Public Forum
SKILL AND STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT FOR ALL LEVELS OF PUBLIC FORUM DEBATE
We provide students of varying levels of experience with the opportunity to explore aspects of Public Forum Debate in a guided setting. From learning basics to advanced strategies, the workshop meets students at their current level and propels them to the next level. Individualized instruction focusing on skill development is provided to each student within a small group laboratory setting (6:1 student to instructor ratio). Students debate an average of 14 rounds (within lab, between labs, and tournament rounds). A workshop practice tournament is held the final two days to provide each student with competition experience.
Session One Tentative Schedule
Level: All Levels
Appropriate for all experience levels. Students are tracked by experience level in small group lab settings.
Summer 2025 Sessions
In-Person:
Session One: June 29 - July 11, 2025.
Session Two: July 13 - July 25, 2025
Tuition
In-person
Resident: $4,049
Commuter: $2,949
We recognize PF is one of the most popular forms of debate and we welcome students from across the US and from abroad. Harvard Debate Council believes in the ability of debate to help engage and change the world and is a leader in international debate experiences, providing students from around the world the opportunity to study different forms of debate on the Harvard campus each summer.
Knowledgeable faculty lecture on topic areas relevant to resolutions debated throughout the year as well as on key public forum strategies and techniques.
After the first week, the workshop focuses on preparation for the tournament practicum. Two days are dedicated to intensive practice including interlab stop/start and redo debates as well as debates within lab. The final two days are devoted to the practice tournament. Throughout the practice tournament, the staff continues to find teachable moments – from modeling tournament practices, to encouraging students to refine arguments and techniques, to strategizing with students, helping them to improve their debating in each successive round. All students not competing in elimination rounds of the practice tournament will judge.
About the Program
Philosophy
Experienced and dedicated coaches – working in concert with recent high school and college debate competitors – are committed to individualized student learning and personal improvement, enabling students to achieve their goals for the next year. This happens in a unique and rigorous ivy league atmosphere, inspiring students to achieve.
Workshop Schedule
The online workshop will run from 10AM – 6PM EST.
A detailed daily schedule is available on the Canvas site.
Learning Objectives
- Topic Analysis: Learn how best to approach and research topics
- Research Techniques: Research using the most efficient and reliable methods
- Case Construction: Craft cases ready to win at the national level
- Debate Strategies: Learn argumentative and rhetorical strategies for winning
- Debate Tournament Experience: Extensive experience debating with other students in front of faculty
Hear from Students
What Students and Parents Say
Faculty
Martin Zacharia
Curriculum Director
Martin Zacharia is the Director of Social Studies at Niles West High School in Skokie, Illinois. He previously was the Head Debate Coach at William Fremd High School in Palatine, Illinois. By his last year as Head Coach, the team consisted of 120 active members competing in Public Forum, Lincoln-Douglas, and Congressional Debate. He is a One-Diamond Award Recipient from the National Speech and Debate Association and State Manager of the IHSA State Debate Championships. Under his leadership, Fremd Debaters won ICTA N/JV State Championships in all six competitive divisions in LD, PF, and Congress. During his last three years as Head Coach, Fremd consistently earned the greatest number of State medalists of any school in Illinois, including multiple top speakers and State Runners-up. In 2017, Martin was elected the Illinois Communication and Theatre Association Head Coach of the Year.
Jennifer Schraeder
School Affiliation: Battle Ground Academy (TN) Title: Director of Speech & Debate Number of Years at School: 2 years (2021-present) High School/College Debate Experience: Policy debater at Groves High School (MI) and Wayne State University (MI) Coaching Experience: 2 years policy at Wayne State University, 2 years parli in South Korea, 2 years public forum in China, 7 years all events at Archbishop McCarthy Years Previously Taught at other workshops: 10 summers teaching at HDCSW (public forum, parli, public speaking and argument), 2 summers teaching at JDI (policy)
Rebecca Bosslet
School Affiliation: Enreach Education Title: Debate and Public Speaking Coach Number of Years at School: 1 High School/College Debate Experience: Participated in Public Forum in high school Coaching Experience: 1 year as a coach at Enreach Education in Shanghai. Bio: IHSA Varsity State Quarterfinalist in 2010, I’ve judged IHSA state for three years and also judged at other NSDA and Illinois local tournaments. I also have volunteered with William Fremd High School’s debate team (Palatine, IL)
Colton Gilbert
Colton is a Debate Coach and Teacher at Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas. He has been involved in competitive speech and debate since 2004. In. undergrad, Colton focused on Communication Studies with a minor in mathematics. In grad school, Colton received a Master’s in Communication Studies from Arkansas State University and a Master’s in Secondary Education from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. In 2013 Colton was coach of the 2013 Team IPDA collegiate national champion. Since the summer of 2014, Colton has been Arkansas’s delegate at NFHS Policy Debate Topic Selection where he served as chair of the Wording Committee in Summer of ’22; he authored the national policy debate topic for the 2020-2021 school year (Criminal Justice Reform). Colton is the recipient of the Marian G. Lacey Award which is given to the Educator of the Year for the Little Rock School District. Colton just finished his twelfth (12th) year of teaching at the high school level. In addition to his debate endeavors, Colton champions himself as an advocate for his students; he is a recent recipient of the Courageous Client Award from the Lawyers’ Committee at the Higginbotham Gala 2024 for his role in Walls et. al v Sanders challenging the anti-CRT ban in the state of Arkansas. Colton has always prided himself on being an advocate and centers his debate coaching philosophy by reminding his students that “the well from which you drink you did not dig.” Colton is an avid reader, intense video gamer, and innovative educator that seeks to challenge his students in ways he wish he had gotten in school. In his spare time, he enjoys video games on his Xbox and spending time with his beloved niece. Colton’s areas of emphasis include research tactics, race-centric arguments, kritikal debate as well as IR-based arguments.
Daniel Garrison
Garrison is a returning staff member (11 years) and is excited to once again be at HDCSW. During his time in HS, he was a public forum debater for 3yrs at Holy Cross School in New Orleans, 2 time chairmen of the school's debate society, and a member of the inaugural USA Debate Team in 2014. A graduate of Loyola University New Orleans and HTH Graduate School of Education, Garrison is currently is a 2nd year social studies teacher which has further expanded his passion of discussing the world thru politics, history, and philosophy.
Viveth Karthikeyan
Viveth Karthikeyan (M.Ed) is the Associate Director of Debate at Emory University. Viveth has over a decade of debate coaching experience including coaching college and high school national champions. Before Emory, Viveth coached at Harvard from 2018-2024. In addition to coaching, Viveth worked in K-12 education as a Teach for America Corps Member teaching Biology and has worked as the Lead Programming Manger with the NYC Urban Debate League. At the NYCUDL, Viveth focused on developing Public Forum Debate for students including writing a curriculum for a high school debate elective for the NYC Department of Education.
Paul Jared Wexler
Born and raised in southern California and higher educated in the Midwest, Mr. Wexler is the long-time coach of Needham High School outside Boston, having previously founded the Boston Latin School debate team and worked with other programs. He has coached students to late elimination rounds at NSDAs, NCFLS, and TOCs, including quarterfinals in Public Forum, semifinals in Worlds School Debate (WSDC) , and national runner-ups in Lincoln-Douglas, Congressional Debate, and Original Oratory. Another student was national champion in extemporaneous speaking. Several other debaters have earned high achieving accolades at nationals and major invitationals. At the same time, Mr. Wexler believes that debate is too important to “leave only to the best”, and that it offers a unique home for all students to “love their words and speak their truth” no matter their competitive goals. His speech and debate philosophy is that "if one is learning and having fun, the winning will take care of itself. : Alums have entered professions from animation to zoology. A four diamond NSDA coach and member of the Massachusetts Speech and Debate League Hall of Fame, Mr. Wexler also enjoys a mean game of bocce and entering the occasional story slam competition, with success in both requiring the mindset one often develops in debate.
Ronald W Poole Jr.
In high school, Ronald (RW) participated in every format of debate, earning 3 state titles and 2 national titles in Congressional debate, Public Forum, and Lincoln Douglass. In his first year on the Barkley Forum Policy Debate Team at Emory University, RW received 3 top-speaker awards and made it to the break-out rounds of 4 major tournaments in the varsity division. While he stopped debating competitively after his first year of college, RW has worked as a private debate coach for national circuit policy debate programs in Houston, Dallas, and Atlanta, and as a programming intern and instructor for the Atlanta Urban Debate League. RW graduated from Emory this past May (with Latin honors), and will be returning to the Barkley Forum in the fall as a Fellow on the professional staff.
Donald H. Broussard Jr.
Donald H. Broussard, Jr. is the Educational Consultant for The Bailey Group out of Ridgeland, MS and Debate Consultant for his own company, Urban Education & Debate Connections, LLC. Donald competed in Speech and Debate from 1994-1998 where he competed in LD Debate, Policy Debate, Extemporaneous Speaking, Original Oratory, Declamation, Student Congress & Oral Interpretation and won several District and State Championships throughout his time competing. He started several Speech and Debate programs in Middle School, High School and College from Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Alabama. Donald coached several District and State Champions as well as coached National Qualifiers for NCFL and NSDA since 2001. The passion Donald has for Speech and Debate is great and owe so much to this mental sport and is honored to share my experiences and knowledge to the future minds and leaders of this country.
Lynne Coyne
Lynne Coyne is the Director of Debate at Myers Park High School in Charlotte, NC, and serves as one of the coaches for the Carolina West World Schools Teams. Lynne has spent over thirty years teaching at summer institutes, and she is very excited to be returning to the Harvard Debate Council Summer Workshops this summer. Committed to developing all forms of debate, Lynne has coached LD, PF, Policy, Congress, and Extemp Debate to final rounds at all 3 major national championships: the Catholic Grand Nationals, the Tournament of Champions, and the National Speech and Debate National tournament. Lynne is excited to be a part of the Harvard Debate Council World Schools development program which aims to start programs in urban areas across the country.
Kanza Jafri
Kanza Jafri (she/her) has dedicated over a decade to speech and debate, currently serving as the Head Coach at Jasper High School in Plano, Texas. Passionate about empowering students, she has guided them to success as state finalists and national qualifiers at prestigious tournaments, including the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) National Tournament, the National Individual Events Tournament of Champions (NIETOC), the Tournament of Champions (TOC), and the Texas Forensic Association (TFA) circuit. But for Kanza, coaching is about more than just winning, it’s about shaping confident, thoughtful individuals. She often reminds her students, "The only limitations are the ones you create in your mind," encouraging them to push past barriers both inside and outside the competition. Kanza joined the HDCSW team in 2019, starting as a Resident Assistant before teaching Policy Debate, Public Speaking, Argumentation, Public Forum, and Congress. This year, she’s excited to take on an additional role as Social Chair, where she’ll help foster a welcoming and vibrant community. She thrives on building connections, creating meaningful experiences, and ensuring every student feels a sense of belonging. With a Bachelor’s degree in Consumer Experience Management from the University of North Texas and a Masters in Business from Florida International University, Kanza brings a unique blend of strategic thinking and people-centered leadership to her work. When she’s not coaching, you’ll likely find her on a quest for the best local desserts, exploring new destinations, or sharing stories over good food and great company.
Michi Synn
Michi Synn is an incoming first-year student at Harvard College and has debated for Canyon Crest for the past four years, amassing 23 bids to the Tournament of Champions as well as 24 top 20 speaker awards (2 of which were at TOC!) She has been competitively successful as both a first and second speaker, and she is especially well versed in lay debate, analytical rebuttals, and organization in the summary speech. In her free time, Michi loves thrifting and playing the New York Times word games every night.
Noelani Brennan
Noelani Brennan has competed for Punahou School for four years, and will be continuing her debate career in the fall at Dartmouth College. She is a two-time Hawaii State PFD Champion, as well as the 2024 Speech National Champion for Academic Decathlon, ranked 1st out of 1700 competitors. As a debate captain, she has qualified 12 novice teams to the State Tournament, sweeping all the top places, and winning the State Debate Sweepstakes Bowl twice. A chronic second speaker, her expertise is in rebuttal and crossfire, as well as debating in lay circuits. For fun, she enjoys baking, watching sitcoms, and biking to the beach.
Nicole Kroepel
Nicole Kroepel is a One Diamond Award Recipient from the National Speech and Debate Association. She has been coaching Public Forum debate since 2011 at Belvidere North High School in Illinois where she also teaches English. Nicole has been a teacher for 24 years, and loves working with students teaching them how to write, speak, and think critically. She is a returning staff member to HDCSW (4th year). She has coached state champions and multiple students to the Illinois All State debate team. Nicole's Public Forum debaters consistently hold the number one and two NSDA rankings in Illinois. Nicole has coached multiple teams to both the gold and silver divisions of the TOC, as well as multiple qualifiers to NSDA and NCFL since 2012 as well. Her favorite part of coaching is the growth that she sees in her students over time. Learning the art of debate is about growth, fun, and belonging, and she firmly believes that debate provides a space for students to achieve those goals. Nicole thinks that helping to teach students to find and learn to use their voices is one of the most rewarding experiences a teacher and coach can have.
Gabriel Kroepel
Gabe is a second year returning staff member. Gabe will be a second-year student at The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) where he does speech and IPDA. He qualified Extemporaneous and Impromptu speaking at NFA, and Extemporaneous speaking at AFA. During high school, he was a Public Forum debater for 4 years. He qualified for the TOC as a junior and senior, qualified to NSDA Nationals three times, and NCFL all four years, getting into elimination rounds as a senior, as well as being a Semifinalist at IHSA in 2024. He finished high school in the top 10 PF debaters in the country, and first in Illinois in terms of NSDA points. In high school, he was a second speaker with rebuttal and final focus being his specialty.