Neel Aparanji, Founder of Third Horizon
Neel is a student at Lake Highland and a policy thinker dedicated to making progressive change both practical and possible. He founded Third Horizon to create space for young people to engage seriously with public policy, bringing lived experience, moral clarity, and rigorous research together to imagine better futures. His work focuses on housing, labor, reparations, and climate justice, always centered on racial equity and democratic values. An active debater, Neel sharpens his critical thinking and argument skills, which inform his approach to complex policy questions. Outside of work, he enjoys biking, reading, and playing with his dog, finding balance and inspiration through these interests. Through Third Horizon, Neel hopes to help build a new civic culture where young people are credible voices shaping policy today, not just leaders of tomorrow.
Core Team
Aubrey Coleman, Volunteer Director and Services Lead
Aubrey Coleman is a junior at Lake Highland Prep and an active member of the school’s debate team, where she has developed a strong interest in politics. She is invested in civil rights legislation, immigration reform, and foreign policy, and believes that teenage voices have the power to drive meaningful change. Aubrey joined Third Horizon to move beyond discussion and take action. Her goals focus on amplifying underrepresented perspectives internationally through the organization. Through collaboration and diligent research, she hopes to help inform her generation about issues she is passionate about. Aubrey is eager to learn from others and contribute to these projects.
Chloe Lhote, Director of Strategy
Chloe is a student at Lake Highland and a daughter to an immigrant family. With the other members of Third Horizon, Chloe hopes to accurately shed light on current political circumstances in a time of confusion and internal polarization. Chloe focuses on issues like racial inequality, labor, the immigration crisis, education, and health care, while still considering the political polarization and ideals of the United States. Through Third Horizon, Chloe hopes to ease the uncertainty around current political events while pushing for policies that better reflect the foundations the United States stands on.
Jacob Quililan
Jacob is a Filipino student and passionate advocate for justice-centered policy. With a background in competitive debate, he brings a sharp, principled lens to issues often overlooked by mainstream technocratic discourse. His work at Third Horizon centers on international exploitation, racial inequality, and U.S.-Asia foreign policy—interrogating how systems of power sustain global injustice. Jacob also writes on transformative education, driven by the belief that learning should equip young people not just to understand the world, but to change it.
Editors and Peer-Reviewers
Nathan Johnston, Chief Editor
Nathan Johnston is the Director of Speech and Debate at Lake Highland Preparatory School where he also teaches Government and International Relations. He holds master’s degrees in both history and educational leadership and is currently working on his doctorate in education at the University of South Carolina. Nathan is a two-diamond NSDA coach who has earned two distinguished service plaques from the NSDA. He is the Region 2 Coordinator for the Florida Forensics League, a member of the Florida Panther NSDA district committee, and the Chair of the NSDA Public Forum Debate Topic Wording Committee. He also enjoys working as a Program Director for the Bergen Debate Club.