Joseph Maucieri

Ascend California - Deputy Curriculum Director of Congressional Debate and Congressional Debate Lab Leader

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 congressional debate coach within Sandel Academy. He has been a top assistant to Quest for multiple years and understands our curriculum better than anyone that isn't our Curriculum Director. He has been a top contributor to many impressive accomplishments including the 2023 NSDA House & Senate Champions, 2021, 2023, & 2024 California State Title Winners, the 2023 Tournament of Champions Winner, the 2024 Tournament of Champions Runner-up, multiple national finalists, a top 6 placement, and top debater at the Harvard invitational. Lastly, he was the primary coach for Davis High School Speech & Debate when they won their first team award at the NSDA National Championship in school history and had their first National Finalist despite it being his first year with the team. Joseph believes that there is no “one size fits all” approach to Congressional Debate, instead each debater's individual personality should be highlighted in competition to make themselves stand out and elevate their performance. He believes that a speaking style tailored to each individual student is integral to compelling performances. No student should try to replicate someone else's success, because each student has a success story inside of them, and it’s the coach's job to bring it out. In his free time Joseph likes to play video games, tries to stop his overweight cat from getting stuck on its back, and explaining just how good Rohit Jhawar was at Congress. If you join us at Ascend California, you’ll have the opportunity to work with Joseph!