Our Staff

The Matthew H. Ornstein Washington Summer Debate Institute is dedicated to bringing together an All-Star staff for our students. Unlike most debate camps, we hold a competitive, national talent search to identify the best and brightest. We look for staff members with substantial debate expertise AND extensive experience as a teacher and/or coach to pass along their experience.

Staff of the 5th Annual Ornstein Summer Debate Institute (2019)

From Left: Alex Dresdner, Kalyani Allums, Randall Martinez, Mary Beth Armstrong, Maggie Ryan, Jackie Poapst, Cesar Fortuna, Bilqiis Sheikh-Issa, Jon Alfuth, Olivia Berry, Colton Gilbert, Selah Lee-Bey, Cydney Edwards, Keoni Scott-Reid, Dara Davis, Frantz Deetjen, Aubrey Semple, David Trigaux, Omar Price, David Leo, Patrick Wilborn, Darcell Brown, Hiba Sheikh, Darrian Carroll, and Aisha Taylor.

Over the past 5 years, the WUDL staff has reflected the great debate community here in D.C. and around the country. We value diversity on our staff in terms of race and gender, but also in terms of experience, profession, and geography. We've had college students, graduate students and professors, policymakers, attorneys, and teachers from all over the nation (27 states so far). 

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Our staff over the years has included a lot of flashy resume lines regarding state and national championships, the NDT, CEDA, TOC, etc. but regardless of the accolades, we value the ability to build relationships with students and instructional skills. Many of our best instructors haven't been in break rounds of the NDT, but are strong communicators and instructors. We appreciate some sort of experience working with (66%) or participating in (33%) an Urban Debate League, though it isn't necessary. 

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We are proud to announce the staff for the 2020 Summer Debate Institute, as we make offers. 

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2017 Staff:

From Left: Rachel Stevens, Reka Fink, Selah Lee-Bey, David Trigaux, Kevin Whitley, Jon Alfuth, Khalil Lee, Jazmine Pickens, Jonathan Gonzalez, Nick Sciullo, Natalie Bennie, Wayne Young, Taylor Allums, Kate Scolaro, Tommye Weddington, Hunter McCullough, Nate Nys

Not Pictured: Richard Day