|
Workshop Administrators
Dr. Brian Lain, UNT Director of Debate
Dr. Brian Lain Associate Professor of Communication Studies and Director of Debate at the University of North Texas. Brian attended Wake Forest University on a Presidential Scholarship, where he earned a top-6 First Round At Large Bid to the National Debate Tournament in two consecutive years. Brian went on to earn his Master's degree at Wayne State University in Detroit and his Doctorate at the University of Iowa. Having coached for Iowa, Wayne State, and Emory (where he coached the 1996 NDT Champions) and taught at workshops such as Wake and Dartmouth, Brian's proven track record of success are even more evident in the new direction of the UNT debate program. During his tenure at the University of North Texas, debaters have advanced to the late elimination rounds of the NDT and CEDA Nationals and captured Top Speaker at the National Debate Tournament. We are proud to offer Brian's skills at this summer's workshops. Jason Sykes, M.Ed., Institute Director Jason is the Associate Director of Debate at The Hockaday School in Dallas, Texas. He taught and coached at Grapevine High School for eight years, where he was Associate Director of Debate and UIL Academic Coordinator. He served on the TFA Executive Council from 2005 to 2009 and the Lone Star NFL District Committee from 2007 to 2009. He is a Ph.D. Candidate in Information Science at UNT, where he continues to assist UNT Debate. Mr. Sykes has coached debate since 1997, and he worked at several summer institutes before establishing UNT's Mean Green Workshops. His students are highly decorated across several events. Their accomplishments include participation in late elimination rounds at major tournaments in Texas and across the country. At the St. Mark's tournament in 2006, Jason was presented with the Acolyte Award, which is given annually to the outstanding associate director of debate in the nation. Jason competed in Policy Debate at the University of North Texas. He won several tournaments and speaker awards and advanced to the elimination rounds of more than two-dozen events, including the National Debate Tournament in 2002 and four CEDA National Championship tournaments, where he was honored as an All-American in 2002 and fifteenth speaker in 2000. A native of Nacogdoches, Texas, Jason lives in Denton with his wife Naomi and their two children. Kandi King, Director of Residential Life
In a world where many debate workshops have college students in charge of residential facilities we are pleased that Kandi King, retired Director of Debate at San Antonio's Winston Churchill High School, has agreed to return as Director of Residential Life at the Mean Green Workshops. Kandi is an experienced educator with over 25 years of experience teaching as well as working at debate institutes that gives her unique perspective on the needs of workshop participants. Kandi has had dozens of state and national level competitors including most recently a national runner up in Lincoln Douglas and a NFL national policy debate top speaker. Her student won the Texas Forensic Association state title in Lincoln Debate in 2004, but don't think for a second that retirement means this coach is running out of steam: she followed up with TFA state titles in LD and Extemp in 2010. Respected by her peers, Kandi is the President of the Texas Speech Communication Association. She is a former Texas Speech Teacher of the Year; State Officer of Texas Forensic Association for 18 years and past President; charter member of the Iowa Summer Debate Institute and is a current member of the National Forensic League Executive Council. We are honored that she has decided to join us again this summer. |
