Our TEAM

Esha Ghosalkar

Founding Member (2015-Present)

Esha Ghosalkar is a graduate from Troy High School and a sophomore at University of Central Florida who is studying medicine. She is the co-founder of Key2Finesse, which was established in the spring of 2015. From a young age, she has been developing her passion for public speaking as a co-captain at her middle school’s Forensics team and co-founding it at Troy High. Forensics is a national organization centered on different speaking events. She took inspiration from her mother, the owner of Finesse Academy, and furthered this passion by conducting workshops about confidence building and public speaking for students around the country through Key2Finesse. This non-profit’s mission statement is creating leaders for tomorrow and helping students become the best versions of themselves. To Esha, Key2Finesse is an opportunity for her to connect with students similar to her and impart valuable skills she has learned and found of value. Through this, she has fallen in love with teaching and currently conducts classes for the Troy School District for elementary school students and for the North South Foundation. Apart from her public Speaking, Esha is classically trained in Folk dance and has been dancing for the past 10 years. She hopes to continue pursuing the passion as she matriculates into college to study pre-medicine.

WhatsApp Image 2020-04-27 at 19.32.38.jp

Chintan Maheshwari

founding Member (2015-Present)

Chintan Maheshwari is a graduate from Detroit Catholic Central High School and a co-founder of Key2Finesse. He is now a sophomore at University of Michigan and he's studying at Ross business school. He has developed a passion for public speaking and has used that passion to win first place at a national speech competition as well as to place in the top ten in the world for HOSA’s Public Speaking competition. He has conducted Confidence Building workshops for underprivileged kids along with Esha. He has also mentored students in their public speaking competitions. He is involved in multiple community service activities, participating in his Temple Youth Group, playing percussion and the keyboard in various concerts across the country, as well as participating and competing in many dance competitions. To Chintan, Key2Finesse is a way that students can learn and refine a skill that is extremely valuable in their life: public speaking. It also allows him to find ways to give back to his community. As he will soon proceed to college, he hopes to pursue a career in business.

Ethan Lazrado

Board Member (2016-Present)

Ethan Lazrado is a graduate from Troy High and studies law at Michigan State University as a sophomore, but about 5 years ago is when he truly realized his passion for public speaking. Through the Finesse Academy, Ethan was opened up to a whole new world of leadership, volunteering, and charity; and a little over a year ago, he was inducted as the 3rd member on the K2F Board. Around the same time, he was elevated to captain of the Finesse Club, and a little later, elected Vice President of Troy High's National Honor Society, allowing him to further pursue leadership and volunteering. To make use of his speaking skills, he has been a part of Model UN, Forensics, and Debate, receiving accolades in each. Ethan also continues to take every opportunity to lead both in and out of school. In the future, he hopes to be able to use these developed skills in a career in politics and law, but in the mean time, Ethan follows passions such as dance and music. In the end, he is glad that he's making a difference in the futures of the youth around him; he knows the only real success right now is measured by how much positive impact he can make in his community as a high schooler, and hopes he can inspire others who come after him to do so as well.

Nick Lazrado

Board member (2018-present)

Nick Lazrado is currently a junior at Athens High School. He acquired a passion for public speaking about four years ago when he joined Finesse Academy and placed 1st in his speech competition. Through Finesse Academy, Nick has acquired leadership qualities and grown as an individual and mentor to kids in Finesse Academy. He has successfully mentored a number of kids who have placed 1st in the Finesse Academy speech competitions. In his leisure time, Nick is deeply involved in volunteering in his community and a local church, running track, and playing soccer. Nick has been running track for 4 years and is currently unbeaten in the Troy School district in short sprints (60m and 100m). He plans to qualify for Varsity as a Freshman. Nick really wants to make an impact in his community throughout his four years of high school, and beyond.

Krish Ghosalkar

Board member (2019-present)

Krish Ghosalkar, co-founder Esha Ghosalkar's brother, is a freshman at Troy High School. He began his public speaking journey with Forensics, which he became very passionate about from 6th grade. Since then, he has placed second and third in the middle level state tournaments. Krish became very dedicated to the club as he participated in forensics for three years and was even a captain of the team in eight grade. Starting 6th grade, he also became involved in FPS (future problem solvers) and placed in state level individual and team events. Additionally, Krish is a mentor for the finesse academy speech competitions. He continues work with finesse academy as a frequent emcee at the speech competitions. Krish pursues taekwondo as his hobby and is currently a black belt after working his way up for the past three years. His involvement with Key2Finesse began in the end of seventh grade where he became a volunteer for the Easterseal’s fundraiser. After having such a successful experience with Key2Finesse as a volunteer, Krish hopes to acheieve a lot more as a board member with this nonprofit.

riya munot

Board member (2019-present)

Riya Munot is a junior who attends International Academy Central. Riya is an classically trained Kathak dancer and dance has been her passion since she was 5 years old. Also as her hobby, Riya has a greeting card business known as Paper"Riya" and she sells paper quilling and painted cards. Riya has always loved to volunteer and give back to the community. Every year, Riya participates in trick-or-treat for UNICEF and she raises more than a $100. Riya also loves to spend her summers by volunteering in the Rochester Neighborhood House Food Pantry. Riya is currently part of the IA Forensics team and has been a state finalist in the extemporaneous category. She is also the treasurer in PAWS (Protectors of Animal Welfare Society) and JOY (Jain Organization of Youth). Adding on to her extracurricular activities, Riya joined Finesse Academy in 6th grade and has moved on to becoming a Finesse Club member. Riya started with Key2Finesse as a participant in the THAW Fundraiser where she placed first in impromptu and then moved onto volunteering in the Blessings in a Backpack Fundraiser. She followed by volunteering in the Easterseals and it made her realize that this was the time to empower the youth. Riya looks forward to being on board and her motto is "Only a life lived for others is worth living"~Albert Einstein. Riya hopes to aspire in a dental hygiene or business career. She hopes to achieve much more on board and help out the community whenever possible!

Shaarav Shah

Board member (2019-present)

Shaarav Shah is currently a junior at Troy High School. He acquired a passion for public speaking in 2017 when he placed first in the Finesse Academy speech competition. From there he joined the Finesse Club where he practiced and honed his public speaking skills. While in the Finesse Club he worked on his speaking skills by mentoring other speakers and preparing them for their own competitions. He decided to join Key2Finesse after the Blessings in a Backpack event. He was amazed by the success of the event and wanted to help make a difference in the lives of others. He joined as a volunteer for their next fundraising event for Easterseals. In high school, he is involved in activities such as the Indian American Student Association, Track, Forensics, and HOSA – where he is a state qualifier and finalist. Outside of school he enjoys mentoring and playing basketball. He is a first-degree black belt holder in Tae Kwon Do, and also has a diploma in Indian classical music. Shaarav is a board member for the Teen Advisory Board where he has helped organize a variety of events for the city of Troy including the International Fair. He aspires for a career in medicine or biotechnical engineering. Since joining Key2Finesse, Shaarav has grown as a person and wants to contribute to society and touch the lives of those around him.

Board member (2019-present)

kanal patel

Kanal Patel is a sophomore at International Academy East. As she entered high school, she took part in clubs such as Forensics, Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA), and Indian American Student Association (IASA). Around four years ago, Kanal was introduced to public speaking at Finesse Academy. She grew up to be extremely passionate about this activity and placed first at her own competition. She currently continues to compete at many speech events and mentors children for their speech contests. Apart from public speaking, Kanal loves to hike challenging trails, volunteer for different causes, travel to exciting places, and bake sweet treats. She has been classically trained in Indian folk dance and has been dancing for the past ten years. She joined Key2Finesse as a participant during the Palav fundraiser, where she placed in the top for the impromptu event. From the start, Kanal loved the mission of this non-profit to empower and inspire the youth. Giving back to the community in such a way is extremely impactful and so she hopes to continue this throughout the upcoming years!

Board member (2020-present)

Varsha penumalee

Varsha Penumalee is currently a freshman attending Troy High School. She is involved in Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) and Forensics. She is also an avid tennis player and hopes to be on the Varsity Tennis Team as a freshman. In addition, she is an incredibly passionate public speaker, with her journey beginning 3 years ago, when she first joined Finesse Academy. Not only that, but she learned about Key2Finesse at the 2017 Career Symposium, then participating in the Speak the Difference Competition 3 times, placing 1st in the Gleaners competition. She has participated in multiple different speech events, including the Confidence Building Speech Competition, in which she placed 2nd, and enjoys teaching young kids in Detroit Public Schools. Additionally, she has a deep passion for reading and writing, participating in different essay competitions, as well. Finally, she loves to help out and volunteer in her local community, which she hopes to continue to do in her upcoming years of high school.

Board member (2020-present)

Shrija Thota

Shrija Thota is a sophomore at Novi High School. In school she enjoys taking part in clubs like Color Guard Flag Line, Arts club, and Novi Forensics. She enjoys fine arts and public speaking. She plays piano and violin in Orchestra and church choir. She is a member of EMA musical theatre. She excels in state level and competes in national level Youth Fine Arts. She is a regular guest singer in many local cultural events and fundraisers. She is part of a music band along with her close friends. She loves to read and write books. She enjoys calligraphy, drawing, painting and baking. She has attended confidence building classes with Finesse Academy in 8th grade. Soon she grew passionate towards public speaking and joined finesse club. Now she mentors other kids in sharpening their speaking skills. She volunteers at churches and Gleaners. She also volunteers with a non-profit organization “APTA”. She is a guest speaker in their enrichment events and encourages kids to overcome the fear of public speaking. She joined Key2Finesse as a participant during the Easterseals fundraiser for mental health awareness. She immediately got connected to the cause and vision of Key2Finesse. She followed her favorite quote by Walt Disney: “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing”. She started volunteering with Gleaners fundraiser to bring awareness for “hunger in school age kids”. Shrija Thota was recognized as an outstanding volunteer for her contribution in organizing this event. She wants to use every opportunity to bring unity and give back to community. She believes that “Everyone supports you when you are doing the right thing”.

Board member (2020-present)

Rishi narendra kumar

Rishi Narendra Kumar is currently an eighth-grader at Hillside Middle School. He enjoys participating in math competitions, being honored in the American Math Competitions, and the Michigan Math Prize Competition, to name a few. Aside from math, he enjoys debating in Model United Nations conferences. Rishi acquired a passion for public speaking when he joined Finesse Academy in 5th grade. Since then, he has been an avid participant of the Finesse Club, sharpening his public speaking skills every month. He has continued to emcee speech competitions within the club, and mentor many students. His journey with Key2Finesse began with his participation in the Easterseals’ Fundraiser, where he won 1st place in the impromptu speech competition. Rishi later became a volunteer for the Gleaners’ Fundraiser, pursuing his goal to help the needy. Volunteering with Key2Finesse has helped him understand the problems in our current world better, encouraging him to present to his entire school regarding the Vaping epidemic this year. As a board member, he looks to expand Key2Finesse’s impact on the community.

Board member (2020-present)

Vishvaa Ravishankar

Vishvaa Ravishankar is currently an 8th grader attending Boulan Park Middle School. He acquired a passion for public speaking about three years ago when he joined Finesse Academy and placed first in his speech competition. He looks forward to mentoring other kids for their speech competitions in the near future. Working with Finesse these past few years has really been a life changing experience for him. It has let him nurture his leadership skills and grow as an individual. He first joined Key2Finesse as a volunteer last year in 2019 to help fundraiser for Gleaners. It taught him many life skills and matured him into a better person overall. This year in 2020 with Key2Finesse he was able to make the leap and become a board member part of the logistics team. In his leisure time he loves to run, play video games, program apps, and read. He has been running for four years now and he loves doing it. He mainly sticks to running longer distances during school meets such as the mile and the two mile. Last year, he finished first in the two-mile distance running for the middle school category
in the Troy School District. He has also placed in the top 25 in national wide long-distance running competitions in the past in his age category. One major club he takes part in at school is Model UN. He really is able to excel at that club because it deals with public speaking and debates, which is what Finesse taught him to do well in the past. He wants to aim to really make an impact in his community throughout his four years of high school, and beyond.

Board member (2020-present)

Rhea Bhosale

Rhea Bhosale is a sophmore at Plymouth High School. She started her journey with key2finesse last year, when she volunteered for the first time. Through the experience with Gleaner's she was able to expand on her passion for helping the community and giving back to others. Since then, Rhea has taken a active role in many extracurriculars and maintains her passion for public speaking. She takes part in debate, and qualified as one if the top 15 debate students at the competition this year. In addition, she also takes part in Build-On which works to build schools i. underprivileged communties around the world. Rhea also enjoys teaching online Confidence and Life Skills classes and mentoring students for the big speech competition that is held annually. Aside from this, she has a 1st degree blackbelt in karate and enjoys playing piano. She is excited to be a board member this year, and wait to make a bigger difference.

Ruhin shah

Board member (2020-present)

Ruhin Shah is a Sophomore at Dakota High School. He started his journey with Key2finesse last year, when he volunteered for the first time. Through the experience with Gleaners he was able to take his public speaking skills and apply them to the real world by getting registrations and corporate sponsorships. Because Ruhin loves to give back to the community, he saw the perfect way to do so with Key2finesse. Apart from Key2finesse, Ruhin is on the JV basketball team at his school and is apart of BPA (Business Professionals of America). In his leisure time, he loves to watch sports, lift weights, and binge-watch tv shows. This year as a board member, Ruhin will be apart of the social media team. He is excited to be a board member this year and can’t wait to make a difference.