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Debate & Speech Academy

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FDT Academy

Fostering Debate Talent

FDT Academy is Canada’s #1 school for Debate, Public Speaking, and Model United Nations education. Founded in 2016 by coaches who have taught debate for nearly 15 years, we help young people effectively voice their opinions and discover their passion for public speaking. As one of the world’s first debate and speech academies, FDT has the institutional knowledge necessary to succeed in the debate and speech world. We know the tournaments, the organizations, the judges, and the structure. Our results speak for themselves, as FDT students have won numerous provincial, national, and international Debate and Public Speaking tournaments. 

We are excited to have both new and seasoned debaters join us for group and private lessons. We foster a supportive environment that allows students to learn, develop confidence, and have fun!

FDT Academy
FDT Academy
FDT Academy
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WHAT SETS US APART

Why Choose FDT?

  • FDT is one of the world’s most well-established debate academies, with a global community of over 400 active students and 3000 alumni.
  • Success is what sets us apart, with our programs producing over 40 students who have been selected to join the Canadian National Debate and Speech teams, as well as countless others who have been accepted into Ivy League institutions.
  • We boast a team of over 20 instructors, guided by a well-developed curriculum that is proven to help students hone their skills.
  • Unmatched dedication to families, with an administrative team that is passionate about providing students with ample, timely support.
  • Superior group class ratio of 3-to-6 students and 1 instructor.
  • Program packages that combine group and private lessons are customizable and cater to a range of ages, experience levels, and budgets. 
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Why learn debate & Speech

Benefits to Students

  • Build confidence, poise and public speaking skills
  • Learn to think critically and articulate your points effectively
  • Explore issues from various perspectives
  • Develop a broader view of the world
  • Become a global citizen through international competitions
  • Win awards and accolades by competing in tournaments
  • Enhance your resume and prepare for your university career
"FDT Academy transformed me from a public school student with no debate experience, to a champion debater. Regardless of whether I am delivering a research presentation to hundreds of people or interviewing for a spot at medical school, I am relying on the skills that I developed through debate."
-Amolak S. Dhillon.
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What we offer students

Our Programs

FDT's programs offer invaluable and superior learning experiences to students in kindergarten to grade 12, with programs available both in-person at our Vancouver location, and virtually through Zoom. Group classes are sorted by age and experience level, ranging from introductory to advanced. Our classes for younger students work on confidence-building and basic communication, while more advanced classes prepare students for high-level tournaments. Our private lessons allow instructors to focus on students' individual needs and help them to prepare for competitions. 

Debate

the formal act of disagreement

Students learn how to clearly deliver an argument using evidence and persuasive speech. Debate forms a skillset that allows students to succeed in their future academic and professional careers.

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Speech

the art of public speaking

From basic skills like writing speeches and presenting with confidence, to more advanced skills like dramatic interpretation and delivering impromptu speeches, FDT covers all areas of public speaking.

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Model United Nations​

the leaders of tomorrow

Model UN helps students establish the skills needed to simulate the operations taking place in the world’s most prestigious and powerful organization, the United Nations.

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Where we are found

As Seen In...

FDT Academy’s staff and our students have been featured in various media outlets over the years. From news and network segments where we’ve showcased our public speaking and debate abilities, to radio appearances and print articles where we’ve shared our mission, were are honoured to have had these opportunities to share our story with viewers across North America.

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Still Want To Know More?

Learn how Debate can benefit your child.
Contact us today for a free trial lesson!

Nicole Yu

办公室助理

Nicole 是 UBC 心理学专业的本科生。除了协助FDT的日常运作外，她还喜欢与学生、员工和客户互动。她为学院创造活跃的氛围，希望学生能在积极的环境中学习。在空闲时间，她会在道场训练或进行户外活动。

Nicole yu

office assistant

Nicole is an undergraduate student majoring in Psychology at UBC. Aside from assisting the daily operation at FDT, she enjoys interacting with students, staff and the customers to create the lively atmosphere in the academy, hoping students can learn under a positive environment. She spends her free time in the dojo or doing outdoor activities.

Jessica elisa soule

教师

Jessica 是 UBC的SciencesPo项目双学位课程的三年级本科生。在 SciencesPo 完成政治人文学士学位后，她现在正在 UBC 艺术跨学科研究项目中学习公共卫生政策。 Jessica 已经参加了六年的辩论竞赛，包括国家级双语辩论赛。Jessica能教授各种级别的辩论课程，她热爱指导初学者并帮助他们打下良好的基础，让学生享受和擅长辩论赛。在空闲时间，杰西卡喜欢阅读、探索，以及和她的猫鲍勃一起放松。

JEN TARUNO

教师

Jen 在UBC就读大学一年级，学习计算机科学。他从高中开始辩论，并且赢得了 50 多场辩论赛和裁判奖项。他在 2021 年打入第四届杜伦-牛津-剑桥在线公开赛的 ESL 决赛。他在 2021 年入选印度尼西亚国家辩论队并参加 WSDC辩论赛。一年后Jen成为印度尼西亚国家辩论队的教练，并且指导该队伍成为八强。在空闲时间，Jen 喜欢写作、打台球并开始编写项目程序。

Jessica elisa soule

Instructor

Jessica is a third-year undergraduate student in the UBC/SciencesPo Dual Degree program. After completing a BA in Political Humanities at SciencesPo, she is now studying public health policy in the UBC arts interdisciplinary studies program. Jessica has been participating in competitive debate for six years, including national-level bilingual debate.  While Jessica enjoys working with debaters at all levels, she appreciates teaching beginners and helping them build a great foundation to enjoy and excel at competitive debate. In her free time, Jessica enjoys reading, exploring, and relaxing with her cat, Bob.

Jen taruno

Instructor

Jen is in his first year at the University of British Columbia, where he intends to study Computer Science. He started debating in high school and won over 50 debating and judging awards, including making it to the ESL finals of the 4th Durham-Oxford-Cambridge Online Open in 2021. He was selected into Team Indonesia for WSDC in 2021, but did not break and needed a redemption arc. So he took a gap year and coached the team the year after. Thankfully, the team made it to Octofinals and Jen is not taking another gap year. In his free time, Jen likes to write, play pool, and start coding projects that he sometimes finishes.

DIETER FREHLICH

教师

Dieter 是 UBC大学 计算机科学专业的学生。 2017 年，Dieter 在加拿大全国初级组辩论锦标赛中获得最佳辩手。他还在 2018 年被选为加拿大国家辩论队后备队的成员。学习是一件令人享受的事情。Dieter将确保学生能在一个积极的环境中学习辩论。他很高兴能担任FDT的辩论教练，并期待在 FDT 分享他对辩论的热爱。

dieter frehlich

Instructor

Dieter is a student at UBC studying computer science. In 2017, Dieter won top speaker at the Canadian National Junior Debate championship. He was also selected to be a member of the Team Canada development squad in 2018. Learning is worth enjoying, and Dieter wants to ensure that students are in a positive environment. He’s very excited to take on an instructor role, and looks forward to sharing his passions at FDT.

negar shaban

办公室助理

Negar 目前是UBC大学的本科生，攻读政治学学士学位。在管理 FDT 的日常运作时，她希望营造一个支持性的学习环境，让年轻的演讲者和辩手可以自信地表达自己的观点。在 FDT 工作之余，她对政治和社区福利工作充满热情：她为当地议员拉票、在非营利组织和环境组织做志愿者，以及运营当地的联合国儿童基金会俱乐部。她的爱好包括烹饪、诗歌朗诵以及与朋友和家人共度美好时光。 Negar 很高兴成为 FDT 大家庭的一员！

negar shaban

office assistant

Negar is currently an undergraduate student at the University of British Columbia pursuing a Bachelor of Political Science. In managing the daily operations of FDT, she hopes to foster a supportive learning environment where young speakers can voice their opinions with confidence. Outside her time working at FDT, she pursues her passions for politics and community welfare through canvassing for local MPs, volunteering at non-profit and environmental organizations, and running her local UNICEF club. Her hobbies include cooking, performing slam poetry, and spending quality time with friends and family. Negar is thrilled to be a part of the FDT family!

Dieter frehlich

教师

Dieter 是 UBC大学 计算机科学专业的学生。他喜欢与客户、员工和学生合作，帮助FDT成为一个流畅运行并而成功的学院。在学校和工作之外，Dieter 喜欢承担各种个人编程的项目。 Dieter 很高兴能加入 FDT 大家庭。

Dieter frehlich

Office assistant

Dieter is a computer science student at UBC.  He enjoys working with clients, staff, and students to help facilitate a fluid and successful academy. Outside of school and work, Dieter enjoys taking on various personal and engineering projects. Dieter is very excited to join the FDT family.

Vishwa Srinivasan

教师

Vishwa 是在麦吉尔大学 Desautels 管理学院攻读经济学荣誉学位的二年级学生。Vishwa在中学时就开始辩论和公开演讲。 2021年，他是加拿大全国公共演讲锦标赛的总冠军，并在世界个人辩论和公共演讲锦标赛的辩论项目中获得第二名。 Vishwa 喜欢分享他对公开演讲和辩论的喜爱和热情，并希望将这些受益终生的重要技能传授给他的学生。

Vishwa Srinivasan

Speech Instructor

Vishwa is a second-year student pursuing an Honours Degree in Economics at McGill’s Desautels Faculty of Management. Vishwa started debating and public speaking when he was in middle school. In 2021, he was the Grand Champion of the Canadian National Public Speaking Championship and went on to place 2nd in debating at the World Individual Debate and Public Speaking Championships. Vishwa loves to share his joy and passion for public speaking and debate, and hopes to teach lifelong skills to his students.

vivienne lin

office assistant

Vivienne is a second-year student studying Visual Arts and Business Management at the University of British Columbia. Besides being responsible for facilitating the day-to-day processes at FDT, she enjoys creating personal connections with students, clients, and other staff, to promote a family-like community and positive learning environment within the academy. She also spends a lot of her time volunteering at various organizations, with a strong interest towards environmental related causes. In her downtime, Vivienne likes spending time with friends and family, taking care of her pet chickens, trying new recipes, and being out in nature.

Angela Lu

教师

Angela 是多伦多大学二年级本科生，攻读犯罪学和政治学双学位。在过去的七年里，她参加了国家和世界级的辩论赛。从 10 年级开始，她是York House学校辩论俱乐部的联合队长。她的成就包括：2018 年 UBC大学秋季辩论赛打入决赛，泰国 AWSC辩论赛打入半决赛，在 UBC 大学辩论赛中多次获得前10名最佳辩手，Golden Gnomes辩论赛中获得亚军辩手。在辩论之外，Angela 担任 UofT UNICEF 的外联助理，与不同公司接触，并尝试世界各地的餐厅。

emma-jane burns

教师

Emma-Jane 是加州大学伯克利分校的一名学生，主修数据科学和经济学。在参加完第一场辩论赛后，Emma-Jane 爱上了辩论。她在整个高中期间都积极地学习辩论，参加了 BC 省的各种比赛，并在国家赛中打入了四分之一决赛。现在，Emma-Jane 希望灌输和培养学生对辩论的热情，帮助他们在辩论成功的道路上取得成功。

mAJA GRANDINETTI

教师

Maja Grandinetti 是UBC大学三年级本科生，主修政治学，辅修法律与社会学。从高中开始到现在，Maja 有6年指导辩论的经验。在 Maja 的指导下，她的团队连续三年获得该地区最佳学校奖。她有指导 9-17 岁学生的经验，不限经验水平。她还在线上指导来自世界各大洲的学生。Maja 自己打辩论赛有 8 年时间，在高中时达到了国家级水平，并在 UBC 和 SFU 锦标赛中打入了决赛。在大学期间，Maja曾在包括牛津和剑桥在内的多场比赛中进行辩论，并在迪芬贝克杯和太平洋杯中打入决赛。除了辩论之外，Maja 还喜欢并教授模拟联合国、公开演讲、诗歌/散文和表演等课程。

Ruby Grinberg

教师

Ruby 在UBC大学三年级本科生，攻读政治学学士学位和管理学硕士学位。 Ruby 在高中时开始辩论和演讲，她在安大略省青少年全国公开演讲资格赛中获得第一名，而这是她第一次参加比赛。从那以后，她继续练习和学习，参加省、全国和世界级的比赛。凭借决心和坚持，她在 2021 年由韩国举办的世界独立辩论和公开演讲锦标赛中获得了世界冠军。Ruby 喜欢与她的学生分享她对公开演讲和辩论的热情，并且一直开朗幽默！

Angela Lu

Instructor

Angela is a second-year student at the University of Toronto completing a double major in criminology and political science. She has competed in debate at the national and international level for the past seven years. She was also the co-captain of the Debate Club at York House School starting from grade 10. Her accomplishments include: Finalist Team at UBC Falls 2018, Semi-finalist Team at AWSC in Thailand, placing top 10 speaker in multiple UBC debate tournaments, and 2nd Speaker at Golden Gnomes. Outside of debate, Angela is busy reaching out to companies as the Outreach Associate at UofT UNICEF and trying out different restaurants around the world.

Emma-Jane Burns

Instructor

Emma-Jane is a student at the University of California Berkeley, studying data science and economics. After falling in love with debate at her first tournament, Emma-Jane vigorously pursued debating throughout high school, competing at various tournaments across BC, and finishing as a quarter finalist at Nationals. Now Emma-Jane hopes to instill and develop students’ passion for debate, helping them on their journey to debate success.

Maja Grandinetti

Instructor

Maja Grandinetti is a third-year undergraduate student at the University of British Columbia, majoring in Political Science and minoring in Law and Society. Maja has coached debate for 6 years starting in high school. Under Maja’s guidance, her team took home the award for Top School in the region three years in a row. She has experience coaching students aged 9-17 at all ability levels, and coaches students online from all continents. Competitively, Maja has been debating for 8 years reaching the National level in high school and competing in finals at UBC and SFU tournaments. In university, Maja has debated at multiple tournaments including Oxford and Cambridge and broken to finals at Diefenbaker Cup and Pacific Cup. On top of debate, Maja enjoys and coaches Model United Nations, Public speaking, Poetry/Prose, and Acting.

Ruby Grinberg

Instructor

Ruby is in her third year at the University of British Columbia completing a Bachelor’s degree in political science and a Master’s degree in management simultaneously. Ruby started debating and public speaking in high school, where she placed 1st in Ontario at the Junior National Public Speaking Qualifiers – her first tournament. From there, she continued to practice and learn, competing in tournaments provincially, nationally and globally; and through determination and persistence, she placed 1st in the world at the World Independent Debate and Public Speaking Championships hosted virtually by South Korea in 2021. Ruby loves to share her passion for both public speaking and debate with her students, and is always in the mood to hear a good joke!

Noah Macdonald

主讲教师

Noah是UBC大学哲学专业的四年级学生，总统学者奖获奖者。高中时，Noah是加拿大最优秀的辩 手之一。他曾是2018年加拿大全国辩论锦标赛的首席演讲者，两届Alberta省级比赛金牌得主，因对辩论的贡献而获得Janet Garten奖。在大学期间，他参加过无数的比赛，包括 BP 和 CP 全国赛。Noah已执教辩论 5 年，并教授过北美、亚洲、欧洲和澳大利亚的学生。他曾指导学生参加全国顶级演讲锦标赛，并担任 UBC 辩论协会 的培训主管。休息时，Noah热爱高山滑雪和高山 攀登。

Arsalan Ghaemi

辩论主管

Arsalan 拥有超过9年的辩论经验和教学经验。 作为 FDT 的辩论主管，他在他的学生中享有盛誉，这些学生曾斩获无数地区、省级乃至国际比赛的奖项。Arsalan拥有UBC政治学荣誉 学位，还担任丹⻨国家辩论队的教练，以及温哥华St. George’s学校辩论队的总教练。 Arsalan非常期待教授FDT的学生，希望帮助他们找到自己的声音!

Ghazal Habib

运营主管

Ghazal是FDT的运营主管，拥有政策与管理硕士学位，同时具备国际发展和社会商业背景。Ghazal花了五年时间在东非和南太平洋地区制定和实施国际教育方案。加上她在程序和系统开发方面的背景，Ghazal为FDT团队带来了与时俱进的经验和视角。她的职责非常多样，主要专注于FDT程序的标准化和公司的发展等方面。

Tonya Cena

学院经理

在过去的四年里，Tonya一直在管理FDT，她是这个正在成长的团队中的关键成员。她是工作中的多面手，无论是学生和家长的咨询、辩论赛的各项准备以及其他相关事物中都是最佳人选！Tonya游历世界各地，带领辩手带到各种令人惊艳的地方参加比赛，这其中包括开普敦和曼谷。她很期待在FDT的下一个目的地！

Chelli Shapiro

演讲主管

Chelli是UBC政治科学三年级的学生，有八年的辩论与演讲经验。2018 年，她被选为阿尔伯塔省的首席代表， 参加加拿大国家辩论队的选拔赛。为了表彰她对辩论的热情和坚持，她被阿尔伯塔省的教练们提名并获得了2019年Janet Garten Award奖。2016 年，她是加拿大演讲队的替补，在个人赛中获得第二名，并打入IISPSC 的即兴表演和辩论等两项决赛。Chelli在大学里依旧在辩论，她在 UBCIV比 赛中进入决赛并获得新人演讲者第二名。她在 PAC 杯中打入半决赛并获得新手演讲者第一名， 在 WCNC比赛中，她取得团队第一名并被评为第 一名辩手。她期待在 FDT 分享她对表达自我的热情。

Behbod Negahban

教学主管

Behbod是FDT的资深讲师，毕业于耶鲁大学，获得了政治学学士学位。作为加拿大国家辩论队的前成员，他在2014年和2012年赢得了泛美和欧洲 公开赛的冠军，并在2014年进入了世界学校辩论 赛的半决赛。Behbod还在华盛顿特区工作过，最近，他作为一名专⻔研究司法腐败的记者在黎巴嫩工作。他很高兴能与FDT的学生们分享他丰富的经历。

Luna Wang

招生助理

Luna拥有多伦多大学教育硕士学位。她过去曾担任 ESL 讲师、教学设计和学生协调等工作。Luna工作的核心价值观包括同情心、成长和合作。她对教育有着真正的热情，对与不同文化背景的人交流、服务和教育有着浓厚的兴趣。作为 FDT 的招生助理，Luna 希望与家庭和学生建立并保持互相信赖的关系。

Cathy Cena

招生主管

Cathy拥有超过30年的销售和市场营销从业经历，她为FDT带来了宝贵的销售和商业经验财富。她热衷于为家长和学生倾囊相授FDT的经验，并相信学生可以通过演讲丰富自己的生活。无论是小学还是大学大学，辩论和演讲作为一项人生技能，将影响学生生活的方方面面。在与学生家长交流之余，Cathy也致力于为FDT开展各种活动。Cathy是一个热心的志愿者，也是Optimist演讲俱乐部的主席，前艺术中心的主席，她最近还完成了一本书的写作。请随时通过邮件向她了解更多关于FDT学院的信息！

Dena Tabyanian

学术总监

Dena将在伦敦大学学院(UCL)完成教育、国际发展和健康促进硕士学位。她拥有UBC的教育学位，主修英语和政治学双学位，并在大学的最后一年在英国担任教师。Dena 拥有12 年辩论经验，曾是加拿大国家辩论队的成员。她曾四次担任世界学校辩论 冠军赛的评委，并在2019年的世界大学辩论赛中担任决赛评委。

Dena还是丹⻨国家辩论队的联合教练，该队在世界排名第六，并两次获得最佳 EFL队(英语非母语的辩论队)。2017年，她作为辩手代表学校参加了世界大学辩论赛。Dena很荣幸能成为FDT的学术总监，她热爱辩论，因为它能拓宽视野，促进世界各地人们之间的对话。

Frankie Cena

创始人

Frankie的辩论教练生涯始于他曾就读的高中 Burnaby Mountain Secondary, 在那里，他指导了一批辩手，巩固了该学校作为辩论界非常有竞争力的学校的声誉。

2011年，Frankie开始被任命为Crofton House学校的演讲和辩论总教练，培养出无数名赢得区级，省级，国家级甚至国际辩论赛的学生。他执教生涯的一大亮点是他带领9名最优秀的学生前往捷克参赛，且不负众望进入了决赛。 Frankie的学生赢得了德国EurOpen锦标赛、温哥华地区辩论赛、省法律基金会杯、欧洲之心锦标赛、UBC辩论赛、剑桥大学国际⻘年辩论赛等众多赛事奖项。

当丹⻨教育局选派Frankie担任丹⻨国家辩论队教练时，Frankie 的个人目标之一得以实现。短短几年时间，丹⻨国家辩论队成⻓为世界上最具竞争力的队伍之一。

2016 年，Frankie创办了FDT学院，这是他所有教学经验的真正结晶。他希望这所学院不仅能继续取得成功，还能让他的学生拥有他所珍视的对辩论和演讲的热情。 Frankie还作为发言人，表演者，电视主持人活跃在舞台上。

Mehdi Bouchentouf

教师

Mehdi 刚从Carleton大学毕业，他拥有政治学学士学位，辅修法律。他是俱乐部的活跃辩手，在那里他打入了 2019 年加拿大议会国家赛，是 2019 年法国国家赛的决赛选手，并在 2020 年北美大学辩论锦标赛决赛中担任评委。在 2020-2021 年，他担任 CUSID 主席，负责管理加拿大所有大学的辩论。在辩论之外，Mehdi 喜欢看篮球、踢足球和讨论加拿大政治。他期待着帮助学生实现目标并提高他们的能力。

Moira O'Donoghue

教师

Moira 目前正在多伦多大学罗特曼管理学院攻读商业学士学位。她在 Crofton House 学校辩论队进行了五年的辩论，并继续作为多大的 Hart House 辩论队的一员参加比赛。Moira的辩论生涯亮点包括连续两年打入英国高级议会辩论国家赛，以及打入法国国民辩论赛的半决赛。她还是UBC小学辩论赛的副首席裁判。最近，Moira是西安大略大学中央新手辩论赛的半决赛选手，也是吉顿杯的新手组冠军。在辩论之外，Moira担任加拿大关怀青年委员会的联合主席和三一学院国际象棋俱乐部的首席运营官。 Moira 喜欢哲学和技术辩论，并对在FDT执教感到非常兴奋！

Vivienne Lin

办公室助理

Vivienne 是UBC大学视觉艺术和商业管理专业的二年级学生。除了负责完成 FDT 的日常工作外，她还喜欢与学生、客户和其他员工建立联系，以促进学院内的家庭式社区和积极的学习环境。她还花大量的时间在各种组织做志愿者，对与环境相关的事业有着浓厚的兴趣。在Vivienne 空闲时，她喜欢与朋友和家人共度时光、照顾她的宠物鸡、尝试新食谱以及亲近大自然。

Nicholas Rees

教师

Nicholas 在不列颠哥伦比亚大学就读本科二年级，学习数学和物理。在加入 FDT 之前，他一直活跃于辩论活动，曾四次参加加拿大国家辩论赛，包括 CNDF 和英国议会辩论风格。他在 UBC HST 中打入半决赛，并在模拟联合国中取得成功。 Nicholas 在 UBC学习时继续辩论，在无数比赛中斩获佳绩，现在他是UBC辩论协会的副主席。当他空闲时，Nicholas喜欢读书，攀岩，和他的朋友一起玩网络游戏。 Nicholas 认为，人们在享受辩论时才能最大程度地提高自己，因此他希望能帮助 FDT 的所有学生和自己一样，找到他们对辩论的热情。

Anthony Galipeau

教师

Anthony 目前正在卡尔顿大学攻读国际事务硕士学位，并在卡尔顿大学获得公共事务和政策管理学士学位。作为一名专业裁判，Anthony在裁决英国议会式辩论、加拿大议会式辩论、加拿大国家式辩论和世界学校辩论形式方面拥有六年的经验。他经常在小学、高中和大学级别的国家和国际锦标赛的公开半决赛和公开决赛中担任裁判。作为一名辩手，安东尼参加了诸如 Hart House IV、Father Roger Guindon Cup 和西安大略大学 IV 等锦标赛。此外，他还被选中代表卡尔顿大学参加 2021 年世界大学辩论锦标赛，在总演讲者中排名前 20%。他很高兴能开始在 FDT 执教，并帮助学生找到自己的声音并实现自己的梦想！

Matthew Gallagher

教师

Matthew在麦吉尔大学法学院读二年级。在Carleton大学攻读本科和硕士学位期间，他是一名活跃的辩论者，赢得了 2017 年北美大学辩论锦标赛 (NAUDC) 和加拿大英国议会辩论锦标赛的冠军。他还于 2018 年在墨西哥城 WUDC 取得了突破。他一直参与其中自 2013 年以来一直在教授辩论和当辩论赛裁判。Matthew很高兴能成为 FDT 团队的一员。

Catherine Wang

教师

Catherine Wang是⻨吉尔大学国际发展专业的二年级本科生。Catherine从从执教她的高中辩论队开始有5年教学经验。她带领该队成为该地区排名第一的高中辩论队。她有指导6-17岁学生的丰富经验，包括初学者到专业辩手。在竞赛方面，她参与辩论超过7 年，参加过许多竞赛。值得一提的是，她曾两次获得低陆平原地区冠军，BC省锦标赛分年级演讲者第一名，以及UBC HST决赛选手。此外，Catherine擅⻓公开演讲，她创立了她高中的诗歌团队，并带领他们在PoetryInVoice温哥华锦标赛中获胜。

Jena Yue

教师

Jena Yue 是Collingwood的一名12年级学生。她是加拿大国家辩论队的现任成员，曾在英国议会初级组辩论省赛中担任首席发言者，并且在9年级时获得美国世界学校辩论赛的个人第 7 名。获得 U16国际独立学校公开演讲比赛（IISPSC）的冠军后，她进入了加拿大国家演讲队，并代表加拿大参加了2020年世界个人辩论和公开演讲锦标赛。在空闲时间，她喜欢画画，并成立了自己的非营利组织YAFA（青年艺术行动）。她迫不及待地想分享她的知识，帮助孩子们增强信心并发现他们的声音！

Alice Xu

教师

Alice 是 Crofton House 学校的一名11年级学生，也是该校辩论俱乐部队长，并且还是加拿大国家辩论队的成员。她学习辩论已有六年，热爱辩论和公开演讲。作为一名演讲者，Alice打入了全国青少年辩论锦标赛和哈佛世界学校辩论赛的半决赛。此外，她在众多加拿大辩论赛中被评为前 10 名演讲者，例如BC省级辩论锦标赛和皇后大学辩论锦标赛。Alice意识到辩论能帮助她充分发挥个人潜力，并在校内外的生活取得成功。她很高兴能在 FDT 向聪明的年轻人教授和学习。在空闲时间，爱丽丝喜欢看 Netflix，阅读书籍，了解世界，并与她的朋友结伴游玩。

Ellen Li

教师

Ellen是英属哥伦比亚大学政治学一年级的学生。在她的辩论生涯中，Ellen 曾前往多个国家参加竞争性辩论，并参加了许多国际比赛。她的一些亮点包括：2019 年 BC 省国家队预选赛的前三名，2019 年 UBC 秋季赛的冠军队和个人第一名，2019 年 LMW 地区赛的冠军队和个人第二名，以及 2019 年 打入BP 国家赛。Ellen打辩论赛有五年时间，并且在12年级时成为Crofton House学校辩论俱乐部的联合队长。Ellen有教授孩子的经验，更重要的是，她喜欢教育。辩论让学生跨越国界、文化和舒适区——Ellen对FDT 的辩手们的未来充满希望！

Diya Perry

教师

Diya是英国杜伦大学哲学与政治专业的一名大一学生。在过去的六年里，她参加过许多国家和世界级的演讲和辩论比赛。她的成就包括在 2020 年香港辩论公开赛中获得高年级总个人奖第二名，在 2020 年国际独立学校公开演讲比赛中获得决赛选手前 5 名，以及在2022年哈佛大学世界高校邀请赛中个人排名前2%。Diya热爱辩论，她也对教授辩练充满热情。空闲时，Diya对社会正义充满热情，并花时间参与当地组织和政治运动。

Noel Frederick

教师

Noel 目前正在圣玛丽大学攻读应用经济学硕士学位，他还获得了卡尔顿大学商业法学士学位。 Noel 拥有指导英国议会制辩论、加拿大制辩论、 世界学校制辩论、加拿大议会制辩论和公共论坛辩论的经验。Noel曾担任南京外国语学校哈佛辩论项目和张家港常春藤国际学校辩论项目的首席辩论老师，他的学生在地区、国家和国际比赛中都取得了巨大的成功。作为辩手，Noel在比赛中取得了巨大的成功，2017年他打入Lord Dorchester辩论锦标赛决赛，2019年他进入 Seagrams锦标赛半决赛，并多次作为首席进入高中和大学锦标赛决赛。

Rody Visotski

教师

Rody是卡尔加里大学政治学和国际关系双学位的三年级学生，过去三年他一直积极参与辩论，担任裁判和比赛负责人。Rody曾在CUSID West 的无数比赛中担任裁判。此外，Rody还担任过2020年Diefenbaker 杯和2021年McGoun杯的首席裁判，同时也是2020 年加拿大议会国家秋季公开赛秋季公开赛的赛事总监，在21年成为UCDS Pro-Am。Rody还担任过 Princeton IV, Yale IV, 和WUDC韩国WUDC 等许多国 际赛事的评委和主席。在高中阶段，罗迪担任过无数比赛的裁判，自己经常打入决赛。Rody还帮助组织了许多高中锦标赛，包括2021年UBC高中锦标赛。Rody 拥有超过8年的正式和非正式公开演讲经验，他很高兴将他的知识和经验带到 FDT来!

Zachary Goldthorpe

教师

Zachary Goldthorpe是UBC大学Sauder商学院的五年级学生，主修金融，辅修国际关系。他有超过七年的辩论竞赛经验，参加过无数次UBC高中锦标赛， 领导过他学校的辩论队，并在加拿大⻄部作为UBC Sauder的队员为JDC West取得第一名。Zachary还参加了世界学者杯的比赛，在2017年的Athens Global Round中，他在来自世界各地的1600名学生中个人排名第三。从那时起，他在四年时间里指导数百名学生，其中包括多次进入世界学者杯前 10 名的学生和四位世界冠军，以及无数国际锦标赛的演讲和辩论冠军。 Zachary 将继续激励他的学生在辩论、公开演讲和学术方面达到更高的水平，他很高兴能继续成为 FDT 的一员！

Alexander Beaumont

Instructor

Alexander has over 9 years of coaching experience and is completing his Joint Honours degree in History & Canadian Studies at McGill University, with a minor in International Relations. Debating throughout high school, Alexander was the champion of European Open 2012, Heart of Europe 2013, and Canadian National Debate Seminar 2013. In university, Alexander has continued to advance his debate skills, winning the 2016 Canadian BP Debate National Championships, and being a finalist at the 2016 North American University Debate Championships, as well as organizing many tournaments. Alexander has coached Speech, Debate, and Model UN with FDT since its inception and looks forward to continuing to develop students’ skills and abilities.

Kelly Ho

主讲教师

Kelly目前在UBC大学读三年级政治科学学位。Kelly拥有5年的辩论竞赛经验和4年的辩论教学经验，她在高三时担任了Little Flower Academy辩论俱乐部的队长。她辩论生涯的的亮点包括在 2019 年 UBC 夏季辩论赛和 2019 年 BP 省赛中进入决赛。Kelly两次晋级国家级辩论赛，首先是 2019 年的英国议会辩论国家赛，然后是 2020 年的加拿大高级组辩论赛国家赛。Kelly特别喜欢教授年轻的学生，看着他们在这些年来自信地成长和蓬勃发展！她非常高兴能与各个年龄段的学生分享她的经验、对辩论的热情以及对世界的了解！

Abigail Conrad

主讲教师

Abigail目前在UBC大学国际关系专业攻读三年级。她有八年的辩论比赛经验和五年执教经历。高中时，她是2020年加拿大全国辩论锦标赛的半决赛选手，也是2018年哈佛世界学校辩论锦标赛的第三名演讲者。2019年她还代表加拿大参加了牛津总决赛日，并在阿尔伯塔省的多个省级比赛中获得了最佳辩手和冠军的称号。现在Abigail是大学辩论社群的活跃成员，赢得了Hugill 2020的冠军，并且是 2022 年加拿大议会国家赛的半决赛选手和最佳辩手。Abigail目前是丹麦国家辩论队的教练，她还是阿尔伯塔省演讲和辩论双语协会的副总裁，曾在 2021-22 年担任 UBC 辩论协会主席。Abigail很高兴能够与FDT学生分享她的经验和对辩论的热情，并期待帮助他们获得脱颖而出。

Angela Lu

教师

Angela在University Hill中学的十二年级学生。作为加拿大国家辩论队的现任成员，她赢得了BC省级辩论赛和BC省级演讲比赛的冠军，并成为英国议会辩论国家赛的冠军辩手。在全国公共演讲锦标赛的说服性演讲和即兴演讲中均获得第一名后，她代表加拿大国家演讲队参加了世界个人辩论和公共演讲锦标赛，并获得了辩论冠军。Angela非常高兴能够帮助聪明的年轻人了解她通过辩论和演讲获得的机会和技能。

Saara Meghji

教师

Saara是多伦多大学三年级学生，主攻政治学专业，辅修城市研究和亚洲研究双学位。高中时， Saara是Crofton House学校辩论队的联合队⻓， 她不仅是加拿大国家辩论队的成员，还曾三次参加哈佛世界学校锦标赛，并在2018年获得冠军， 她还在英国议会制全国锦标赛中进入半决赛，在UBC春季高中辩论赛中获得两次个人奖第一名。Saara在 大学里也是一名活跃的辩手，她是北美最大和最顶级的大学辩论队——多伦多大学Hart House辩论俱乐部的现役主席，并且将在这个夏天参加世界大学辩论锦标赛赛。最值得一提的是，这将是Saara在FDT执教的第四年，她很高兴能与一个优秀的团队合作。

Frankie Cena

Office Assistant

Jiayin is currently a fourth-year undergraduate student at the University of British Columbia, studying Honours Behavioural Neuroscience. At FDT, she is primarily responsible for greeting students and parents, and working with other office staff to communicate about the academy’s day-to-day occurrences. Outside of work, she enjoys music, writing, and helping out with psychology research. Jiayin has been an office assistant at FDT since September 2019 and enjoys contributing to the wholesome learning environment FDT provides for their students.

John Huang

Office Assistant

John is a third-year student studying Criminology at Simon Fraser University. John began working as an office assistant at FDT in the Fall of 2019. He enjoys engaging with clients and students, as well as working with management to promote a successful and dedicated debate academy. In his personal life, John serves as a basketball coach, finding success in winning multiple championships and tournaments. He also enjoys promoting sports as a way of engaging the youth at his former high school. John is excited to be a part of the FDT family and to help facilitate the day to day of its successful programs.

Mehdi Bouchentouf

Instructor

Mehdi is a recent graduate of Carleton University with a Bachelor’s in Political Science with a minor in Law. He was an active debater for the club where he broke to the 2019 Canadian Parliamentary Nationals, was a finalist for the 2019 French Nationals and judged the 2020 North American University Debating Championship finals. In 2020-2021, he served as president for CUSID which governs debate for all Canadian universities. Outside of debate, Mehdi enjoys watching basketball, playing soccer, and discussing Canadian politics. He is looking forward to helping students reach their goals and improve their abilities.

Nicholas Rees

Instructor

Nicholas is in his second year at the University of British Colombia, where he is studying mathematics and physics. He was quite active while in high school, having gone to Canadian Debate Nationals four times for both CNDF and BP style, breaking at UBC HST, and also finding success in Model UN. Nicholas has continued debating at UBC, having broken open at multiple tournaments, and is now serving as the VP Operations for the UBC Debate Society. When he’s not debating or studying, Nicholas likes to read, go rock climbing, and play online games with his friends. Nicholas believes people best improve at debate when they enjoy it, and so he hopes he can help all of his students at FDT find their passion for debate like he has.

Moira O'Donoghue

Instructor

Moira is currently completing a bachelor of commerce degree at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. She debated competitively on the Crofton House School Debate Team for five years and continues to compete as apart of U of T’s Hart House Debate Team. Some of Moira’s debating highlights include qualifying to Senior British Parliamentary Debate Nationals two years in a row, and French Debate Nationals where she was a semi-finalist. She was also the Deputy Chief Adjudicator at the University of British Columbia Elementary Schools Tournament. Most recently, Moira was a semi-finalist at The University of Western Ontario Central Novice Debate tournament, and champion novice team at Guidon Cup. Outside of debate Moira enjoys her roles as Co-Chair of the Care Canada Youth Council, and Chief operating officer of the Trinity College Chess Club. Moira loves philosophy & tech debates and is very excited for the year ahead at FDT!

Matthew Gallagher

Instructor

Matthew is in his second year of law school at McGill University. He was an active debater during his undergraduate and master’s degrees at Carleton University, where he won the North American Universities Debating Championship (NAUDC) and Canadian British Parliamentary debating championships in 2017. He also broke at Mexico City WUDC in 2018. He has been involved in coaching and judging high school debate since 2013 and is excited to be a part of the FDT team.

Anthony Galipeau

Instructor

Anthony is currently completing a Master’s degree in International Affairs at Carleton University, and has also received a Bachelor’s degree in Public Affairs and Policy Management from Carleton University. As a judge, Anthony has six years of experience in adjudicating British Parliamentary, Canadian Parliamentary, Canadian National Debate, and World Schools debating formats. He has regularly adjudicated the Open Semi Finals and Open Finals of national and international tournaments at the grade school, high school, and university level. As a debater, Anthony has reached the out rounds of tournaments like the Hart House IV, the Father Roger Guindon Cup, and the University of Western Ontario IV. Additionally, he was selected to represent Carleton University for the 2021 World University Debating Championships, ranking in the top 20% of overall speakers. He is excited to begin coaching at FDT, and to help students find their voice and achieve their dreams!

Ellen Li

Instructor

Ellen is a first year Political Science student at the University of British Columbia. Throughout her debate career, Ellen has travelled to numerous countries for competitive debate, and attended many international tournaments. Some highlights include: Top Three at the BC Qualifiers 2019, Champion Team and Speaker at UBC Falls 2019, Champion Team and Second Place Speaker at LMW Regionals 2019, and breaking team at BP Nationals 2019. Ellen has been competitively debating for five years, and was the co-captain of the Debate Club at Crofton House School her senior year. She has experience coaching kids, and–more importantly–enjoys spending her time instructing. Debate brings students across borders, cultures, and comfort zones–Ellen can’t wait to see where FDT’s debaters will end up!

Diya Perry

Instructor

Diya is a first year philosophy and politics student at Durham University in the UK. She has competed at the national and international level in both speech and debate for the past six years. Her accomplishments include 2nd place overall high school speaker at the 2020 Hong Kong Debate Open, a top 5 finalist at the 2020 International Independent Schools’ Public Speaking Competition, and placed in the top 2% of speakers at the 2022 Harvard World Schools Invitational. While she holds a deep love for debate, she has found a passion in coaching. When she isn’t debating, Diya is passionate about social justice, and spends her time working with local organizations and political movements.

Alice Xu

Instructor

Alice is a junior at Crofton House School, Captain of her Debate Club, and a member of Team Canada. She’s been in debate for six years, and has a deep appreciation for the value of debating and public speaking. As a speaker, Alice has reached the Semifinals at the Junior National Debating Championships and Harvard World Schools. Furthermore, she has been named a top 10 speaker at numerous Canadian events such as the Provincial Debating Championships and the Queens University Debating Championships. Alice has seen how debate has helped her reach her full potential, and succeed inside and outside of school. She’s excited to teach and learn from bright young minds at FDT. In her free time, Alice loves to watch Netflix, read books to build up her knowledge of the world, and hang out with her friends.

Catherine Wang

Instructor

Catherine Wang is a second year undergraduate student at McGill University, studying International Development. Catherine has coached debate for a total of 5 years, beginning with coaching her highschool team whom she lead to become the number one highschool team in the region. She has experience coaching students ages 6-17 and experience levels ranging from beginner to advanced. Competitively, she has been involved in debate for over 7 years, competing at numerous tournaments. Notably, she has ranked as the two-time regional champion in the lower mainland, 1st place grade-divided speaker at the BC provincial championships, and UBC HST finalist. Furthermore, Catherine appreciates the art of public speaking, having founded her high school’s slam poetry team and led them to victory in the PoetryInVoice Vancouver Championships.

Jena Yue

Instructor

Jena Yue is a high school senior at Collingwood school. She is a current member of the Canadian National Debate Team, has finished as top speaker at the Junior British Parliamentary Debate Provincials, and was the 7th place speaker in the United States for Worlds School Debating when she was only in Grade 9. After being the champion of the U16 International Independent School’s Public Speaking Competition (IISPSC), she was on the Canadian National Speech Team and represented Canada at the 2020 World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championship. In her free time, she loves to paint, and has founded her own non-profit organization called YAFA (Youth Art for Action). She can’t wait to share her knowledge and help kids grow their confidence and find their voice!

Angela Lu

Instructor

Angela is in her senior year at University Hill Secondary School. A current member of the Canadian National Debate Team, she has won both Debate Provincials and Speech Provincials and finished as the top speaker of Junior British Parliamentary Debate Nationals. After placing first in both Persuasive Speaking and Impromptu Speaking at the National Public Speaking Championship, she represented the Canadian National Speech Team at the World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championship, where she finished as the debate champion. Angela is extremely excited to help introduce bright young minds to the opportunities and skills that she has gained through debate and speech.

Rody Visotski

Instructor

Rody is a third year Honours Political Science and International Relations combined degree student at the University of Calgary, who has been actively involved with debate for the past three years, primarily as a judge and tournament convener. Rody has judged at countless tournaments in CUSID West, regularly breaking to, and judging, the Open Finals, including the Hugill Cup ’20, UADS Pro-Am ’21, and the Pacific Cup ’21. Additionally, Rody has been on the Chief Adjudication team for the Diefenbaker Cup ’20 and the McGoun Cup ’21, while also being a Tournament Director for Canadian Parliamentary Nationals ’20, Fall Open ’20, and UCDS Pro-Am ’21. Rody has also judged and chaired at many international tournaments such as Princeton IV, Yale IV, and WUDC Korea. On the high school scene, Rody has judged countless tournaments, regularly breaking to the finals. Such tournaments include the Churchill Cup ’20, Accolades Cup ’20 and ’21, and Waterloo High School Tournament ’21. Lastly, Rody has helped to organize many high school tournaments, including the UBC High School Tournament ’21 and the Edmonton Jr. and Sr. Regionals ’21. With over 8 years of public speaking in formal and informal circumstances, Rody is excited to bring his knowledge and expertise to FDT!

Noel Frederick

Instructor

Noel is currently completing a Master’s degree in Applied Economics at the University of Saint Mary’s, and he has also received a Bachelor of Arts in Business Law from Carleton University. Noel has experience coaching British Parliamentary Debate, Canadian National Debate, World Schools Debate, Canadian Parliamentary Debate, and Public Forum Debate. Noel acted as the head debate teacher for the Harvard Debate Program at Nanjing Foreign Language School, and Zhangjiagang Ivy International School Debate Program, with his students having great success at regional, national, and international tournaments. As a debater, Noel had great competitive success, having reached the finals of the Lord Dorchester Debating Championships in 2017, and reaching the quarter-finals of the Seagrams Debating Championships in 2019, as well as being selected to chair numerous high school and university tournament finals.

Zachary Goldthorpe

Instructor

Zachary Goldthorpe is in his fifth and final year at the UBC Sauder School of Business, majoring in Finance with a minor in International Relations. He has over seven years of competitive public speaking and debate experience under his belt, leading his high school’s debate team, teaching a university-level public speaking course, and breaking first in Western Canada on the UBC Sauder team for JDC West. Zachary has also competed in the World Scholar’s Cup where he individually ranked 3rd place overall out of nearly 1,600 students from around the world. Since then, he has gone on to coach hundreds of students throughout the past four years, including multiple top 10 placements and four world champions in the World Scholar’s Cup, as well as countless international tournament winners in speech and debate. Zachary continues to inspire his students to reach greater heights in debating, public speaking, and academics and is excited to continue being a part of FDT!

Alexander Beaumont

Instructor

Alexander has over 9 years of coaching experience and is completing his Joint Honours degree in History & Canadian Studies at McGill University, with a minor in International Relations. Debating throughout high school, Alexander was the champion of European Open 2012, Heart of Europe 2013, and Canadian National Debate Seminar 2013. In university, Alexander has continued to advance his debate skills, winning the 2016 Canadian BP Debate National Championships, and being a finalist at the 2016 North American University Debate Championships, as well as organizing many tournaments. Alexander has coached Speech, Debate, and Model UN with FDT since its inception and looks forward to continuing to develop students’ skills and abilities.

Kelly Ho

Lead Instructor

Kelly is a third-year student at the University of British Columbia pursuing a Major in Political Science and a Minor in Law and Society. Kelly has 4 years of coaching experience. In high school Kelly debated competitively for five years and served as the Little Flower Academy Debate Captain in her senior year. Her favourite debate highlight is being a finalist at BP Provincials 2019! Kelly also made nationals twice, firstly at the British Parliamentary Debate Nationals in 2019 and then at the Canadian Senior Debate Nationals in 2020. Kelly especially enjoys working with younger students and watching them grow in confidence and flourish throughout the years! She is incredibly excited to share her experience, enthusiasm for debate, and knowledge about the world with students of all ages!

Abigail Conrad

Lead Instructor

Abigail, who is currently in her third year at UBC studying international relations, has eight years of debate experience and has been coaching for five. In high school, she was a semi-finalist at the 2020 Canadian National Debate Championships and third place speaker at the 2018 Harvard World Schools Debating Championship. She also top-spoke and won multiple provincial tournaments in Alberta. Now an active member of the university debate community, she won Hugill 2020, and was a semi-finalist at and the top speaker of Canadian Parliamentary Nationals 2022. Abigail currently coaches Team Denmark, is the VP Bilingual of the Alberta Speech and Debate Association and was the president of the UBC Debate Society in 2021-22. Abigail is thrilled to be able to share her experience and passion for debate with FDT students and looks forward to helping them excel.

Saara Meghji

Lead Instructor

Saara is a third year student at the University of Toronto studying Political Science, Urban Studies and Contemporary Asian Studies. In high school, Saara was Co-Captain of the Crofton House Debate Team, where in addition to being selected for the Canadian National Debating Team, she won the Harvard Worlds Schools Championships, made semifinals of the British Parliamentary National Championships, ranked as the best speaker twice at the UBC Spring High School Championships, and represented her country at the Worlds Schools Championships. An active debater in university as well, Saara is the current President of the Hart House Debate Club at the University of Toronto, one of the largest and most successful collegiate debate teams in North America, and will be competing at the World Universities Debating Championships this summer. Perhaps most notably, this will be Saara’s fourth year coaching at FDT – she is very excited to continue working with such a fantastic group of staff and students!

Noah Macdonald

Lead Instructor

Noah is in his fourth year at UBC, where he studies honours philosophy on the presidential scholars’ award. In high school, Noah was one of the most accomplished debaters in Canada; he was the top speaker at the 2018 Canadian National Debate Championships, a two-time Alberta Provincials gold medalist, and the recipient of the Janet Garten Award for dedication to debate. In university, he has been on the CA team for countless tournaments, including BP and CP Nationals.
Noah has been coaching debate for 5 years, and has taught students across North America, Asia, Europe, and Australia. He has coached students that have gone on to top-speak national championships, and served as the training director for the UBC Debate Society.
When not coaching, competing, or judging, Noah spends his time on skiing mountaineering and alpine climbing.

Luna Wang

Assistant Director of Admissions

Luna graduated from the University of Toronto with a Master’s degree in Education. In her past roles as an ESL instructor, an instructional designer, and a guidance coordinator, the key values that have guided her actions include compassion, growth, and collaboration. She has a true passion for education and a deep interest in interacting with, serving for, and educating people with diverse cultural backgrounds. As the Assistant Director of Admissions at FDT, Luna hopes to build and maintain trustworthy relationships with families and students.

Ghazal Habib

Director of Operations

With a Master’s in Policy and Management, Ghazal serves as FDT’s Director of Operations. Ghazal spent five years developing and delivering international education programming in the regions of East Africa and the South Pacific. Coupled with her background in social business development, Ghazal brings dynamic experiences and perspectives to the academy. Entering her fourth year at FDT, she wears many hats in her role and is so proud to be a part of this growing community!

Cathy Cena

Director of Admissions

With over 30 years experience in sales and marketing, Cathy brings a wealth of business experience to FDT. She is passionate about giving parents and students the FDT experience and believes in enriching the lives of students through speech. Debate and speech are life long skills for students in all facets of their life from elementary school to university. When Cathy is not meeting with parents, she can be found planning events. She is an avid volunteer and the President of the Optimist Club, Past President of the Arts Center, and most recently wrote a book. Please email her anytime to find out more about FDT Academy!

Tonya Cena

Academy Manager

Tonya has managed FDT for the past four years and is a pivotal part of the growing team. She is the go-to person for all student and parent inquiries, tournament preparation steps, and much more! Tonya has travelled to various places around the world, bringing debaters to tournaments in truly stunning locations, including Cape Town and Bangkok. She is excited to see where FDT will take her next!

Chelli Shapiro

Head of Speech

Chelli, a third year UBC political science student, has eight years of debate and speech experience. In 2018, she was selected as Alberta’s top place delegate to proceed to tryouts for Canada’s National Debate Team. In recognition of her commitment to Alberta debate, Chelli won the 2019 Janet Garten Award. In 2016 she was the Alternate for Team Canada Speech, finishing second overall for Solo Acting, and breaking for two other finals including impromptu and debate at IISPSC. She has continued to debate in university, enjoying successes at UBCIV as a finalist and second place novice speaker, PAC Cup as a semi-finalist and first place novice speaker, and WCNC as first-place team and speaker. She looks forward to sharing her passion for self-expression at FDT.

Behbod Negahban

Head of Curriculum

Behbod is FDT’s Head of Curriculum and a senior instructor. An alumnus of Yale University, Behbod graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. A former member of the Canadian national debate team, he won the Pan-American and EurOpen Debating Championships in 2014 and 2012 and reached the semifinals of the World School’s Debating Championships in 2014. Behbod has also worked in Washington, DC, and most recently in Lebanon, as a journalist specializing in judicial corruption. He’s excited to share his diverse experiences with the students at FDT.

Arsalan Ghaemi

Head of Debate

Arsalan has over 9 years of experience competing in and coaching debate. As FDT’s Head of Debate, he has developed a strong reputation amongst his students, as many of them have won events at the regional, provincial and international level. Arsalan is the Head Coach of Debate at St. George’s School in Vancouver and is an alumnus of the University of British Columbia, with a degree in Honours Political Science. Arsalan is excited to work with FDT students and help them find their voice.

Dena Tabyanian

Academy Director

Dena will be completing a Master’s degree in Education, International Development and Health Promotion at UCL. She has a degree in Education from UBC, having finished a double major in English and Political Science, and spent the last year as a teacher in England. Dena has been debating for 12 years and was a member of the Canadian National Debate Team. She has judged at the World Schools Debate Championship four times, breaking as a judge and judging the Worlds Grand Final in 2019. Dena was also co-coach of the Danish National Debate Team, which has ranked 6th in the world and won Top EFL team twice. She attended the World Universities Debate Championship herself as a debater in 2017, representing her university. She is excited to continue to serve as Academy Director and loves debating for its ability to broaden perspectives and facilitate dialogue between people from all over the world.

Frankie Cena

FOUNDING DIRECTOR

Frankie began his debate coaching career at his former public high school, where he coached a group of debaters who cemented the school’s reputation as one of the best debate schools in the Lower Mainland.

In 2011, Frankie was named the Head Speech and Debate Coach of Crofton House School and trained numerous students to win Regional, Provincial, National, and International Championships. His breakthrough moment was when he brought 9 of his top students to the Czech Republic, where they defied expectations and advanced to the final round. Frankie’s students have won the EurOpen Championship in Germany, the Vancouver Regional Debate Championship, the Provincial Law Foundation Cup, the Heart of Europe Championship, the UBC Debate Tournament, the International Competition for Young Debaters at Cambridge University, and more.

One of Frankie’s personal goals was realized when the Danish School Board selected him to coach the National Debate Team of Denmark. In a matter of just a few years, that team grew to become one of the most competitive in the world.

In 2016 Frankie founded FDT Academy, a true culmination of all of his experiences as a debater and esteemed coach. Frankie also works as a keynote speaker, performer, and TV Host.