About Us

Our Team

Our Team

The Core of Our Academy

As Canada’s oldest and most established Debate academy, FDT has the institutional knowledge necessary to succeed in the Debate and Speech world. We know the tournaments, the structure, the organizations, the judging process. We know how to win. 

This would not be possible without the immense skill, knowledge and talent of our instructors, who are the heart of FDT. Each instructor has seen an abundance of success as debaters, public speakers and instructors. They go the extra mile to ensure that students receive the highest level of coaching, and the results speak for themselves. 

FDT’s administrative team is made up of five individuals who are truly passionate about ensuring that families are consistently supported, from the moment they join and throughout their time at the academy

Founding Director

Frankie Cena

Founding Director

Instructors

Dena Tabyanian

Director of Education

Arsalan Ghaemi

Head of Debate

Behbod Negahban

Head of Curriculum

Chelli Shapiro

Head of Public Speaking

Kelly Ho

Head of Primary

Noah Macdonald

Head Instructor

Abigail Conrad

Head Instructor

Ellen Li

Lead Instructor

Jen Taruno

Lead Instructor

Alexander Beaumont

Instructor

Rody Visotski

Instructor

Ruby Grinberg

Instructor

Simran Cheema

Instructor

Maja Grandinetti

Instructor

Nicholas Rees

Instructor

Moira O'Donoghue

Instructor

Catherine Wang

Instructor

Diya Perry

Instructor

Alice Xu

Instructor

Victoria Moldovan

Instructor

Vishwa Srinivasan

Instructor

Anthony Galipeau

Instructor

Emma-Jane Burns

Instructor

Cheryl Wu

Instructor

Sarah Sahagian

Instructor

Executive Staff

Tonya Cena

Academy Director

Ghazal Habib

Director of Operations

Cathy Cena

Director of Admissions

Luna Wang

Associate Director of Admissions

Vivienne Lin

Office Assistant

Negar Shaban

Office Assistant

Nicole Yu

Office Assistant

FDT Academy welcomes individuals who are interested in joining our team to send a resume to [email protected].

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

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

教师

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 6 年的 FDT 教学经验和 5 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

Instructor

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 6 years of coaching experience at FDT and 5 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

教师

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

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 是不列颠哥伦比亚大学的法语双语本科生，主修政治学，辅修法律与社会。Maja 有超过7年的辩论教学经验。在 Maja 的指导下，她的团队连续三年获得该地区校级第一的奖项，她的私课学生也在国内和国际辩论大赛上取得了好成绩。Maja 拥有指导 6-17 岁各种能力水平学生的经验。作为一个辩手，Maja 有着超过9年的辩论经验，打入国家级大赛。在大学期间，Maja 曾在包括牛津和剑桥在内的多个重大辩论赛中进行辩论，并在 Diefenbaker Cup 和 Pacific Cup 中闯入决赛。除了辩论之外，Maja 还能够指导模拟联合国、公共演讲、诗歌/散文和表演。

Ruby Grinberg

教师

Ruby 正在不列颠哥伦比亚大学和Sauder 商学院同时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公共演讲，她在安大略省举行的全国青少年公共演讲资格赛中获得第一名——这是她有史以来第一次参加比赛。从那以后，她继续练习和学习，参加省级、全国和全球的比赛。通过决心和坚持，她在 2021 年由韩国线上举办的世界独立辩论和演讲锦标赛中获得世界第一名。Ruby 拥有超过六年的执教经验，曾培养出在国际独立学校演讲比赛中夺得的第一名的冠军、在世界个人公共演讲锦标赛中打入决赛的演讲者，以及无数对公共演讲和辩论感兴趣的初学者。 Ruby 喜欢与她的学生分享她对公共演讲和辩论的热情！

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 undergraduate student at the University of British Columbia, majoring in Political Science and minoring in Law and Society. Maja has coached debate for 7 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 9 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 Model United Nations, Public Speaking, Poetry/Prose, and Acting.

Ruby Grinberg

Instructor

Ruby is completing a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a Master’s degree in Management simultaneously from the University of British Columbia and Sauder School of Business. 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 six 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!

Noah Macdonald

主讲教师

Noah 是不列颠哥伦比亚大学哲学专业的硕士生，专修伦理学和心灵哲学。他还拥有 UBC 的荣誉哲学学士学位，获得了全额奖学金。Noah 在高中开始辩论，他在许多国际辩论赛中打入淘汰赛，赢得了加拿大国家赛的最佳辩手。Noah 还曾担任 21 个不同比赛的首席裁判，其中包括三个不同的国家级辩论赛。Noah 已经执教辩论七年，在2019-2020年任UBC辩论社培训总监，2021-2022年是丹麦国家辩论队教练。Noah 所教过的学生中有 11 人入选了加拿大国家辩论队。他的学生还参加了许多重要的国际比赛并获胜，包括初级组 CNDF 国家赛、高级组 CNDF 国家赛、BP 英国议会制辩论国家赛、美国国家辩论赛、牛津大学辩论赛和斯坦福世界学校邀请赛等。Noah 的专长是教授分析和论证的辩论技巧。他的教练理念专注于确保学生能够快速准确地分析问题并有效地阐明合理的解决方案。

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。

Chelli Shapiro

演讲主管

Chelli 毕业于不列颠哥伦比亚大学政治学专业，近十年来一直投身于公共演讲、辩论和模拟联合国活动。 2018年，她被选为Alberta 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Alberta 省的教练们提名并获得了2019年Janet Garten Award 奖。 Chelli 也是 2016年加拿大国家演讲队的第一替补，在整个高中期间参加过无数国内和国际公共演讲比赛。2022年，Chelli 培养出了加拿大公共演讲大赛的冠军，她的两名学生晋级了公共演讲世界赛，并在多个类别中打入决赛。 Chelli 热爱自我表达，渴望培养年轻人的创造力和自信。她期待着进入 FDT 执教的第五年。

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。

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!

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！

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

学术总监

Dena 有超过14年的辩论经历，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锦标赛评委，2019年担任世界总决赛评委。Dena 还曾是世界排名第6的丹麦国家辩论队的联合教练，并两次获得了EFL最佳辩论队。 2017年，她作为辩手代表她的大学参加了世界大学辩论锦标赛。 Dena 在英国任教一年后，在 UCL 伦敦大学学院获得了教育、国际发展和健康促进硕士学位。她拥有 UBC 教育学学位，以及英语和政治学双学士学位。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。

Moira O'Donoghue

教师

Moira 目前正在多伦多大学攻读商业学位，辅修人文地理和城市研究。她拥有超过七年的竞争性辩论和公共演讲经验，曾指导过从 4 岁到大学生的学生。她担任过无数高中和大学辩论赛的评委，并且是不列颠哥伦比亚大学小学辩论赛的副首席裁判。Moira 在高中时曾参加国家级的法语和英语辩论赛，现在仍旧活跃在大学辩论界。她的一些辩论成就包括在西安大略大学的 Central Novice 中进入半决赛，在渥太华大学的 Guidon Cup 中获得新手冠军，并在阿尔伯塔大学的 Pro-Am 锦标赛中赢得冠军团队。 Moira 精通加拿大高中和大学使用的所有辩论形式，包括加拿大国家辩论形式、英国议会、世界学校、交叉质询和加拿大议会制辩论。她热衷于帮助学生通过辩论找到自己的声音，并帮助他们走出舒适区。

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。

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。

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。

Catherine Wang

教师

Catherine 在麦吉尔大学攻读国际发展荣誉学位。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。

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！

Kelly Ho

主讲教师

Kelly 正在不列颠哥伦比亚大学攻读政治学专业，辅修法律与社会。Kelly 拥有 5 年的辩论教学经验。在高中时，Kelly 参加了五年的辩论赛，并在12 年级时担任Little Flower Academy 学院辩论队长。Kelly 辩论生涯的高光是她在2019年打入英国议会制省级赛的决赛，并在2020年 Law Foundation Cup (BC省辩论省级赛) 中获得第三名！Kelly 还两次晋级国家级辩论赛，第一次是在 2019 年的英国议会辩论国家赛，第二次是在 2020 年的加拿大高级辩论国国家赛中。Kelly 特别喜欢教导年轻的孩子，并看着他们这些年来自信地成长！她也非常高兴能与所有年龄段的学生分享她的经验、对辩论的热情和对世界的了解！

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。

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！

Abigail Conrad

主讲教师

Abigail 目前正在 UBC 攻读国际关系专业。她有九年的辩论比赛经验和六年辩论教练经验。在高中时，她是 2020 年加拿大全国辩论锦标赛的半决赛选手和 2018 年哈佛世界学校辩论锦标赛的第三名演讲者。大学时，Abigail 赢得了 Hugill 2020，在 2022 年加拿大议会制国家赛中打入半决赛，赢得了最佳辩手。Abigail 曾是丹麦国家辩论队的主教练，并在 2021 -2022 年担任 UBC 辩论协会主席。她还是Alberta省辩论和演讲协会的双语副总裁。在那个职位上，她帮助举办和评判双语辩论赛以及法语辩论赛。她的学生经常参加省级、国家级和世界级别的比赛，他们常常能晋级淘汰赛并赢得辩手奖的好名次。Abigail 很高兴能够与 FDT 学生分享她的经验和对辩论的热情，并期待帮助他们脱颖而出。

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。

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！

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 currently completing a Business degree with minors in Human Geography and Urban Studies at the University of Toronto. She has over seven years of competitive debate and public speaking experience and has coached students from 4 years old to university students. She has judged numerous high school and university debate tournaments and was the Deputy Chief Adjudicator for the University of British Columbia’s elementary school tournament. Moira competed at the national level in both French and English in high school and now continues to compete in the university debate circuit. Some of her university debate achievements include being a semi-finalist at the University of Western Ontario’s Central Novice, Novice Champions at The University of Ottawa’s Guidon Cup, and winning Champion team at the University of Alberta’s Pro-Am Tournament. Moira is well-versed in all formats used at the high school and university level in Canada, including Canadian National Debate Format, British Parliamentary, Worlds, Cross Examination, and Canadian Parliamentary. She is passionate about helping students find their voice through debate and helping them step out of their comfort zones. 

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

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 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 McGill University, pursuing an honours in International Development. 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

Lead Instructor

Kelly is a pursuing a Major in Political Science and a Minor in Law and Society at the University of British Columbia. Kelly has 5 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 highlights are breaking as a finalist at BP Provincials in 2019 and placing third at the Law Foundation Cup in 2020! 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 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 is currently studying international relations at UBC. She has been involved in the debate world for nine years and has been coaching for six. 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, and was a semi-finalist at and the top speaker of Canadian Parliamentary Nationals 2022. Abigail has worked as the head coach of Team Denmark and was the president of the UBC Debate Society in 2021-22. She was previously the VP Bilingual of the Alberta Debate and Speech Association, and is now its VP Debate. Her students often attend provincial, national, and international tournaments, where they frequently advance to elimination rounds and win speaker awards. Abigail is thrilled to be able to share her experience and passion for debate with FDT students and looks forward to helping them excel.

Noah Macdonald

Lead Instructor

Noah is a Masters student at the University of British Columbia studying Philosophy, with a focus on Ethics and Philosophy of Mind. He also holds a BA in Honours Philosophy from UBC, where he studied on a full-ride scholarship. Noah started debating in high school and went on to win Top Speaker at Canadian Nationals in addition to making elimination rounds at a number of international tournaments. He has also served as a Chief Adjudicator for 21 different tournaments, including three different National Championships. Noah has been coaching debate for seven years. He was the Training Director of the UBC Debate Society in 2019/2020, and the coach of the Danish National Debate Team in 2021/2022. Eleven of Noah’s current and former students have made Team Canada. His students have also won or top spoke at major international tournaments including Junior CNDF Nationals, Senior CNDF Nationals, BP Nationals, US Nationals, Oxford Finals Day, and Stanford World Schools Invitational, among others. Noah’s specialty is teaching analysis and argumentation skills; his coaching philosophy is focused on making sure that students can quickly and precisely analyze problems and effectively articulate well-reasoned solutions.

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 is a recent Political Science graduate from the University of British Columbia who has been involved in public speaking, debate, and model United Nations for almost a decade. 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’s debate program, Chelli won the 2019 Janet Garten Award. Chelli was also the first alternate for Team Canada Speech in 2016, having competed at a national and international public speaking level throughout high school. Last year, Chelli coached the Canadian Public Speaking Champion to victory and two of her students qualified for Public Speech Worlds, where they both broke to finals in multiple categories. Chelli has an affinity for self-expression and a desire to cultivate creativity and confidence in young minds. She looks forward to her entering her fifth 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

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 has been debating for 14 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 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.