Our Faculty

Mike Bietz is one of the most accomplished debate educators in history, known for combining competitive excellence with a deep commitment to mentorship and community leadership.

Over the course of his career, he has coached 98 Lincoln-Douglas entries to the Tournament of Champions—more than any other program head during that period—including three seasons with over ten qualifiers. His students have earned national titles across the Tournament of Champions (TOC), NSDA Nationals, NDCA Nationals, and Novice Nationals.

He is the only coach in history to win both the NSDA and TOC national championships in the same season with two different debaters, a feat achieved while building the Lincoln-Douglas program at Edina High School. At Harvard-Westlake, he established one of the most dominant debate programs in the country, leading the team to sustained national success and a culture of intellectual rigor and integrity.

His teams have accomplished some of the most rare and dominant feats in national debate history: 2 NSDA Champions, 2 TOC Champions, 1 NDCA Championship, and 8 Novice National Champions. They've also produced 4 NSDA semifinalists, 5 Greenhill Champions, 3 Greenhill Round Robin Champions (including 2 close-outs), 4 Berkeley Champions, 2 Glenbrooks Champions and 4 finalists (including 2 close-outs), and 3 TOC finalists with 2 additional semifinalists. At Stanford, his debaters made up 6 of the 8 quarterfinalists and closed out the semifinals. Across all major national tournaments, his students have earned elimination round bids over 100 times, including six seasons with 3 or more teams in TOC elims.

Mike also served as Director of Victory Briefs, where he expanded the summer institute from 90 to over 600 attendees and helped create VictoryBriefsDaily.com—the most visited debate blog of its time. His leadership extended beyond coaching, serving as President of the National Debate Coaches Association (NDCA), advising the TOC, and directing major national tournaments at Berkeley, Stanford, and USC.

His contributions have been recognized with induction into the TOC Hall of Fame (as the first Southern Californian and first Asian American coach to receive the honor) and the Barkley Forum Gold Key Society at Emory University. More than accolades, however, Mike is known for his mentorship. His students and assistant coaches have gone on to become program directors and educators in their own right, carrying forward a legacy of excellence and purpose-driven debate education.

Chris Theis ranks as one of the most accomplished combined competitor-coaches in Lincoln-Douglas debate this millennium, coupling sustained competitive excellence with disciplined mentorship and community leadership.

Now, as a coach at The Marlborough School he has helped build a national powerhouse, mirroring the success he achieved at Palos Verdes Peninsula, Lexington, Apple Valley, and Trinity Prep—sending debaters deep into elimination rounds at nearly every major invitational on the circuit, including Harvard, Berkeley, Greenhill, St. Mark's, the TOC, NDCA Nationals, and often contending, and winning the Dukes & Baily Cup.

Theis's competitive résumé remains singular: one of only three juniors ever to win the TOC and the contest's only two-time champion, he also claimed titles at Blake, Emory, the Iowa and Greenhill Round Robins, and St. Mark's, qualifying four times to NSDA Nationals across three events.

As Executive Director of Victory Briefs, he has guided its summer institutes to nationwide expansion while broadening the organization's portfolio—overseeing the publication of widely used textbooks and topic analyses and launching products that help schools and teams strengthen their debate instruction. He also serves on the TOC Lincoln-Douglas Committee, the NSDA Lincoln-Douglas Wording Committee, and the NDCA Executive Committee, shaping national standards for the activity.

Former students and assistant coaches now direct programs of their own, extending a legacy of meticulous preparation, integrity, and purpose-driven debate education.

Nick Smith is the Head Debate Coach at Apple Valley High School (MN), Assistant Director at the Victory Briefs Institute, and Managing Editor of Victory Briefs. He has coached two state champions and three runners-up at the MSHSL Minnesota State Tournament, as well as a champion at the New York State Debate Championships.

At the national level, his students have earned NSDA National Tournament awards including Second Place Speaker, Sixth Place, Eighth Place, and Fourteenth Place finishes, and have placed in the Top Sixteen at NCFL Grand Nationals, NDCA Nationals, and the Tournament of Champions. Previously, Nick served as Director of Debate at Hopkins High School and coached at St. Thomas Academy and The Visitation School. He studied Political Science and Philosophy at the University of Minnesota.

Spencer Burris-Brown graduates from the University of Minnesota with his Bachelor's in developmental psychology in Spring 2026, and will be entering medical school in the fall. He has coached PF at Bergen Debate Club for four years, as well as at Victory Briefs Institute the past three summers.

In high school, he competed in PF for four years on the local Minnesota and national circuits: qualifying three times to the Minnesota State Tournament, making it as far as semifinals, receiving multiple bids to the Tournament of Champions, and qualifying three times to NSDA Nationals — placing as high as the top 20. Spencer has expertise in both technical and traditional/narrative-style debate, and is super excited to be directing the PF division at MDI this summer!

Izhan Qureishy will graduate from the University of Minnesota in Spring 2026 with a dual degree in Human Physiology and the Sociology of Law. Over the past four years, he has coached PF, World Schools, and Classic Debate, working with students at East Ridge and Two Rivers HS. In Public Forum, his students have championed the State tournament five times across Novice, JV, and Varsity. He helped lead East Ridge to back-to-back MDTA Challenge Cup victories, and was named the 2024–2025 District Assistant Coach of the Year.

As a competitor, Izhan debated in Public Forum for four years at Eastview High School, serving for two years as team captain while earning All-State honors. He twice championed the MSHSL Section 3 Tournament, twice qualified for the NSDA National Tournament—advancing as far as the top 32—and was a two-time State finalist in Novice and Varsity.

I debated for four years at East Ridge, competing at both the state and national level. Over my career, I qualified to the TOC with three bids and advanced to elimination rounds in the Silver division. I also qualified to the National Speech and Debate Tournament, reaching elimination rounds. I also won the Tim Averill Invitational, earning 2nd speaker out of a field of 200+ competitors.

At the state level, I won the MSHSL State Debate Tournament my senior year after quarterfinaling as a junior, earning All-State honors along the way. Earlier in my career, I won JV State as a sophomore.

Joshua Bonilla competed in LD at Apple Valley High School, where he was a captain for 2 years after serving as an officer for one year. He is a three-time qualifier to NSDA Nationals (twice in LD and once in WSD), a four-time qualifier to NCFL Grand Nationals, and a two-time qualifier to MSHSL State. His senior year was recognized with MDTA All-State and South Suburban All-Conference awards for his top-tier performance throughout the entire season. He is excited to be working at MDI this summer!

Mark Kivimaki has coached Lincoln-Douglas debate for seven years and currently works with Edina HS and the Isidore Newman School. His students include Minnesota state champions, NSDA national finalists, and TOC elimination round qualifiers. He works with debaters at every level and has also coached policy debate, qualifying to the NDT in college and working with the 2025 NAUDL national champions. Outside of debate, he is currently a law student at the University of Minnesota Law School.

Mark's favorite part of debate is research. His argumentative specialties are diverse: Kantian and Millsian political philosophy, critiques, the deterrence disad and impact turns. This summer, he's excited to explore ideas like this with a new group of debaters!

Hi! My name is Shoumili Tarafder and I debated for 3 years in public forum for The Blake School in Minneapolis, Minnesota. During my career, I have amassed 8 career bids and qualified to the Tournament of Champions three years in a row (GTOC 2x). Some of my most notable achievements include earning 2nd place at the 2026 MDTA State tournament, winning the 2026 MDTA Section 6 tournament, and advancing to outrounds at various national circuit tournaments like Glenbrooks, Apple Valley, Yale, Sunvite, Blake, and more. I specialize in both traditional lay rounds and fast paced technical rounds and enjoy a fun progressive debate! I'm super excited to be working with all of you this summer at MDI!

Sofia Ishal is a Lincoln-Douglas and Public Forum Coach with extensive experience as both a competitor and coach. In high school, she was a highly successful in-state LD debater, consistently placing at tournaments and qualifying to the national level her senior year. As a coach, Sofia has worked with numerous LD and PF students who have qualified to state and national tournaments, including coaching a state runner-up. Her areas of expertise include political philosophy and framework-heavy debates, where she focuses on strategic clarity, argument development, and judge adaptation. Sofia has a strong track record of coaching successful students across skill levels and is committed to helping debaters grow both competitively and intellectually.

Valerie Schmitt is a Lincoln-Douglas debater and graduate from Edina High School in the class of 2026. She debated for four years, winning the Minnesota State Tournament in 2026, closing it out with her teammate and twin Aditi Jha in 2025, and semifinaling in 2024. At NSDA Nationals in 2025, she finished as national runner-up, and she was an MDTA All-State debater in both 2025 and 2026. Outside of debate, Valerie is engaged in student journalism (read Edina Zephyrus!), extemporaneous speaking, Girl Scouts, and plays the violin and piano.

Valerie's debate interests and areas of emphasis include judge adaptation, philosophy, and research. She loves to compile vicious casenegs, be the worst version of herself in cross-ex, find the perfect card after hours of searching, and write well-thought-out and versatile 1ACs. Though she's debated on the national circuit to some success, she's far more engaged with and interested in the technical Minnesota style of LD. Valerie loves to think about debate, to debate herself, and to be around debaters, so she's super excited to work at MDI this summer!

Hey everyone, I'm Yashas. I've been a PF captain at East Ridge for the past two years, and I've helped coach students to win the novice state tournament two years in a row, debate at a varsity level, and transition into the circuit. As a competitor, I reached elimination rounds at NSDA Nationals, the Silver TOC, and won the MSHSL State Debate Tournament. I enjoy technical substance debate, topical kritiks, and impact turns the most, and I'm really excited to work with you all this summer!

I am the head Public Forum debate coach at Bronx Science, where I have worked for two years. I debated in high school locally and on the regional circuit at St. Paul Academy in St. Paul, MN, from 2016-2020. After graduating, I also coached from 2021-2024 at Delbarton School.

I am also a graduate of UW-Madison with majors in Economics and Political Science. At Madison, I served on the executive board of the Wisconsin Speech and Debate Society for three years and researched a broad range of subjects, namely sanctions, energy policy, and the U.S. power grid.

Since graduating, I have worked two years as a water resource economist at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, where I evaluate the costs and benefits of flood control infrastructure, gaining an intricate understanding of applied economics, policy implementation, and administrative law. In the fall, I will be starting law school!