Meet the Team

J. Scott Wunn has been the Executive Director of the National Speech & Debate Association since 2003. He earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree from Graceland University in 1993 and his Master’s Degree in Communication Studies from the University of Northern Iowa in 1999. He began his career with the Association as a forensic coach and classroom instructor in 1993. During his 10-year coaching career, Scott’s students experienced great success including several national finalists and the 2002 national championship in Humorous Interpretation. Scott is a two-diamond coach and a member of the Key Coach Society of the Barkley Forum for High Schools. During his current tenure as Executive Director, Scott is most proud of the advancements the National Speech & Debate Association has made in coach education programs, community related program development, and communication and cooperation among the leadership of the Association.

Amy Seidelman joined the National Speech & Debate Association in 2013. She earned a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Northern Iowa, where she received the Purple and Old Gold Award recognizing conspicuous achievement in forensics, and a Master of Public Affairs from the University of Texas at Austin. Amy’s professional experience, primarily in local government and health care, includes leading and managing project teams, directing and carrying out communications activities, and facilitating organizational improvement. At the national office, Amy leads internal operations and strategic planning, oversees customer service and membership recruitment, and guides efforts to define and improve processes, projects, and programs that achieve strategic goals.

Kirsten Ellermann joined the National Speech & Debate Association in 2017. She earned her Bachelor’s of Science degree in Human Sciences from Iowa State University. After college, she pursued a career in drug and alcohol counseling, which helped her gain experience in communications, research, cultural diversity, and supervisory skills. Kirsten transitioned out of the mental health field and into the medical industry while working as an office administrator for a prosthetic and orthotic company. At the NSDA, she is excited to return to a role that utilizes her strengths in customer service and office management as she assists the Executive Director and day-to-day operations of the organization.

Emily Bratton joined the national office in 2010. She graduated from Ripon College where she double-majored in History and Studio Art, gained experience in business management, and dabbled in freelance illustration. Her responsibilities include design projects, marketing initiatives, research requests, and other inter-departmental projects.

Walker Desing joined the National Speech & Debate Association in 2016. Walker earned a B.A. in Visual & Media Arts from Emerson College, where he gained experience shooting and editing video for film and TV. His film history includes working for Ghost House Pictures in Los Angeles, where he helped prepare several high-grossing movies and shows for production. Walker brings his media production and technological experience to the Association, where he edits videos and oversees tech troubleshooting.

Liberty Dunn brought more than 10 years of customer service experience to the NSDA when she started employment in 2016. As Operations Assistant, Liberty serves as a primary point of contact on office-related issues for employees and plays a customer service role for current and prospective members of the organization, responding thoroughly to questions and concerns on a variety of membership issues.

Deano Pape brings 25 years of experience competing, coaching, teaching, and administering special academic programs involving speech, debate, and communication skill development to the Association, whose staff team he joined in 2014. Deano attended Central College (bachelor of arts program, communication/theatre) and Central Missouri St. University (master of arts program, speech communication). Deano was the director of speech and debate at Ripon College and coached their nationally-recognized ethics bowl team. Deano also served as the director of Ripon’s communication across the curriculum program, collaborative learning center, first year studies program, and office of community engagement at various points in his career. Deano has traveled the country enhancing faculty development efforts at more than 25 colleges and universities through keynote presentations and workshop facilitation. Deano’s primary responsibilities include coordinating the organization’s customer service efforts, playing an active role in membership recruitment and outreach, and supporting the organization’s connection to collegiate speech and debate.

Annie Reisener joined the national office in 2015. She earned a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Northern Iowa. Annie is a National Speech & Debate Association alumna from Indianola High School in Iowa, where she was a State Champion in Public Forum Debate. Her responsibilities include working on research projects, managing the Association’s newsletters, planning logistics for various program offerings of the Association, and organizing coach and student recognition.

Lisa Vossekuil has been a staff member of the National Speech & Debate Association since 2003. As a Membership Specialist, Lisa is responsible for the primary communication between the national office and its members, answering questions regarding the website, Points Application, and other general questions. She is also responsible for administering and processing district audits. Additionally, Lisa is the Pi Kappa Delta Office Manager, which involves processing memberships, sending invoices, overseeing merchandise, and other tasks as assigned by the PKD Council.

Nicole Wanzer-Serrano joined the national office in 2014. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Dartmouth College. As a debate coach, Nicole has coached Policy Debate teams to the top four of nearly every major national high school tournament. As the Executive Director of the Dallas Urban Debate Alliance, Nicole tripled the number of schools and students that participate in Policy Debate in her first two years. Under her leadership, Dallas Urban Debate was also recognized as the 2012 Urban Debate League of the Year. For her work as the co-director of the Debate Institutes at Dartmouth, Nicole was awarded the Bronx Science Achievement Award for her contributions to the debate community. Nicole’s work at the national office includes the planning and implementation of all philanthropic efforts of the National Speech & Debate Association.

Katie Hines joined the National Speech & Debate Association in 2016. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from St. Cloud State University in Social Studies Education and a Master’s degree from Northern Illinois University in Public Administration with a focus in nonprofit management. Katie is new to the debate world, but not a stranger to competition. Katie participated in swimming at the high school and college level. Her work for the Association focuses on developing the Big Questions Debates program and assisting schools and teachers applying for micro-grants.

Laura Stein joined the National Speech & Debate Association in 2018. She earned a B.A. in Political Science from the Ohio State University and her M.B.A. from Drake University. Laura’s professional experience includes more than 15 years working in finance with government and non-profit organizations, including time with the Department of Commerce, Iowa state government, and non-profits in Iowa and Ohio. Laura is a U.S. Navy veteran, serving four years active duty as an aviation structural mechanic in an F-14 Tomcat squadron. As Director of Business and Finance, Laura oversees financial management at the national office and leads development and implementation of the NSDA’s business strategies.

Stephanie VanderBruggen joined the National Speech & Debate Association in August 2016. Graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, Minnesota, she began her career in Accounting while managing retail and real estate offices. She then joined a non-profit specializing in the incubation of start-up technology and bio-tech companies as their Client Services Administrator for seven years. Now living in Iowa, she is excited to be a member of the finance department for an organization that so positively influences so many young people.

Megan Wunn, a graduate of the American Institute of Business, began her work with the National Speech & Debate Association in 2004 as an assistant in membership services. As the Sales and Merchandise Associate, she designs and maintains an inventory system supporting year-round store sales to customers and annual event sales at the National Tournament. Megan maintains knowledge and expertise of store offerings, selects, packs, and ships orders, and aims to serve customers in a timely and responsive manner.

Mike Rieker brings several years’ experience working with leading companies and brands in marketing, communications, strategic planning, and business development. Mike joined the staff in 2016 as the Director of Marketing and Advocacy. He attended the University of Nebraska where he received his Business Administration degree with a focus in marketing promotion, communications, and advertising. In Mike’s role, his primary responsibilities include developing and executing marketing and communications strategies related to member recruitment and retention, programs and resources, business development, brand awareness, promotion and publicity, and product sales and services. In addition, he focuses on advocating on behalf of school-based speech and debate programs to increase student access to the activity and support the profession of speech and debate coaching and teaching.

Grace Rogers joined the National Speech & Debate Association team in 2018. She graduated from Drake University with degrees in Public Relations and Political Science and is also a proud Shawnee Mission West Policy Debate alum. Her responsibilities include managing the NSDA’s social media networks and communicating with media outlets to promote speech and debate nationwide.

Aaron Hardy joined the national office in 2015. He earned his B.A. from Michigan State University, where he had a successful Policy Debate career. After graduating, he coached debate for 10 years between Whitman College and Northwestern University. He helped coach winners of every major national college tournament, including the National Debate Tournament, as well as several Copeland Award winners. Aaron created Verbatim, the first widely used paperless debate software, and runs paperlessdebate.com. His team at Whitman was the first large college debate program to go completely paperless. For his contributions to improving debate with technological innovation, Aaron is the youngest ever recipient of the NDT’s Lucy Keele Lifetime Achievement Award.

Chris Palmer joined the National Speech & Debate Association as an independent contractor in 2014, bringing with him Tabroom.com, a free online tournament management site he created in 2000 and has maintained ever since. Tabroom has run more than 7,500 tournaments since its creation and continues to expand worldwide. He has also coached extensively in speech and debate, and his students have won many tournaments, including the 2012 TOC in LD and the 2008 National Speech & Debate Tournament in United States Extemp. He is a recipient of the Jenny Cook Mentorship award, the Lexington Michael Bacon coaching award, and the NDCA Outstanding Service Award. He is a member of the TOC Hall of Distinguished Service and the Barkley Forum Gold Key Society. His professional background includes roles in IT and technology management, in academia supporting engineering and computer science research, and in industry in the field of biotech and drug discovery. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Harvard University. At the NSDA, he works primarily to create new ways of assisting tournaments, coaching, and the Association as a whole with technology.

Pam Cady Wycoff began her teaching and coaching career in 1979 at Mankato Loyola High School, Minnesota, a school of 200 students, where she initiated a new chapter, started a Lincoln-Douglas Debate team, and coached a speech team where more than a quarter of the school population was on the team. In 1989, she became the Director of Speech and Debate at Apple Valley High School, where she built a nationally recognized program and has been a full-time classroom teacher for the past 28 years. In 2009, Pam was named the Apple Valley High School Teacher of the Year. During her tenure as Director of Forensics, Pam coached more than 40 NSDA national finalists, including 18 runners-up and ten national champions. Pam was named Coach of the Year in 2009. Apple Valley High School was awarded the Bruno E. Jacob Award in 1998 and has been recognized with a Team Sweepstakes or Team of Excellence award in 24 different years. In addition to coaching, Pam enjoys “giving back” to the organization. She has been a presenter for instructional videos and has offered coaching workshops around the country. For 28 years, Pam has been a District Committee member and was elected to the Board of Directors in 2005. She currently serves as the Vice President. She has served on the Lincoln-Douglas Debate Topic Selection Committee and as a Board liaison to the Public Forum, Lincoln-Douglas, and Interpretation Committees. For her consistent service, she received her Sixteenth Distinguished Service Plaque in 2017. Pam was inducted into the Minnesota State High School League Hall of Fame in 2004 and the National Speech & Debate Association Hall of Fame in 2007. In 2016, the NSDA named the event of Original Oratory after Joe and Pam Wycoff.

Byron Arthur is a two-diamond coach from Holy Cross School in Louisiana. His years working as a corporate communications professional and as a practicing trial attorney lend a unique and important perspective to the Board of Directors. During his years of coaching at Jesuit High School in New Orleans and at Holy Cross, he has served the NSDA as a member of the Louisiana District Committee, the Lincoln-Douglas and Public Form Wording Committees, and the Ad-hoc Committee studying the future of Public Forum Debate. Byron has worked as an NSDA National Tournament official and gave the keynote address at the Summer Leadership Conference in 2016. In 2014, he was recognized with the very first Director’s Commendation and in 2016 was elected to the National Speech & Debate Association Hall of Fame. As he begins this term on the Board, he has a particular interest in ensuring greater access and voice for urban and rural schools as well as developing programs and opportunities for recruiting and mentoring the next generation of coaches.

Adam Jacobi has worked in communication and theatre education since 1997. He is executive director of the nonprofit Wisconsin High School Forensic Association and coordinates Congressional Debate programming and curriculum for the nonprofit Harvard Debate Council. In 2018, he was elected to the NSDA Board of Directors and was appointed to the Speech, Debate, and Theatre Committee of the National Federation of State HS Associations (NFHS). Adam previously worked for the NSDA in membership and education programs; taught and coached speech at Ripon College; taught middle and high school debate in China for a semester; and taught theatre and speech communication as well as coached at his alma mater, Rufus King HS in Milwaukee, WI, for 11 years. Through his contributions to books, articles, professional development, academic presentations, and leadership of speech and debate organizations, he strives to make speech and debate accessible to coaches and students at all levels, as well as to root the activity in sound pedagogical practices. As a product of, and educator in diverse inner-city schools, Adam understands the importance of inclusivity and overcoming barriers in education. He and his husband, J. Scott Baker, Ph.D. are both three-diamond coaches, and have earned service plaques for their contributions to the activity and the NSDA.

Renee Motter has been working in education for more than 20 years and has been at Air Academy High School on base of the United States Air Force Academy for the past 19 years. In addition to teaching English and coordinating the Talented and Gifted program, she is the head Forensics, Speech and Debate coach. For the past 12 years, she has served as the district chair for the Colorado Grande District and was named the NSDA Chair of the Year in 2013. Putting her Master of Arts in Curriculum Development and Instruction to good use, Renee also serves as co-chair and writer for the NSDA Curriculum Committee and presents at local and state conferences for her district and Colorado High School Activities Association as well as national conferences for National Council for Teachers of English, Advanced Placement, and NSDA. In 2008, Renee was awarded Panera Bread’s “Rising Above” award, and in 2016, she was awarded the Sharon Wilch Lifetime Achievement Award by the Colorado speech community and the Colorado High School Activities Association. She was named the 2017 NSDA National Educator of the Year and was a finalist for Colorado Teacher of the Year in 2018. Having seen the power of speech and debate, Renee hopes to encourage others to come together to find solutions to help more students access the benefits and learning afforded through speech and debate. Renee is a three-diamond coach.

As Superintendent of Broward County Public Schools (BCPS), the nation’s sixth largest school district, Robert W. Runcie is committed to Educating Today’s Students to Succeed in Tomorrow’s World.

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.

From Westchester Senior High School in Houston, Thomas M. Rollins elected to attend Georgetown University on the strength of its program in competitive debate. After graduating with a degree in philosophy, he was voted the nation’s “Outstanding College Debater of the Decade of the 1970s.” Rollins took a year between college and Harvard Law School to read several world histories and histories of philosophy. At Harvard, he served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review and graduated magna cum laude.

After graduation, he clerked for the Honorable James L. Oakes of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and then practiced law as a litigator in Houston with the firm of Susman Godfrey.

In 1985, he became Chief of Staff and Chief Counsel to the United States Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources, which enjoyed a broad jurisdiction over federal domestic policy, including federal education spending.

While at Harvard, pressed to prepare in a short time for his final examination in Evidence, he managed to obtain videotapes of 10 one-hour lectures by a noted authority on the subject, Professor Irving Younger. “No more boring subject has been crafted by the mind of man than the Federal Rules of Evidence. But I had no other way out,” Rollins says. Rollins planted himself in front of the TV and played all 10 hours nearly non-stop. The lectures, he says, “were outrageously insightful, funny, and thorough.” Watching Professor Younger’s lectures was one of Rollins’ best experiences as a student. It sparked his desire to build a company that would bring the best teachers in the country to anyone who wanted to learn from them.

Rollins left government service in 1989 to found The Teaching Company. The Teaching Company recruits the country’s best university, college, and high school teachers, records their lectures in audio and video, and sells these recordings to the public. The great majority of the nearly 6,000 hours of material sold by the Company cover the liberal arts and sciences; more than 10 million courses have been sold. The Company has been described by The New York Times as “a force in continuing education” and by The Wall Street Journal as “the colossus of its field.” Rollins served as CEO and Chairman of the Company until he sold most of his interest in 2006; he served as one of its Directors until 2011.

Rollins is married to law school classmate Victoria Radd Rollins. They live with their children Tom (2000) and Kay (2002) in Mclean, Virginia. Rollins coached Virginia State Champion debaters at The Potomac School, and supports debate programs at Georgetown University and through the National Urban Debate League. He received the National Speech & Debate Association’s Alumni Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015. He is also the 2012 recipient of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni Merrill Award for promotion of the liberal arts. He has set two Virginia state weightlifting records in the bench press, and won the competitive shotgunning “A Class” World Championship at the World English Sporting Clays tournament in 2011.