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Coach's Spotlight

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  Abigail S.

  Lead Debate Coach & Social Media Manager

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  Coach Abigail is an accomplished coach and debate competitor who aims to help Potomac students reach their full potential. With her extensive experience across all debate events, Abigail qualified for nationals every year, won multiple state championships and national titles, and ranked among the top 10 competitors worldwide by the National Speech and Debate Association. As a coach, Abigail is passionate about mentoring young people and gives back to the community by volunteering for the national urban debate league. She judges and coaches almost every weekend for the nonprofit organization Chicago Debates, where she was awarded the prestigious “New Coach of the Year” award. Abigail firmly believes that debate education shapes students’ academic futures, as she has personally experienced the benefits of her own competitive spirit in both tournaments and university studies. She holds a Master’s degree in Social Science (Psychology) from the University of Chicago, and dual Bachelor’s degrees in Forensic Psychology and Sociology, all of which she obtained before the age of 20.

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  Christina L.

  Assistant Debate Coach

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  An alumni of Potomac Debate Academy, Coach Christina is currently pursuing a B.S. in Business Administration with a minor in Political Science at the University of Southern California. As a student, Christina competed for Thomas S. Wootton for three years where she qualified to NSDA Nationals and the Tournament of Champions and won numerous awards at major tournaments such as Dowling, Lakelands, and Yale University. After graduating, Christina went on to coach at Public Forum Academy and Victory Briefs Institute, in addition to her role at Potomac Debate Academy. Her area of expertise as a coach is focused on developing students’ second half strategy, weighing skills, and understanding of lay debate. Christina’s favorite part of coaching is being able to foster a student’s individual debate and speaking styles, rather than sticking to any one formula for success. Outside of coaching, Christina works as DEI Director and Project Manager for a pro-bono social impact consulting organization at USC and enjoys weightlifting, hiking, and exploring new foods.

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  Elisa S.

  President

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  Coach Elisa founded Potomac Debate Academy in 2014. She was motivated to spread the joys of competitive debate to students because public speaking and debate bolsters students’ critical thinking, logical reasoning, and presentation skills, all of which will serve students well regardless of their future pursuits. Her love and passion for debate started in high school, where she participated in Lincoln Douglas, Policy, and Public Forum competitions. In college, she was a member of the New York University Parliamentary Debate Team and an active participant of the American Parliamentary Debate Association (APDA). In 2010, she had the honor of representing both New York University and the United States in the World Debate Championships, in Antalya, Turkey. Coach Elisa holds a B.A. in Political Science from New York University, a J.D. from University of Virginia School of Law, and a M.S.Ed. from University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. Coach Elisa is also an attorney, specializing in issues affecting higher education. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her daughter and two dogs.

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  Noah M.

  Lead Debate Coach

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  Coach Noah has been involved in speech & debate for over 10 years. He joined Potomac Debate as a travel coach in spring 2018 and now coaches in the classroom, teaching both public speaking and public forum debate. As a competitor, Noah reached late out-rounds at major national tournaments, qualifying to NFL Nationals and the Tournament of Champions twice. In 2016, he championed the Texas state tournament in parliamentary debate. His students have experienced great success, championing Harvard multiple times, over a dozen qualifiers to the Tournament of Champions, and reaching late out-rounds at Harvard, Yale, Stanford, and more. Noah believes that his success as a coach is measured by how much my students believe I care about their success. Each day, he strives to teach speech and debate to the best of his ability, but also to demonstrate that he cares about each student’s path and success outside of speech and debate. Outside of coaching, he enjoys camping and learning Japanese.