Our Team
Ascend California Staff
Meet the coaches behind our flagship California program — national champions, award-winning coaches, and former Ascend students.
Administrative Staff
Quest Sandel
Co-Founder and CEO of Ascend, Ascend California Co-Camp Director & Co-Curriculum Director of Congressional Debate
Confirmed for 2027
Quest Sandel
Co-Founder and CEO of Ascend, Ascend California Co-Camp Director & Co-Curriculum Director of Congressional Debate
Quest Sandel has served as Ascend's Co-Founder, Co-Camp Director, Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") and Curriculum Director of Congressional Debate since its inception. He also serves as the Head Congressional Debate Coach at James Logan High School…
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Natalya Edwards-Weltman
Residential Camp Director
Confirmed for 2027
Natalya Edwards-Weltman
Residential Camp Director
Natalya Edwards Weltman serves as a Residential Camp Director for Ascend Speech & Debate. She brings more than 20 years of leadership experience in program development, staff development, mentorship, and community engagement…
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Aditya Chordiya
COO of Ascend, Co-Curriculum Director, and Congressional Debate Lab Leader
Confirmed for 2027
Aditya Chordiya
COO of Ascend, Co-Curriculum Director, and Congressional Debate Lab Leader
Serving as Chief Operating Officer ("COO") of Ascend Speech & Debate, Aditya is also a three-time Ascend Alumnus! Throughout his career in Congressional Debate, he was an NSDA finalist, Harvard finalist and most importantly, championed Ascend's camp tournament…
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Vanessa Ayala-Pech
Assistant Residential Camp Director
Vanessa Ayala-Pech
Assistant Residential Camp Director
Vanessa came to Ascend through her son's four-year involvement in national congressional debate competitions. Her professional background spans over 20 years in education, serving as an Intervention Coordinator and Specialist in a Bay Area school district…
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Daniel Ayala-Mast
Chief of Staff & Camp Operations
Daniel Ayala-Mast
Chief of Staff & Camp Operations
A freshman at UC Berkeley and a graduate of James Logan High School, Danny has extreme loyalty to Ascend, attending Ascend four times! He is a firm believer in its message of fostering an environment for each person to be their authentic selves…
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Zoe Blackmon
Director of Media & Camp Experience
Zoe Blackmon
Director of Media & Camp Experience
Zoe is a recent graduate of Spelman College and has been involved in speech and debate for several years. Throughout high school, she competed in speech and debate, developing a passion for communication, storytelling, and public speaking…
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Gianluca Medigovic
Medical Assistant
Gianluca Medigovic
Medical Assistant
Medical Assistant on the Ascend California camp staff.
Lab Leaders & Senior Instructors
Emily Donaldson
Congressional Debate Lab Leader
Confirmed for 2027
Emily Donaldson
Congressional Debate Lab Leader
Emily Donaldson is a current senior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This will be her fifth consecutive summer coaching at Ascend. After competing in Congressional Debate for all four years of high school…
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Tyler Luu
CMO of Ascend and Congressional Debate Lab Leader
Tyler Luu
CMO of Ascend and Congressional Debate Lab Leader
Now serving as Ascend's Chief Marketing Officer, Tyler Luu (6'2) is also a three-year alumnus of Ascend Speech and Debate and is excited to be a returning coach. In the calendar year 2023, Tyler did not lose to a non-presiding Congressional Debater…
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Joseph Maucieri
Congressional Debate Senior Instructor
Joseph Maucieri
Congressional Debate Senior Instructor
Joseph Maucieri competed in Congressional Debate for 4 years, highlighted by a 3rd place finish in the 2020 NSDA House of Representatives. Nowadays Joseph has begun coaching the next generation of Congressional GOATs working as the assistant coach…
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Adrian Baek
Congressional Debate Lab Leader
Adrian Baek
Congressional Debate Lab Leader
A sophomore at Stanford University and graduate of Redlands High School, Adrian has been involved in Congressional Debate since seventh grade. He's accumulated over 25 bids to the Tournament of Champions and placed top 10 at the National tournament 5 years in a row…
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Waseem Sadat
Congressional Debate Lab Leader
Waseem Sadat
Congressional Debate Lab Leader
Waseem Sadat is a 2-year alumnus of Ascend. A multi-year competitor in Congressional Debate, Waseem qualified to the National Speech and Debate Tournament, the California State Tournament, and the Tournament of Champions…
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Vincent Nguyen
Congressional Debate Lab Leader
Confirmed for 2027
Vincent Nguyen
Congressional Debate Lab Leader
Involved in Speech and Debate for 9 years (4 in Congressional Debate), Vincent Nguyen is a 3-year alumnus of Ascend. He is the 2025 California State Champion, placing 5th at NSDA Nationals in the Senate (2x finalist), 8th at the Tournament of Champions…
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Matthew Allin
Congressional Debate Senior Instructor
Matthew Allin
Congressional Debate Senior Instructor
Throughout his competitive career in Congressional Debate, Matthew reached Finals in 4 consecutive National invitationals (Santa Clara, ASU, Stanford, and Berkeley), earning NSDA Member of Superior Distinction status. He placed Top 6 at the 2018 NSDA Tournament…
Full bio →Junior Instructors
Pranika Kumar
Congressional Debate Junior Instructor
Pranika Kumar
Congressional Debate Junior Instructor
Pranika Kumar is a senior at Edina High School in Minnesota, where she has competed for five years. During that time, she has placed 1st at the Emory Barkley Forum tournament, 1st at the National Speech and Debate Opener, 3rd at the TOC (PO), and 6th at Florida Blue Key…
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Jack Wlazlowski
Congressional Debate Junior Instructor
Confirmed for 2027
Jack Wlazlowski
Congressional Debate Junior Instructor
Jack attends the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. In his time competing in Congressional Debate he won the Florida Blue Key Round Robin, was the runner up at the actual Blue Key Tournament, became the Texas UIL State Champion, and was a finalist at NSDA…
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Chaith Mittal
Congressional Debate Junior Instructor
Chaith Mittal
Congressional Debate Junior Instructor
Chaith Mittal is a freshman at Emory University and an alum of Archbishop Mitty High School, where he competed in Congressional Debate for four years. During his competitive career, he championed the…
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Adja Niang
Congressional Debate Junior Instructor
Adja Niang
Congressional Debate Junior Instructor
Adja Niang is a senior at Keller High School in Texas, where she has been involved in speech and debate for the past four years and has spent the last two competing in Congressional Debate. As President of her team, Adja has coached and mentored students…
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Keir Horne
Congressional Debate Junior Instructor
Keir Horne
Congressional Debate Junior Instructor
A senior from Bronx Science, Keir has been involved in Congressional Debate for the past four years. As President of the Bronx Science Speech & Debate team—the #1 ranked program in the United States for the past decade—he's competed and coached at every level…
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Karina Brown
Congressional Debate Junior Instructor
Karina Brown
Congressional Debate Junior Instructor
Karina Brown is a senior at the Dreyfoos School of the Arts in West Palm Beach, Florida, where she concentrates in Communications. Her performance background goes back further though — before Dreyfoos, she trained as a Theatre major at BAK Middle School of the Arts…
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Sebastian Gardner
Congressional Debate Junior Instructor
Sebastian Gardner
Congressional Debate Junior Instructor
Sebastian is a graduate of The Potomac School in Virginia and a freshman at Cornell University, where he is majoring in Public Policy. A two-year alumnus of Ascend, Sebastian is in his eighth year of competing in speech and debate…
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Elizabeth Xiao
Congressional Debate Junior Instructor
Elizabeth Xiao
Congressional Debate Junior Instructor
Liz Xiao is a senior at American Heritage Broward in South Florida, where she has competed for three years and now captains the Congressional Debate Team. During her time on circuit, Liz was runner-up at Sunvite and the Florida State Tournament…
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Aaron Piehl
Congressional Debate Junior Instructor
Aaron Piehl
Congressional Debate Junior Instructor
Aaron Piehl is a freshman Economics major at UT Austin on the pre-law track. He competed in Congressional Debate and Extemporaneous Speaking throughout high school, advancing to elimination rounds at major tournaments including the Barkley Forum, TFA State, Harvard…
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Ishaan Singh
Congressional Debate Junior Instructor
Ishaan Singh
Congressional Debate Junior Instructor
Ishaan Singh is a senior at Seven Lakes High School. He has served as the Extemp captain his junior year and the Congressional Debate captain his senior year. During the last 3 years, Ishaan has notably placed 8th at the TOC, finaled at the Glenbrooks…
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Kary Deng
Congressional Debate Junior Instructor
Confirmed for 2027
Kary Deng
Congressional Debate Junior Instructor
Kary Deng is a senior at James Logan High School in California, where she has competed in speech and debate through high school. During that time she has placed 2nd at the Harvard Invitational, 4th at the MLK Invitational, 7th at NSDA and has also finaled at Glenbrooks and CHSSA State…
Full bio →Specialty Instructors
Ethan Wilkes
Congressional Debate Specialty Instructor
Ethan Wilkes
Congressional Debate Specialty Instructor
Ethan is a sophomore at UT Austin studying mathematics and data science. During his time on the circuit competing in Congressional Debate, Ethan was best known for championing Yale 2021 and Sunvite 2022. He also placed in the top 6 at NSDA Nationals, TOC, and Harvard…
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Sashank Balusu
Congressional Debate Specialty Instructor
Sashank Balusu
Congressional Debate Specialty Instructor
Sashank is currently a student at UC Berkeley and a graduate of Archbishop Mitty High School. As a coach, Sashank has helped multiple students reach the NSDA national finals including a top 3 finish. As a competitor, Sashank placed top 3 at the California State tournament…
Full bio →All staffing is subject to change based on availability. Specialty instructors join Ascend for select portions of camp. All non-specialty instructors are slated to attend Ascend California for the vast majority, if not all of the two weeks.
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