USA Debate
About USA Debate
Twelve student members of the National Speech & Debate Association have been selected to represent the prestigious 2019-2020 USA Debate Team after completing a rigorous application process.
In addition, 15 students have been selected to the USA Debate Development Team. This group of students will train and practice with USA Debate coaches and alumni to learn more about World Schools Debate.
Since 2013, the National Speech & Debate Association has assumed responsibility for the USA Debate Team, choosing the best debaters in the country to represent the United States in international competition.
Team USA features a highly accomplished and dedicated coaching staff. These coaches have deep roots in the content and style of World Schools Debate and work with the team to acclimate the debaters to the event.
The mission of USA Debate is to join the global promotion of free and civil discourse, foster international cooperation and education, as well as demonstrate competitive excellence and national pride.
Questions about USA Debate? Please contact info@speechanddebate.org.
Congratulations to the five USA Debate team members representing the United States of America at the 2019 World Schools Debating Championships in Thailand this July: Emily Grantham, Leila Saklou, Ishan Bhatt, Luke Tillitski, and Anh Cao.
More Information
The USA Debate Team represents the diversity of our nation. The National Speech & Debate Association wants to ensure all students have full access to the opportunities available as they compete for USA Debate, without being limited by individual economic circumstances. Thanks to a variety of supporters like you, the students on the team are given the educational experience of the lifetime. Your tax-deductible gift allows the U.S. to continue to showcase the best and brightest young people to the rest of the world.
If you or your company would like more information about becoming an official sponsor of USA Debate, please contact us.
Sponsorship levels include:
- Competition supplies and materials for one debater
- Training sessions with the USA Debate coaches
- International competition for one student on the team
- World Championship for one student on the team
- International competition for entire USA Debate Team
- World Championship season for entire USA Debate Team
Check back soon for the 2019-2020 National Team Calendar
2018-2019 Tentative Calendar – National Team
September 2018
- 13-17 – Greenhill – Dallas, Texas (mandatory training)
October 2018
- 26-28 – Cornell University – Ithaca, New York
November 2018
- 8-14 – EurOpen – Stuttgart, Germany
December 2018
- 14-16 – Winter Holiday Open – Zagreb, Croatia
- 14-16 – Development Team Training & John Edie Holiday Tournament – Minneapolis, MN
March 2019
- 6-10 – International WS Tournament – Ljutomer, Slovenia
- 8-10 – Harvard WS Tournament – Cambridge, Massachusetts
May 2019
- 2-5 – Bluebonnet WS Debate Tournament – Houston, Texas
June 2019
- 17-21 – NSDA Nationals – Dallas, Texas (compete for school if qualified or enter WS division; demo round on June 16 and awards on June 21)
July 2019
- 3-7 – Mandatory Training for the final five – Colorado College – Colorado Springs, Colorado
- 13-27 – WSDC 2019 – Sri Lanka
2017-2018 Tentative Calendar – National Team
September 2017
- 13-17 – Greenhill – Dallas, Texas (mandatory training)
October 2017
- 27-29 – Cornell University – Ithaca, New York
November 2017
- 9-15 – EurOpen – Stuttgart, Germany
- 24-26 – Turkey Training
December 2017
- 14-17 – Winter Holiday Open – Zagreb, Croatia
January 2018
- 11-16 – Harvard-Westlake/Reagan Library – Los Angeles, California (mandatory training)
February 2018
- Event TBD
March 2018
- 8-10 – International WS Tournament – Ljutomer, Slovenia
- 23-25 – Harvard WS Tournament – Cambridge, Massachusetts
April 2018
- 11-15 – Bluebonnet WS Debate Tournament – Houston, Texas
June 2018
- 16-22 – NSDA Nationals – Ft. Lauderdale, Florida (compete for school if qualified or enter WS division; demo round on June 17 and awards on June 22)
July 2018
- 3-7 – Mandatory Training for the final five – Colorado College – Colorado Springs, Colorado
- 13-27 – WSDC 2018 – Croatia/Slovenia
2017-2018 Tentative Calendar – National Team
September 2017
- 13-17 – Greenhill – Dallas, Texas (mandatory training)
October 2017
- 27-29 – Cornell University – Ithaca, New York
November 2017
- 9-15 – EurOpen – Stuttgart, Germany
- 24-26 – Turkey Training – TBD
December 2017
- 14-17 – Winter Holiday Open – Zagreb, Croatia
January 2018
- 11-16 – Harvard-Westlake/Reagan Library – Los Angeles, California (mandatory training)
February 2018
- Event TBD
March 2018
- 8-10 – International WS Tournament – Ljutomer, Slovenia
- 23-25 – Harvard WS Tournament – Cambridge, Massachusetts
April 2018
- 11-15 – Bluebonnet WS Debate Tournament – Houston, Texas
June 2018
- 16-22 – NSDA Nationals – Ft. Lauderdale, Florida (compete for school if qualified or enter WS division; demo round on June 17 and awards on June 22)
July 2018
- 3-7 – Mandatory Training for the final five – Colorado College – Colorado Springs, Colorado
- 13-27 – WSDC 2018 – Croatia/Slovenia
2016-2017 Tournaments
September 28 to October 2 – training and tournament at Holy Cross School in New Orleans, Louisiana
November 2-9 – EurOpen in Hamburg, Germany
November 26-27 – Turkey Training in Houston, Texas
December 14-19 – Winter Holiday Open in Zagreb, Croatia
January 12-15 – training and tournament at Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles, California
January 16 – Public Debate on Education and Civil Rights at Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles, California
January 17 – Public Debate on Education and Civil Rights at Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California
February 9-11 – sparring with international teams in Dallas, Texas
February 21-27 – International Round Robin in Singapore
March 23-27 – Harvard WS Tournament, Cambridge, Massachusetts
June 17-25 – competition and training at the NSDA National Speech & Debate Tournament in Birmingham, Alabama
July 9-14 – WSDC practice in Colorado Springs, Colorado
July 27 to August 11 – World Schools Debate Championship in Bali, Indonesia
2014-2015 Highlights
For the latest updates, follow #usadebate on Twitter.
2018-19
Co-Head Coaches: Aaron and Cindi Timmons
Team Manager: Cindi Timmons
Team Members: Ishan Bhatt, Michael Bole, Maddie Butler Anh Cao, Elyse Dewbre, Emily Grantham, Jack Johnson, Ranen Miao, Leila Saklou, Liana Schmitter-Emerson, Luke Tillitski, Brian Zhou
Greenhill – Dallas, TX
1st place – Brian Zhou, Ishan Bhatt, Anh Cao
2nd place – Leila Saklou, Luke Tillitski, Jack Johnson
*Speaker awards – Ranen Miao – 1st, Ishan Bhatt – 2nd (8 in the top 10)
Cornell University – Ithaca, New York
1st place – Anh Cao, Ranen Miao, Liana Schmitter-Emerson
3rd place (hit USA team in semis) – Michael Bole, Maddie Butler, Elyse Dewbre, Luke Tillitski
*Speaker awards – Anh Cao – 1st, Ranen Miao – 2nd, Michael Bole – 3rd, Liana Schmitter-Emerson – 5th
EurOpen – Stuttgart, Germany
2nd place – Leila Saklou, Michael Bole, Luke Tillitski, Brian Zhou
3rd place – Emily Grantham, Ishan Bhatt, Ranen Miao, Jack Johnson
*Speaker awards – Leila Saklou – 1st, Luke Tillitski – 2nd, Brian Zhou – 5th, Emily Grantham – 8th (other 4 were in top 16)
Winter Holiday Open – Zagreb Croatia
2nd place – Leila Saklou, Michael Bole, Anh Cao, Elyse Dewbre
4th place – Emily Grantham, Ishan Bhatt, Maddie Butler, Liana Schmitter-Emerson
*Speaker awards – Leila Saklou – 3rd
2017-18
*asst. coaches – Fanele Mashwama and Danny DeBois
2016-17
2015-16
2014-15
2013-14
Apply to be a Member of the USA Debate Team 2019-2020
Eligible applicants are citizens (dual citizenship acceptable) or students who have obtained permanent residence status for a minimum of two years. Per WSDC rules, all applicants must be current residents of the United States, who will be attending a secondary, diploma-granting institution, and are no younger than 14 years of age, and have not reached their 20th birthday in July 2020. Candidates must also be current and active student members of the NSDA at an active member school.
April 15 – Stage One application opens
Students submit required data using an online form, upload coach/administrator recommendations, and record a video on the motion provided below. (Click here for a preview of the Stage One questions you will be required to answer in the online application.)
Stage One Video Task
Please upload a speech of no more than four minutes (including intro/framing/ONE argument/conclusion) responding to the motion: This House regrets the narrative of American Exceptionalism. Students may choose side Proposition or Opposition. The argument may be one that would be presented in either the first or second speech. (Click here for helpful tips about creating an unlisted YouTube video.)
June 1 – Stage One application deadline. The online form closed at 11:59 p.m. CT.
June 24 – Auto-qualifiers in WS, USX, IX, Congress, LD, PF, and Policy are invited to apply as part of Stage One. No video task is required for auto-qualifiers. However, they must upload coach/administrator recommendations as part of the application. Click here for a preview of the Stage One questions you will be required to answer in the online application. (Note: The link to the online application form will be emailed to eligible auto-qualifiers.)
June 28 – Stage One auto-qualifier application deadline. The online form closes at 11:59 p.m. CT.
July 5 – Stage Two applicants announced
July 15 – Stage Two video task deadline
July 29 – Stage Three applicants announced
August 5 – Stage Three video task deadline
August 16 – Finalists announced
August 19-23 – Interviews for national team applicants
August 26 – USA Debate national team announced
September 11 – USA Debate members arrive in Dallas for training at Greenhill
Please email info@speechanddebate.org with specific questions.
Thank You!
The Lanier Law Firm is an official sponsor of the USA Debate Team.
Thank You to Our Generous Supporters
The Kettles Law Firm
Tom Rollins
Simon Greenstone Panatier Bartlett, PC
Thank You!
Throughout the school year, The Blake School (Minnesota), Greenhill School (Texas), Harvard-Westlake School (California), Taipei American School (Taiwan), and Holy Cross School (Louisiana) provide invaluable training opportunities for the USA Debate Team. Thank you for your support!
2018-2019 National Team
Ishan Bhatt
Senior from St. Andrew’s Episcopal in Mississippi
Ishan has been participating in speech and debate for four years, primarily competing in Lincoln-Douglas Debate. He has achieved national success, championing the National Speech & Debate Association tournament, the Harvard Invitational, and the Harvard Round Robin. He also placed 2nd at the National Catholic Forensic League tournament and 5th at the Tournament of Champions. Ishan also enjoys doing volunteer instructional work for speech and debate, providing debate instruction and summer debate camps for his community. Outside of debate, Ishan enjoys quiz bowl, tennis, and playing alto saxophone and piano.
Michael Bole
Senior from A. W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts in Florida
Michael is the president of his school’s speech and debate team and has been competing since his freshman year of high school. He primarily competes in Congressional Debate and World Schools Debate. In Congressional Debate, Michael was the runner-up at The Tradition Round Robin, 5th at The Tradition Tournament, 6th at FFL Varsity States, 7th at Yale, 10th at NCFL Grand Nationals, 12th at Florida Blue Key, and was a 2017 NSDA national semifinalist (House). He has 12 career bids and is ranked 7th in the nation. In World Schools Debate, Michael was the 4th best speaker at the 2018 NSDA National Championship and was the captain of his district team that placed 5th overall. Outside of debate, Michael is the President of A.R.T.S. (Artists Reaching to Society) Club at his school, where he leads various volunteering activities and events to help his local community. Michael also serves as the Treasurer on the Student Government Association and as the Layout Editor for the yearbook staff. In addition to being in four honor societies, Michael is a graphic and web designer and won the NSDA Student Poster Contest twice. He serves as a graphic design intern for the Dreyfoos School of the Arts Foundation.
Maddie Butler
Senior from Fishers High School in Indiana
Maddie is fortunate to have been involved in the speech and debate community for the past five years. As president of her school’s speech and debate team, Maddie has earned a state championship title in both World Schools Debate and Discussion and has competed as a semifinalist at the NSDA 2017 and 2018 National Tournaments. Maddie is immensely grateful to have been a member of the 2017-2018 NSDA Development Team, where she found competitive success with her team as the Blake World Schools Debate tournament champions. When not competing, Maddie explores her passion for accessible education through serving on the Youth Advisory Board for School Safety to an Indiana State Senator and organizing fundraising events through the Shankar-Suburna foundation to sponsor the primary and secondary education of female students in Nepal. Maddie has enjoyed her experiences as a member of her school’s lacrosse team, pursuing the International Baccalaureate Diploma, participating in the We the People program, and representing her school and state as she learned about the intersection between policy and women’s empowerment at the ALA Girls State and Girls Nation programs. Following high school, Maddie hopes to pursue her interests in international affairs in college to one day practice immigration law. She is grateful for the opportunity to compete with the USA Debate Team this year and expresses her deepest gratitude to the family, friends, and coaches who have supported her.
Anh Cao
Junior from Bentonville High School in Arkansas
Anh has been involved in speech and debate since her freshman year, competing in Congressional Debate, Public Forum, and World Schools. Anh currently serves as the Congressional Debate Captain at her school. Some of her competitive achievements include placing top 16 (20th place speaker) at NSDA Nationals in World Schools, placing 2nd at the Arkansas State Championship in Public Forum as a sophomore, placing 5th at Isidore Newman in Congress, and being the first debater from her program to qualify to the Tournament of Champions, among others. Anh’s passion for activism and advocacy extends outside of debate, as she is the president of her school’s Young Democrats chapter and a volunteer at the Ozark Literacy Council, where she teaches English to non-native speakers. She also enjoys organizing community events through the Crystal Bridges Museum Teen Council. In her free time, Anh enjoys sewing, listening to podcasts, and drinking coffee.
Elyse Dewbre
Junior from Northland Christian School in Houston, Texas
Elyse is a captain of her school’s debate team and has been involved in speech and debate since her freshman year. Although she competes in a variety of events, her passion is Extemporaneous Speaking and World Schools Debate. As a member of the 2017-2018 United States Development Team, she placed in numerous tournaments including the Harvard World Schools Invitational, the Cornell World Schools Tournament, and the Blake World Schools Tournament. In 2018, she championed the NSDA National Tournament in World Schools with her district team and broke at the Tournament of Champions for Extemporaneous Speaking. Aside from debate, at her school she is a member of the varsity tennis team, writes for the school newspaper, The Claw, has leadership roles in Student Council and serves as the president of her class’ National Honor Society. In her free time, Elyse enjoys keeping up with the news, traveling with her family, and volunteering around her community.
Emily Grantham
Senior from Kingwood High School in Texas
Emily has been in speech and debate since her freshman year of high school, competing in Public Forum and World Schools Debate. In her sophomore year of high school, she was one of nine members of the inaugural USA Debate Development Team and is a returning member of the USA Debate Team. In Public Forum, she is a two-time state qualifier and elimination round participant at the TFA State tournament and has advanced to outrounds at multiple national level competitions. Representing her NSDA District in World Schools, Emily has been in finals of NSDA Nationals for the past two years and won the national championship her junior year, ranking in the top 20 speakers. As a member of the USA Debate Team she has represented the United States around the world in Croatia, Germany, and Taiwan, reaching finals at the Alfred Tuna Snider Tournament at Cornell University and winning the Greenhill World Schools Tournament and the EurOpen Tournament in Stuttgart, Germany. Over the summer, she was one of the five members of the USA Debate Team chosen to compete at the World Schools Debating Championship, where her team was awarded 6th place and she ranked in the top 40 speakers. Emily is passionate about advocating for women’s rights. When she is not debating, she enjoys being the co-president of her school’s Gender Equality club and being an officer for her school’s Young Democrats and UNICEF clubs.
Jack Johnson
Junior from The Blake School in Minnesota
Jack is a captain of the debate team at The Blake School and participates in World Schools and Public Forum Debate. Last year in Public Forum, he advanced to the semifinal round of the NDCA National Championship and won 7th speaker. He made it to the octafinal round of the Barkley Forum at Emory University as well as the octafinal round of the MinneApple. Jack also broke at several other prestigious national tournaments including at the University of Pennsylvania and the John Edie tournament at Blake. In World Schools Debate, Jack has previously competed for his school, advancing to the octafinal round at the Harvard Invitational as well as breaking at NSDA Nationals. Outside of speech and debate, Jack played on his school’s varsity baseball team as a freshman and sophomore, volunteers with his church to support community relief, and is a contributing writer of his school newspaper, Spectrum. Jack’s favorite way to spend his free time is traveling with his family.
Ranen Miao
Senior from Millburn High School in New Jersey
Ranen is a returning member of USA Debate and has been competing in speech and debate since his freshman year of high school, primarily in Congressional Debate. He serves as the president of the debate team at his school and has championed the Princeton Invitational, Blake Round Robin, and New Jersey States, along with placing 3rd at the NSDA National Tournament in World Schools and reaching finals at the Tournament of Champions, National Catholic Forensic League Tournament, University of Pennsylvania, Blake Tournament, Glenbrooks, Ridge Debates, Bronx, and New Jersey states three years in a row. As a member of the USA Debate Team, he championed the Greenhill Round Robin, Alfred Tuna Snider World Schools Debate Tournament at Cornell, International Debate Tournament in Ljutomer, Slovenia, won top speaker at Cornell, placed 3rd at the EurOpen tournament in Stuttgart, Germany, and traveled with the team to Taiwan. Outside of debate, Ranen is an officer for his school’s Key Club, Peer Leaders Program, Young Democrats of America, Make-A-Wish, Gender-Sexuality Alliance, and UNICEF Club, and is an editor for his school newspaper, The Miller. Outside of school, Ranen lobbies for a lower voting age in New Jersey through the Youth Progressive Policy Group, teaches younger students debate at his local Chinese school and middle school, and volunteers for local charities. Ranen is passionate about politics and philanthropy, and in his free time enjoys singing with his school’s choir, binging Netflix, and catching up with current events. He is excited to be working with the USA Debate Team again this year!
Leila Saklou
Senior from Kingwood High School in Texas
Leila has been an active member in speech and debate since her freshman year competing in a variety of events such as Public Forum, Extemporaneous Speaking, and World Schools Debate both locally and nationally. Her sophomore year of high school was spent as one of nine members of the USA Debate Development Team, and she is now a returning member of the USA Debate Team. Domestically, Leila is a two-time state qualifier and elimination round participant at TFA State competition while also claiming numerous victories at tournaments around the country such as the Blake tournament, Cornell University’s Alfred Tuna Snider tournament, and two time finalist at NSDA Nationals. In addition to her domestic career, Leila has also debated across the world in places such as Germany, Croatia, and Taiwan. Over this past summer, Leila represented her nation at the 2018 WSDC where the USA placed 6th overall and she placed as 30th speaker worldwide. Outside of debate, Leila enjoys working as the co-president of her school’s Gender Equality Club and collaborating with charities such as the Global Soap Project, The Pink Fund, and United Against Human Trafficking in addition to currently working with the Todd Litton Campaign for Congress through her school’s Youth Democrats Club.
Liana Schmitter-Emerson
Sophomore from Campbell Hall in California
Liana has been involved in speech and debate at Campbell Hall for three years, primarily competing in World Schools Debate, Parliamentary Debate, Extemporaneous Speaking, and Congressional Debate. She was also a member of the 2017-2018 USA Debate Development Team, where she broke to elimination rounds at multiple tournaments, including Cornell, Blake, and Harvard. Some of her competitive achievements include qualifying to both the California State Tournament and NSDA Nationals as a freshman, reaching semifinals at the California State Tournament in Domestic Extemporaneous Speaking, earning top speaker at the Blake Worlds Tournament, and finishing third in Extemporaneous Speaking and top speaker in Parliamentary Debate at La Costa Canyon. Outside of speech and debate, Liana serves on her school’s Academic Honor board, works as an admissions ambassador, and enjoys volunteering for her local shelter and a variety of other nonprofit organizations that help find new homes for abandoned animals.
Luke Tillitski
Senior from Charlotte Latin School in North Carolina
Luke is a senior at Charlotte Latin School in Charlotte, North Carolina. In his first three years of high school, Luke spent the majority of his time competing in Congressional Debate. Most notably, Luke is the 2018 NSDA national champion in Congressional Debate–Senate. He has won five other national tournaments (Glenbrooks, Crestian, Crestian Round Robin, Blue Key Round Robin, and Durham Academy) in addition to placing in the top six at several others, including the Tournament of Champions, Emory, Bronx, and the Bronx Round Robin. In his career, Luke has amassed 15 total bids to the Tournament of Champions and has been ranked first in the nation. Outside debate, Luke loves to sing. Some highlights from choir performances include Carnegie Hall, the Mormon Tabernacle, St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, and St. Nicholas’ Church in Prague. Being one of two delegates from the state of North Carolina selected for the United States Senate Youth Program and holding the office of senior class president, Luke is eager to lead and serve. When not debating or singing, you can often find him refurbishing an old license plate with his grandfather. He can’t wait for an amazing year with USA Debate!
Brian Zhou
Senior from Greenhill School in Texas
Brian is a returning member of USA Debate and has been active in Greenhill’s Lincoln-Douglas Debate program for four years. As a junior in LD Debate, he won the Tournament of Champions and broke to elimination rounds at the NDCA National Championships, TFA State, Berkeley, Apple Valley, St Mark’s, and more. In World Schools Debate, Brian’s team won the Greenhill and Harvard Westlake Round Robins, while also reaching quarterfinals at Harvard, Croatia, and Slovenia. Outside of debate, Brian is the president of Greenhill’s Junior Classical League, East Asian Affinity Group, Student Council, CALM initiative, and active in other clubs. Brian hopes to apply the skills of debate to improve local communities. He advocates for more comprehensive and representative curriculum, works with younger students, and volunteers at a senior citizen home. In his free time, Brian enjoys watching movies/TV series (his favorite—Roots 2016), playing piano, and hanging out with friends. He looks forward to another year with USA Debate!
Leadership Team
Aaron Timmons
Co-Head Coach from Greenhill School in Addison, Texas
Aaron Timmons is the Director of Debate at Greenhill School in Addison, Texas. He is a lifelong educator and in 2000 was named one of the “top debate coaches of the 20th century” by the National Speech & Debate Association. Aaron has coached multiple state and national champions in both Lincoln-Douglas and Policy Debate, in addition to a National Public Policy Forum Champion. Aaron is one of three coaches with champions in Lincoln-Douglas and Policy Debate and is the only coach in history to have multiple winners in each event. He has taught and/or directed debate workshops and trainings at Harvard University, Stanford University, Northwestern University, and the University of North Texas, among others. Aaron is also the co-founder of the Global Debate Symposium, held at Colorado College in Colorado Springs. He is a member of the National Speech & Debate Association Hall of Fame, Tournament of Champions, and the Texas Forensic Association.
Cynthia Timmons
Team Manager and Co-Head Coach from Greenhill School in Addison, Texas
Cynthia Timmons lives in Dallas, Texas, and has been involved in debate for more than 40 years. Retired from 30 years in public schools where she coached dozens of national and state champions while winning numerous coaching awards, she has also served the speech and debate community in national and state leadership positions, in professional development training, and in summer institute work. In addition to serving as Co-Head Coach, Cindi is also the Team Manager. She is a member of the National Speech & Debate Association Hall of Fame as well as the Texas Forensic Association Hall of Fame. She is actively engaged in promoting the cause of women in debate and teacher professional development. Internationally, Cindi is an elected board member of WSDC, Ltd. and a two-term member of the WSDC Tournament Executive Committee. She has also served the international community on the Motions Committee for 2015. Having previously hosted three National Speech & Debate Tournaments in Dallas, she is preparing to host the best of the United States again in 2019. In her spare time, she loves reading and writing. Most importantly, she is a wife and the mother of two.
Read “Exploring Cultural Competence in the World Schools Debate Community” by USA Debate Team Manager and Co-Head Coach Cindi Timmons
Dr. Sandra J. Berkowitz
Assistant Coach from The Blake School in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Sandy Berkowitz is an Assistant Debate Coach at The Blake School in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She has also been a college professor of Communication Studies, where her research interests include the connections between debate and critical thinking, gender and social practices, and critical cultural discourses. Sandy has coached for more than 30 years and is a recipient of the 2015 Minnesota Coach of the Year Award. She has coached at both the high school and college levels and has had award-winning students in Public Forum, Policy, Lincoln-Douglas, and Congressional Debate, as well as Oratory, Extemporaneous Speaking, Informative, and Rhetorical Criticism. Sandy has taught and/or directed at several summer workshops including those at Harvard, Dartmouth, the University of Southern California, and Wayne State University.
Shane Stafford
Assistant Coach from The Blake School in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Shane Stafford is the Director of Debate at The Blake School in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has coached for more than 30 years in all debate and speech events with multiple national and state champions and finalists in Public Forum, Policy, Lincoln-Douglas, and Congressional Debate as well as Oratory and Extemporaneous Speaking. Shane is the recipient of many awards, including the 2015 Minnesota Coach of the Year. Shane has coached at both the high school and university levels of competitive debate. He has taught and/or directed at several summer workshops, including those at Harvard, Dartmouth, Georgetown, and the University of Southern California.
In Memoriam
Dr. Alfred “Tuna” Snider
Former Coach from the University of Vermont in Burlington, Vermont
Dr. Snider was the Edwin W. Lawrence Professor of Forensics at the University of Vermont. He had degrees from Brown University, Emerson College, and the University of Kansas. He taught courses in debate, argumentation, persuasion, and rhetorical analysis. He was the Director of the World Debate Institute and the Lawrence Debate Union. Dr. Snider conducted formal debate training in more than 40 countries and trained debaters from more than 55 nations. Dr. Snider published six books on debating in the last seven years and during his career edited or wrote more than 50 volumes about debating and for debaters.
USA Debate Alumni
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USA Debate Alumni – Class of 2018
Shreya Agarwala
University of Texas at Austin
Shreya debated for Greenhill School in PF and was a part of Team USA in 2017-2018. She is now a sophomore attending the University of Texas at Austin studying business.
Piper Doyle
University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business
Piper is currently a sophomore attending the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver. She is studying business information analytics. Piper continues to debate in the British Parliamentary format, works as a residential assistant, and interns as a research analyst for an international company based in the Denver area.
Shreyoshi Das
Wharton School - University of Pennsylvania
Shreyoshi is a sophomore at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania studying management and decision processes. She currently competes for the Penn Debate Society and consults for Penn International Impact Consulting and the Social Impact Consulting Group on campus. Shreyoshi competed on the 2018 WSDC team in Zagreb, Croatia, where Team USA placed sixth overall. She also debated for Flower Mound High School in Texas for four years and served as co-captain of her school team. Shreyoshi is very excited to see what the future of USA Debate holds!
Ella Michaels
Harvard University
Ella is currently a sophomore at Harvard. She was a member of USA Debate her junior year, captain of the 2018 WSDC Team her senior year, and the highest ranked American debater at two consecutive world championships. She also placed second at both the TOC and NSDA Nationals in Congressional Debate in 2018. In addition to being a part of the Harvard College Debating Union, she teaches with CIVICS, a program that provides weekly civics classes to fifth-graders in Boston. She also works with the Harvard College Consulting Group and the Harvard Square Homeless Shelter.
Nikhil Ramaswamy
University of Chicago
Nikhil competed for Plano West Senior High School in Extemporaneous Speaking, championing the MBA Round Robin, Harvard National Tournament, UK Tournament of Champions, and Northwestern Extemp Tournament of Champions. As a three-time finalist in IX at NSDA Nationals and a three-year member of USA Debate, he contributed to the team’s victory in Slovenia and quarterfinals finish at the 2018 WSDC. Nikhil is currently a freshman majoring in computational/applied math and economics at the University of Chicago.
USA Debate Alumni – Class of 2017
Aditya Dhar
Harvard University
Aditya is a sophomore studying Applied Math, Economics, and Computer Science at Harvard University. Aditya competed in Congressional Debate nationally, placing second at the 2017 NSDA National Tournament, and at the 2017 WSDC, where the USA Debate Team made it to the semifinals. He currently competes with the Harvard College Debating Union and writes for the Harvard International Review.
Colette Faulkner
Pepperdine University
Colette has been an active member of the debate community since her sophomore year of high school. In high school, Colette competed in both Public Forum and World Schools Debate at Kingwood High School. As a three-time NSDA Nationals qualifier, Colette competed in the quarterfinals and finals of World Schools debate her junior and senior year. She served as captain of the 2017 WSDC Team USA in Bali where the team reached semifinals. Colette is now a senior at Pepperdine University where she is studying Economics and Mathematics and is the coach of the Pepperdine debate team.
Gaurav Gawankar
George Washington University
Gaurav debated for Kingwood High School in Houston, Texas, and was a member of the USA Debate Team in 2016-2017. He now attends the George Washington University double majoring in economics and political science.
Ellie Singer
Yale University
Ellie Singer is a junior at Yale University majoring in political science. She stays involved in debate by coaching for her alma mater, the Blake School, and competing in American parliamentary debate. Ellie serves on the board of the Yale Debate Association, the American Parliamentary Debate Association, and the activist organization Engender at Yale.
Sarah Lanier
Baylor University
Sarah is a current a junior in the Honors College at Baylor University. She will graduate in 2021 and is majoring in International Studies with a minor in Spanish. She plans to attend law school after graduation. Sarah still stays involved in the debate community by coaching students in Extemporaneous Speaking and judging at various tournaments in the Texas area. She competed for the USA Debate Team in WSDC 2017 Bali.
Joshua May
Cornell University
Josh debated with the USA Debate Team from 2015-2017 and represented the team at the 2016 World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany. He continues to debate in the British Parliamentary format, advancing to semifinals at U.S. Western Regionals and reaching 7th novice at USA Nationals. Josh studies applied economics and management at the Cornell University where he enjoys playing rugby and hiking the local gorges.
Liz Yount
The George Washington University
Liz is currently a sophomore at The George Washington University studying English with a concentration in Critical Theory/Cultural Studies. She was a member of the USA Debate national team from 2015-2017 and captain of the Harvard-Westlake debate team from 2016-2017. During Liz’s tenure in USA Debate, she championed tournaments in Croatia and Singapore and achieved top speaking ranks in Slovenia, Croatia, Singapore, and at the Harvard College Invitational. At university, she is the VP of Policy for GW Students Against Sexual Assault where she advocates for sexual violence prevention and education both on campus and on the federal level. Liz currently coaches the Harvard-Westlake Lincoln-Douglas Debate team and contributes to Global Debate Symposium LD Briefs. In her spare time, she is an avid skincare and makeup enthusiast, often reading Vogue or Into the Gloss.
USA Debate Alumni – Class of 2016
Milan Amritraj
University of Southern California
Milan was captain of the 2016 WSDC Team USA and is currently majoring in Business Administration at USC’s Marshall School of Business.
Nikolas Angelopoulos
Stanford University
Anastasios co-founded a prescription eyeglass diagnostics company, MHR vision, with billionaire entrepreneur and investor Ming Hsieh and inventor of the prosthetic retina Mark Humayun. After graduating in three years from Stanford University as the only electrical engineer to receive the Terman Award (top 30 students), Phi Beta Kappa (top 30 in liberal arts), Tau Beta Pi (engineering honors) and departmental distinction, Anastasios is now an EECS Ph.D. student at Berkeley as an NSF scholar co-advised by Michael I. Jordan, Jitendra Malik, and Avideh Zakhor. Anastasios leads an International Space Station mission on space biology as a co-investigator, his first-authored research has been featured in the Nature Research journal Scientific Reports, and he holds three patents (two provisional, one issued). His current work is in theoretical machine learning, computational imaging, and biomedical engineering.
Sonya Huang
Wharton School – University of Pennsylvania
Sonya currently attends the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, concentrating in finance and business analytics. She captains the case competition team of Penn’s marketing club (MUSE) and consults for the Social Impact Consulting Group. Sonya debated throughout all four years of high school, placing second at the 2015 NSDA Nationals in Lincoln-Douglas Debate and was one of the final five selected to represent the USA Debate Team at the 2016 WSDC in Stuttgart, Germany.
Julia Lauer
Harvard University
Julia is concentrating in government with a focus in international affairs and security. She competes on Harvard’s Parliamentary Debate Team and consults for the Harvard College Consulting Group. Over the summer, she coached Congressional Debate for the Champion Briefs Institute and the Institute for Speech and Debate, and she will continue to privately coach middle school Parliamentary and Public Forum Debate.
Amit Kukreja
Rutgers Business School
Amit currently attends Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, majoring in finance. Amit coaches Lincoln-Douglas Debate at Success Academy in New York. Outside of debate, he is a member of the investment bankers association at Rutgers.
USA Debate Alumni – Class of 2015
Sara Evall
Duke University
In pursuit of her long-term goal to work toward a more just and equal United States (and global community), Sara joined the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy (ACS) staff in Washington, D.C. in August 2019 as a Policy and Program Fellow. ACS is a leading progressive legal organization in the nation.
Sara recently graduated from Duke University with a B.A. in Refugee and Migrant Studies, magna cum laude, in May 2019. She received distinction for her senior thesis, which she wrote based off of primary research she conducted in Jordan. Her thesis was entitled: “The Deprivation of the Right to Work as a Barrier to Autonomy for Iraqi and Syrian Refugees in Jordan.” Highlights of her time at Duke included working closely with resettled refugees in Durham and spearheading sexual assault prevention efforts.
Nicky Halterman
Oxford University
Nicky recently graduated from Oxford University. He led his USA team to octafinals at the world championship and was recognized as the 6th place speaker in the world.
Jane Irons
Yale University
Jane recently graduated cum laude from Yale with a BA in philosophy and with distinction in her major. She will be applying to law school in the upcoming year and is currently pursuing an interest in creative writing.
Abigail Marone
The George Washington University
Abigail Marone is a graduate of The George Washington University and currently works in the communications department at The Republican National Committee. She has had her writing published in The Hill, FoxNews.com, the Washington Examiner and appeared on Fox News, NewsMaxTV, and One America News.
Mitali Mathur
Georgetown University
Mitali is working as an associate at IDinsight, based in New Delhi, India. She engages in fieldwork and conducts statistical analysis to run development impact evaluations that test the efficacy of anti-poverty programs. She hopes that such evidence can be used to better inform policymaking. Mitali graduated from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University with a B.S. in International Economics (honors), a minor in Mandarin Chinese, and a certificate in International Development.
Tiana Menon
Harvard University
Tiana recently graduated from Harvard University. She has returned to her home state of Colorado to help run operations on one of 2020’s most competitive Senate races.
Amelia Miller
Harvard University
Amelia is studying Social Studies with a minor in Computer Science. Amelia writes for The Harvard Crimson magazine and coaches debate through Harvard College Mentors for Urban Debate.
Jasper Primack
University of Chicago Law School
Jasper is a 1L at the University of Chicago Law School. He graduated magna cum laude with a degree in Political Science from Boston University in 2019, writing his senior thesis on the future of state torture practices. While at Boston University, Jasper won the American Parliamentary Debate Association’s Team of the Year award with his debate partner. In his spare time, Jasper enjoys weightlifting and browsing Reddit.
SunHee Simon
Stanford University
SunHee is double majoring in Psychology and African & African American Studies. She will be coaching at James Logan High School in California and is involved in coaching schools in the Silicon Valley Urban Debate League. She currently debates for Stanford’s policy team and reached the semifinal round at CEDA in her freshman year of college (2016).
USA Debate Alumni – Class of 2014
Danny DeBois
Harvard University
Danny graduated summa cum laude from Harvard in 2018 with a degree in Social Studies, where wrote his thesis on the civil rights movement and the Supreme Court in the 1960s. He served as president of the Harvard College Debating Union and won the World Universities Debating Championship in Mexico with his partner. For the past two summers, he was an assistant coach with USA Debate at the World Championships in Croatia and Thailand. He currently does economic research for a hedge fund.
Daniel Garrison
Loyola University
Daniel is graduate of Loyola University New Orleans with a Bachelor’s in Marketing. He has now started his path to a career in education and education policy. Currently he is enrolled at High Tech High Graduate School of Education getting his Masters in Education with a focus on Teaching and Learning. He splits his time between TAP (Teacher Apprenticeship Program) and their New School Creation Fellowship. He will be student teaching 12th grade Humanities at High Tech High in the Point Loma Neighborhood of San Diego. In the Fall of 2020 he will be one of the founding teachers at the Delores Taylor Arthur School for Young Men in New Orleans under the direction of Byron Arthur. Garrison’s end goal is to spend some time in the classroom and then move on to working in education policy and potentially getting another masters in public administration.
Shania Hunt
University of California, Los Angeles
Shania graduated in 2017 with a B.A. in Political Science with a focus on International Relations from UCLA. She coached Harvard-Westlake School for four years and now is the head of the middle school debate program at The Harker School. In college, she continued debate by competing at nationals for British Parliamentary debate. A proud Houstonian, she enjoys rooting for the Houston Rockets and exploring the California coast.
Lily Nellans
London School of Economics
Lily is currently pursuing her Master’s in international relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science as a Rotary Scholar. Her research focuses on the intersection of gender and ethnic conflict. She graduated from Western Kentucky University in 2018 with her Bachelor’s in philosophy and international conflict studies. While competing on WKU’s national championship forensic team, she won a national championship in impromptu speaking and reached nine other final rounds in various individual events. Outside of forensics and her studies, Lily has completed research for the International Commission on Missing Persons, interned for Bosnia Initiatives for Local Development, and conducted fieldwork in Kosovo.
Read “Exploring Cultural Competence in the World Schools Debate Community“ by Team Manager and Co-Head Coach Cindi Timmons
When the World Schools Debating Championships (WSDC) began in Australia in 1988, six nations participated: Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. Over the years, the event has expanded, culminating in 2016 with 56 nations represented at the WSDC in Stuttgart. While debating teams from six continents have been represented, the increasing variety of participants from non-Western nations and the growing diversity of the debaters themselves in terms of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, etc., means that it is time for the global debating community to examine how inclusive it is and to evaluate its cultural competence as an organization. This paper seeks to address the current state of cultural competence in the organization and how WSDC might become even more inclusive.