Our
Team:
Nikolas
Angelopoulos
is a sophomore at Polytechnic School in Pasadena, California. Nikolas has been
debating for four years in the MS/HSPDP parliamentary style and has been
champion of the Chandler, Campbell Hall, and Polytechnic tournaments.
Additionally, he placed third speaker nationally at the Claremont Debate
Championships. Nick has competed in World Schools Debate since his freshman
year, where his team placed third at the China National Debate Championships.
Nikolas is the founder and co-coach of his school's debate team and is
assistant coach of the middle school debate team. When not competing, Nick is
the lead singer, guitarist, and composter in a funk-rock band.
Danny
DeBois is a senior at Harrison High School in Harrison, New York.
Danny has been competing in Lincoln-Douglas Debate for four years, and has been
champion of the Harvard Invitational, the Glenbrooks, and the Minneapple
tournaments. He currently holds the most points in the nation for the National
Speech & Debate Association’s Lincoln-Douglas Debate. As an underclassman,
Danny was a state champion, top speaker and runner-up of NCFL Grand Nationals,
and a quarterfinalist at the Tournament of Champions. Outside of debate, Danny
plays the clarinet and is a section leader of his high school marching and concert
band.
Sara Evall is a junior
at Harvard-Westlake High School in Los Angeles, California. Sara has been
competing in debate since the fifth grade and has debated internationally since
her freshman year. Over the past two summers, she competed at tournaments in
Turkey and in the Czech Republic. At her most recent tournament, the Heart of
Europe, Sara and her team came in second place and Sara won sixth place
speaker. When not participating in debate activities, Sara is active in Model
United Nations, is a trainee in her school’s “Peer Support” program, and the
teen buddy coordinator for Operation Mend. The charity provides reconstructive
surgery to members of the armed services wounded in combat or training.
Daniel
Garrison is
a senior at Holy Cross High School in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is a
three-year Public Forum debater and the current chairman of the Brother Aiden
O'Reilly Debating Society. Daniel's accomplishments include third place at his
first state tournament, third place at the Harker School's Tournament,
and Double Octofinalist at the Bronx High School of Science tournament.
Additionally, Daniel has various first place finishes on the city level.
Outside of Public Forum, Daniel does Congressional Debate, Impromptu Speaking,
Original Oratory, and Extemporaneous Speaking. He is also a debate
instructor at Miller-Wall Elementary School in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana.
Shania
Hunt is a senior at Northland Christian School in Houston, Texas.
She has competed in both speech and debate events with an emphasis on Lincoln-Douglas
Debate. She has qualified for the Tournament of Champions, National Speech
& Debate Tournament, and TFA State numerous times. Shania was the national
runner-up in Extemporaneous Debate and has accumulated championship titles such
as the Greenhill Classic. Shania is also a captain of her debate team, a
former Girl Scout troop president, and captain of her Lacrosse team.
Jane
Irons is a junior at Marlborough High School in Los Angeles,
California. She has participated in speech and debate for three years,
competing in Parliamentary Debate, Congressional Debate, World Schools Debate,
Extemporaneous Speaking, Impromptu Speaking, and most recently, Lincoln-Douglas
Debate. Jane attended the Chinese National Debate Tournament in 2013 and won
third place team and third place speaker. Jane has also qualified to State in
four different events, and won awards at the Stanford and Berkeley
invitationals. She is the president of the school’s speech team and
Parli/Congress team and enjoys writing a current events column for her school
newspaper. Jane has been elected as Vice President and Environmental
Representative for her class the last two years.
Tiana Menon is a junior
at Palisade Senior High School in Grand Junction, Colorado. She has been active
in speech and debate for three years, competing in Congressional Debate, Public
Forum, and International Extemporaneous Speaking. She is a two-time qualifier
for both the Colorado state and National tournaments in International Extemp
and is currently in the process of starting a Junior Forensic League district.
When not competing, Tiana is an intern for U.S. Senator Michael Bennet of
Colorado. Prior to that, she was a Fall Fellow for President Barack Obama’s
Organizing for America. Over the summer, Tiana volunteered at a municipality
school in India where she taught English and is in the process of coordinating
and organizing a partnership between Palisade High and the school.
Amelia
Miller is a junior at Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles,
California. She has been active in debate since middle school, competing in the
Parliamentary, Lincoln-Douglas, and World School formats. Her personal
accomplishments include the National Middle School Debate Championships where
Miller’s team won the tournament and she was awarded the gavel for first place
speaker. Amelia has also won the USC Junior Varsity Lincoln-Douglas Debate
tournament, and reached the finals in the Pan American World Schools Debate
Championships in Chile and the Heart of Europe Championships in the Czech
Republic. When she’s not competing, Amelia coaches the middle school debate
team, and is active in the robotics club. She also participates on the Youth
Leadership Team for the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned
Pregnancy.
Lily Nellans is a senior
at Roosevelt High School in Des Moines, Iowa. She has competed in speech and
debate since the seventh grade and has won five state championships and a
national championship. She is also the proud winner of the Extemporaneous
Speaking Tournament of Champions and the MBA Extemporaneous Speaking Round
Robin. She currently holds the National Speech &Debate Association’s
all-time points' record. Outside of speech and debate, Lily is active with
education in Iowa serving on advisory councils for the state and the city of
Des Moines. Following graduation Lily will be competing on Western Kentucky
University’s speech and debate team next fall.
Coaches
Alfred C. Snider is the Edwin W. Lawrence Professor of
Forensics at the University of Vermont. He has degrees from Brown University,
Emerson College, and the University of Kansas. He teaches courses in debate,
argumentation, persuasion, and rhetorical analysis. He is the Director of the
World Debate Institute and the Lawrence Debate Union. Dr. Snider has done
formal debate training in more than 40 countries and has trained debaters from
more than 55 nations. Dr. Snider had published six books on debating in the
last seven years and during his career has edited or written more than 50
volumes about debating and for debaters.
Christina Tallungan is the Director of Debate at Notre Dame
High School in Sherman Oaks, California.
Her
Notre Dame students have reached the elimination rounds at most major national
policy debate competitions in the U.S., including St. Mark's, the Glenbrooks,
Montgomery Bell Academy, Blake, Berkeley, Meadows, Alta, and Golden Desert.
Five of her teams have qualified to the Tournament of Champions in the last
four years. In the international arena, Christina coached the 2013 Quarterfinalist,
2012 Semifinalist, 2011 Second Place, and 2010 Semifinalist International
Public Policy Forum teams
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 a member of the
National Speech & Debate Association Hall of Fame, Tournament of Champions,
and the Texas Forensic Association.
Team Manager
Cindi 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. Cindi 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. Having previously hosted
two National Speech & Debate Tournaments in Dallas, she is preparing to
host the best of the United States again in 2015. In her spare time, she loves
reading and writing. Most importantly, she is a wife and the mother of two.
