About
Board of Trustees
Mark Gidley, former head of the US DOJ Antitrust Division and chairs the White & Case Global Antitrust/Competition practice
Scott Groussman, developed the first debate tab system on an Apple ][+ in 1985. While at Dartmouth, he was an NDT Quarterfinalist and Semifinalist and two-time First Round At-Large Bid
David Hung, co-founder and CEO of Fyt. He attended Dartmouth College where he was an NDT Quarterfinalist and three-time First Round At-Large Bid.
Aaron Kall, Lee H. Hess Director of Debate at the University of Michigan and National Debate Tournament Board of Trustees Treasurer. Coach of the 2024 NDT Champions and 2023 Ross K. Smith Coach of the Year
Maria Keller is currently a senior product manager at Veeva Systems. She attended the University of Michigan, where she was a debate team member
Dr. Karla Leeper was a three time NDT qualifier from the University of Iowa, earning second place in 1985. She coached NDT qualifiers at the University of Texas and Baylor University. She has been the President of the AFA, NDT’s parent organization, and a member of the NDT committee. She is currently the Vice Chancellor for Strategic Communication and Public Affairs at the University of Kansas
Catherine H. (Cate) Palczewski, PhD, Professor of Communication and Media at University of Northern Iowa; debater and assistant coach at Northwestern University; former Director of Debate at the University of Northern Iowa; past NDT tabroom member
Leah Schultz, Senior Associate at Arnold & Porter, two-time first round at-large bid recipient and NDT semi-finalist for Gonzaga University. Former coach for Wake Forest University, University of Kentucky, and the Harvard Debate Council
Nicole Wanzer-Serrano, Chief Advancement Officer of the NSDA
Devane Murphy (coach rep), Associate Director of Intercollegiate Debate at The University of Kentucky and a Ph.D. candidate in communication, is a two-time NDT-winning coach (Dartmouth, 2021-22) and a 2017 NDT-winning competitor and Ross K. Smith Top Speaker (Rutgers-Newark)
Joanna Gusis (student rep), Fourth-year debater at Michigan State University
Committee Members
District 1 – Joel Lemuel, California State University-Northridge
District 2 – Glen Frappier, Gonzaga University
District 3 – Brendon Bankey, University of Texas
District 4 – David Cram Helwich, University of Minnesota
District 5 – Will Repko, Michigan State University
District 6 & Chair – Adrienne Brovero, University of Kentucky
District 7 – Danielle Verney O’Gorman, US Naval Academy
District 8 – John Turner, Dartmouth College
AFA East – John Katsulas, Boston College
AFA Central – Eric Morris, Missouri State University
AFA South – Mikaela Malsin, Emory University
AFA West – Adam Symonds, Arizona State University