Amanda Elizabeth Chen has been teaching students of all ages for over a decade. Elizabeth currently works with international NGOs, University groups, and grassroots organizations. Elizabeth teaches young advocates how to lobby their student government and local Representatives and has written curriculum for elementary, middle, and high school advocacy programs.

Elizabeth studied Homeland Security at George Washington University, International Politics at St. Antony’s at Oxford University and Leadership Development at Columbia University. Elizabeth has worked with local government leaders in Africa, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East, with startups and UN-affiliated humanitarian groups. Before Dedimus Potestatem, she worked on Presidential and Congressional campaigns and volunteered with the ACLU and MoveOn.

Sebastian Arboleda is a multifaceted Colombian-American theatre-maker, performer, educator, and debate coach with a vibrant presence in NYC. With TV credits including "The 4400" on the CW and "Chicago PD" on CBS, Sebastian has also made significant contributions to the theatre scene in Chicago, working with renowned companies like The Goodman and Court Theatre. His theatre work, rooted in the Michael Chekhov Acting Technique discovered during his formative years at Cal State Long Beach, is complemented by a diverse educational background, including an MFA in Acting from the prestigious David Geffen School of Drama at Yale.

Beyond performance, Sebastian's commitment to the arts extends into the realm of education and social justice, devising impactful work with Free Street Theatre in Chicago's Southside. His journey continued through Washington DC's Studio Theatre before embarking on a teaching career that has already left a mark, with students gaining acceptance to top acting programs worldwide.

Leveraging his rich background in acting and storytelling, Sebastian has seamlessly transitioned into coaching debate, with a unique approach that views debate through the lens of narrative. His methods are designed to help debaters weave compelling stories, ensuring that their ideas, voices, and intentions resonate powerfully. Drawing on his experience in the Forensics team at California State University, where he honed skills in Persuasive Speaking, Argumentation and Debate, Speech Writing, and Text Interpretation, Sebastian now brings an entertaining and insightful teaching style to students around the globe, specializing in working with international students.

His work empowers students to not only refine their acting techniques but also to excel in the intellectually rigorous field of debate, fostering a generation of storytellers who advocate with clarity, emotion, and persuasive power.

Grace Campos is a graduate of Yale University and a former competitive debater for the Dalton School. She first fell in love with parliamentary debate in 6th grade and carried that passion with her into high school. Throughout Grace’s tenure at Dalton, she won the Stanford Forensics Tournament, made it to the final rounds of national tournaments at Princeton, Yale, and UPenn, and placed 3rd overall in New York State. Throughout her time at Yale, she successfully competed in mock trial and Model U.N. As a teacher, Grace served as the Manhattan Director and Lead Instructor for Lumos Debate, working with students from 5th-12th grade on their research, writing, and argumentation skills. She is passionate about helping students find their voice, and spreading the unique joys of speech and debate.

Adrian is a graduate of the University of Michigan, where he studied Business Administration and Performing Arts Management. Prior to attending university, Adrian competed in forensics throughout his middle and high school years, becoming a three-time state finalist. During his undergraduate studies, he became involved in teaching through volunteer work with organizations like Junior Achievement and 826Michigan. After earning his BBA, Adrian spent five years at BFV Management, a Broadway and off-Broadway production office in New York, before transitioning into software engineering. Currently, Adrian specializes in web development and recently helped develop HiFiber, a dev tool designed to help engineers debug React code, through the tech accelerator OS Labs.

Kiri Fitzpatrick is currently a sophomore at Williams College, where she studies political science, women's studies, and philosophy. She graduated from Hackley School in 2021 as the salutatorian of her class. Starting in fifth grade, Kiri debated in a variety of parliamentary formats, attending monthly tournaments and routinely earning top speaker and team awards, both locally and nationally. As a high school debater and team captain, Kiri and her partner won the HSPDP 2020 national championship, both earning top five speaker awards. Throughout her high school career she served as an assistant coach and judge for Hackley’s middle school debate team, and helped organize and run middle school championship tournaments. Kiri also competed in the National High School Ethics Bowl where she led her team to finish third place nationally in 2021. Kiri continues to offer debate coaching and judging assistance in college. At the end of her freshman year, she won the Van Vechten extemporaneous speech competition hosted by the Williams College Debating Union.

Raz Chen is an accredited Level Expert 2 Krav Maga Instructor. Born and raised in Israel, Raz trained under Master Gabi Noah and, within four years, completed the Civilian Krav Maga instructor course at Wingate. During his military service as a Kfir Operations Combatant, Raz served in missions of counter-terrorism and urban warfare. He became a Senior military Krav Maga instructor and head of the Krav Maga program, where he taught over 10,000 soldiers, including Special Forces in IDF units, including Lotar Counter-Terrorism, the Oketz K-9 unit, and US Marines. Raz wrote and developed combatives curriculum for Kfir. During that time, he also placed first in the IDF Krav Maga championship in 2010.

After his service, Raz moved to civilian training, specializing in counter-terrorism, personal self-defense and assault prevention, active shooter, military and police combative, community protection, and Krav Maga instructor certification. Raz has been featured as a Krav Maga expert on CBS, Telemundo, the NYTimes, and Elite Daily.

Raz is currently a senior instructor for Guardian Self Defense, non-profit teaching self-defense in the Jewish community. He also works with Students Supporting Israel, in Jewish schools, and on campuses nationwide. In addition to teaching, Raz is a weekly columnist at Black Belt Magazine, where he has interviewed figures like Olympian Judoka Sagi Muki and Krav Maga Master Eyal Yanilov. He has also contributed to Martial Journal and the Times of Israel.

Elaine graduated from the University of Florida with a dual BA in Linguistics and Spanish Language and Culture and a minor in Russian Language and Culture. In 2012-2013 she received a Fulbright English Teaching Award and a Critical Language Enhancement Scholarship. During her Fulbright tenure, she lived and worked in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, where she studied Russian language intensively and taught English language, technical translation, and beginner Spanish at Don State Technical University. Elaine returned to the United States and began working in New York City, where she built her professional resume in the editorial department of Simon & Schuster and the translation industry. She later returned to academia and received an MA in Russian Literary Translation from Columbia University in 2016. Since then, she has received awards for her translations of selected poems by David Samoylov and Joseph Brodsky. Elaine received a PhD from Columbia University specializing in Russian literature and Yiddish literature of the early twentieth century.

Michael Feldheim was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. He recently graduated magna cum laude from The City College of New York's Childhood Studies program, with an academic focus on early childhood education and developmental psychology. Before discovering his passion for education, Michael studied mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, and he continues to enjoy connecting students with STEM subjects.

He has been a private tutor, guest teacher, and academic consultant in New York for over 15 years. Michael's pedagogy leans toward student-driven education, and he is passionate about bending lessons to the needs of each individual learner. He is an expert in standardized testing and test strategy, preparing his students by equipping them with the knowledge, experience, and confidence needed to achieve their goals. He has worked with public schools, private schools, charter schools, catholic schools, and afterschool programs in every borough of New York City. In his free time, he enjoys cooking, sculpting, and throwing clay.

Carmen Antreasian is a lifelong scholar with expertise in a variety of academic disciplines. She received her BA from Indiana University in Russian Language & Literature as well as International Studies with a special concentration in Human Rights and Social Movements. She studied abroad in Russia at Saint Petersburg State University, where she taught English Phonetics. Carmen holds two MAs - one in Human Geography from Indiana University and one in Performance Studies from Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. She has been an instructor for over eight years, most recently at Barnard College in the Political Science and Women’s & Gender Studies Departments. She has been part of the growing psychoanalytic geography community for almost a decade, has been awarded several grants to give conference presentations and has a recent book chapter published in a collection of essays using psychoanalytic theory. Carmen is also an avid performer and enjoys dancing ballet and doing readings of her own creative work.

Marko Jukić grew up in upstate New York and honed his skills in Debate, Mock Trial, and Model United Nations at Potsdam High School. He was a New York State Mock Trial finalist. Marko pursued a double major in Economics and History at Bard College, laying the foundation for his legal pursuits. Currently, as a J.D. candidate at Brooklyn Law School, Marko has competed at the UC Davis Civil Rights, Costello Criminal Law, and Georgetown White Collar moot court competitions. Last summer, he served as a Summer Legal Teaching Fellow at Legal Outreach, where he wrote curriculum, delivered lectures, and prepared students for mock trials at the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse. Outside of his academic and professional life, Marko enjoys biking and exploring new cuisines throughout the city.

Kianna Franklin is a multidisciplinary artist born and raised in New York. She graduated with a BFA from the University of the District Columbia where she also played Division II Lacrosse. With experience coaching youth in her undergrad and teaching art post grad, she’s gained many skills in SEL. Kianna served as an intern at PJAC community center, and had the pleasure of co-hosting an Art Ambassadors Summer Camp at Studio Gallery in Washington D.C. As she continues to expand her craft, assisting the youth in finding their voice through imagery has been nothing short of inspirational.

Max Singer is a teaching artist and debate coach with over 10 years of experience building curricula and facilitating courses at the middle school, high school, college, and professional levels. He received his BA in History from SUNY New Paltz with a focus on American history and social justice, and later pursued his MFA in Acting at University of California San Diego. Max continues to work professionally in the theatre as an actor, writer and educator, as well as a debate coach and judge for the Urban Debate League.

Mohammed Mamun, a dynamic and dedicated individual who brings a wealth of knowledge and enthusiasm to the field of computer science education. With three years of teaching experience Mohammed has established themself as a proficient and engaging educator in the realm of computer science. Being a Senior majoring in Computer Science, Mohammed possesses a strong academic foundation that serves as the bedrock of their teaching. His educational journey has been complemented by internships and hands-on projects that have allowed them to gain real-world experience and practical insights into the field. These experiences have not only enhanced his technical skills but also enriched their ability to convey complex concepts in a clear and accessible manner to anyone. Mohammed’s passion for both computer science and teaching is truly infectious. HIs classroom is characterized by an environment of curiosity, innovation, and collaboration. He will go above and beyond to ignite a similar passion in their students, nurturing the next generation of computer scientists and problem solvers. Whether guiding students through coding challenges, mentoring them on ambitious projects, or simply sharing their own enthusiasm for the subject matter, Mohammed embodies the ideal educator for anyone eager to explore the world of computer science. With their blend of academic knowledge, practical experience, and unwavering passion, Mohammed is undoubtedly a driving force in the realm of computer science education.

Anna Ostrovsky is currently in the process of earning her degree in Early Childhood Education. Anna graduated with a Business Diploma from Edward R. Murrow High School in Brooklyn, New York, where she participated in a Mock Trial program. Anna's goal after earning her Early Childhood Degree is to pursue Law and become a lawyer. Anna has been working with children for over 5 years as a Counselor, mentor, and tutor. In her free time, she loves to spend time outside and volunteer at her local animal shelter.

JC was raised in Roosevelt, Long Island, where he gained a reputation for constantly arguing with anyone who entertained his viewpoints. As a member of the debate club at his alma mater, St. John's University, he had the honor of competing at some of the most prolific universities in the U.S. He brought these experiences with him to teach the art of debate to young minds who were searching for outlets of their own. During his three year position as the Nest + M debate coach, JC grew their team from one of average tournament rank to one of the top teams in the English Speaking Union's Middle School Public Debate Program League. JC sees debate as an opportunity for people with different opinions to better understand one another while still showing respect and possibly even becoming or remaining friends.

Lawrence is a USCF Life Master from Chicago. He earned the FIDE Master title while working in Switzerland for 3 years before settling in New York. As a chess instructor, he specializes in opening line development and preparation, positional strategies, and endgames. He is the father of two active tournament players in high school, and has taught students as young as 5 years old, teens as well as adults. He has a Master’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Illinois - Urbana, where he studied machine learning.

Kevin Schreck is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and educator. His films Persistence of Vision (2012) and Tangent Realms: The Worlds of C.M. Kösemen (2018) have screened at over 70 international film festivals and other venues on five continents. His current film, Enongo, is a documentary-animation hybrid and a biography on the rapper/producer Sammus and her personal journey, and will be the first feature-length film with an animation team composed solely of Black women artists.

In addition to his filmmaking career, Kevin has been a teaching artist of non-fiction storytelling, film history, and experimental cinema techniques as well as a mentor to underserved youth in Brooklyn. He has also had the privilege of lecturing and teaching masterclasses on filmmaking at numerous institutions around the globe, including the School of Visual Arts, the Barry R. Feinstein Graduate School of Cinema, James Cook University in Cairns, Australia, Griffith University at the Queensland College of Art in Australia, the National Film School of Denmark, and Savannah College of Art & Design, among many others.