Our Staff
The Matthew Harris 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 HOSDI (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 (28 states so far).
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 (59%) or participating in (34%) an Urban Debate League, though it isn't necessary.
We are proud to announce the staff for the 2020 Summer Debate Institute.
 Colton Gilbert Debate Coach Little Rock Central High School |  Maggie Ryan Debate Coach, College Park Academy University of Maryland |
|---|---|
 Dr. Jackie Poapst Assistant Director of Debate George Mason University |  Darrian Carroll Doctoral Candidate, University of Maryland |
 Natalie Bennie Doctoral Student, Pennsylvania State University |  Darcell Brown Wayne State University |
 David Trigaux Program Director Washington Urban Debate League |  Dr. Omar Price Professor, Director of Debate, Alabama A&M University |
 Niko Sims Emporia State University |  Aubrey Semple Program Director, NYCUDL |
 Kevin Tezi Howard University |  Alex Dresdner Emory University |
 Danielle Dupree Howard University |  Cydney Edwards Program Director, Miami-Dade Urban Debate League |
 Olivia Northcutt-Wyly University of Southern California |  Tara Bhagat University of Cambridge (UK) |
 Munyang Tengen Howard University |  Delia Rossini Debate Coach, Minnesota Urban Debate League (MNUDL) |
 Chris Roberds Debate Teacher/Coach Kickapoo High School |  Chris Nace Director of Debate, DC International |
 Eric Clarke Georgetown University |  Andrew Geathers Debate Coach Bedford Academy (NY) Tournament Coordinator, NYCUDL |
 Adilah Wutoh-Baylor Debate Coach, Roosevelt |  Aisha Taylor Jacksonville University |
 Austin Weatherington Director of Debate, Friendship Woodridge |  Ernest Ntangu Georgetown University |
 Tristan Loveless Program Coordinator Tulsa Urban Debate League (TDL) |  Patrick Wilborn Director of Debate, DuVal High School |
 Jaden Kuykendahl Howard University |  Selah Lee-Bey Debate Coach and Reading Specialist Washington Latin PCS |
 Cecelia Cerja Graduate Student, University of North Iowa |  Wil Hawk Director of Debate Capital City PCS |
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