About Us
Our Mission Statement:
The State Debate Coalition unites statewide debate commissions who sponsor and produce open, unbiased, and substantive candidate debates at the state and federal levels within various states. We bring together various state debate commissions to share best practices, glean new ideas, and help address similar challenges regarding the hosting of candidate debates. We also facilitate the creation of state debate commissions by working with groups in these states to encourage and assist in the formation of new statewide debate commissions.
State Debate Coalition Leadership
Dr. Elizabeth Bennion
President of the Indiana Debate Commission and Professor of Political Science at Indiana University South Bend
Alexander Wheeler
President of the Washington Debate Commission
Jill Zimon
Leader of the Ohio Debate Commission and Adjunct Professor at Cleveland State University
Dr. Richard Davis
Professor of Political Science at BYU and Co-Founder of both the State Debate Coalition and the Utah Debate Commission
Nena Slighting
Executive Director of the Utah Debate Commission