Outstanding Staff

The below is a tentative list of our staff for the 2008 WNDI.
We will add staff as necessary to ensure that you are placed in small labs—4 to 6 people—where you work one-on-one with our staff.

Click to go to the staff you want to view:

Head Staff 1

Policy Staff 1

LD Staff 4

Public Forum Staff 5

Residence Hall Staff 6

 

 

Head Staff

Jim Hanson directs one of the nation’s most successful programs, home to a four year record as the nation’s top policy and parli combined squad, and director of teams in elims at all four 2007 debate nationals. He edits the West Coast handbooks, and he makes the camp run smoothly. (Director)

hansonjb@whitman.edu

 

Eric Chalfant has been in elimination rounds at CEDA Nationals, Gonzaga, Pepperdine, Fullerton, CEDA Nationals, and Heart of America. He was top speaker at the Washington state tournament. He competed for 8 years and this will be his fourth WNDI. He likes disadvantages, theory, topicality, and counterplans. Eric works in the policy labs and will be one of Whitman’s assistant policy debate coaches next year.

chalfaer@whitman.edu

 

Click Here to go to WNDI Main Page

Policy Staff

Ben Meiches, currently UPS assistant policy coach, is the 2003 NFL National Champion in Policy Debate. In college, Ben won Pepperdine and NW CEDA Champs. He has advanced to elims at Gonzaga, Kentucky, Wake Forest, USC, Berkeley, Northwestern, Texas, and Fullerton. He was a CEDA Nationals Quarterfinalist and an NDT Octafinalist. He is well known for his kritikal arguments especially Zizek and Agamben.

meicheba@whtiman.edu

 

Matt Schissler is a Washington State Champion in Policy debate. In college, he won the Pepperdine, Gonzaga and NW CEDA Champs tournaments and was in elims at Kentucky, Wake Forest, USC, Fullerton, Berkeley, Texas, the NDT, and CEDA Nationals. He won a First Round Bid to the NDT TWICE and was in quarters at CEDA Nats this year. He loves space, growth, heg, and trade arguments.

schissmj@whitman.edu

 

Ross Richendrfer, was an NDT First Round Team for 2007, won 7th place and 7th speaker at NFL Nationals. Among the top 5 senior teams at his first two college tournaments, he won the USC tournament, was in elims at Pepperdine and Berkeley, semis at NW CEDA Champs, and placed 5th at CEDA Nationals and was in Octas at the NDT. Ross is an Honors major in Rhetoric and Film Studies and has a strong interest in American literature. Ross is very devoted and involved.

richenrc@whitman.edu

 

 

Meghan Hughes won USC twice and took second at Fullerton, and was in elims at the WNPT, Berkeley, NW CEDA Champs, CEDA Nats, and Pepperdine tournaments. A Gates Millenium Scholar, she is currently pursuing honors in gender studies. In her seventh year debating and fourth year at the WNDI, Meghan loves to beat performance kritiks and enjoys researching gender arguments.

hughesma@whitman.edu

 

Mike Meredith has been in elimination rounds at every national tournament for the past year including Gonzaga, Kentucky, Pepperdine, Wake Forest, USC, Fullerton, and Berkeley plus he has been in elims at CEDA Nationals twice. He is the recipient of the prestigious Al Bihn award for communication in journalism. He is majoring in psychology and sociology. He has competed for 7 years and has part time coached at Bellarmine High School for three years. He likes process counterplans, PICs, and generic disadvantages.

meredimw@whitman.edu

 

 

Andrew Stokes won the USC and WNPT tournaments and was in elims at Pepperdine, Berkeley, CEDA Nats, and NW CEDA Champs. He debated for five years in high school and college. He currently assistant coaches at Timberline High School and is double majoring in both Politics and Rhetoric and Film Studies. He likes disadvantages, counterplans, and good case arguments.

stokesan@whitman.edu

 

Amy Hamraie won the 2007 NDT after a year in which she was in elimination rounds at every major national circuit tournament that she attended. She was also in semis at Northwestern, Harvard and Fullerton and placed third at the Dartmouth Round Robin. She graduated at Emory University with the highest honors, summa cum laude. She has competed for 8 years and coached for 2 years.  This coming year, she will be coaching for Emory University, Colleyville Heritage High School, and working with the Atlanta Urban Debate League. She loves beating kritiks (on the aff and neg), tricky counterplan strategies, and big heg or capitalism impact debates.

 

Paul Montreiul was a first round to the NDT as a sophomore. He was in finals at USC and semis at Harvard. He was in octas at CEDA Nationals and was in elimination rounds at the NDT. He competed in Idaho for four years in high school and he is currently pursuing an education degree at Idaho State University. He enjoys topicality arguments, Agamben and Neitzche.

Nate Cohn was in doubles at the NDT, octas at CEDA Nationals, semis at Freshman/Sophomore Nationals and NW CEDA Champs. In high school, Nate was a Washington State Champion, TOC qualifier, three time NFL qualifier, and placed 16th at NFL Nationals. Nate has worked on several political campaigns and likes case debates, well researched counterplans, and politics disadvantages.

ndcohn@gmail.com

 

Daniel Straus was in doubles at the NDT, octas at CEDA Nationals, semis at Freshman/Sophomore Nationals and NW CEDA Champs. In high school, Daniel was a 2 time Virginia State Champion and participated in out rounds of Wake Forest, Ohio Valley, Lexington, Harvard, and every local tournament he attended. Winner of a Penrose scholarship at Whitman College, Daniel likes the affirmative and politics disadvantages.

Oracl3@gmail.com

Robby White is a hilarious lab leader that you will really enjoy working with. Robby was in the top half of teams at Gonzaga as a frosh, won the WNPT, finals of the WSCA tournament, triples of CEDA Nationals, and has won multiple awards in Washington state high school debate.
white.robby@gmail.com

 

Candi Kissinger won the Pepperdine tournament, second at the USC tournament, and was in semi-finals at the WNPT, and was in elims at CEDA Nats losing to the national champions, Harvard. She is a former WNDI attendee, coaches at Brookfield Central HS in Wisconsin, and brings a sharp mind, engaging personality, and hard work to her camp instructor position.

candacekissinger@gmail.com

 

Spencer Janyk was a very successful debater at Sehome high school. In college, he went 7-0 at USC, won the WNPT, finals at the WSCA tournament, and doubles at CEDA Nationals. This will be his third year at the WNDI and he returns to provide his quirky sense of humor. He likes space, hegemony and culture jamming arguments.

janyksd@whitman.edu

Peter Campbell was Washington state high school champion. He debated at UPS and was in elims 3 years in a row at CEDA Nats, was a three time NW CEDA Champs quarterfinalist, and won the Western Washington tournament. A UPS Trustee and University Scholar and now a Graduate Fellow at the University of Illinois, he has worked at several debate institutes for four years. He likes politics disadvantages, kritiks, counterplans, topicality, and space arguments.

pcampbell@ups.edu

 

Jake Ginsbach was the Number One Speaker in the Nation at NFL Nationals. In college, he was a quarterfinalist at Pepperdine and USC, winner of the WNPT, and twice was a CEDA Nats Elims participant. A Chemistry Fellow at Whitman, he debated for six years. He enjoys Plan Inclusive Counterplans and politics disadvantages.

ginsbajw@whitman.edu

 

 

 

Luke Sanford won award after award in Colorado and was in late elims at NFL Nationals. He has competed for five years and coached for two. Exceptionally smart, he won the Pepperdine tournament, took second at USC, was a semi-finalist at the WNPT, was in octas at Berkeley, and advanced to quarterfinals at CEDA Nats twice. He was a national merit scholar finalist. He likes disad-counterplan debate best, and his favorite impact debates are space, growth, nano, and cap.

sanforlc@whitman.edu

 

Des Weber was in quarters at North Texas 2004, finals at Northern Iowa 2004, won Augustana 2007 and coached a team to finals of Minnesota JV states 2006. She is in the Macalester political science honors and philosophy programs, and has presented papers at the USC and Pacific University undergraduate conferences. She is currently working on an honors thesis about democratic consensus in Gadamer, Habermas, and Derrida. She has competed for 7 years and has coached for 3 years. She likes arguments about hegemony, growth, space and any “kritik with an I.Q. over 120.” soulinafishbowl@gmail.com

 

Nick Griffin broke at every tournament his junior year, had a winning record at every tournament his junior and senior year, was a quarter finalist at state his frosh year and was a semifinalist for the next three years in a row. He graduated in the top 10% of his class while competing for four years at Gig Harbor high school. He worked at the WNDI last year. Currently debating for Whitman College, he won the WNPT and advanced to doubles at CEDA Nationals, he is studying environmental politics and international relations and enjoys counterplans, malthus, and hegemony arguments.

griffinj@whitman.edu

 

Jonathan Dentler was an outstanding high school debater advancing to semifinals at the Whitman tournament, quarterfinals at Gonzaga, and took first at the 2007 state tournament. He was the exclusive winner of the social sciences and debate department awards and graduated in the top 10% of his class. He competed for four years at Gig Harbor High School and now debates for Whitman College and already was in elims at Pepperdine and NW CEDA Champs, won the WNPT, and advanced to triples at CEDA Nationals. He worked at the WNDI last year and he likes politics, agent counterplans, Capitalism debates, heg and relations arguments.

dentlejl@whitman.edu

 

Tony Johnson cleared at Emporia State, Denver, NW CEDA Champs, and CEDA Nationals. He has been involved in debate for six years, qualified for the NDT, and was in elims at Whitman, Gonzaga, Alta, and Auburn. He won the University of Wyoming essay contest for a paper he wrote on American detention camps. He really enjoys good topicality debates and topic specific criticisms.

Katie Kauf is the coach of the 2003 NFL Policy Champions, and the 2006 College JV National Champions. She was the recipient of the 2007 Neil Butt Judging Award, and was the 2006 CEDA East Critic of the Year. She was the 2004 SAMBA Director of the Year for her work with SUNY-Buffalo. She was a CEDA All-American and had multiple out-round appearances, including CEDA Nationals. She majored in Communication Studies at Macalester College, was in the top ten of my graduating class, and was also a National Merit Finalist. She has been involved in forensics for nearly a decade and currently coaches at the University of Rochester. She likes security criticisms and has an incredibly low threshold for what counts as a net-benefit on a counterplan.

 

Click Here to go to WNDI Main Page

 

LD Staff

Nicholas Thomas is an outstanding instructor and has been with the WNDI since it began. A four-time NFL Nationals qualifier and two-time state champion, Nicholas was a top ten speaker at NPDA Nationals and advanced to third elimination round at the NPTE. He graduated Whitman College Summa Cum Laude. Currently a Rhetoric Ph.D. candidate, he is an expert in many different philosophical perspectives, especially Heidegger, Foucault, and Arendt.

pinkballoon@hotmail.com

 

Joe Allen received speaker awards at every tournament attended for 2 seasons, including the Berkeley national invitational, the Alta national invitational, the Whitman national invitational, and received top speaker at the prestigious South Eugene Round Robin. He received the "Orv Iverson Award" his frosh year and debated for Western Kentucky University, where he and his partner were ranked as the #5 parli debate team in the nation. He advanced to quarters at the 2007 NPDA and was in elims at the 2007 NPTE and was in semis at the 2007 NFA LD National Championship. He likes capitalism, hegemony, and deep ecology arguments.

 

Rachel Safran is the parliamentary debate coach at UPS where she has coached teams to elims at every tournament including the NPDA and NPTE, where she was also ranked the 3rd most preferred judge. In college, Rachel and her partner won 9 out of the 11 tournaments they attended in 2006 including the NPTE and NPDA after being ranked #1 in the country most of the season. She was also the 2nd speaker at NPTE and 5th speaker at NPDA. Rachel has been judging high school debate for 6 years, including work with the Seattle UDL and the Mt. Tahoma LD camp. She graduated from UPS magna cum laude with degrees in Chemistry and Spanish. She enjoys theory debates and arguments about the environment, health care, and indigenous peoples.

James Culver competed for four years at Mercer Island High School and now is an undergraduate at Wheaton College of Massachusetts. He had an extraordinarily successful Lincoln-Douglas career including winning 4 TOC bids his senior year with showings of first place at Whitman, Alta, second at Auburn and a semi-finalist at the University of California-Berkeley invitational. He also advanced to elimination rounds at NFL Nationals, won the Mount Vernon round robin and placed 2nd at the Washington state tournament. He enjoys more traditional argumentation.

 

Mostafa Heddaya cleared at Auburn, Alta, Stanford and Blake. He won the Blake round robin, UPS, and Bainbridge Island Round Robin. He cleared at NFL Nats with a 10-2 record and qualified to the Tournament of Champions. He is one of five American debaters selected to be on the national team, and will be flown to South Korea in July to debate at the World Schools Championships. He enjoys running critical theory and has run, albeit rarely, alternative-framework cases such as kritiks, irony, and narratives.

Megan Schrader won speaker awards at every tournament she attended in 2008 and has advanced to elimination rounds at every national tournament.  Her freshman year, she and her partner were ranked as the #10 parli team in the nation, and in 2007, she and her partner were the youngest team to ever place in the top 10 at the National Parliamentary Tournament of Excellence.  She won the UPS tournament, placed second at Whitman, the Point Loma Round Robin, and Purdue. Megan is a Presidential Scholar at the University of Puget Sound, where she studies the International Political Economy, and enjoys arguments about international trade, nuclear proliferation, and domestic politics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Click Here to go to WNDI Main Page

 

Public Forum Staff

Candi Kissinger won the Pepperdine tournament, second at the USC tournament, and was in semi-finals at the WNPT. A debater from the state of Idaho, she is quite adept at making compelling arguments to diverse audiences. She is a former WNDI attendee, coaches at Brookfield Central HS in Wisconsin, and brings a sharp mind, engaging personality, and hard work to her camp instructor position.

candacekissinger@gmail.com

 

Nate Cohn was Washington state champion, TOC qualifier, three time NFL Qualifier and placed 16th at NFL Nats. In college, he has continued to establish himself as an outstanding speaker advancing to semis at the WNPT, 18th speaker at Pepperdine, octas at Berkeley, and octas at CEDA Nationals. He has worked on several political campaigns and is extremely adept at good public argumentation.

ndcohn@gmail.com

 

 

Nick Griffin had a winning record at every tournament his junior and senior year, was a quarter finalist at state his frosh year and was a semifinalist for the next three years in a row. He graduated in the top 10% of his class while competing for four years at Gig Harbor high school. He worked at the WNDI last year. Currently debating for Whitman College, he won the WNPT and advanced to double-octafinals at CEDA Nationals. He has a good sense of argument, a friendly smile, and he is always willing to help out.

griffinj@whitman.edu

 

Jonathan Dentler was in semifinals at the Whitman tournament, quarterfinals at Gonzaga, and took first at the 2007 state tournament. He was the exclusive winner of the social sciences and debate department awards and graduated in the top 10% of his class. He competed for four years at Gig Harbor High School and now debates for Whitman College and already was in the top half of all teams at his first tournament, won the WNPT, and elims at NW CEDA Champs and CEDA Nationals. He worked at the WNDI last year and he has an intellectual interest in varying moral, political, and social issues.

dentlejl@whitman.edu

 

 

 

 

Click Here to go to WNDI Main Page

 

Life Duties Staff

All Staff members participate in Residence Hall Duties.

 

 

Rob Olsen is the Parliamentary Debate Coach at Whitman College. This will be his third year as Head Life Director at the WNDI. He coached all five Whitman teams to elimination rounds (including two first place teams) at the WSCA tournament and took the squad to tenth in the nation in 2008. He placed 17th at the National Parliamentary Debate Association Championship and 29th at the National Parliamentary Tournament of Excellence. He has specialized in environmental science and enjoys discussing environmental issues. He is also incredibly helpful and a great coaching and life duties resource.

olsenrm@whitman.edu

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We will add staff to ensure individual attention at our camp.

 

Click Here to go to WNDI Main Page