Our Summer Staff

The Matthew Harris Ornstein Washington Summer Debate Institute is dedicated to bringing together all-star instructors for our students. Unlike most debate camps, we hold a competitive, national talent search. Also unlike most debate camps, we are look for staff members with policy debate expertise AND experience as a teacher and/or coaching to pass along their knowledge and skills. Being a highly successful competitor doesn’t automatically translate into being a good instructor, and different labs require different skillsets to teach. We value instructional experience, diverse backgrounds and experiences, debate knowledge, and a team-first attitude when hiring.

Our Staff (8th Summer reflected above) reflects the great debate community here in the D.C. area. Our staff has included a lot of flashy resume lines regarding state and national championships (as a coach or competitor) such as the NDT, CEDA, UDNC, NCFL, NFL/NSDA, TOC, MS Nationals, etc.

These accolades are impressive, but we also value the ability to build relationships with students and instructional skills. Many of our best instructors didn’t end up in break rounds of the NDT, but are strong communicators and know how to empower others. We offer a wide range of labs, ranging from middle school novices who have never seen a debate round before to folks hunting for bids to the TOC, which we value equally. Different skills are required to teach different ages and levels of experience, and we hire accordingly.

Some Fast Facts

Historically, we have averaged rough gender parity (among those who choose to identify), and have had a supermajority-minority staff.

We’ve had instructors from 31 states so far!

Volunteer with an Urban Debate League

70%

Urban Debate Alumni (WUDL or elsewhere, indicated with an * below)

48%

Undergraduates (rarely rising freshmen, but some have blown us away)

49%

Graduate Students

17%

Post-graduate professionals, the majority of whom are classroom teachers or the staff of other urban debate leagues (which we love to collaborate with)

43%

Residents of the greater DMV who work with the league in some capacity year-round

68%

(Under Construction) 2025 Staff

11th Matthew Harris Ornstein Summer Debate Institute

Aisha Bah*

Wesleyan University, Debate Coach, Eleanor Roosevelt High School (MD)

Liv Birnstad*

Harvard University, Coach, Boston Debate League Travel Team

Eric Clarke*

Intelligence Analyst, MITRE, Debate Coach, School Without Walls

McAlister Clabaugh

Washington Urban Debate League

Danielle Dupree*

Camp Director
Washington Urban Debate League

Clarke Dickens*

University of Pennsylvania

Zara Escobar*

Yale University

Wheezy Ervin*

University of Kentucky

Forrest Gertin

Debate Coach, Forest Park High School

Dennis Martinez*

University of Maryland, Debate Coach, College Park Academy

Jennifer Matson

Debate Coach, CMIT North

Joanne Opoku

Amherst University

Dr. Omar Price

Debate Coach, DuVal High School

Kailey Ramlal*

Temple University

Aubrey Semple*

Assistant Director of Debate, Riverdale Country School (NY)

Niko Sims

Asst. Director of Debate, University of Wyoming

Noah Smith*

Morehouse University

Aisha Taylor*

Jacksonville University

David Trigaux

Executive Director, Washington Urban Debate League

Joseph Villaflor*

Suwanee College of the South

Keoni Scott-Reid Award

To commemorate the legacy of a founding member of our community and an alumni of both the Matthew Harris Ornstein Washington Summer Debate Institute and the Washington Urban Debate League, we have established the Keoni Scott-Reid Outstanding Instructor Award.

Keoni, who transitioned in 2019, was the first winner of the Matthew Harris Ornstein Outstanding Debater award. He had an illustrious competitive career, but was even more impactful as a coach and instructor, returning to the summer institute every year upon graduation and inspiring hundreds of young people.

After consultation with peers, former competitors, coaches, family members and mentors, this award will recognize the instructor who displays the creativity, relationship building, empathy, and humor that we miss today.

A stipend will be attached to the award. This is the partner award to the Matthew Harris Ornstein Outstanding Debater Award, which recognizes the most outstanding student at each summer institute. Any member of the student body or staff may make a nomination, and all members of the staff are eligible, save for those that have already won it.