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OUR TEAM
Matt Summers | Co-Founder
Matt Summers, a 3L at Harvard Law School, was named the #1 debater in the US in 2015. Matt has beaten 6 World Debate Champions and been involved with debate in 15 countries on 5 continents. After graduating from Bates College in 2015, he was a Fulbright ETA in South Africa, where he founded Debate Spaces.
Tessa Holtzman | Co-Founder
Tessa Holtzman was named the #1 female debater in North America in 2017 and is the co-founder of Debate Spaces. She has taught debate on three continents, including starting the first high school debate team in Bolivia. Tessa graduated from Bates College in 2017 before working in Washington D.C., putting her debate skills to use as a policy researcher. She is a Masters in Public Policy student at the Harvard Kennedy School.
Jake Campbell | Executive Director
Jake has over two decades of experience with debate coaching and competition, which he draws upon to promote accessible debate education with students, teachers, and other partners. Having witnessed first-hand the transformative power of debate for students around the world, Jake is committed to providing the highest quality learning opportunities at Debate Spaces.
Sagie Tvizer | Program Director
Sagie is an alum of Brandeis University, where he served as president and captain of the Brandeis Academic Debate And Speech Society. He was a finalist at the Delft Open and won the Binghamton University tournament. Sagie is a graduate of the JOIN for Justice Jewish Organizing Fellowship and has organized in solidarity with various social movements.
Courtney Foster | Deputy Program Director, Volunteer
Courtney is a native of Newton, Massachusetts, a Newton South Speech Team alum, and was a Bates College debate competitor under Matt and Tessa's leadership. In high school, Courtney quarterfinaled at the Harvard University tournament and finaled at the Columbia University tournament in Dramatic Performance. As a college debater, she was the 25th-Ranked U.S. Novice Speaker and competed at the U.S. Universities Debating Championship at Stanford University. Courtney is thrilled to continue engaging with speech and debate in the Boston area.
Amanda Ljustina | Deputy Executive Director, Volunteer
Amanda Ljustina is a graduate of the University of Toronto, where she obtained her Bachelor of Commerce in Finance and Economics. Having experienced the empowering nature of public speaking and debate in her own career and life, Amanda is excited to be working with Debate Spaces to enable students around the world.