LOUDwomen Speech
and Debate Institute
2021
Join us for our second annual Speech & Debate Institute. Get direct instruction, resources, and practice from individuals with years of experience and expertise!
Taught by nationally renowned debaters
LWSDI is taught and directed by competitors from across the nation with years of experience and expertise.
Catered to all levels
No matter your level of experience, LWSDI curriculum is built for anyone of any knowledge base!
100% free programming
LWSDI is FREE to all students!
Practice rounds
At LWSDI, you will get first-hand experience in your lab, through practice rounds!
LWSDI Overview:
Dates:
July 19th - July 30th
Times:
9 AM to 3 PM CST (times may vary by lab)
Who should sign up?
Our Institute is aimed for 8th-12th grade students who want to improve their speech and debate skills in a non-judgmental environment!
Our institute is 100% free. We want everyone to have access to our resources!
Along with that, we encourage everyone to sign up for our Institute! No matter your experience level, grade, gender we want to help you!
**We plan for our Institute to be completely online! We will be using Zoom and Google Classroom as our main forms of communication. Some labs might use the Slack App for communication as well!**
If you have any questions email: loudwomenprogramming@gmail.com
By Lab:
Speech Labs:
"The Speech Lab":
Events: Informative Speaking, Oratory, Extemp, and Congressional Debate
Lab Leaders: Priya Thelapurath, Siddharth Satish, Meghna Chandrasekaran, Sophie Reynolds, TBD
"The Interpretation Lab":
Events: Humorous Interpretation, Dramatic Interpretation, Duo Interpretation, and Program of Oral Interpretation
Lab Leaders: Clayton Kincade, Samantha Hantsche, TBD
Debate Labs:
"The Public Forum Lab":
"The Policy Lab":
What is CX?
A two-on-two debate that focuses on a policy question for the duration of the academic year, this format tests a student’s research, analytical, and delivery skills. Policy Debate involves the proposal of a plan by the affirmative team to enact a policy, while the negative team offers reasons to reject that proposal.
Lab Leaders: Anna Dean, Trey Roark, Paola Almendarez, Kennedy Marrs, Eric Clarke, Iman Snobar, TBD
"The Lincoln-Douglas Debate Lab":
What is LD?
A one-on-one debate that focuses on arguments for and against a resolution. LD focuses on the conflicting values of social and philosophical issues. LD debates concern themselves with deciding whether or not certain actions, or states of affairs, are good or bad, right or wrong, moral or immoral.
Lab Leaders: Anna Dean, Trey Roark, Paola Almendarez, Kennedy Marrs, Iman Snobar, Mrs. Jessica Skordal, TBD
Our Lab Leaders:
our directors:
Paola Almendarez (she/they)
Co-Director of LWSDI
Paola is the Co-Executive Director of Programming at LOUDwomen. She is one of the head organizers of LWSDI. She's been competing in policy debate for four years representing DC International School within the Washington Urban Debate League and has competed both regionally and nationally for three of these years. She has consistently placed at regional tournaments with her partner and as a speaker. She has also qualified for the Urban National Debate Championship two years in a row, for the 2018-2019 and the 2019-2020 seasons. She is most experienced with flex debate, leaning more on the traditional side, although she is interested in identity kritiks and debates that examine the way that we involve ourselves within the activity. She is passionate about the transformation of current politics and inclusivity within society. In her free time, she enjoys crocheting and rollerskating.
Kennedy Marrs (she/her)
Co-Director of LWSDI
Kennedy is the Co-Executive Director of Programming at LOUDwomen. She is one of the head organizers of LWSDI. She will be teaching the LD, PF, and Policy Lab. Kennedy is the Debate Captian at Bentonville West High School (AR). She has championed various LD and CX tournaments. Additionally, Kennedy qualified and debated at NSDA Nationals in LD Debate.
our instructors:
Priya Thelapurath (she/her)
Speech Instructor
Priya did Speech and Debate for 6 years at Bentonville West High School (AR). She is a 6 time NSDA Nationals Qualifier. Priya has championed various tournaments in Informative Speaking and Congressional Debate. Additionally, she has qualified to the Tournament of Champions. Priya was Top 30 Informative Speaking at NSDA Nationals!
Iman Snobar (she/her)
Policy and LD Instructor
Iman did policy debate in high school. She qualified for various National Tournaments throughout her career. Iman is passionate about diversity and inclusion in Speech & Debate!
Anna Dean (she/her)
LOUDwomen CEO of Programming
Policy, LD, and PF Instructor
Anna debated for Bentonville West High School (AR) and is now a Policy Debater at Harvard. She is a 4 time NSDA Nationals Qualifier. Anna has championed various tournaments in CX and Extemp. Additionally, she has qualified to the Tournament of Champions.
Trey Roark (she/her)
Policy, LD, and PF Instructor
Trey did Policy Debate at Bentonville West High School (AR) and is now a debater at Wake Forest University. She was an NSDA Nationals Qualifier. Additionally, Trey has championed various tournaments in Policy Debate throughout her career.
Leslie Fletcher (she/her)
Guest Speaker
Leslie Fletcher is VP of Partnerships, Sam's Club Merchandising. In college, she did Policy Debate at Northwestern University.