CONG. COACHES
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6 national championships. 32 national finals appearances. All 100% free.
❤️Ruby Lab (Advanced)
Carter McDonald
My name is Carter McDonald and I’ve been involved in debate for 9 years (as a competitor for 7 and coach for the last 2). I have made finals at local, state, and national levels, winning two Colorado state titles and taking 5th at UKTOC 2023. Super excited to be involved still and can’t wait to work with you all.
Grace Jackson
Grace has been involved in debate for three years and serves as the captain of the Hagerty Debate Team. In her time competing in congress she has placed 6th at NCFL Nationals, 9th in NSDA Senate Finals, Finaled Emory , 3rd at EIF round robin and semis at Yale, Sunvite and Blue Key . She served as a coach to the advanced lab at the EIF summer camp and private coach to high schoolers. Outside of debate, she's a gym rat who loves going out with friends, having beach days, listening to Lauryn Hill, volunteering in her community, and trying new recipes. As a coach she emphasizes simplicity, how to keep people engaged and most importantly bringing your personality into round. A debaters greatest strength is their unique self, as a coach she hopes to help every debater realize that and unlock their full potential. She’s super excited to work with this year's talent!
🩵Sapphire Lab (Intermediate)
Nicholas Ostheimer
Nick served as president of his debate team for 4 years, founded his high school team in freshman year, and has since led it to achieving NSDA charter chapter status. He was an NSDA House Finalist in 2023 and a two-time TOC finalist in 2023 and 2024. Nick has also champed natcirc tournaments such as the UK Season Opener (twice), Blue Key (twice), Nova Titan, and Sunvite. He is currently ranked #1 in the country in congressional debate by NSDA points. Nick has coached students to finals of Middle School Harvard, UK TOC, and the FL state championship in congressional debate.
Edward Wilson
Edward is a sophomore at the Sally McDonell Barksdale Honors College at the University of Mississippi and a member of the Warren Debate Union. He served as Debate Team Captain for three years, rebuilding a team that had not qualified for nationals in over 20 years. Edward is a three-time Congress qualifier, a two-time Nationals house Finalist, and was the National Champion Runner-Up in 2023. He is also a TOC semifinalist and a two-time NCFL Finalist. Edward ranked first in NSDA points for his district and was among the top 12 nationally in Congress NSDA points.
💜Amethyst Lab (Intermediate)
Sebastian Asady
Sebastian is a current sophomore at American Heritage Palm Beach, currently part of the team’s leadership as Congress Captain. As he’s been debating for 5 years, he had an exceptionally strong freshman year, becoming a finalist at tournaments such as Florida Blue Key and the Barkley Forum at Emory, and getting 2nd place at the Princeton Classic. Sebastian, in his freshman year, also demonstrated his capabilities as one of the strongest Congressional debaters within Florida, winning the Florida Novice State Championship and getting 4th at the Varsity State tournament. As a coach, he enjoys bringing out the personable and simple side of debating through exemplifying emotions and feelings. Furthermore, he enjoys working closely with mentors, peers and mentees to create argumentation that stems from personal backgrounds to enhance persuasion in round. Outside of debate, Sebastian enjoys a variety of water sports, traveling the world, and going out with friends. He can’t wait to be part of the effort to coach the next generation!
Sameer Khan
Sameer is a senior at PCDS and has been doing debate for four years. He has made final rounds at tournaments like Harvard, Bronx, and the TOC. He loves coaching in many different fields like club basketball clinics, tutoring, and debate. He can’t wait to get started with Equality in Forensics!!
🧡Topaz Lab (Beginner)
Alisha Hassanali
Alisha has been involved with speech and debate for six years. She was honored to be one of the few people to have won the California State Championship twice (2022 in congressional debate, 2024 as PO). As a freshman, she founded her school's first congressional debate team and coached it to be one of the most successful congress programs in Southern California. Alisha also placed third at TOC and broke to finals twice at NSDA Nationals. Now, she is a student at UCLA and loves giving back to an activity that she credits with shaping her into the thinker, speaker, and go-getter that she is today.
Audrey Huang
Audrey is a rising junior at University High School, Irvine, where she has helped revitalize the dormant debate team there. She has done speech and debate for 6 years (dividing her time between policy and congressional debate). In her Congress career, she has most notably placed 12th at TOC, 10th at Yale, and is two-time champion of La Costa. She is never seen outside of a debate context: she is either on the way to a debate tournament, at a debate tournament, prepping for one, coaching others for one, judging one, or recovering from one. Basically, debate is her personality.
💚Emerald Lab (Beginner)
Emilie Fann
Emilie has competed in Congressional debate for 5 years on both the Illinois and National circuits. After peaking in 8th grade (not exclusive to debate), she has most notably championed the Harvard Round Robin, placed 4th at Yale, 8th at Harvard, and 10th at Glenbrooks. She has also semifinaled at several other national tournaments like TOC and NSDA Nationals. As a part of the Illinois All-State Team, she has placed first at nearly every single state tournament. When she’s not yapping in one form or another, she’s most likely found grinding Minesweeper, getting sweet treats, or playing an instrument.
Navya Tyagali
Navya has been part of Speech and Debate for the past four years, and has served as captain of her Speech and Debate team since her sophomore year. Throughout her career, she has competed in 11 different events, though she focuses on Extemp and Congress. Navya has semifinaled the California state tournament and the Tournament of Champions; finaled the ASU Invitational; placed 2nd at the James Logan MLK Jr Invitational; placed 15th at the 2024 NSDA National Tournament (Senate); won the Jack Howe Memorial Invitational; and placed 5th at the Glenbrooks Speech & Debate Tournament. As a coach, Navya believes that speech and debate should be intertwined, and hopes to help debaters develop their delivery and presentation skills, as well simply their argumentation, in order to maximize their in-round performance and persuasion. When she’s not debating, Navya loves watching and reading trashy romcoms or listening to Gracie Abrams, Ken Carson, and PARTYNEXTDOOR.
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