DEBATE: The Art of Getting More of What You Want in a Democracy

Jimel was born in Jamaica and raised in Illinois where he attended Illinois School for the Deaf for four years and excelled as a four year student athlete. Upon graduation, he attended Gallaudet University and graduated with a B.S in Physical Education in 2017. After graduating, Jimel moved to Seattle in 2018 to work as the Community Outreach Coordinator at Abused Deaf Women’s Advocacy Services (ADWAS). Jimel has been working at the Youth Leadership Camp (YLC) since 2015. He became the Camp Director in 2017. In his free time Jimel enjoys cycling, filming, playing sports, road trips and is a proud vegan.

Judge Brendan is an assistant professor of American politics at Gallaudet University. He is also the director of the Center for Democracy in Deaf America and the debate team head coach. Before taking up his current position, he was men’s basketball and women’s basketball head coach at Gallaudet. He attended California School for the Deaf in Fremont and graduated from University High School in Irvine before earning his BA from Gallaudet, his MA from American University, and his second MA and PhD in American Politics from Catholic University of America.

Debater Catalina is a proud Southern Californian from Riverside! She graduated from the California School for the Deaf, Riverside after her sophomore year of High School with a GED equivalent. She is a Senior majoring in Social Work at Gallaudet University. She is an iced tea enthusiast; it is all she drinks now. She also has a constant need to travel and finds it very hard to stay in one place.

Debater Lexi Hill was born and raised in East Texas. She is currently entering her second year at Gallaudet University as a double major in History and Government with a minor in English. She is a member of the Honors Program at Gallaudet University. She serves as vice president of the Debate Society, as an alternative representative of Student Athletic Advisory Committee, and as the secretary of Class of 2023. She also plays for the Gallaudet Women's Basketball team. On the side, she volunteers at a non-profit organization called Deaf Millennial Project. After graduation, Lexi plans to go to law school then eventually acquire a Phd in British history. In her free time, Lexi loves to read books, write poetry, binge watch TV shows and movies on Netflix, and research random facts about anything in the world.

Moderator Nthabeleng lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She graduated from the New Mexico School for the Deaf in 2019. She is now a sophomore, pursuing Psychology and a minor in Biology with a Pre-Med track at Gallaudet University. She is a part of the Honors program. This past summer, Nthabeleng has been an active member of the Seattle Children's Research Institute, learning about researching scholarly articles, participating in biomedical discussions, and attending many career development trainings. She hopes to get an in-person internship at Seattle Children's next summer. At Gallaudet, she is serving two organization roles, President of the National Society of Leadership and Success, and Secretary of Debate Society. She is also a Peer Leader and a STM tutor. In her free time, she enjoys meeting new people, bike rides, traveling, reading, playing volleyball, and hanging out with her two fun-loving and sassy younger sisters.

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