Meet the Team

Kevon Haughton joined the national office in 2020. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Public & Nonprofit Administration with a minor in African American Studies from Rutgers University. After immigrating to the United States, he found his passion for both speech and debate and has been involved in the community for over ten years. As a competitor, coach, and mentor Kevon worked for over five years building and strengthening debate programs in the city of Newark. In addition to his work within the debate community, a vast majority of Kevon’s professional experience has been spent managing civic engagement and voting rights programs throughout the United States. Similarly, he has worked with schools and nonprofits to build curriculums and develop and enhance their community outreach and relationships with outside organizations. As Tournament Services Coordinator, Kevon provides tournament support for coaches using NSDA services such as Tabroom.com and Campus.

Paul Searcy joined the NSDA in 2019. From 2010-2018, Paul spent eight years in the National Guard where he gained valuable people and leadership skills obtaining a rank of SGT. He earned a BA in Computer Science from the University of Iowa. Prior to the NSDA, Paul has worked on a variety of projects and in technical roles ranging from general coding to system administration and software architecture. His current responsibilities entail assisting with all levels of software and network infrastructure maintenance, front-end and back-end optimizations, and network analysis.

Jay Rye became a member of the NSDA as a high school competitor in 1985. He continued his involvement in speech & debate for 4 years at the University of Alabama before becoming a high school coach at Montgomery Academy in 1991. Jay was named Coach of the Year in Alabama in 1993 and has continuously served on the Deep South District Committee since 1993, along with being District Chair from 1999 – 2017 & from 2019 – present. He was named District Chair of the Year in 2009 and was awarded the Pelham Commendation in 2019. He was the recipient of the McLemore Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1995 & 2019 along with being a semifinalist for the National Disney Award for Teaching Excellence in 2001 & 2003. In 2007 he was named a Key Coach of the Barkley Forum at Emory University.  Jay has coached over 150 students to 28 consecutive NSDA National Tournaments including finalists in Congress, Prose, and a National Champion in Dramatic Interpretation in 2006. Jay was the Chair of the National Host Committee for the NSDA 3 times in 2009, 2013, and 2017. In 2017, Jay was elected to both the Alabama Speech & Debate Coaches Hall of Fame and the National Speech & Debate Coaches Hall of Fame. In 2010, Jay was elected 1st alternate to the NSDA Board of Directors and again in 2012, and was elected as a full member of the NSDA Board in 2014. During these years, he became Chair of the Development Committee. After falling short of re-election in 2018, Jay was elected to the NSDA Board in 2020 and currently serves as the Chair of the External Affairs Committee and a member of the Internal Affairs Committee.

Mike Edmonds, Ph.D., is the acting Co-President at Colorado College, where he has served for nearly 30 years. Edmonds is also an Executive in Residence in the Economics and Business Department. Edmonds holds a Bachelor of Arts, Master’s, and Ph.D. from the University of Mississippi, where he was inducted as a Hall of Fame graduate in 1984, and inducted into their School of Education Hall of Fame in 2019. He completed a post-graduate institute at Harvard University, and is a graduate of the Center for Creative Leadership.

Edmonds was a member of the North Central Institution Action Committee of the Higher Learning Commission, where he served as a peer reviewer for accreditation visits. At Colorado College, he has been recognized with the Colorado College Center for Service and Learning Award; the Victor Nelson Cisneros Diversity Award, which was presented at the 2010 Colorado College Honors Convocation; and the 2011 Gresham Riley Award, which recognizes faculty and staff of the College who have made a significant difference to the Colorado College community through outstanding service, commitment and accomplishment.

Nationally, Edmonds is a member of the Leadership Institute for outreach and public policy at the University of Mississippi, as well as a Board of Trustee member at the School of Liberal Arts at the University of Mississippi. Regionally, Edmonds is a past chair of the Board of Trustees for Memorial Health System, past chair of United Way for the Pikes Peak Region and past member of the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce Board. He is the past chair and current member of the Board of Directors of the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, president-elect of the Great West American Cancer Society Board of Directors, and member of the Board of Directors for USA Ultimate. He was appointed by Governor Bill Owens to serve on the Fourth District Judicial Commission of Colorado and served as chair of the Colorado Springs Municipal Airport Commission. Edmonds holds a professional membership in Delta Sigma Rho-Tau Kappa Alpha, and is a silver lifetime member of the NAACP.

Edmonds has been honored with the Educator of the Year Award from the Urban League of the Pikes Peak Region; the national St. George Award from the American Cancer Society; the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Forensic League; the MLK award from James Logan High school in Union City, CA; the Delores Taylor Arthur Award from Holy Cross High School in New Orleans; the Men of Achievement award from Delta Sigma Theta; and the Citizen of the Year Award from Omega Psi Phi. He was the recipient and awardee of the Uplift Community Foundation’s support in 2015. For his work in speech and forensics, he has been recognized with the National Speech and Debate Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award, was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2019, and was inducted into the Gold Key Society at Emory University.

Upon joining BCPS in 2011, Mr. Runcie developed a strategic plan focusing on high-quality instruction, continuous improvement, and effective communication. As part of these goals, Mr. Runcie has spearheaded initiatives to maximize student learning. This includes creating a digital classrooms program to provide blended, personalized learning environments for students. BCPS became the first district to partner with the non-profit organization Code.org to increase computer science in schools. Computer science courses, curriculum, and activities are now offered at 100% of District schools. Mr. Runcie also has been instrumental in bringing debate to every school in the District. In addition, under his leadership, BCPS became a national model for ending zero tolerance policies for non-violent offenses in schools.

Mr. Runcie is president of the Florida Association of District School Superintendents and serves on the board of numerous organizations. His honors include: 2016 National Alliance of Black School Educators Superintendent of the Year, 2016 Florida Superintendent of the Year, 2015 ALAS Hispanic Serving Superintendent of the Year, 2014 Florida Virtual School Superintendent of the Year, 2014 Consortium of Florida Education Foundations Superintendent of the Year, Champion District Superintendent of the Year for Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools, the Florida Department of Education’s District Data Leader of the Year Finalist, and a 2014 Leader to Learn From by Education Week.

Mr. Runcie previously held leadership positions with Chicago Public Schools and founded a management and technology consulting company.