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Staff

Current Staff:

Dylan Deems, Administrator: Dylan has been an LD debater from the beginning. Working hard through the tough Region III competition, he has received several awards at different tounaments and strives to achieve excellence in all he does. Entering his third year of debate Dylan looks forward to coaching and debating this years philosophical resolution. Other than speech and debate, Dylan loves to play music, discuss theology, and spend time with his family. In the future, this Oregonian would like to work in the field of robotics and computers.

Tait Deems, Administrator: Tait is a sixteen year old high school senior who lives near Medford, Oregon. He has been competing in Lincoln Douglass debate for two years. He has received several awards in both speech and debate. This last year he has taken a teaching role in both his local speech club and IDS (International Debate Society). Tait plans to pursue a career in law, and raise a God loving family. When not in a debate round, Tait enjoys playing music with his friends, reading old books, wakeboarding in the summer, and snowboarding in the winter. Ultimately, he wants to glorify God in everything he does, and increase his knowledge of and satisfaction in the Lord.

Founders and Previous Staff:

Petra Anderson, Founder: Petra began her Lincoln Douglas debate career in 2001. At the age of 13, Petra competed as one of the youngest LD debaters at Nationals 2003. She is also a talented actress, landing leading roles in Summer Stock Theater productions. Petra is an Exhibit Interpreter for the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, teaches music classes to small children, serves as a Sr. Staff Member for the Colorado Jr. Speech Tournament, and volunteers as a Teen Court Attorney.

Natalie Webb, Founder: As a first year speaker, Natalie won 8th place in Expository Speaking at Nationals 2004. After her victory , Natalie moved to rural Oklahoma and away from speech and debate. This inspired her to help found IDS, giving isolated rural students an opportunity to debate. Natalie is a violinist performing with the Oklahoma Youth Orchestra, Assistant Station Manager at KAYM Radio Station, and is active in politics.

Matt Pitchford, Mentor: An Eagle Scout and National Speech and Debate Competitor, Matt is a natural debater. After three years of experience in policy debate, Matt switched to LD and joined IDS in 2005. He is a leader in his church, scout and club communities, participating in youth group, leading scout outings, and teaching a homeschool speech class. This year Matt will be traveling with Communicators for Christ (CFC) as an intern. Matt enjoys imagination and talking about current events on his blog - Radical Traditions.

Andrew Roblyer, Mentor: A three-time National Competitor and International Debate Society alum, Andrew always found time for everything, from studying and family time to playing lead roles in summer stock theater productions. Service is equally important to Andrew and he aspires to a career in politics or law. Andrew will begin attending Texas A&M this fall.

Katie Pitchford, Mentor: After taking a short stint in Team Policy debate, Katie's back for a third year of LD. She is an artist and a music collector, priding herself on the 25 gigabytes of music on her hard-drive. She also enjoys spending time playing the piano, writing romantic poetry, and photographing nature. Taking her skills into the community, she has taught several speech and debate classes to students and adults. Katie will be taking her senior year as a year of reflecting and fun, and strives to be encouraging throughout the whole IDS experience.
Nicholas Bruno, Mentor: Nicholas Bruno, 18, is from Richmond, Texas (Region 4). He has debated for 3 years, qualifying to Regionals with his partner his first year in Team Policy, winning multiple speaker and debate awards in his two years of LD and finishing 5th in Region 4 in 2008. He qualified to the 2008 National tournament in Extemporaneous speaking. Nicholas enjoys mentoring debaters at a local debate camp. Besides participating in speech and debate, Nicholas also plays trombone in band, works in his family’s business, is a member of Eta Sigma Alpha National Home School Honor Society, and was one of the 2008 Financial Literacy Award winners. After finishing high school, he anticipates studying economics and political science.

Jeannette Webb, Senior Administrator: Jeannette has coached platform events for 25 years. A long time homeschool mom, she is President of Aiming Higher Consultants, a collage coaching service for Christian students, www.aiminghigherconsultants.com

Kim Anderson, Assistant Administrator: Kim has coached debate for 6 years. Many of her students have gone on to Nationals and college debate. She writes one of the standard NCFCA LD textbooks, The Red Book, each year and serves as the NCFCA Region 3 Coordinator. When not coaching, she can be found at the post of super-mom or writing cultural commentary at her blog, www.mother-lode.blogspot.com