The evening opened with SVUDL CEO Rolland Janairo, who brought the audience back in time to his third-grade self, standing on a spelling bee stage.

"Foreign. Adjective. F-O-R-I-N. Foreign… I'm sorry, that's incorrect."

He knew how to spell the word. But fear won that day. "I wish I had some of the confidence back then that our students and alumni today have," Rolland reflected—a sentiment that would repeat throughout the evening.

UC Berkeley student and SVUDL alumna Chloe Truong shared a moment that nearly derailed her debate journey. While competing at one of the nation's top debate camps, she overheard a comment: "Some urban debate league kids are good and all, but I'm not too worried since they don't have money for coaching."

"I felt my heart sink to my stomach," Chloe recalled. "As a novice Policy Debater, it made me question whether I could afford to dream."

But Chloe didn't quit. “Now I walk into every room knowing I represent something bigger than myself—a whole community of people who were told they couldn't but had the audacity to do it anyway," she said.

Rolland connected her triumph back to his spelling bee moment: "Our debaters can attest to how much more we gain and learn when we lose a Speech and Debate round, and how we have the potential to be so much more because of those losses."

De'Angelo Quintero from Andrew Hill High School shared how losing to SVUDL Policy Debate champions from Yerba Buena High School transformed his trajectory as a debater. "The loss itself had not diminished my pride or my belief in my ability to debate at all. In fact, it had only further emboldened me and inspired me to pursue a greater level of debate because I learned that it was feasible to beat them. It no longer became an 'if' but a 'when.'"

This mindset shift captures the essence of what SVUDL instills in students.

Mark Hartung, Social Studies Teacher at Mt. Pleasant High School and SVUDL Debate Centered Instruction Fellow, illustrated how debate transforms everyday classrooms.

In a discussion about meat production, students moved far beyond simple moral positions. They considered arguments about unemployment, economic hardships, and individual freedoms.

"One of the lessons learned from this and most debate issues is that there are rarely easy answers," Mark reflected. "Grappling with these ripple effects is what builds critical thinking skills in all of us."

The results speak for themselves. Students who participate in at least 20 hours of SVUDL programming demonstrate:

• 13% higher GPAs than their non-participating peers

• 100% graduation rate

• Stronger writing and argumentation skills

• Better listening and problem-solving abilities

• Improved executive functioning, leadership, and collaboration

These aren't just debate skills—they're life skills for the classroom, the operating room, the Board room, the courtroom, the community center, and the conference room.

SVUDL’s reach continues to expand:

• 96% students of color

• 100% Title I schools

• 20% ESL students

• 36,000 hours spent with students

Remarkably, SVUDL achieves this at $1,660 per student—a 6% decrease.

SVUDL Board Chair Jim Basile explained how SVUDL has evolved to a triple threat delivery approach:

1. Competitive Debate Programs

2. Debate Electives

3. Debate Centered Instruction

“We're training teachers to scale these benefits across entire classrooms, reaching students who might never self-select for debate but who absolutely deserve access to these transformative skills,” he said. “This evolution allows SVUDL to achieve both depth and breadth. Schools and educators are now reaching out from around the country to learn from our model.”

One of the evening's highlights was the fireside chat between Board Member Rak Garg (Partner, Bain Capital Ventures) and our 2025 Speaker of the Year, Ann Miura-Ko (Co-Founding Partner, Floodgate).

Ann's journey began in an unlikely place: a community college negotiations class when she was just 10 years old, the youngest in a room full of 40-year-olds.

"I was painfully shy," Ann admitted. "But in that class, doing simulation exercises, I felt for the first time that people listened to me and that I had a voice. I began to uncover the power of my own words."

That power didn't come easily. Ann struggled when taking tests, and her mother had to fight every year to keep her in gifted classes. "You have to have that advocate in your life," she emphasized. "When I was in a women's group at Stanford during my PhD, I discovered that all of us had some type of advocate that helped propel us forward. You need someone to advocate and believe in you for you to believe in yourself."

In college, as an electrical engineering major, Ann complained to her mother about being surrounded by boys in her classes. Her mother's response? "Why are you trying to make friends in class? You should be focused on listening to the teacher!"

When Ann entered the world of venture capital, she asked to meet senior women for networking and mentorship. "It turned out that at the time, there were only a few in total. I could actually meet them all!" she laughed.

But Ann learned to transform her difference into an advantage. "I learned that I deserved to be in the room, and not only that, it was an advantage to be different. Use it like a weapon, my partner told me!"

Fast forward to today in her role at Floodgate. In her work with early-stage startups, Ann shared what she really looks for—and it's not solely the idea.

"When I meet someone to hear their concept, I am essentially not looking at the idea, but the person. I'm focused on finding the next super builder—someone who loves to build so much they can let go of code when it's time to pivot.

"But the second factor is even more important: a super thinker. Not just someone who is smart—a rabid truth seeker. Someone who's not satisfied with trite answers. Debaters question everything. Someone who has the courage to tell me I got it all wrong. That's pure magic. Let's argue and think about things and figure out what truth means together."

Her advice to students? "Put yourself in the path of people who will foster confidence in you."

Ann's path to confidence wasn't linear. "I was so painfully shy that when I performed piano, my brother introduced me," she recalled. "One day, I realized my brother shouldn't introduce me and the piece I am about to perform. I decided to get rid of the fear. I joined the debate team in high school."

Her coach had an unconventional motivational technique: "My coach encouraged me to make my opponent cry, and if I succeeded, I could get a free slice of pizza! I achieved that twice! I may not have earned any courtesy points, but I saw that I didn't always have to be the good girl."

Ann shared advice about AI as well: "Debate prepares you for this world—to see all sides of an argument and to think critically. How to think on your feet and speak your mind. More and more, that's where you make a difference. AI might write for many, but no one can speak for you, and that is the critical difference. I tell my children that with AI, you have to be an order maker. Order taker is what machines do. Making orders is key and creates value."

SVUDL Board Chair James Basile emphasized that SVUDL is like a Swiss Army knife—one tool that fulfills many needs. “We build confidence, community, and opportunity. We help students lift themselves, their families, and their communities up. By bringing Speech and Debate to underserved schools, students flourish and thrive while also finding a sense of agency.”

As SVUDL alumna and current UC Berkeley student Chloe noted in her speech, "It is the very community that SVUDL fosters that continues to empower students to defy odds, to be bold enough to dream."

This extraordinary evening wouldn't have been possible without our incredible community. We extend our gratitude to the following:

Thank you to:

• Our hosts, Michael and Jill Gold

• Speaker of the Year, Ann Miura-Ko

• Our sponsors, especially

  • Intermedia

  • Co-founders Jennie Savage and John Dawson

  • Kirkland & Ellis

  • Primary Digital Infrastructure

  • Jennifer Min and Steve Harrick

• Board members, Advisory Committee members

• Staff and volunteers

• Musicians of the San Francisco Opera