRAD team as a VP, fill out this form)

But the staff doesn’t end there. During our 2025 Public Speaking and Model U.N. Summer Camp, accompanying our team, award-winning instructors from across the county pitched in to help us succeed. Below are the names that haven’t already been listed, but are just as essential: 

Shreya Sharma – Camp Administrator

Zaina Khan – 4th and 5th Grade Instructor 

Lindsey Yue – 4th and 5th Grade Instructor

Zach Bender – 6th Grade Instructor 

Aanchal Patel – 7th Grade Instructor

Thank you to everyone above, who willingly spent their summer vacation toiling away on this nonprofit and summer camp. All of their hard work, dedication, collaboration, and determination mean the world to me and to the kids whose lives we have changed. 

Speaking of our 2025 summer camp, let me summarize the successes and impacts of this initiative. 

Our camp consisted of 4th through 8th grade students, each class with its own detailed schedule and lesson plans. For our 7th and 8th grade classes, we hosted a Mock Committee halfway through the week, to help give our students a taste of Model U.N. At the end of the week, we hosted a Mock Conference for 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students, and a Passion Project for our 4th and 5th grade students. This was a way for the campers to showcase all of the skills they learned; we hosted an award ceremony at the end to recognize the winners. 

In our 2025 summer camp alone, we had over 60 students registered. Since its inception, JRAD has touched the lives of over 100 students in central Virginia. Parents and students alike have told us our program helped them overcome their fear of public speaking, or gave them skills that led them to winning Best Delegate at a MUN conference. 

“JRAD gave me the confidence and the community I needed to overcome my fear of public speaking,” said Anish Konjeti, a student from our 8th grade camp cohort. “After the first week of camp, I already knew I wanted to continue working with the organization.” Today, Anish is an avid VP of our Education department, collaborating with our staff to create our curriculums and lesson plans. 

This is why we do what we do. To make an impact on our community. To help students find their voice. 

So, what’s next? 

JRAD is already planning our next initiatives. First, we are putting together a travel team of middle and high school students. If you are interested in applying for this team, fill out this form and we will email you with more details. 

In addition, we are hosting Public Speaking classes with the CVCS, starting September 7th. This will not only be an expansion on our summer camp, but encroaching on topics like debate and persuasive speeches, via more individual attention with students. If you are interested in joining us, fill out this form for more information. 

Finally, we have received many emails and questions concerning our 2026 Summer Camp. Preparations for our third camp iteration are already underway, and more registration information will be released to our email list (compilation of parents who previously registered). If you are interested in signing up for our email list to receive the latest JRAD updates, please fill out this form. 

JRAD endlessly appreciates our audience’s dedication and commitment to our cause. It is with YOUR support that we are able to continue serving the young minds of central Virginia. If you are interested in further contributing to our initiatives, we accept Zelle donations to the phone number (804)-921-5808. Any donations above $50.00 will be accompanied with sponsorship benefits. You can email us at [email protected] for more information. 

That’s all I have for right now. Once again, from the bottom of my heart, thank you to the staff at JRAD and the families supporting us today. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for our next month’s newsletter!