Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Meet USA Debate



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.