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CTV News | April 2022

FDT Student Zac Weinberg was featured on CTV News!

FDT Student Zachary Weinberg was featured on CTV News! The news outlet covered the ZacPac Project, a nonprofit organization started by Zac when he was just 11 years old. ZacPac’s mission is to provide comfort and help to people experiencing homelessness in Vancouver. To follow their work, visit: www.facebook.com/zacpacproject

OurKids | February 2022

OurKids invited Neel A., a parent to one of FDT’s start students, to discuss the ins and outs of learning debate at FDT Academy. We are very grateful to Neel for sharing his unique perspective!

OurKids is Canada’s leading guide for kids’ camps, after school activities, and more! We were thrilled when they asked an FDT parent to sit down with them for a virtual interview. They discussed a variety of topics, including the benefits that Neel believes debate has brought to his son Jaiden.

Play Video

Parent Talk Podcast | November 2021

Cathy Cena, our Director of Admissions, was a guest on the Parent Talk podcast earlier this month. 

Watch the interview below, where she discusses the benefits of debate and speech as an after-school activity with the podcast’s hosts.

CTV News | September 2021

FDT’s Founder, Frankie Cena, was invited onto CTV News to speak about the first and only English Leaders’ Debate for this year’s election. 

This is a great example of how public speaking can be used outside of the classroom in a real-world setting!

CBC News | September 2021

Arsalan was invited back onto CBC News to share his follow-up thoughts after partaking in the Face to Face series.

CBC News | September 2021

FDT’s Head of Debate, Arsalan Ghaemi, interviewed Leader of the Conservative Party Erin O’Toole.

This was part of CBC News’ Canada Votes 2021 – Face to Face segment. He covers excellent topics, namely the housing market crisis and O’Toole’s planned response to the crisis in Afghanistan.

CBC News Vancouver | September 2021

Longtime FDT student Jena Yue was interviewed by CBC News Vancouver to discuss her non-profit organization, Youth Art for Action. 

We’re so proud of Jena and all of her dedication to this incredible initiative!

You Can Find The Full CBC Article Here!

You can find the full CBC article here!

Our Kids | March 2021

Check out Our Kids‘ annual program guide editor Glen Herbert sharing the 3 things he sees when looking at FDT Academy! 

Our favourite quote from Glen is, “I just think their motto is so great – find your voice it matters – I think that’s an important lesson that kids do need to learn, and [learning debate at FDT] is a great way for them to do that.”

And here is an Our Kids video interview of our founder Frankie Cena!

And here is an Our Kids video interview of our founder Frankie Cena!

Cat & Nat | January 2021

Earlier this month, our founder, Frankie Cena, and Director of Business Development, Cathy Cena, joined Canadian authors and podcast gurus Cat & Nat for a live interview on their 6-to-Teen Parenting Community channel!

Some of the questions that Cat & Nat asked during the interview included:

  • What exactly are public speaking and debating, and what are the differences between them?
  • Why is public speaking and learning to debate important for our children?
  • Are these skills something every child should learn to master?
  • Are there differences in the confidence levels between high school age boys vs high school-age girls? Why are there differences and is there anything we can do to help?
  • What can we do to help foster these skills in our children?

Their favourite quote from the interview came from Frankie:

“The dinner table is where this gets fostered. There has to be that moment where you talk to the children and let them respond. You ask them about different things and see what interests them. Or just have them provide opinions on things. It will get to the debate and critical thinking side of things. Just being involved. The dinner table is a great place.” 

To sign up for Cat & Nat’s parenting community where you can listen to the full interview, click here. You can also follow this awesome mom duo on their Instagram account!

You Can Find The Full CBC Article Here!

Our Kids | March 2021

FDT founder Frankie Cena was interviewed for the Kid Carson Show on Z95.3 as part of their weekly “Big Free Plug” a segment featuring local businesses driven by bright ideas and great stories. 

Frankie spoke to Kid and Jordan about his journey from a high school debater to the owner of the most successful debate academy in the world. “My mom always said [that] I started off at the kitchen table and made it into a career,” Frankie said.

Even though FDT now teaches students from grades K-12, what students learn is tailored to their experience level. Frankie explained that with our K-3 program “we’re really talking about confidence, having the kids speak out loud, be able to stand in front of an audience and speak confidently. By the time they get to Grade 4-7 they start to debate the more simple topics. Then, by Grade 8-12 they’re talking about global issues.”

Frankie talked about the value of debate – “It applies to every kind of career, every opportunity, every scholarship, every university wants someone who can speak confidently so we’re really giving kids the most important skill.” Frankie spoke about FDT students’ travels to places like Singapore, England and Argentina, where they competed in (and won!) debate and speech competitions. “The kids get to do so many different things. They love it, I love it, and it’s been an amazing career!”

Listen to the full interview below!

Marc & Mandy Show | June 2020

The bubbly and fantastic Mariko Zamani from the Marc & Mandy Show, a nationally syndicated TV show, swung by the academy to interview Frankie about what we do at FDT! This segment does a fantastic job of outlining what FDT offers, the age groups that we work with, and the importance of gaining the skills that students learn through public speaking and debate.

Our favourite quote from the interview is,

“If you put your child into a sport or piano, they’re going to learn a lot and it’s going to be an amazing skill set, but the transferable skill might not be as wide as Debate. In Debate you’re learning critical thinking skills, confidence, public speaking, and that’s going to transfer to your schoolwork, to your university application, to your job interviews one day.”

See below for the full interview!

FDT founder and CEO Frankie Cena named Top 30 under 30 by BC Business | June 2020

We are so proud to announce that FDT’s founder and CEO, Frankie Cena, has been given one of the highest honours in British Columbia. Frankie was named one of the “Top 30 under 30” business leaders in BC by Business Magazine! 

The honour is well deserved by Frankie, who has been coaching debate for over a decade and last month ran an unprecedented Canada-wide public speaking competition to raise money for food banks in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. Moreover, FDT has recently taken a leadership role among educational organizations in the transition to online teaching.

Frankie spoke to BC Business about his love for public speaking:

‘My mom always says that instead of grabbing a hockey stick, I grabbed a microphone,’ jokes Frankie Cena, who grew up in Burnaby. In Grade 7, Cena entered a mandatory public speaking competition and wound up snagging second place in the city. From there, he joined his high school’s debate team; when not working on his own skills, he volunteered as a coach. 

Head to the BC Business website to read the article in full!

FDT Talks about its first ever Speech Competition on CTV! | April 2020

Our Founding Director was on CTV Morning Live Vancouver discussing The FDT Canadian Public Speaking Contest! 

This was FDT’s first public speaking contest and included over $10,000 in cash prizes to be won. The contest is open to all students in grades 4-12 from across Canada, and FDT will donate $5 to @foodbankscanada for each entry received.

Click below for the full interview!

Global BC | April 2020

Frankie was on Global BC News discussing The FDT Canadian Public Speaking Contest! 

This was FDT’s first public speaking contest and included over $10,000 in cash prizes to be won. The contest is open to all students in grades 4-12 from across Canada, and FDT will donate $5 to @foodbankscanada for each entry received.

Click below for the full interview!

CHCH Morning Live | April 2020

Frankie was on CHCH Morning Live discussing The FDT Canadian Public Speaking Contest! This was FDT’s first public speaking contest and included over $10,000 in cash prizes to be won.

The contest is open to all students in grades 4-12 from across Canada, and FDT will donate $5 to @foodbankscanada for each entry received.

Click below for the full interview!

FDT Student & Founder on Breakfast Television | October 2018

FDT debate student Matthew Yu is joined by our founder Frankie Cena on Breakfast Television to discuss his appearance on CBC’s Canada’s Smartest Person! 

Matthew will participate in the televised competition in November, where he will face off against 11 of the smartest youngsters from across the country! He follows in the footsteps of Frankie who competed on the show in 2016. He is the youngest competitor on the show and the only one from Vancouver!

See below for the full interview!

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Labib Akifuzzaman

Instructor

I am a 4th-year entrepreneur student working at a climate tech startup, and debating has been a passion of mine for the past 8 years. I’ve competed in and won numerous local and international tournaments. I was a finalist in the Pre-Alternative Asians British Parliamentary 2020, runners-up in the Scholastica International Debate Tournament, and a quarterfinalist in both the Cambridge Open and Oxford Open 2020. In university I won the Pacific Cup and JDC WEST I was part of the World Schools training camp, which helped refine my debating skills on a global level. Additionally, I have been honored to adj core multiple tournaments, contributing to the debating community. One of my proudest achievements is being named the Best Novice Asian Speaker.

Vedant Srinivasan

Instructor

Vedant Srinivasan is a freshman at Georgetown University in The Walsh School of Foreign Service concentrating in Science, Technology and International affairs. Vedant has competed in Speech and Debate in various styles including British Parliamentary, CNDF and World Schools. He is a 2-time quarterfinalist at the Canadian British Parliamentary Championships, attended Oxford Schools and in Grade-11, Vedant placed 2nd at both the Canadian and World Individual Public Speaking and Debating Championships. As a coach, Vedant led his school’s speech and debate program, helping to teach students in grades 7-12. His goal is to help students hone their reflective processes, giving them the confidence to speak in public and thoughtfully question the world around them.

Leo Zhu

教师

Leo 是不列颠哥伦比亚大学的理科学生。他是2023/24加拿大国家辩论队的成员，并作为五名正式成员之一，代表加拿大参加在塞尔维亚贝尔格莱德举行的2024年世界学校辩论锦标赛。除了被选入Team Canada之外，Leo 的一些辩论生涯亮点包括：在2022 年和冬季假期公开赛中获得最佳辩手，2023 年打入此比赛总决赛；他获得加拿大大学高中全国辩论赛冠军和亚军辩手、以及西部大学冬季高中赛的冠军和最佳辩手。 Leo打辩论比赛超过4 年，并担任Burnaby North辩论协会主席 2 年。他很高兴能在 FDT 与学生分享自己的辩论热情。

Rohan singh

教师

Rohan Singh是一位卓有成就的辩论和演讲教练，在辩论和公开演讲竞赛方面拥有丰富的经验和成就。在过去的五年里，Rohan致力于指导学生，帮助他们在各种著名的比赛中取得优异的成绩。 2023 年，Rohan在温尼伯举行的全国演讲比赛中荣获辩论类别第一名。不久之后，他带领他的团队在BC省级辩论赛上取得胜利，并成功晋级国家赛。 Rohan表现出色，获得了加拿大国家辩论队选拔赛的资格。他在 BC 省高级组公共演讲中名列前茅，在即兴演讲类别中获得第三名。他在加拿大高级组全国辩论锦标赛上表现出色，在十年级时就跻身前 20 名辩手之列，彰显了他非凡的才华。Rohan 的成就以及他对辩论和公开演讲的热情使他成为一位鼓舞人心的教练。他致力于分享他的知识，并帮助学生发现自己对辩论和公开演讲的潜力和热情。

Hannah Choi

教师

Hannah是不列颠哥伦比亚大学的一名学生，攻读政治学和古典学双学位。她多年来一直以辩手和教练的身份参与竞争性辩论赛，并在高年级时带领她的高中辩论队获得了有史以来的第一个冠军。她在辩论生涯中取得的一些成就包括：赢得 2024 年LME地区赛、2022 年本拿比杯和 2022 年Meadowridge赛的冠军； 2024 年在斯坦福世界赛和西部世界赛等国际赛事中打入决赛；在 UBC 2022 年秋季赛中获得第二名；Hannah曾多次击败国家辩论队成员。Hannah曾在英国议会式辩论、加拿大式辩论、世界学校式辩论和交叉考试式辩论中指导过从小学到高中的学生。她很高兴与她的学生分享她对辩论的热爱，并希望他们能够成为积极的全球公民。

Kennedy Kopke

教师

Kennedy在UBC Sauder 商学院攻读商业学士学位。她拥有超过 5 年的辩论竞赛经验，多次获得 BP 式辩论和 CNDF 式辩论的地区级和省级冠军。在参加高中辩论期间，她参加了许多竞争激烈的比赛，在剑桥学校锦标赛中打入总决赛，以及参加BP国家级比赛。此外，Kennedy指导她的高中辩论队在国内和国际上取得了多项成功。Kennedy喜欢帮助年轻学生找到她在 FDT 第一次在学院学习辩论时所发现的辩论热情。她希望帮助所有年轻学子找到自己的声音，通过辩论技巧获得成功。

kennedy Kopke

Instructor

Kennedy is a student at UBC Sauder School of Business pursuing a bachelors degree in Commerce. She has over 5 years of experience in competitive debate, including multiple regional and provincial championships in BP style debate as well as CNDF style. Throughout her time participating in high school debate she attended many highly competitive tournaments, including breaking 4th at the Cambridge Schools Tournament and reaching the grand final and BP nationals. Further, Kennedy coached her high school debate team to multiple other national and international successes. Kennedy enjoys helping young students find the the same passion for debate that she found at FDT when she first learned to debate at the academy. She hopes to help all young students find their own voice, and achieve success through the skills of debating.

Leo Zhu

Instructor

Leo is a Science student at the University of British Columbia. He is a member of the 2023/24 Canadian National Debate Team, and was selected as one of the five debaters to represent Canada at the 2024 World Schools Debating Championship in Belgrade, Serbia. Aside from Team Canada, some of Leo’s debate highlights include: Top Speaker and Grand Finalist  at Winter Holidays Open in 2022 and 2023 respectively, Champion and 2nd Best Speaker at Canadian Universities High School Nationals, and Champion and Top Speaker at Western University Winter High School Tournament. Leo has been debating competitively for 4 years, and was the president of the Burnaby North Debate Society for 2. He greatly enjoys sharing his passion for debate with others, and is excited to do so at FDT.

Rohan Singh

Instructor

Rohan Singh is a highly accomplished debate and speech instructor with a wealth of experience and accolades in competitive debating and public speaking. Over the past five years, Rohan has dedicated himself to coaching students, helping them achieve excellence in various prestigious competitions. In 2023, Rohan was crowned the Debate Champion at the Speech Nationals in Winnipeg, securing 1st Place in the Debate category. Soon after, he led his team to victory at the Provincial Law Foundation Cup, where he earned his spot to represent British Columbia at the National Senior Debating Championship in Calgary, Alberta. Demonstrating his consistent high performance, Rohan qualified for the Team Canada Tryouts and showcased his versatility by placing 3rd in Impromptu Speech, placing in the Top overall speakers at the Senior Public Speaking BC Provincials. Highlighting his exceptional talent, he also distinguished himself at the Canadian Senior National Debating Championship, ranking within the Top 20 speakers when he was only in Grade 10. Rohan’s achievements and his passion for debate and public speaking make him an inspiring instructor. He is dedicated to sharing his knowledge and helping students discover their own potential and passion for debate and public speaking.

Hannah choi

Instructor

Hannah is a student at the University of British Columbia pursuing a double major in Political Science and Classics. She has been involved in the competitive debate circuit as both a participant and a coach for several years, captaining her nascent high school team to its first-ever championship title in her senior year. Some achievements throughout her debate career include championing Lower Mainland East Regionals 2024, Burnaby Cup 2022, and Meadowridge 2022; breaking at international tournaments such as Stanford Worlds and Western Worlds in 2024; placing second at UBC Fall 2022; and defeating multiple national teams. Hannah has coached students from the elementary to the high school level in British Parliamentary, Canadian National Debate Format, Worlds Schools, and Cross-Examination. She is thrilled to share her love of debate, with its myriad opportunities for personal and intellectual growth, with her students and hopes that they can become engaged global citizens through high-quality discourse.

Jade hua

教师

Jade就读于UBC大学，攻读金融商业学士学位。 Jade 在过去四年里一直从事辩论工作，并代表越南国家队参加世界学校辩论锦标赛，并于 2023 年成为 WSDC 八强选手。Jade活跃在越南的辩论界，她花费大量时间参加高中辩论比赛，做辩论赛裁判，指导学生辩论和组织辩论比赛。在参与辩论社群期间，她发现了自己对培养批判性思维技能的热情，并希望激发年轻学生的学习好奇心。Jade希望她的学生在不断学习辩论技能的同时，也能找到对辩论的热爱。

Jade Hua

Instructor

Jade is a student at the University of British Columbia completing a Bachelor of Commerce degree focusing on Finance. Jade has been debating for the past four years as well as competing in the World School Debating Championship for Team Vietnam, becoming WSDC Octofinalist in 2023. She has spent much of her time in High School competing, judging, coaching students, and organizing tournaments in the Vietnamese debate circuit. During her time involved in the debate community, she found passion in developing critical thinking skills and hoped to inspire curiosity to learn in young students. She hopes that her students will find this same passion as they continue to develop their debating skills.

Aashton Prasad

办公室助理

Aashton就读于UBC大学，研究人类学和社会正义。在处理FDT的日常前台工作时，他希望为学生营造一个高效且包容的学习环境。除了工作场所之外，他还重视社区建设和联系。他此前曾被任命为 UBC 辩论协会的公正管理者，目前担任 UBC 人类学和斐济学生协会的内务副主席。Aashton喜欢在闲暇时聆听 R&B 音乐、摄影，以及与家人和朋友一起徒步旅行或小径漫步来探索大自然。

Emily rees

办公室助理

Emily 就读于UBC大学，主修神经生物学、遗传学和公共卫生。在帮助促进FDT良好运作的同时，她希望营造一个积极和支持性的学习环境。她在大温哥华地区为各种事业做志愿者时，对妇女权利和健康有着浓厚的兴趣。

Emily rees

教师

Emily 就读于UBC大学，主修神经生物学、遗传学和公共卫生。Emily 在过去五年里一直在打辩论，并在高中期间参加模拟联合国会议，在加州大学伯克利分校的 BMUN 和麦吉尔大学的 SSUNS 等会议中获得了最佳代表和最佳代表团奖。她在高中花了很多时间指导高中生参加各种辩论和模拟联合国锦标赛。在参与辩论社群期间，她发现了自己对公开演讲和辩论的热情。她希望她的学生在继续发展辩论技能的同时也能找到同样的热情。

EMILY REES

office assistant

Emily is a student at the University of British Columbia completing an undergraduate degree focusing on Neurobiology, Genetics, and Public Health. While helping to facilitate the operations of FDT, she hopes to foster a positive and supportive learning environment. When volunteering for various causes in the Greater Vancouver Area with a strong interest in Women’s rights and health.

Aashton Prasad

office assistant

Aashton is an undergraduate at the University of British Columbia studying anthropology and social justice. In handling the daily logistics at FDT, he hopes to promote an effective and inclusive learning environment for students. Beyond the workplace, he values community building and connections. He previously served as an Equity Officer for UBC’s Debate Society and is currently the President of UBC’s Anthropology Students Association and the Vice-President of Internal Affairs for UBC’s Fijian Students Association. Aashton enjoys spending his leisure time listening to R&B music, doing digital photography, and exploring nature through hikes or trail walks with family and friends.

Emily Rees

Instructor

Emily is a student at the University of British Columbia completing an undergraduate degree focusing on Neurobiology, Genetics, and Public Health. Emily has been debating for the past five years as well as competing in Model UN conferences during high school. In Model UN she participated in various conferences placing Best Delegate and Best Delegation awards in conferences such as, BMUN at UC Berkeley and SSUNS at McGill University. She has spent much of her time in High School coaching high school students for various debate and Model UN Tournaments. During her time involved in the debate community she found passion in public speaking and debate. She hopes that her students will find this same passion as they continue to develop their debating skills.

Reid Marcus

辩论主管

Reid有10年教授CNDF 加拿大式辩论和 BP英国议会制辩论以及公共论坛美式辩论的经验。在大学时，他作为辩手代表 UBC 参加 了2011 年和 2015 年的世界辩论锦标赛。Reid 拥有剑桥大学科学史硕士学位和 UBC 学士学位。他对辩论教育充满热情，并鼓励学生探索课堂中辩论话题背后的历史。

Reid Marcus

Head of debate

Reid has coached debate for ten years in both parliamentary styles like CNDF & BP and American styles like Public Forum. As a competitive debater in university he represented UBC at the World Championships in 2011 and 2015. Reid has an MPhil in History of Science from the University of Cambridge and a BA from UBC. He is passionate about debate education and encourages his students to explore the history behind the topics they debate in class. 

Arta negahban

办公室助理

Arta 很高兴能够作为办公室助理加入 FDT 大家庭！除了协助学院的日常运营外，她将随时为学生、家长和工作人员提供帮助，来创造一个温暖而温馨的环境，激励年轻演讲者发出自己的声音。除了在 FDT 工作之外，Arta 目前还是一名在职女演员，刚刚结束了将于 2024 年首映的 Hulu 系列剧。在空闲时间，她在电影工作室做志愿者，在舞蹈工作室上课，在温哥华寻找新的思想，和朋友们一起歌唱。

Arta Negahban

office assistant

Arta is thrilled to be joining the FDT family as an Office Assistant! While helping with the operations of the academy during opening hours, she is always ready to assist students, parents and staff, creating a warm and welcoming environment to motivate young speakers to find their voice. Apart from her time working at FDT, Arta is currently a working actress freshly wrapped from a Hulu series set to premiere in 2024. In her free time she finds herself volunteering at the film studio, taking classes at the dance studio, finding new viewpoints in Vancouver, and singing her heart out with friends.

Cheryl wu

教师

Cheryl 是一位充满热情的辩论讲师，正在 UBC 攻读历史和经济学荣誉学士学位。作为 UBC 辩论协会的成员，Cheryl曾参加过许多加拿大和国际辩论赛。她曾入围 2023 年太平洋杯和 2023 年 USCIV 决赛，最近在 2023 年北美大学辩论锦标赛中担任裁判。凭借自己的辩论经验，她在2022年成为 TEDxUBC 的演讲编辑和媒体协调员。Cheryl 利用自己在辩论方面的教学经验，帮助演讲者发表卓越的 TED 演讲，并在拥有超过 3600 万订阅者的 TED YouTube 官方频道上展示。此外，作为有着6年经验的前营地辅导员和教师，Cheryl 喜欢与各个年龄段的学生分享她对辩论、公开演讲、社会正义、学术写作的热情。在来到 UBC 之前，Cheryl 曾担任香港中小学生的 BP英国议会制辩论教练。 Cheryl 以 43/45 的 IB 总成绩以第一名的成绩从中学毕业，并获得多伦多大学三一学院的全年奖学金。之后，她担任私人辩论教练，辅导英国文学、中国语言和文学等 IB 科目，知识论和扩展论文。Cheryl 以目标为导向的方法帮助她辅导的许多学生在学习中取得了高分，并提高了他们对公开演讲和辩论的信心。

Sarah sahagian

教师

Sarah Sahagian是一位颇有成就的学者，她在伦敦经济学院完成了性别研究硕士学位，并获得了伦敦经济学院Merit奖学金，这是该校颁发的最负盛名的学术奖学金。

高中时，Sarah 在国际独立学校公开演讲锦标赛中赢得了即兴演讲组的冠军。她还曾三度参加世界个人公开演讲和辩论锦标赛，并于 2004 年获得总成绩第二名。

Sarah拥有丰富的辩论和公共演讲教学经验，她在Kingston的女王辩论联盟和安大略省的Branksome Hall以及英国伦敦的Debate Mate Program都担任过教练。Sarah的学生获得了许多享有优异的成绩，例如赢得安省辩论锦标赛、获得 Fuflord 辩论联盟冠军以及在著名的全国辩论和公开演讲锦标赛中跻身前十名。 Sarah 指导过 8 名学生，他们有资格代表加拿大参加世界个人公开演讲和辩论锦标赛，其中 3 名学生进入前 15 名演讲者之列。Sarah 2018 年担任澳大利亚世界演讲锦标赛的评委，并且是诠释阅读类别总决赛的评委，她作为演讲教练的实力得到了认可。她的多名学生代表加拿大参加世界学校辩论锦标赛，这只有加拿大最顶级的辩手才能做到。

2017 年，Sarah 成为加拿大演讲和辩论基金会的创始执行董事，该基金会将辩论俱乐部引入全国各地的公立学校。她在 S & DC 担任了五年的 ED 职位，然后辞职去探索新项目。

Sarah对私校和顶级大学的申请有着丰富的指导经验。她已经帮助多名学生进入了他们梦想的高中私学校和美国顶尖大学。她喜欢帮助家庭为孩子找到最好的环境，并制定计划以最大限度地提高孩子申请成功的几率。

作为一名作家，Sarah的署名曾出现在《华盛顿邮报》、《多伦多星报》、《国家邮报》、《Elle Canada》和《赫芬顿邮报》等媒体上。

Sarah sahagian

Speech Instructor

An accomplished academic, Sarah Sahagian holds a master’s degree in Gender Studies from The London School of Economics, where she was the recipient of the LSE Merit Scholarship, the most prestigious academic scholarship awarded to the school’s incoming graduate students. 

While in high school, Sarah won the Impromptu Speaking Category at the International Independent Schools’ Public Speaking Championship. She also competed at the World Individual Public Speaking and Debate Championship three times, placing second overall in 2004.

Sarah’s work teaching debating and public speaking began when she volunteered through the Queen’s Debating Union’s outreach program, which provided debate training to local Kingston, Ontario Students. Sarah has also coached public speaking and debating at Branksome Hall in downtown Toronto and through the Debate Mate Program in London, England. 

Students coached by Sarah have received such prestigious honours as winning the Ontario Provincial Debating Championship, taking home Fuflord Debate League titles, and placing in the top ten overall speakers at prestigious national debate and public speaking tournaments. Sarah has coached eight students who qualified to represent Canada at the World Individual Public Speaking and Debating Championship, three of whom placed in the top 15 speakers. Other students of hers have won the Toronto Regional Debating Championships, placed in the top three at the English Speakers’ Union Competition, and came first in the bilingual debating category at Ontario’s Provincial Debating Championship.

Over the course of her career, Sarah is delighted to say she has coached multiple students who qualified to represent Canada at the World Schools Debating Championship, a distinction that goes only to the country’s most brilliant debaters.  

Another passion of Sarah’s is preparatory school and university admissions counseling. She became fascinated by the world of independent school and elite university admissions when she worked as a journalist researching those subjects. Sarah is now proud to say she has helped several students gain admission to their dream high school preparatory schools and top US colleges. She loves helping families identify the best possible environment for their children and creating a plan to maximize the odds of acceptance.   

As a writer, Sarah’s byline has appeared in such outlets as The Washington Post, The Toronto Star, The National Post, Elle Canada, and The Huffington Post.

Cheryl wu

Instructor

Cheryl is a passionate debate instructor pursuing a B.A in Honours History and Economics at UBC. As a member of the UBC Debate Society, Cheryl has competed in both national and international university level tournaments. Some highlights include placing as a finalist at Pacific Cup 2023 and USCIV 2023, as well as her most recent role as a breaking judge in the North American University Debating Championships 2023. Her experience in debate has also lead her to her position as a speech editor and media coordinator for TEDxUBC in 2022. She was able to use her experience in coaching debate to help speakers deliver eloquent TED Talks displayed on the official TED YouTube channel with over 36 million subscribers. Additionally, as a former camp counsellor and teacher of 6 years, Cheryl loves sharing her passion for debate, public speaking, social justice, academic writing with students of all ages. Prior to coming to UBC, Cheryl worked as a BP debate coach for both primary and secondary school students in Hong Kong. After graduating at the top of her secondary class with an overall IB grade of 43/45 and a full year scholarship to University of Toronto Trinity College, Cheryl worked as a private debate coach and tutored IB subjects such as English Literature, Chinese Language and Literature, Theory of Knowledge and the Extended Essay. Cheryl’s goal-oriented approach has helped many of the students she tutored achieve top scores in their studies as well as improve their confidence in public speaking and debate.

Victoria Moldovan

教师

Victoria 正在不列颠哥伦比亚大学攻读政治学文学学士学位。 7 年来，她一直在参加辩论和公共演讲，并参加过加拿大国家级比赛和国际比赛。两年多来，她一直在 FDT 和她所在的高中指导学生进行辩论和公共演讲。这段经历使她在 2022 年 BC 省模拟审判锦标赛中获得第一名。她还在 2021 年加拿大国际公共演讲比赛中获得第三名，并在 2022 年哈佛世界学校辩论邀请赛中排名前 5%。Victoria 热衷于与新辩手分享她所学到的知识，并帮助学生找到自己对辩论和公共演讲的热情。

Victoria Moldovan

Instructor

Victoria is completing a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science at the University of British Columbia. She has been debating and public speaking competitively for over 7 years, and has competed at national level within Canada, as well as in international tournaments. She has been coaching students in debate and public speaking for over 2 years, at FDT and within her highschool. This experience has led her to placing 1st in the 2022 BC provincial mock trial championship. She also placed 3rd in the 2021 Canadian International Public Speaking Competition as well as in the top 5% of speakers at 2022 Harvard World Schools Debate Invitationals. Victoria is passionate about sharing what she has learned with new debaters, and helping students find their own passion for debate and public speaking.

Simran Cheema

演讲主管

Simran Cheema 毕业于 UBC Sauder 商学院，她是该校 12 名双专攻金融和市场营销的学生之一，她拥有独特的创造性和技术性的说服技巧。作为加拿大公共演讲和辩论国家队的前成员，Simran 在 9 年的辩论生涯中完善了她的辩论技能。她在 Crofton House School 开始了她的辩论之旅，在那里她也有幸担任Head Girl，面对超过2500 名观众发言。在整个高中期间，她走遍了全国和世界各地，代表BC省和加拿大参加了数十场国内和国际比赛，稳居顶级辩手和顶级团队。在大学时，Simran 在 UBC 商业传播公共演讲锦标赛中名列第一，并在 JDC West Debate 在加拿大西部团队中名列第三。 Simran 拥有超过 7 年的 FDT 教学经验和 6 年的比赛经验。她是一位充满激情且久经考验的教练，她非常关心学生的学习，并帮助他们取得成功。

Simran cheema

Head of public speaking

Simran Cheema is a graduate of the UBC Sauder School of Business, where she was one of twelve to ever double specialize in both Finance & Marketing, shedding light on her uniquely creative yet technical approach to persuasion. As an alumn of the Canadian National Team for Public Speaking & Debate, Simran has perfected her persuasive skills over a 9 year career in debate. She started her debate journey at Crofton House School where she also had the honour of serving as Head Girl, presenting to audiences larger than 2,500. Throughout high school, she travelled around the country and world, representing BC and Canada at dozens of national and international competitions, consistently securing top speaker and team placements. At the University level, Simran placed 1st overall at the UBC Business Communications Public Speaking Championship, and 3rd overall team in Western Canada through JDC West Debate. With over 7 years of coaching experience at FDT and 6 years of total competition experience, Simran is a passionate and proven instructor who cares deeply about her students’ learning and subsequent success.

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.

JEN TARUNO

主讲教练

Jen 是不列颠哥伦比亚大学的理科学生。他擅长辩论，从高中到现在Jen 一直活跃在辩论界。 Jen 拥有 50 多个辩论和评审奖项的记录，包括在 2021 年进入第四届杜伦-牛津-剑桥 ESL 决赛。同年，他被选为代表印度尼西亚国家辩论队参加世界学校辩论锦标赛 (WSDC) ，并在 2022 年作为教练带领队伍进入八强。 Jen 对辩论的热情延伸到他的教学中，他还撰写辩论文章以改进学生用于批判性思维的框架。

Jen taruno

lead Instructor

Jen is a Science student at the University of British Columbia. He specializes in debating, which he started doing in high school. Jen has a track record of over 50 debating and judging awards, including reaching the ESL Finals of the 4th Durham-Oxford-Cambridge in 2021. In the same year, he was selected to represent Team Indonesia at the World Schools Debating Championships (WSDC), and in 2022 he coached the team to the Octofinals. Jen’s passion for debate extends to his teaching, and he also writes debate articles to improve the frameworks students use for critical thinking.

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!

Vishwa Srinivasan

教师

Vishwa 就读于麦吉尔大学，攻读经济学荣誉学位。 Vishwa 在中学开始参加辩论和公共演讲比赛，并在高中参加了多项国际比赛。他的一些成就包括获得 2021 年全国公共演讲总冠军，两次入围世界个人辩论和公共演讲比赛的决赛，以及进入英国全国议会辩论锦标赛的半决赛。作为一名教练，Vishwa 的学生入围了世界独立辩论和公开演讲锦标赛的决赛，并获得了参加国际Optimist 演讲比赛的资格。 Vishwa 教授辩论和公开演讲，还精通法语。

Vishwa Srinivasan

Speech Instructor

Vishwa is a student at McGill University pursuing an Honours Degree in Economics. Vishwa started competitive debate and public speaking in middle school and competed in several international competitions in high school. Some of his highlights include being the 2021 National Public Speaking Grand Champion, a two time grand finalist at the World Individual Debate and Public Speaking Competition, and a semi finalist at the National British Parliamentary Debate Championship. As a teacher, Vishwa’s students have placed as finalists in the World Independent Debating and Public Speaking Championships and qualified for the International Optimist Oratorical Competition. Vishwa teaches debating and public speaking and is also fluent in French.

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.

emma-jane burns

教师

Emma-Jane 正在加州大学伯克利分校攻读数据科学和经济学双学位。 Emma-Jane 有超过五年的辩论经验，参加过地区、省级和全国级比赛。值得注意的是，在通过地区和省级比赛晋级之后，她打入了加拿大国家赛的四分之一决赛。Emma-Jane 在过去三年中一直担任辩论教练。 她致力于帮助学生通过努力练习取得成功，并发挥他们的潜力。

mAJA GRANDINETTI

教师

Maja Grandinetti是目前是英属哥伦比亚大学的法语双语法律系学生。Maja从高中开始教授辩论，至今已经有8年。在Maja的指导下，她的队伍连续三年获得了该地区的冠军，她的私教学生在国家和国际比赛中也取得了优异的成绩。她有丰富的教学经验，能够指导6-17岁、各种水平的学生。作为一名辩手，Maja已经有10年的辩论经验，并在高中时打入国家级赛事。在大学期间，Maja参加了多项辩论比赛，包括牛津和剑桥辩论赛，并进入了Diefenbaker杯和太平洋杯的决赛。除了辩论，Maja还喜欢并教授公众演讲、模拟联合国以及世界学者杯。

Ruby Grinberg

教师

Ruby是英属哥伦比亚大学Sauder商学院的工商管理硕士，并且以三年时间获得了政治学学士学位。鲁Ruby在高中时开始参加辩论和公众演讲，并在她的首次比赛——安大略省青少年全国公众演讲预选赛中获得第一名。从那以后，她不断练习和学习，参加了省级、全国和全球的比赛。通过坚定不移的努力，她在2021年由韩国线上举办的世界独立辩论与公众演讲锦标赛中获得了世界第一名。Ruby拥有超过七年的教练经验，她的学生曾获得国际独立学校公众演讲比赛的冠军、打入世界个人公众演讲锦标赛的决赛。同时，她也教授无数刚进入公众演讲和辩论领域的初学者。Ruby热衷于与她的学生分享她对公众演讲和辩论的热情！

Emma-Jane Burns

Instructor

Emma-Jane is completing a double major in Data Science and Economics at the University of California Berkeley. Emma-Jane has been involved in debate for five years, competing regionally, provincially, and nationally. Notably, after advancing through regionals and provincials, she placed as a quarter-finalist at Canadian Nationals. In addition, Emma-Jane has coached debate for the past three years. Emma-Jane seeks to help students achieve success and their potential through hard work.

Maja Grandinetti

Instructor

Maja Grandinetti is a French bilingual Law student at the University of British Columbia. Maja has coached debate for 8 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, and her private students have excelled to reach national and international accomplishments. She has experience coaching students aged 6-17 at all ability levels. Competitively, Maja has been debating for 10 years reaching the National level in high school. 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 Public Speaking, Model United Nations, and World Scholars Cup.

Ruby Grinberg

Instructor

Ruby is a Master of Business Management student at the University of British Columbia — Sauder School of Business, where she also recently graduated with her Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science in just three years. Ruby started debating and public speaking in high school, where she placed 1st in Ontario at the Junior National Public Speaking Qualifiers – her first ever 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. With over seven years of coaching experience, Ruby has coached the 1st place champion of the International Independent Schools’ Public Speaking Competition, speakers who have broke to finals at the World Individual Public Speaking Championships, as well as beginners to the public speaking and debate community. 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

教练主管

Noah 目前正在英属哥伦比亚大学的 Allard 法学院就读。他拥有 UBC 哲学硕士学位和哲学荣誉学士学位。他从高中开始辩论，并在加拿大全国赛中获得最佳演讲者称号。在大学期间，他继续参赛，赢得了9个校际辩论锦标赛的冠军和18个演讲奖项（其中包括两个全国锦标赛奖项），之后他专注于教练工作。拥有八年教练经验的 Noah 指导学生取得了显著成就；他的学生在许多著名比赛中赢得了金牌，包括加拿大初级和高级 CNDF 全国赛、BP 全国赛、美国全国赛、牛津决赛日、斯坦福世界学校邀请赛和世界学校辩论锦标赛（WSDC）。

他的教练经验包括担任 UBC 辩论社的培训总监和丹麦国家辩论队的主教练。他的11名学生成功入选加拿大国家队，更多的学生凭借辩论荣誉在竞争激烈的大学申请中取得了优异成绩。

Noah 专长于帮助学生学习论证和分析技巧，并在 UBC 教学与学习技术中心接受了正式的教学法培训。但最重要的是，他希望与学生分享他对辩论和论证的无限热情。

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！

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 的招生副总监，Luna 希望与家庭和学生建立并保持互相信赖的关系。

Arsalan Ghaemi

辩论总监

Arsalan 在参与和教授辩论上拥有十多年的经验。作为 FDT 的辩论总监，他在学生中建立了良好的声誉，他的许多学生在地区、省级和国际比赛中获胜。Arsalan 是加拿大国家辩论队的教练，也是温哥华St. George学校的辩论主教练，毕业于英属哥伦比亚大学，拥有政治科学荣誉学位。Arsalan非常高兴能继续教授 FDT 学生，帮助他们找到自己的声音。

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。

Chelli Shapiro

演讲总监

Chelli 是麦吉尔大学的政治学硕士，主攻加拿大政治，并辅修比较政治领域。她在公共演讲、辩论和模拟联合国等方面都拥有近十年的丰富经验，是一名经验丰富的竞赛者。2018年，她在加拿大国家辩论队选拔赛中获得阿尔伯塔省代表的第一名，并因其对辩论的热情于2019年荣获Janet Garten奖。2016年，她是加拿大演讲队的第一替补。Chelli 的教练亮点包括指导加拿大公共演讲冠军获得胜利，并指导学生在世界公共演讲比赛中取得优异成绩。她很高兴在 FDT 执教六年，将她对创意和自信培养的热情带给更多学员。

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！

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。

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。

Dena Tabyanian

教育总监

Dena 拥有15 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在伦敦大学学院(UCL)获得了教育、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很荣幸能成为FDT的教育总监，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。

Nicholas Rees

教师

Nicholas 是不列颠哥伦比亚大学物理和数学专业的学生。在过去的七年里，他一直在辩论，高中期间四次参加加拿大国家辩论赛，并在模拟联合国中取得了成功。 Nicholas 依旧活跃在大学辩论界，并在大型比赛中打入决赛，例如 Western IV 和 Hart House IV。Nicholas 还负责为 UBC 主办高中辩论赛。在 FDT 期间，Nicholas 看到他的学生取得了一些卓越的成就，他的一些学生在 2023 年晋级了加拿大国家辩论队。Nicholas 认为人们在享受辩论时最能提高辩论能力，他希望能帮助所有FDT 的学生发现对辩论的热情。

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。

Moira O'Donoghue

教师

Moira正在多伦多大学攻读商学学位，并辅修人文地理学和城市研究。她拥有超过8年的辩论和公众演讲经验，并且曾指导过从4岁到大学的学生，涵盖从初学者到参加国际比赛的辩手。她目前在多伦多的约克大学教授辩论和公众演讲课程。她曾担任过多次高中和大学辩论比赛的评委，并参与过多项比赛的组织委员会工作，包括计分和裁判，这帮助她更好地指导学生在比赛中取得成功。Moira曾在法语和英语辩论中参加全国级别的比赛，并继续活跃在大学辩论圈中。她精通加拿大高中和大学使用的所有辩论形式及最常见的国际辩论形式，包括加拿大全国辩论格式、英式议会制、世界辩论赛、交叉质询以及加拿大议会制辩论。Moira热衷于帮助学生通过辩论找到自己的声音，鼓励他们走出舒适区，发挥出他们的最大潜力。

Catherine Wang

教师

Catherine Wang就读于多伦多大学，正在攻读公共政策硕士学位。Catherine 执教辩论总共 7 年，从执教她的高中辩论队开始，她带领的队伍成为该地区排名第一的高中队。她教授过 6-17 岁各种经验水平的学生。在比赛方面，她参与辩论超过 9 年，参加过无数比赛。值得注意的是，她曾两次获得Lower Mainland 地区冠军、BC 省级锦标赛最佳辩手 和 UBC HST 决赛入围者。此外，Catherine 热爱公共演讲的艺术，她在高中成立了诗歌朗诵队，并带领他们在 PoetryInVoice 温哥华锦标赛中获胜。

Alice Xu

教师

Alice 目前就读于哥伦比亚大学和巴黎政治学院的双学士学位课程，计划攻读政治学和国际关系学位。她打辩论已有七年，其中两年是作为加拿大国家辩论队的成员。作为辩手，Alice 在国内和国际上赢得了三十多个奖项。她是 NSDA 美国全国辩论锦标赛和英国议会省级锦标赛的冠军，打入了哈佛世界学校的半决赛和加拿大全国辩论锦标赛。此外，她还在加拿大省级辩论锦标赛和皇后大学辩论锦标赛等众多比赛中被评为最佳辩手前10名。Alice 非常高兴能在 FDT 教授聪明的年轻人。

Diya Perry

教师

Diya 是杜伦大学哲学与政治专业的学生。在过去的六年里，她参加了无数国内和国际级别的演讲和辩论比赛，包括最近参加了在马德里举行的 WUDC 2023。她的成就包括在 2020 年香港辩论公开赛中获得高中生辩手第二名，以及在 2022 年哈佛世界学校邀请赛中获得前 2% 的辩手。她热爱辩论，对辩论教学也充满热情。当她空闲时，Diya 热衷于社会正义，并花时间与当地组织和政治运动合作。她将继续代表杜伦大学联盟协会参加辩论赛。

Ellen Li

主讲教练

Ellen is a first-year Political Science student at the University of British Columbia. Throughout her debate career, Ellen has traveled to multiple countries to compete in competitive debates and has participated in many international competitions. Some of her highlights include: Top 3 in the 2019 BC Nationals Qualifiers, 2019 UBC Fall Championships and 1st Place Individually, 2019 LMW Regional Championships and 2nd Place Individually, and 2019 BP Nationals. Ellen has been debating competitively for five years and was co-captain of the Crofton House School Debate Club in Grade 12. Ellen has experience teaching children, and more importantly, she loves to educate. Debating allows students to cross borders, cultures, and comfort zones – Ellen is excited about the future of debaters at FDT!

Anthony Galipeau

教师

Anthony 在卡尔顿大学攻读国际经济政策博士学位。他拥有八年的辩论经验，能教授多种辩论形式，包括英国议会辩论、加拿大议会辩论、加拿大国家辩论和世界学校辩论。他经常在小学、高中和大学级别的国内和国际比赛中担任决赛裁判。作为一名能说流利的法语的辩手，Anthony 曾在省级赛的双语辩论赛中担任裁判，并为法语辩手教授辩论课。作为辩手参加比赛时，Anthony 曾参加过 Hart House IV 和 University of Southern California IV 等锦标赛。他曾代表卡尔顿大学参加2021年和2023年的世界大学辩论锦标赛，两次都名列前茅。 Anthony 非常珍惜在 FDT 的时光，他很高兴能继续帮助 FDT 学生找到自己的声音并实现梦想！

Zachary Goldthorpe

教师

Zachary 毕业于 UBC 商学院，主修金融，辅修国际关系，专注于可持续发展和社会影响。他拥有超过 9 年的公共演讲和辩论竞赛经验，他高中的辩论队的队长。他教授大学水平的公共演讲课程，并在加拿大西部的 JDC West 的 UBC Sauder 团队中取得第一名。 Zachary 还参加了世界Scholar’s Cup 学者杯，在来自世界各地的近 1,600 名学生中个人排名第三。在过去的六年里，他继续指导数百名学生，帮助他们多次进入世界学者杯前10名，以及夺得四次世界学者杯世界冠军。他的学生赢得了无数国际演讲与辩论赛的冠军，其中一位在最近加入了加拿大国家演讲队和加拿大国家辩论队。Zachary 很高兴继续成为 FDT 的一员，他讲继续激励他的学生在辩论、公共演讲和学术方面达到更高的高度！

Alexander Beaumont

教师

Alexander 拥有超过 10 年的辩论教练经验，他拥有麦吉尔大学历史和加拿大研究学位，辅修国际关系。自 FDT 成立以来，Alexander 一直在 FDT 担任演讲、辩论和模拟联合国的教练，他的许多学生赢得无数国际比赛，并进入加拿大国家辩论队。在整个高中期间，Alexander 都是 2012 年欧洲公开赛、2013 年欧洲之心和 2013 年加拿大全国辩论研讨会的冠军。在大学期间，Alexander 继续提高他的辩论技巧，赢得了 2016 年加拿大 BP 英国议会制辩论全国赛，入围 2016 年北美大学辩论锦标赛决赛，并担任多项北美比赛的首席裁判。

Kelly Ho

小学组主管

Kelly 目前是哈佛大学的硕士生，攻读教育政策与分析硕士学位，专注于高等教育方向。作为一名教练，她已有超过六年的竞技辩论教练经验。

在更广泛的辩论社群中，Kelly 曾担任不列颠哥伦比亚省辩论与演讲协会（DSABC）董事会的下本拿比东区区域协调员。

在高中期间，Kelly 参加了五年的竞技辩论。她两次进入全国赛，分别是在2019年参加英国议会辩论全国赛，以及2020年参加加拿大高级辩论全国赛。她还在高年级时担任了Little Flower Academy辩论队长。她最难忘的辩论时刻是2019年在英国议会省级赛中进入决赛，并在2020年获得法律基金会杯（Law Foundation Cup）第三名！

Kelly 非常期待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知识！

Abigail Conrad

教练主管

Abigail 目前正在卡尔加里大学攻读法律硕士。她毕业于 UBC 国际关系专业。她有10年的辩论比赛经验和7年辩论教练经验。她的学生在许多竞争激烈的高中和大学辩论比赛中赢得了诸多著名奖项，包括哈佛世界学校邀请赛、加拿大国家锦标赛（初级和高级组）、美国全国锦标赛、世界学校辩论锦标赛（WSDC）和欧洲大学辩论锦标赛（EUDC）。她曾担任丹麦国家辩论队的教练两年，是其在越南河内举行的WSDC比赛的主教练。

Abigail 在辩论社群内也担任着领导角色。她曾任Alberta辩论与演讲协会的双语副主席和辩论副主席，并担任英属哥伦比亚大学辩论社的主席。Abigail 本身也是一位成功的竞赛型辩手；在高中时，她在2020年加拿大国家辩论锦标赛中晋级半决赛，并在2018年哈佛世界学校辩论锦标赛中获得第三名的辩手。作为一名大学辩手，Abigail 赢得了2020年的Hugill比赛，曾是2022年加拿大议会全国锦标赛的半决赛选手和最佳演讲者，并在2023年加拿大BP锦标赛中获得亚军。Abigail 喜欢帮助高中辩手更多地了解世界，使他们能够在更高级别的辩论回合中有效参与，并帮助他们为大学及以后的生活做好准备。

Rody Visotski

教师

Rody 就读于卡尔加里大学，主修荣誉政治学和国际关系双学位，辅修法语和法律与社会。在过去的五年里，他作为辩手、裁判和教练积极活跃在辩论界。Rody 之前曾担任普林斯顿 IV、耶鲁 IV 和 WUDC 韩国等辩论赛的裁判。作为教练，Rody 教授了无数学生班课与私教课程，他的学生经常取得令人难以置信的成就：晋级Law Foundation Cup (BC省辩论省级赛)和初、高级组国家赛，赢得 Meadowridge，Burnaby 和 UBC HST 等辩论赛等等。他的学生在无数比赛中取得了令人印象深刻的团队或个人成绩，并通过演讲和辩论展示了他们的能力和信心的显著提高！作为常驻的模拟审判和模拟法庭教练，Rody 的学生在 Dominion Cup 和 Pacific Mock Trial 等比赛中被评为最佳证人和律师，甚至赢得了 2022 年高中模拟审判锦标赛。 Rody 在正式和非正式场合拥有超过 10 年的公共演讲经验，他很高兴能将他的知识和专长带到 FDT！

Noel Frederick

教师

Noel 拥有超过 5 年的教练经验和 12 年的辩论赛经验。在圣玛丽大学获得应用经济学硕士学位后，Noel 还获得了卡尔顿大学商法文学学士学位。 Noel 拥有指导英国议会辩论、加拿大全国辩论、世界学校辩论、加拿大议会辩论和美式公共论坛辩论的经验，并担任 FDT 公共论坛课程的首席教练。他曾担任南京外国语学校哈佛辩论项目、张家港常春藤国际学校辩论项目的首席辩论教练，带领学生在各个级别的比赛中取得佳绩，包括夺得NSDA China Nationals 2020最佳辩手，以及 2019-2021 年 NSDA 中国地区比赛的许多个人和团体冠军。作为一名辩手，Noel 有着傲人的战绩。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。

Nicholas Rees

Instructor

Nicholas is a student studying Physics and Maths at the University of British Columbia. He has been debating for the past seven years and competed in Canadian Nationals four times during high school, and also found success in Model UN at this time. Nicholas has continued debating in university and broke at large university tournaments, such as Western IV and Hart House IV. He is also in charge of several debate tournaments hosted by UBC. During his time at FDT, Nicholas has seen his students accomplish some great things, most recently with some advancing to Canadian Nationals in 2023. Nicholas believes people best improve at debate when they enjoy it, and he hopes he can help all of his students at FDT find their passion for debate as he has.

Moira O'Donoghue

Instructor

Moira is completing a Business degree with minors in Human Geography and Urban Studies at the University of Toronto. She has over 8 years of competitive debate and public speaking experience and has coached students from 4 years old to university students from beginner to International level competition. She currently coaches debate and public speaking at the York School in Toronto. She has judged numerous high school and university debate tournaments and has been involved in tournament organizing committees in both tabulation and Adjudication roles, helping her coach students on best practices for competitive success. Moira has competed at the national level in both French and English debate and continues to be involved in the university debate circuit. She is well-versed in all formats used at the high school and university level in Canada and the most common international formats, including Canadian National Debate Format, British Parliamentary, Worlds, Cross Examination, and Canadian Parliamentary. Moira is passionate about helping students find their voice through debate by empowering them to step out of their comfort zones to reach their full potential.

Anthony Galipeau

Instructor

Anthony is beginning his doctoral studies in International Economic Policy at Carleton University. With eight years of experience in debate, Anthony has experienced a number of debate formats, including British Parliamentary, Canadian Parliamentary, Canadian National Debate, and World Schools. He regularly adjudicates the Finals of national and international tournaments at the grade school, high school, and university level. As a fluent French speaker, Anthony has adjudicated bilingual debate rounds at provincial championships and taught debate lessons for francophone debaters. When competing as a debater, Anthony has reached the out rounds of tournaments like the Hart House IV and the University of Southern California IV. He has represented Carleton University at the World University Debating Championships in 2021 and 2023, ranking impressively both times. Anthony has cherished his time in FDT, and is excited to continue helping FDT students find their voice and achieve their dreams!

Ellen Li

Lead Instructor

Ellen is a third 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 Philosophy and Politics student at Durham University. She has competed at the national and international level in both Speech and Debate for the past six years, most recently including WUDC 2023, which took place in Madrid. Her accomplishments include 2nd place overall high school speaker at the 2020 Hong Kong Debate Open, and placing 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. She continues to debate competitively for the Durham University Union Society.

Alice Xu

Instructor

Alice is currently enrolled in the Dual BA Program between Columbia University and Sciences Po where plans to pursue degrees in Political Science and International Relations. She’s been involved in debate for seven years, two of which she served as a member of Team Canada. As a speaker, Alice has won over thirty awards both nationally and internationally. She was the Champion of the NSDA US National Debating Championships and the British Parliamentary Provincial Championships. She has also reached the Semifinals at Harvard World Schools and the Canadian National Debating Championships. 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 is beyond excited to teach and learn from bright young minds at FDT.

Catherine Wang

Instructor

Catherine Wang is a student at the University of Toronto, pursuing a Master’s in Public Policy. Catherine has coached debate for a total of 7 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 aged 6-17 with experience levels ranging from beginner to advanced. Competitively, she has been involved in debate for over 9 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

Rody Visotski

Instructor

Rody is a student at the University of Calgary pursuing a double major in Honours Political Science and International Relations, with minors in French and Law and Society. He has been actively involved in debate for the past five years as a debater, judge, and coach. Rody has previously been an adjudicator at tournaments such as the Princeton IV, Yale IV, and WUDC Korea. In his capacity as a coach, Rody has worked with countless students in group and private settings, and his students have often gone on to achieve incredible things, including qualifying for the Law Foundation Cup and Senior and Junior Nationals, winning tournaments such as Meadowridge, Burnaby, and UBC HST, posting impressive speaking results, and demonstrating drastic improvements in their capabilities and confidence with speech and debate! As the resident Mock Trial and Moot Court coach, Rody’s students have placed as Top Witnesses and Lawyers at tournaments such as the Dominion Cup and the Pacific Mock Trial, and even winning the 2022 High School Mock Trial Tournament. With over 10 years of public speaking experience in formal and informal circumstances, Rody is excited to bring his knowledge and expertise to FDT!

Noel Frederick

Instructor

Noel is a debate coach with over 5 years of coaching experience and 12 years of experience in competitive debate. Having completed a Master’s degree in Applied Economics at the University of Saint Mary’s, Noel 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, and is acting as the lead coach of FDT’s Public Forum Program. He 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 all levels of competition, including coaching the top middle school speaker at NSDA China Nationals 2020, and many individual and team champions at NSDA China regional competitions between 2019-2021. 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 10 years of coaching experience, having completed his degree in History & Canadian Studies at McGill University, with a minor in International Relations. Alexander has coached Speech, Debate, and Model UN with FDT since its inception, teaching many students who have gone on to be on Team Canada and win international tournaments. Debating throughout high school, Alexander was the champion of European Open 2012, Heart of Europe 2013, and Canadian National Debate Seminar 2013. While in university, Alexander 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 Chief Adjudicating many North American tournaments.

Kelly Ho

head of primary

Kelly is a current Master’s student at Harvard University pursuing a Master of Education in Education Policy and Analysis with a concentration in Higher Education. As an instructor she has been coaching competitive debate for over 6 years.

Within the wider debate community, Kelly enjoyed working with the board of Debate and Speech Association of British Columbia (DSABC) as the Lower Mainland East Regional Coordinator.

In high school Kelly debated competitively for five years. She made nationals twice, firstly at the British Parliamentary Debate Nationals in 2019 and then at the Canadian Senior Debate Nationals in 2020. She also served as the Little Flower Academy Debate Captain in her senior year. Her favourite debate highlights are breaking as a finalist at BP Provincials in 2019 and placing third at the Law Foundation Cup in 2020! 

Kelly is incredibly excited to share her experience, enthusiasm for debate, and knowledge about the world with students of all ages!

Abigail Conrad

head Instructor

Abigail is currently studying law at the University of Calgary and holds a BA in international relations from UBC. Abigail first started debating ten years ago and has now been coaching for seven years. Her current and former students have won prestigious awards at many of the most competitive tournaments in both high school and university debate, including Harvard World Schools Invitational, Canadian National Championships (both junior and senior), US Nationals, the World Schools Debating Championships (WSDC) and the European University Debate Championships (EUDC). She coached Team Denmark for two years, including as its head coach at WSDC in Hanoi, Vietnam. 

Abigail also has extensive experience in leadership roles within the debate community, having previously served as the VP Bilingual and the VP Debate of the Alberta Debate and Speech Association and as the president of the UBC Debate Society. Abigail is also a successful competitive debater in her own right; 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. As a university debater, Abigail won Hugill 2020, was a semi-finalist and the top speaker of Canadian Parliamentary Nationals 2022, and was a finalist at the 2023 Canadian BP Championships. Abigail enjoys helping high school debaters learn more about the world, enabling them to participate effectively in higher-level rounds of debate and helping to prepare them for university and beyond.

Noah Macdonald

head Instructor

Noah is currently pursuing a law degree at the Allard School of Law (UBC). He holds a Master’s degree and a BA (Hons.) in Philosophy from UBC. He has been debating since high school, during which he won Top Speaker at the Canadian Nationals. In university, he continued to compete, winning 9 intervarsity tournaments and 18 speaker awards (including two at national championships) before retiring from competitive debate to focus on coaching. With eight years of coaching experience, Noah has gone on to guide students to their own significant achievements; his students have won gold medals at prestigious tournaments including Junior and Senior CNDF Nationals, BP Nationals, US Nationals, Oxford Finals Day, Stanford World Schools Invitational, and the World Schools Debating Championships (WSDC). 

His coaching experience includes serving as Training Director of the UBC Debate Society and Head Coach of the Danish National Debate Team. Eleven of his students have earned spots on Team Canada, and many more have used their debate accolades to great success in applications for competitive universities. 

Noah specializes in helping students learn argumentation and analysis skills, and has received formal training in pedagogy through UBC’s Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology. More than anything, though, he hopes to share his abundant enthusiasm for debate and argumentation with students.

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 Associate Director of Admissions at FDT, Luna hopes to build and maintain trustworthy relationships with families and students.

Ghazal Habib

Director of Operations

Ghazal joined FDT in 2018 as the Director of Operations. Having been involved in business operations for nearly a decade, Ghazal has vast experience in program development, human resources and process optimization. 

With a Master’s in Policy and Management, Ghazal spent nearly five years creating and delivering international programming in the regions of East Africa and the South Pacific. With a passion for working with people, Ghazal enjoys contributing to FDT’s growing community of students and educators.

Cathy Cena

Director of Admissions

With over 30 years of 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

director of public speaking

Chelli is a master’s candidate in Political Science at McGill University, where she specializes in Canadian politics, with a secondary focus on the comparative subfield. A seasoned competitor with almost a decade of experience in public speaking, debate, and Model United Nations, she was Alberta’s top-place delegate for the 2018 Canada’s National Debate Team tryouts and earned the 2019 Janet Garten Award for her dedication to debate. In 2016, she was the first alternate for Team Canada Speech. Chelli’s coaching highlights include guiding the Canadian Public Speaking Champion to victory and mentoring students who excelled at Public Speech Worlds. She is excited to bring her passion for creativity and confidence-building into her sixth year of coaching 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

Director of Debate

Arsalan has over a decade of experience competing in and coaching debate. As FDT’s Director 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 a coach of the National Canadian Debate Team, 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 continue working with FDT students and helping them find their voice.

Dena Tabyanian

director of education

Dena has been involved in debate for 15 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. Dena completed a Master’s degree in Education, International Development and Health Promotion at UCL, after teaching in England for a year. She has a degree in Education from UBC, as well as a double major Bachelor’s degree in English and Political Science. She is excited to continue to serve as Education 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.