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Mariam has a long-standing history with SVUDL—a place where she first discovered her voice and the power of civic discourse. As a senior at Silver Creek High School in 2016, she joined SVUDL when it first arrived on campus and became part of its early wave of student leaders. At the time, policy debate was the league’s sole offering, and Mariam quickly emerged as a standout competitor. She and her debate partner advanced and earned numerous awards throughout the season—all while championing SVUDL’s core message of the time: “Make Smart Cool.” She also participated in SVUDL’s inaugural Moot Court, where students argued constitutional law cases before sitting judges from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Mariam began her higher education at De Anza College, where she earned certificates in Leadership and Social Change and received the De Anza Student Leadership Award. She later transferred to UC Riverside, graduating with a B.A. in Public Policy with an emphasis in health policy, political institutions, and legislative processes. Her coursework included Borderland Immigration Policies, Blackness and Mass Incarceration, Critical Consciousness and Social Change, and Environmental Policy—courses that deepened her understanding of systemic inequity and fueled her passion for community-centered policy.
During her early college years, Mariam continued her involvement with SVUDL as an intern, supporting tournament logistics, mentoring students, and contributing to league operations. She also served as a community organizer and policy fellow—leading grassroots campaigns, civic engagement initiatives, and contributing to federal legislative advocacy focused on issues affecting students in higher education. Her organizing work mobilized communities and emphasized the need for affordable housing and educational justice.
Mariam brings her professional experiences from her time as a Policy & Advocacy Coordinator at YWCA in Washington State, where she led local and state-level coalition efforts on housing issues, economic mobility, health, safety, and racial justice. She worked alongside long-standing grassroots networks, building relationships anchored in collective action and community power, and helped train hundreds of community advocates while managing legislative strategy and public-facing communications.
Now returning to SVUDL as a Program Specialist, Mariam brings a full-circle perspective—grounded in the experiences that shaped her as a student and strengthened by years of policy work, organizing, and mentorship. She believes debate transforms lives, and that when students are equipped with the tools to speak and advocate, they become unstoppable.
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Addis is currently a full-time student at De Anza College in Cupertino studying Political Science. She competed in Policy debate throughout her high school years and is now starting a new role as SVUDL’s Program Coordinator and Coach.
Throughout her four years competing in Policy debate, Addis was able to reach high levels. Addis qualified for the Catholic Forensic League Grand National Championship for four consecutive years and placed first at various local tournaments. As the Varsity coach at Downtown College Prep, Addis responds to the head coach and assists with lesson plans, discussions, and practices. Her current students have reached high levels of competition including the Urban Debate National Championship and elimination rounds at the UC Berkeley Invitational.
Outside of her debate career, Addis has goals to work in a career in politics and law. Her goals are rooted in personal experience and the experience that debate gave her to see the world through a new lens. Addis enjoys exploring new coffee places and worlds within books.
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Sofia's journey with SVUDL began as a junior at Cristo Rey San José Jesuit High School. There, she was introduced to the world of Policy debate, where she discovered new ways to discuss the world around her from a critical perspective. Along with her debate partner, Sofia spent the rest of high school attending (and soon, helping to lead) debate practices and competing in local and state tournaments.
After high school, Sofia brought the critical analysis skills she gained in debate to Brown University. During her time at Brown, she enjoyed courses in sociocultural anthropology, philosophy, poetry writing, engaged scholarship, history, and biology. Besides academic curiosity, Sofia's overarching goal for her undergrad education was to explore and participate in creative, rigorous, and engaged discourse about the world around her---a goal deeply informed by her Policy debate experience in high school. Outside of class, Sofia was engaged as a Bonner Community Fellow at the Swearer Center, where she honed skills as a collaborative leader as a founding member of the Bonner Leadership Team. Additionally, through her junior year of college, Sofia's community engagement in Providence was accompanied by remote organizing for racial justice with Sacred Heart in San José.
Throughout college, Sofia remained connected with SVUDL from Providence: first as a hired judge at virtual SVUDL tournaments, for which she won the "Judge of the Year" award in 2021, and then as a Summer Intern in 2023. As an intern, Sofia focused primarily on curriculum development and topic research for teacher-coaches and students, creating materials for novice Policy debaters to write their own affirmative and negative cases---informed by their experiences and interests---for the 2023-24 Economic Inequality topic.
In May 2024, Sofia graduated from Brown University with an A.B. in Anthropology. Sofia now returns to SVUDL as a Program Specialist, bringing with her the skills and experience gained since her time as a debater, as well as a deep enthusiasm for her role and the opportunity to contribute to SVUDL's mission as a staff member. As she grows professionally with the SVUDL team, Sofia is planning towards a career in law, with a special interest in constitutional law as a mechanism for progressive social change.
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As a high school student growing up outside Atlanta, debate gave Rob a grammar for critically reflecting on the social and political world around him. After spending countless hours researching in the Emory Law Library and attending the Emory National Debate Institutes, he was awarded a full scholarship to debate at Liberty University in 1998. As a freshman, he qualified to the college national debate championship. After transferring to Wheaton College his sophomore year, he continued to work as a teaching assistant for Wheaton’s debate class, graduating in 2001 with a B.A. in political philosophy and a minor in urban studies.
For Rob, debate had a lasting and profound impact on his early career. Although he stopped competing in college, his work at the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, a political advocacy organization, was sparked by ideas he was introduced to in debate.
Those research skills and ideas continued to shape his professional life and eventually moved him to return to coaching. After teaching at the college level for several years, he began a policy program at Lindenwood University in Missouri. For his work training first-year college debaters, Rob was awarded the Dick Stein Coach of the Year award in 2013. Turning his focus to high school, Rob founded the policy debate team at North Star Academy in Newark, where he taught speech and debate to every grade level from 2014-2018. During his time at North Star, Rob coached the Co-Champions of the 2018 Harvard Invitational Debates in the policy division. Two of his varsity teams finished as quarterfinalists and octafinalists at the 2018 Tournament of Champions.
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Gagan first joined SVUDL during its Summer Institute in 2016. She competed in policy debate all four years of high school and later helped lead her team at Silver Creek High School. This first introduction to debate really shaped Gagan during her high school years. She enjoyed the rush of the round and being able to fight for the things she believes in. This passion for debate continued at San Jose State University. Gagan competed in International Public Debate Association (IPDA), a one-on-one form of debate similar to parli, as well as Extemp and Impromptu, where she qualified for the International Forensics Association’s Annual Speech and Debate Tournament. Gagan later graduated from San Jose State University with a B.A. in Psychology.
Gagan’s passion for Speech and Debate didn’t end there. Throughout college and beyond, she continued to judge at virtual tournaments during the pandemic, and in June 2024, she joined SVUDL to help with summer events. Later, she continued to coach during the school year as an Assistant Coach at Silver Creek and Independence High School. Throughout all of this, watching students find their voice and passion for speech and debate has been the most rewarding part of working at SVUDL. It is the same place where Gagan first found her ability to advocate and she is excited to continue supporting students from another angle.
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Rolland joined SVUDL as its Executive Director in December 2018.
Born and raised in New York City to parents who immigrated from the Philippines, Rolland has developed a deep appreciation for the transformative power of education as a product of the NYC public school system. While attending and after graduating from Brown University, Rolland volunteered and taught at a preschool in Providence, Rhode Island. He later earned his Masters Degree in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
During his time in Boston, Rolland was the Associate Director of Teacher Development at Jumpstart for Young Children, as well as the Director of Playmaker Operations at Life is Good Playmakers. Prior to joining SVUDL, Rolland served as the Chief Operating Officer at World Savvy. Across all of these roles, Rolland's focus has been on supporting students to reach their full potential by empowering the caring adults around them to do the same.
Rolland also serves as Treasurer of the Board of the Directors of the Thrive Alliance of Nonprofits of San Mateo County, as well as the Vice President of the Board of Directors for the California Association of Urban Debate Leagues. He is a Board member with SV2, and a Senior Fellow faculty member with the Institute of Nonprofit Practice. In his spare time, Rolland enjoys running, cooking, and exploring the Bay Area with his wife and two young boys.
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Jenet joins SVUDL with an in-depth knowledge of office management and considerable experience in organizational administration. She combines these skills – so critical for a growing nonprofit organization – with a passion for helping others.
Jenet has more than 16 years of general office experience and also has managed and organized multicultural events and disaster relief operations, including necessary actions after Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines in 2013.
Jenet earned her bachelor of science degree in customs administration from Mariners Polytechnic Colleges Foundation in the Philippines and spent 11 years as a visa counselor, helping reunite families through tedious petitions and application processes, and also oversaw branch office operations.
She is excited that her work will support a program that inspires at-risk students to excel.
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Kwodwo has spent the past seven years involved in policy debate. He began his debate experience as a high school junior when he was encouraged to join the Bay Area Urban Debate League team at Emery Secondary School. The combination of intellectual stimulation and community engagement helped feed Kwodwo’s desire for purpose, and he soon became involved in BAUDL's Leading With Debate Fellowship, which focuses on the soft skills students gain, fostered by policy debate. After graduating from the program, during his freshman year at CSU East Bay, Kwodwo returned to his high school as a volunteer coach when he learned that the team was on the brink of disappearance after losing its coach. As a coach and as an advocate, Kwodwo led the debate team to great success.
During his Sophomore year at CSU East Bay, he was one of the very first SVUDL volunteers and helped recruit students, run workshops and judge at tournaments in East Palo Alto. He was selected for a teaching position in SVUDL’s inaugural Summer Institute in 2015, and second Summer Institute in 2016. Kwodwo graduated with a Philosophy, B.A. from CSU East Bay in 2017 and won the Bassen Award for Philosophy in 2016 and 2017.