About Us

Northwest Debate is a student-led initiative founded with the mission of making speech and debate more accessible and equitable. Our mission is to provide equitable access to high-quality debate education for all students, regardless of their background or resources. We strive to foster a supportive community where students can develop critical thinking, communication skills, and confidence through competitive debate, ensuring that every individual has the opportunity to succeed.

A Message from the Founder

I started Northwest Debate because I know how hard it can be to navigate in the world of debate. Having very little support in middle school, I learned debate from scouring the high school debate wiki pages and watching YouTube videos from 2014 for hours every day. However, I saw my peers excelling in debate, having professional coaches to prepare for them and practicing with them. This disparity motivated me to start Northwest Debate, a platform designed to provide free resources and guidance to students who, like me, did not have access to as many resources. I want to create a space where students can develop their debate skills regardless of their situation, ensuring that everyone has a fair opportunity to excel.

Our Instructors

We’ve handpicked the most passionate, qualified instructors to ensure that students receive top-tier guidance and mentorship. Our instructors have not only excelled in the competitive debate circuit but also understand the importance of fostering critical thinking, effective communication, and confidence in each participant. With their expertise, we aim to provide personalized support and the highest-quality preparation material to help students reach their full potential, no matter their starting point."

Jayden Park

Founder, Instructor
Jayden Park is a junior at Interlake High School in Washington state and has been doing speech & debate for four years, but primarily focuses on Lincoln-Douglas (LD) debate. He advanced to elimination rounds at 15 national tournaments, including NDCA, Berkeley Invitational, UK Season Opener, the TOC Digital Series, and the Columbia Invitational. His favorite arguments are process counterplans. Outside of debate, he likes to read, listen to music, and chill with his dog.
Edward Wang

Instructor
Edward Wang is a junior at Interlake High School and loves debate. Starting off his journey in middle school, Edward quickly fell in love with the diplomacy that permeates debate. While not working on his arguments, Edward likes to procrastinate on his homework, hang out with friends, and play video games.
Rishi Ramaswamy

Instructor
Rishi is a junior at Interlake High School in Washington. He's debated in Public Forum for 3 years, through which he has accumulated 4 gold TOC bids, including octofinalling berkeley and quarters at stanford, and reaching outrounds in many more national circuit tournaments. He enjoys teaching debate, whether it is in his school or through NW debate. His favorite parts of debate are K rounds – he finds them really interesting. Outside of debate, he loves playing table tennis and chess, and hanging out with his family.

Yihe Chen

Instructor
Yihe Chen is a junior at Interlake High School. He has been debating on the national debate circuit for all of High School and has made it to elimination rounds at many tournaments. His favorite set of arguments inside of debate is Process Counterplan competition. Outside of debate he enjoys Photography and Geopolitics.
William Li

Instructor
William is a senior at Bellevue High School. He qualified to the TOC and won the Columbia Invitational in LD. He considers himself to be a pretty flex debater, but his favorite argument is dedev.
William Yoon

Instructor
William Yoon is a junior at Interlake High School in Bellevue, Washington. He has been doing Public Forum (PF) debate for 2 years. He has advanced to the elimination rounds at many national circuit tournaments including the Tournament of Champions Digital series 3. His favorite argument is anything that involves politics. Outside of debate, he enjoys playing the viola, playing tennis, and playing games

Kavya Rengan

Instructor
Kavya Rengan is a senior at Interlake High School with three years of Public Forum debate experience and is a current squad captain for Interlake PF. As a debater, she championed the Puget Sound Tournament and the Mount Vernon Invitational. She also advanced to elimination rounds at national qualifiers and three open division tournaments. Her favorite argument is Econ Collapse Bad. In her free time, she enjoys reading, baking, and listening to Stray Kids.
Kaden Cho

Instructor
Kaden Cho is a senior at Newport High School and one of the leading Lincoln-Douglas debaters in the Puget Sound circuit. Over his debate career, Kaden has earned multiple top finishes, including championships at the Auburn Riverside Invitational and Bear Creek Invitational, and placed 4th overall in the Puget Sound District. He has also earned a bid to the Tournament of Champions (TOC), marking him among the top LD debaters nationally.
Jayden Padwalkar

Instructor
Jayden Padwalkar is a junior at Interlake High School in Bellevue, Washington. He did parliamentary debate for 4 years at the Open Window School and now Public Forum for 2. His favorite arguments are anything related to politics or the elections. Besides debate, he loves playing tennis, walking his dog, and listening to music (he's open to song recs!)

Adult Directors

Bodhi Rosen

Advisor
Bodhi Rosen debated for James Bowie High School in Austin, Texas, and graduated in 2024. At the peak of his debate career, DebateDrills and NSD ranked me 32nd nationally in Lincoln-Douglas, qualifying him for the Tournament of Champions. As a small school debater, he made diverse connections with peers and mentors to share recourses and fun new ideas! This skill has significantly helped him in my post-debate life, as he now has significant coaching outreach as a consultant for Westwood High School and coaching numerous kids independently.
Ethan Chen

Advisor
Ethan Chen debated for Glenda Dawson High School in Pearland, TX. In his debate career, he primarily read kritikal arguments and earned two career TOC bids.