Welcome to the National Debate Coaches Association!  The members of the NDCA Executive Board are committed to continuing the vision of the organization’s founders, namely to support the health and vitality of the debate community broadly, and coaches more specifically.  Our ultimate vision is to provide opportunities for high school coaches to strengthen their abilities in order to provide stronger learning environments for their students.  This vision and support comes in many concrete and diverse forms:  sharing best practices in coaching and teaching; fostering curriculum development; compiling coaching resources; creation of the Open Evidence Project;  providing professional development opportunities; and promotion of regional debate.

Our Mission Statement

The National Debate Coaches Association provides all debate coaches, regardless of type of debate, region, or pedagogical style, with avenues for professional development. The goal of the organization is to strengthen the ability of coaches to provide meaningful learning experiences for their debaters.  The goals of the National Debate Coaches Association rest on two pillars – coach education and coach retention.  Our ultimate vision is to provide opportunities for high school coaches to strengthen their abilities in order to provide stronger learning environments for their students. 

Executive Board

Bio: Tara Tate is the director of debate at Glenbrook South High School in Illinois. Prior to GBS, Tara coached at Colleyville Heritage (TX), The Blake School (MN), and the University of North Texas. Tara served as President of the NDCA from 2006-2009. In addition to serving as a member of the Board of the NDCA, Tara is also a member of the NFHS Topic Wording Committee and served as chair for the 2010 meeting. Tara has also served as chair of the Northern Illinois NFL District and currently serves as a committee member. Tara has also served as the debate chair for the Illinois Speech and Theatre Association and has been a debate liasion for the Illinois High Schools Association. Tara is a past recipient of the NDCA Educator of the Year Award, the Acolyte Award, and is a member of Emory University's Key Coach Society.

Role: Questions and input regarding Board elections, membership votes, agenda items for the NDCA and general inquires should be directed toTara.

Elected Term: October 2010 to October 2013

Bio: Sara is the Director of Debate at Lexington High School in Lexington, Massachusetts. Formerly an assistant coach at Rowland Hall-St. Mark's, Sara has coached her students to the finals of the Tournament of Champions as well as the late elmination rounds at most major national tournaments. During the summer, she teaches at the University of Michigan Debate Institutes.

Role: The Internal Communications Coordinator manages the NDCA's internal operations. Questions or input regarding Board meetings, NDCA by-laws and operating procedures should be directed to Sara.

Elected Term: October 2010 to October 2013.

Bio: Jenny Heidt is the Director of Debate at The Westminster Schools in Atlanta. She coached the winners of the 2002, 2005, 2009, 2010, and 2011 Tournament of Champions, the 2007 finalist and top speaker at the TOC, the 2007 NDCA Champion, and the 2007, 2009, and 2011 winners of the NDCA Baker Award (all in policy debate). She is a member of the editorial board of Contemporary Argumentation and Debate. She was named the 2010 Georgia Coach of the Year. She debated in high school in Minnesota and at Macalester College, where she was a two time participant in elimination rounds at the National Debate Tournament. She is currently serving her second term as an NDCA board member.

Role: The Director of Finance manages the NDCA's finances. Questions or input regarding membership dues, NDCA non-profit status or financial matters related to the NDCA should be directed to Jenny.

Elected Term: October 2009 to October 2012.

Bio: Maggie Berthiaume is the Director of Debate at Woodward Academy.  She is a member of the editorial board of the Contemporary Argumentation and Debate: The Journal of the Cross Examination Debate Association.  She previously debated for Dartmouth College and the Blake School in Minneapolis, MN.  While at Dartmouth, she was twice a first round at-large invitee to the National Debate Tournament, reaching the quarterfinals of the NDT and the Semifinals of the CEDA Nationals.

Role: The Open Evidence Director manages the NDCA's flagship program. Questions or input regarding the Open Evidence Project should be directed to Maggie.

Elected Term: October 2011 to October 2014.

Bio: Greg Achten is the Upper School Debate Teacher at the Harker School in San Jose, CA. The former Director of Forensics at the University of California-Berkeley and Pepperdine University, Greg was an extremely successful college policy debate coach before moving to the high school ranks in 2010. He coaches Lincoln-Douglas and Policy Debate at Harker.

Role: The Director of Tournament Administration works with the Tournament Director to administer the NDCA National Championships. Questions about the tournament should be directed to Greg.

Elected Term: October 2011 to October 2014.

Bio: Nicole Serrano is the Executive Director of the Dallas Urban Debate Alliance.  Previously she has coached at Montgomery Bell Academy (TN), Lexington High School (MA), and Hanover High School (NH).  As a high school policy debate coach, Nicole has coached two teams to the top 6 at NFL nationals, as well as coached a team to the semi-finals or better at every major national high school tournament, including the TOC. She has also coached students to numerous top ten speaker awards, including a top five speaker at the Glenbrooks, Harvard, Emory University's Barkley Forum, Massachusetts' State, and NFL's tournaments. As a Nicolet (WI) debater, she reached the late elimination rounds of Wake Forest, Harvard, and NFL Nationals. She also qualified for the TOC. As a debater at Dartmouth College she reached the late elimination rounds of tournaments such as Northwestern, Wake Forest and Kentucky as well as winning the University of Northern Iowa tournament.

Role: The Director of Tournament Promotion heads the NDCA's efforts to promote the NDCA National Championships. Questions and input regarding the NDCA Championships, including tournament bids for future championships and tournament information for the current year should directed to Nicole.

Elected Term: October 2009 to October 2012.

Bio: Glenda Ferguson is the Debate Coach at Coppell High School in Coppell, Texas.  She has been the recipient of the NDCA Educator of the Year Award, the Key Coach award at the Barkley Forum at Emory University and the  H.B. Mitchell Outstanding Coach Award in Oklahoma.  She is a member of the NFL Hall of Fame and is a former NFL Council member.  She directs the Coaches Workshop at the North Texas Debate Institute and the Dartmouth Debate Institute in the summer. She is the author of the book, “How to Coach Debate if You Have Never Taught Debate."

Role: The Coach Development and Education Coordinator manages the NDCA's coaching resources. Questions or input regarding summer workshops for coaches including scholarships, development of regional one-day workshops, curriculum development and posting on NDCA website should be directed to Glenda.

Elected Term: October 2009 to October 2012.

Bio: Bill Batterman is the Associate Director of Debate at Woodward Academy in Atlanta, Georgia. Before migrating to the South, he directed the program at Marquette University High School in Milwaukee for five years. During his time in Wisconsin, Bill served as President of the Wisconsin Debate Coaches Association and was a member of the National Forensic League Southern Wisconsin District Committee. The founder of The3NR.com, Bill currently serves on the Policy Debate Advisory Committee for the Tournament of Champions and is a past recipient of the Wisconsin Debate Coaches' Association Coach of the Year Award, the NDCA Service Award, and the NDCA Educator of the Year Award. In addition to administering the NDCA website, Bill curates the National Argument Wiki and has represented the NDCA at the NFHS summer topic committee meeting.

Role: The Website/Membership Administrator manages the NDCA's website and membership database. Content for the site and membership questions should be directed to Bill.

Elected Term: October 2010 to October 2013.