Kerli KALk

Kerli is a committed argumentation enthusiast and believes that critical thinking, reasoned communication and structured listening are the basis for successful and enjoyable collaboration in all walks of life. Kerli joined SpeakSmart in August 2020 as CEO and Head of Sales.

Kerli started her argumentation journey in 2010 and since then her debating career has taken her to many tournaments in Estonia and abroad. Kerli considers the most interesting tournament location to be a church in Amsterdam and the strangest experience to be the first European online debate tournament in 2012 (as part of the IDEA project Debate@ Europe), where Kerli represented Estonia. Kerli has won the title of Estonian Debating Champion and twice participated in the European Debating Championships.

In addition to debating, Kerli has actively contributed to the development of the debating community by leading the Debating Club of the University of Tartu, coaching debating students at Tallinn English College and serving as a debate referee at various tournaments. In addition, Kerli has been the head of the public direction of the Estonian Debating Society for several years, coordinating the creation of the strategy of this direction, developing cooperation with the Opinion Festival and media companies, and leading the team of Faktikontrolli, a joint publication of the daily newspaper Eesti Päevaleht.

Kerli has studied law at the University of Tartu, managed the ELSA Estonia unit, and worked in Brussels as a member of the ELSA International Board of Directors.