Capital Conference Presenter Bios
2024 Capital Conference Presenter Bios
Clint Adams teaches social studies and coaches speech and debate at Big Spring High School. Along with his wife Jennifer, their program has produced multiple state champions. He is an active participant in the National Debate Topic Selection process, authoring study reports for several years.
**Jennifer Adams coaches speech and debate, along with Spelling and Ready Writing at Big Spring High School. A Sponsor Excellence Award winner, she actively serves on the Regional Speech Advisory Committee at Texas Tech and is a member of the state meet extemporaneous speaking prep room team. Recently named Secondary Teacher of the Year for BSISD, she currently serves as Chair of the Wording Committee of the Debate Topic Selection national process.
Kenny Adcock teaches dual credit speech courses at Ore City High School. He coaches speech, debate and journalism and is the yearbook advisor. His CX Debate teams are back-to-back state champions in Conference 2A.
Luis Alaniz is a dedicated educator and current journalism co-coach. He teaches Professional Communication, Interpersonal Communication, and Public Speaking. Luis served as a UIL academic coordinator before taking a hiatus and returning as a coach. He holds a BA in Mass Communication, an MA in Communication Studies, and is completing his doctoral degree in Educational Leadership at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Luis's extensive experience and academic background have been pivotal in fostering effective communication skills and supporting student journalism initiatives.David Amador is certified in Theatre EC-12 and Speech 7-12. David is a UIL A+ campus coordinator, and Theatre/Speech & Debate Director at B.L. Gray Junior High School in Sharyland ISD. He holds a B.A. in Theatre from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.
Dr. Brian Anderson, UIL state contest director for Science (Chemistry), is an Assistant Professor of Instruction at UT-Austin where he teaches general chemistry courses. Dr. Anderson has a B.A. in chemistry from Knox College, and an M.A. in marine science and Ph.D. in chemistry from UT-Austin.
Charlie Anderson was an elementary school UIL competitor and now is the UIL Academic Coordinator at Hutto Middle School. She coached Oral Reading prior to becoming the coordinator in 2016. She taught 6th grade language arts for a decade and now advises the yearbook, newspaper, and broadcast programs.
Jason Arms bio coming soon.
Becky Arndt Key currently teaches science at Robinson High School and serves as an A+ Science consultant. She has almost 20 years of teaching experience in various levels of Biology, Chemistry, IPC, and Physics.
Stacey Armstrong has been a UIL Computer Science coach for over 25 years, winning over 10 state championships with teams and individuals. He currently teaches and coaches at Cypress Woods High School where he also serves as UIL academic coordinator.
Andrew Bates writes the UIL A+ Social Studies contest and is the high school Social Studies state contest director. He has been in education for over 20 years as a teacher, coach, coordinator, and administrator. He has coached nearly 30 combined individual, team, and overall state champions in various events.
Mark Bernier has taught English, philosophy, and history and has been involved with UIL academics in one way or another since 1987. For over twenty years he has served as UIL academic meets director for five district and two region meets annually. During the past sixteen years Mark has enjoyed the direct interaction with students and academic coaches that comes with being state director of Literary Criticism (2008-2024).
Robert Blain is the UIL Academic Coordinator at G. W. Carver Magnet HS in Aldine after previously serving in the same role at (Spring) Westfield HS. Mentored by some of the legends of UIL Academics and Speech & Debate, he brings their advice and his own insight to his current role. He has qualified students for UIL State in several events and treasures his opportunities to help students flourish. He also is Region VI (Central and North Houston) Coordinator for Texas Academic Decathlon and Region II Coordinator for Texas Academic Pentathlon.
Alyssa Boehringer is the UIL Director of Journalism and ILPC Director. She served as journalism coach, academic coordinator, yearbook adviser, broadcast adviser and online news adviser at McKinney High School for 16 years before working for one year in communications at Princeton ISD. She now lives in Leaguetown with her husband, their daughter and a dog and a cat.
Dr. David Bixler, UIL state contest director for Science (Physics), is a professor of Physics and dean of the College of Graduate Studies and Research at Angelo State University. Dr. Bixler holds a B.S. in Physics and Mathematics from Tarleton State University, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Physics from Rice University.
Linda Berrey is the UIL state contest director for Spelling and Vocabulary after succeeding Marcia Hilsabeck in 2014. She taught at Waxahachie HS for 21 years and served as the school’s first UIL spelling and vocabulary coach while also serving as academic co-director.
Cindy Berry just finished her 33rd year of teaching — well sort of. She retired from Bridgeport High School three years ago and now works as part-time teacher, UIL coordinator and journalism coach in Slidell. Cindy is past president of the Texas Association of Journalism Educators and a recipient of the Edith Fox King award. In 2019 Cindy was named a UIL Sponsor Excellence Award recipient. Her students have made numerous appearances at the State UIL Academic Meet, garnering several gold medals along the way. She has advised yearbook, newspaper, online publications, and taught everything from theatre arts to German. She also served on the inaugural All-State UIL/ILPC Journalism staff committee in 1998. In her spare time, she bakes wedding cakes, many for former students. Cindy believes in having fun in the classroom, celebrating her students in everything they do, and fashions herself as the biggest UIL nerd there is.
Robert Blain currently UIL Academic Coordinator at G. W. Carver Magnet HS in Aldine after previously serving in the same role at (Spring) Westfield HS. Mentored by some of the legends of UIL Academics and Speech & Debate, he brings their advice and his own insight to his current role. He has qualified students for UIL State in several events and treasures his opportunities to help students flourish. He also is Region VI (Central and North Houston) Coordinator for Texas Academic Decathlon and Region II Coordinator for Texas Academic Pentathlon.
Gary Brister has been in coaching. directing, and educating students for 25 plus years. “I have had the privilege of mentoring young adults transitioning them into their professional lives, staying in contact with them and celebrating their success. I owe all of this to UIL and want to give back to an organization that has allowed me to have such a rewarding career.” Gary has serves on the Prose and Poetry State Advisory Committee. He coaches high school and middle school speaking events, and directs the One-Act Play, as well as serves as Academic Coordinator.
Brett Butler bio coming soon
Nicole Cornish is a former state champion in policy debate, has been a successful UIL coach and now works in administration as Secondary Curriculum Director and in charge of UIL activities for Athens ISD. She is the owner and director of the Texas Speech and Debate Camp.
Carol Cox is the newspaper, yearbook and broadcast adviser at Archer City High School as well as the UIL journalism coach. She has been blessed to coach students who’ve won the state journalism team championship twice along with eight regional championships. She has been the recipient of the UIL Sponsor Excellence Award as well as the Edith Fox King Award.
Katie Cross has spent over 25 years in the theatrical industry as a performer, designer, and director and then 10 years as a theatre educator. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theatre from Texas State University and Master of Arts in Theatre Directing from the Chicago College of Performing Arts. She spends her free time as a director, performer, and designer in the Houston theatrical community. She has been the director of Education at Covenant for 3 years.
Angie Culberson-Espinosa is the co-academic coordinator, science teacher and science department chair at Sharyland High School. She finished her 17th year teaching physics and coaching UIL science. She truly enjoys the teaching profession and looks forward to many more years to come.
Michael Allen Donaldson serves as the Director of Communication and district-wide UIL Academic director for Connally ISD in Waco. Prior to moving into administration, he was the speech/debate/journalism coach and UIL coordinator at both China Spring and Grandview High School. Throughout his career, he has hosted and contest managed dozens of tournaments and One Act Play competitions and has given countless speeches that open with the phrase "hey friends!". Michael believes that participation in UIL competition provides students and educators with endless opportunities to learn and make positive memories.
Dr. Jeff Day is the Program Manager for the Texas Tech University Chess Program. He earned his BA in English from Monmouth College in Illinois, his MFA in Directing (Theatre) from Western Illinois University, and his Ph.D. in Fine Arts (Theatre) from Texas Tech University. His research interests revolve around the philosophical notion of the Paradox of Fiction as it applies to how and why we imagine, create, and, ultimately, come to believe in theatre's fictional worlds. In 2019, he was selected to participate in the prestigious Kennedy Center Playwriting Intensive in Washington, DC. Here at Texas Tech, he has served on the University Disciplinary Committee, the Study Abroad Competitive Scholarship Committee, and the Staff Senate. He teaches the Introduction to Chess course, and he designed a Multicultural course that, once approved, will meet the University's Multicultural Core requirement. The course places chess as a constant reference point as the student moves through history, learning how culture shaped the evolution and spread of the royal game. Without shame, and to constant derision, he stubbornly continues to play the Bird's Opening with the white pieces; he does not fear the From's Gambit.
Annie and Billy Dragoo have over 50 years combined experience teaching a directing. Between them they have 11 state appearances, 3 championships, 2 runners up, & second runner up award at the UIL One-Act Play Contest. In 2012 Billy Dragoo received the "UIL Sponsor Excellence Award". In 2013, he was named "Inspirational Theatre Educator of the Year" by the Educational Theatre Association, and in 2014, he was named "Texas Education Theatre Associations' K-12 Theatre Educator of the Year". Annie was nominated for the UIL Sponsor Excellence Award in 2014, and received the Alma Slawinski Leadership Award from the Texas Thespians. In 2018, she was named Austin High Campus Teacher of the Year and The Texas K-12 Theatre Educator of the year by Texas Educational Theatre Association.
**Shawn Duthie has taught Theatre and Speech at Holliday High School for 20+ years. He has coached individual State Champions in every UIL speaking event and advanced to the State Meet in One-Act Play. Shawn has received the Sponsor Excellence Award and serves on the State Advisory Committee for Prose and Poetry. Shawn was named a Distinguished Alumni for the Fain College of Fine Arts at Midwestern State University.
Mel Edwards has been a technician, educator and Technical Director for over 10 years. A graduate from The University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and Dance with a concentration in Scenic Technology. After college, they took on a position at Studio Theatre in Washington, DC where they served as one of three scenic carpenters building 9-10 shows a season. After returning to Texas, they continued woodworking skills building cabinets and furniture with an Austin company named The WIM Group. Every summer they serve as the Production Technical Director for Tal’s Theatre Summer Camp at Baylor University.They are also the Scho Show Coordinator for the Round Rock State Meet and has an online shop, Mighty With All Trades, for fun Tech Theatre inspired things as a 1/3 co-creator of MAB Technical Theatre, providing curriculum and workshops to technical theatre educators.
Dr. Rich Edwards is a professor of communication studies at Baylor University and has served as president of the American Forensics Association. He is the author of the Policy Debate Quarterly and the debate textbook, Competitive Debate: The Official Guide. Dr. Edwards has made invaluable contributions to high school debate and to UIL, serving as the Region 6A-II Speech Director and UIL state contest director for CX and LD Debate. He has been inducted into the National Federation Hall of Fame and elected to the National Speech and Debate Association Hall of Fame for his contributions.
TJ Edwards bio coming soon
JP Fugler is a National Board Certified speech and debate teacher at Lindale High School. During his 13 years in the classroom, he has been named Secondary Educator of the Year by both Lindale ISD and the Texas Speech Communication Association. He was also a finalist for the H-E-B Texas Rising Star Educator Award twice as well as the recipient of The Kennedy Center/Stephen Sondheim Inspirational Teacher Award. JP has coached UIL state champions in LD Debate, Congressional Debate, Informative Speaking, Persuasive Speaking, and the Barbara Jordan Historical Essay Contest.
Laura T. Garza is the Theatre Coordinator and Faculty Instructor at San Antonio College and the Founding Executive Artistic Director of Teatro Audaz San Antonio. She has been a Theatre educator and director for the past 11 years, and is a passionate, life-long lover of theatre who brings a unique flavor to all of her productions. Accolades include winning the 2021 6A UIL OAP State Championship with the Taft HS Theatre team and 31 ATAC Globe awards as producing artistic director with Teatro Audaz San Antonio.
Nancy Garza is an elementary music teacher at Brookhollow Elementary in Pflugerville, Texas. In fifth grade, she begged her father to join the Ready Writing team so that she could be better prepared for writing in college. (She had a crush on a boy.) Forty-one years later, she is still involved with Academic UIL but as a coach and campus coordinator. Her people include a husband and two sons.
Ofelia Garza is the UIL Academic Co-Coordinator at Sharyland High School where she teaches chemistry. She is a former UIL competitor and is a proud graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. She loves all things associated with UIL and loves to provide these opportunities to students that helped encourage her learning and led her to the education profession.
Wendy Glaze volunteered to take over OAP 12 years ago in order to keep the program afloat for her own child. Since that time, she has had the pleasure of partnering with Shanna Peugh to grow 1A Grady High School’s UIL program into something their small community has become really proud of. She still directs the OAP, shares speech team duties with Shanna, coaches journalism and ready writing, and Literary Criticism.
Rachael Gomez serves as the State Contest Director for UIL Theatrical Design. This year marks the beginning of her 9th Contest. Throughout the challenges of running a competition during a pandemic, Theatrical Design never missed a beat.
BK Goodman holds 15 years of experience as a Theatre Director/Technical Director from several schools in Texas as well as having appeared at the UIL State Meet 3 out of the 15 years of service. He is currently the Director of Operations for Texas Thespians. He also serves as Assistant Contest Manager for the UIL Theatrical Design Contest.
**Leslie Graham is the JH/HS Counselor and UIL Coordinator at Archer City High School. She also directs One Act Play and coaches speech events. She has been the recipient of the UIL Sponsor Excellence Award.
Teresa Haby graduated from the UTSA with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and a minor in Communications. She has taught English, Math, Science, History, and various electives to 4th – 12th grade students in non-traditional, private, and disciplinary academic settings. She is currently at Northside ISD’s Brennan High School teaching Communication Apps & Debate and coordinating the Academic UIL program.
Gail Herman has been an English teacher and UIL coach at Sulphur Springs High School for over 40 years. She has had numerous individual and team state champions in various events and is a recipient of the UIL Sponsor Excellence Award. She has also presented at UIL Student Activities Conferences. She has served as a College Board consultant and is an AP Reader for the English Language and Composition Exam. She edits Literary Criticism tests for Virtual Challenge Meets and is involved in developing the Copy Editing test that will debut as a VCM test next year.
Craig and Haley Hertel have spent most of their time in small school districts. They have 13 State appearances between the two of them (including Championships). Craig has served as Chair of UIL Advisory Committee, President of Texas Theatre Adjudicators and Officials, been on the Board of Texas Thespians and often directs summer camps, including Tal's Camp. Haley currently directs at Tioga High School (2A) and has State appearances in OAP and Theatrical Design. She is also on the Theatrical Design Advisory Committee.
M’Liss Hindman is a speech professor and Director of Speech/Debate at Tyler Junior College as well as recipient of Outstanding Service for the Texas Speech Communication Association. Her forensic teams are dominant on the collegiate circuit, having been named the top community college squad multiple years at the national tournament. She serves as the UIL Prose/Poetry consultant.
Cameron Hurta is a veteran state Ready Writing competitor and team consultant who judges frequently for all meet levels and school classifications across the state, including at the UIL State Meet.
Kailee Huston is a graduate of Lindale HS. She is now a sophomore sign language major at Tyler Junior College and a member of the TJC Speech Team, competing successfully at the national collegiate level. She will be performing her national championship prose interpretation.
Chris Irwin has been teaching for 26 years, but didn’t follow the traditional path to Theatre. He started his career teaching High School History and Government. After helping out with the theatre program, he was offered the job as Technical Director. Knowing he had zero technical theatre background, he leaned on his love for the kids and the joy tinkering with lights and set design brought. 20 years and one school change later, Irwin has made 4 appearances at the State contest and has had multiple Theatrical Design State Finalists.
Jess Jankowitsch bio coming soon.
Amy Jordan has served as Texas Thespians Chapter Director since 2012 and was named the Executive Director in 2021. Amy holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Drama, with an emphasis in Stage Management and Design from Texas Woman’s University where she also holds a Master of Arts degree in Theatrical Design and Theatre Education. Before beginning her 20-year career at Denison High School in 2001, Amy spent two years as an Actors Equity Stage Manager in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Along with her team of co-directors at Denison, Amy qualified for the State level of competition in U.I.L. One-Act Play, four consecutive times in 2010-2013-winning 1st Runner Up in 2010. She has served as the UIL One Act Play State Meet Stage Supervisor since 2014, as a State Meet Theatrical Design Judge in 2022-2023, and the 5A UIL One Act Play State Meet Contest Manager in 2021.
Racy Kane coached speech and debate for 16 years, coaching multiple state champions before moving to administration where she has been Communications Director of Prosper ISD and currently serves as Director of Academic Activities. She also serves on the state tournament team as Judge Coordinator for the CX Debate and Speech State Meets.
Sarah Kouba is currently head director at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu. She just completed her 3rd year of teaching HS Theatre, and 11th year of teaching overall. She started teaching/directing in Deer Park ISD, where she learned the ropes by watching every Area & Region contest at San Jac for almost a decade. While she thought she would teach JH forever, a crazy turn of events landed her in Barbers Hill, where she has taken two of her last three OAP companies to State and placed (alongside her creative partner in crime, Chris Irwin).
Ryan Lovell has taught for the past 11 years at Tascosa High School in Amarillo, and has served as the Texas Speech Communication Association president. He also serves as a member of the UIL State Congress Committee.
Cliff McCurdy is a retired teacher of 40 years and has coached math for 20 years. He has taught classes from Algebra I up to BC Calculus. McCurdy has also coached state champion teams in 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A. He is now the state contest director for Mathematics.
Madison Millsap teaches English and serves as a UIL coach at Sulphur Springs High School, where as a senior student, she was a state champion in Literary Criticism. She has served on the English II STAAR test development committee, wrote the Social Studies tests for the Best of Texas competition this year, and edits the Social Studies tests for Virtual Challenge Meets.
Dr. Shyamal Mitra, state contest advisor for Computer Science, is an Associate Professor of Instruction in the Computer Science Department at UT-Austin. Dr. Mitra holds a BS in Physics from Calcutta University, an MS in Astronomy from Osmania University and an MA and PhD in Astronomy from UT-Austin. He has worked with UIL Computer Science for 16 years.
Cody Morris coaches at Mount Pleasant: Chapel Hill High School and has over a decade of coaching and teaching experience. A passionate advocate for speech and debate education, Cody has coached over a dozen state medalists including four state champions and has a deep commitment to foster growth and excellence in the forensic community. He is the founder and CEO of Pocket Coach Academy, providing resources to empower others to succeed in the realm of speech and debate.
Matthew Murrell is an attorney and faculty member of the University of Texas School of Law. An honors graduate of Georgetown Law School, he holds certifications in privacy law and technology. A former UIL state champion and Golden Gavel top speaker in CX Debate, he spent time teaching and coaching champions at the state and national level. As a college student, he worked as a speech intern in the UIL State Office.
Lisa Parker’s number one passion is providing support and assistance to Texas educators. She is grateful to work each day alongside the super amazing UIL Academic team as the director of A+ and Essay Contests.
Audestia "Desti" Patton is the UIL Academic Coordinator at Cedar Creek Intermediate, where she has been both a 5th and 6th grade science teacher for the past 23 years. She is a former UIL competitor herself, having participated since a young age thanks to an amazing 5th grade principal, Mr. Charles Red, who also happened to be a former outstanding UIL Number Sense coach. Desti graduated from Southwest Texas State University and has been involved in UIL coaching every year of her teaching career. She loves seeing students step outside their comfort zone and achieve great things in UIL.
Shanna Peugh has worked along side Wendy Glaze to help coach Speech, Debate and OAP for the last five years at Grady, a small 1A school in the heart of the Permian Basin. Additionally, she coaches Computer Science helps with all Junior High speaking events.
Jonathan Price is a career educator with 25 years as an Ag Teacher and Administrator. For the last 6 years he has been a Retirement Specialist with ValuTeachers, traveling the state teaching teachers how to plan for retirement. Married to a fellow career educator, Chemistry teacher, UIL Spelling coach and owner of ASW Enterprises they have 2 grown children, too many cats and a herd of goats.
Travis Poe taught theatre for 36 years, 35 at Barbers Hill HS, where he was named BHISD's 2021 Secondary Teacher of the Year and the theatre was named the Travis Poe Center for the Performing Arts. Poe's students appeared in 33 Regional and 19 State contests, being named State Champions on five occasions and placing 2nd or 3rd eight other times. He has served on the UIL Advisory Committee for numerous years and is a Past President of TxETA. Honors include being named McLennan Community College Outstanding Alumnus, TxETA Founder’s Award, and UIL Sponsor Excellence Award in 2002. Poe is a TTAO certified contest manager and adjudicator, in addition to serving as an OAP clinician and Academic Chair for District 19-5A.
Abe Ramirez is an Instructor of Theatre at San Antonio College. He has worked as Performer, Choreographer, Technical Director, Electrician, Production Stage Manager, Designer, and Director for various venues across Texas. Abe taught High School Theatre for 10 years and was awarded Technical Director of the Year at Texas Thespians for the 2021 School Year, and is also one third of the folks behind MAB Technical Theatre Compendium. Abe holds a BFA in Theatre from Southwestern University and a MA in Theatre Arts from Texas A&M University-Commerce.
**Jana Riggins serves as the State Director for Speech and Debate. A 21-year veteran of the classroom at the middle school, high school and collegiate levels and coach of state champions, she has been recognized nationally by the National Federation of State High School Associations with the prestigious Citation Award for her contributions to interscholastic speech, debate & theatre and was named Texas Speech Teacher of the Year and Baylor University’s Outstanding Woman in Speech. She currently serves as Chair of the National Speech, Debate, Theatre and Academic Committee.
Paula Rodriguez is the UIL state theatre director. Her experiences in UIL, from directing in small and large schools, to adjudicating and contest managing, have taught her many life shaping lessons. She feels blessed to work with a team of rock stars and that includes the theatre teachers and students of Texas.
Ruben Rodriguez is the state contest director for Ready Writing, and is currently a Professor, Adjunct, at Austin Community College in the Integrated Reading and Writing Department and the English Department. He is also an independent contractor in ELA and AP Language. Ruben trains and works with ELA, Pre-AP, and AP Language and Composition Teachers throughout Texas and the United States.
Raul 'JR' Segundo teaches ELA at Sharyland High School in Mission, TX. As a UIL coach, JR challenges a team of Ready Writing and Journalism students to reach their full potential. His commitment to fostering a love of learning is at the heart of his teaching philosophy. Always eager to learn, JR takes every opportunity to discover new things.
**Rod Sheffield is one of the 2023 Sponsors of Excellence Award recipients. He has served on the UIL Theatre Advisory Committee as Chair, secretary, and member. He has been directing One-Act Play for 35 years, with a total of 10 State appearances including 2024 and he has the distinction of having taken all 4 schools he has taught at to the State Championships. He currently teaches at Magnolia High School.
Ann Shofner taught at Tascosa High School in Amarillo for 36 years. She has served as President of the Texas Speech Communication Association and the Texas Forensic Association. A member of the Prose & Poetry State Advisory Committee, she is the State Contest Director for Informative and Persuasive Speaking.
Elisabeth Sikes works in the UIL Theatre Office and has been a Professor in the Radio-Television-Film Department at Austin Community College since 2011. She holds a MFA in Film Production from UT Austin.
Ivan Silva is an experienced high school teacher with over a decade in education. He teaches AV production, Professional Communication, Journalism, and education courses. Currently, Ivan serves as the UIL coordinator and co-coach for journalism at his high school, having previously been a UIL A+ coordinator. Ivan holds an Advertising-Public Relations-Journalism BA, an MA in Communication Studies, and is completing his doctoral degree in Educational Leadership at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. His extensive experience and dedication have been instrumental in developing successful journalism programs that foster student engagement and creativity.
**Kimberly Sloane has been coaching UIL for 24 years and has been the district (grades 2-12) UIL coordinator for the last 17 years. She has coached almost every high school event and many junior high events. She specializes in speech, debate, and journalism where her students have earned numerous state awards. Additionally, she hosts UIL meets for A+ and high school competitions throughout East Texas. She was a 2020 recipient of the UIL Sponsor Excellent Award.
**Jimmy Smith is a Sponsor Excellence Award recipient and has also been inducted into the National Speech and Debate Hall of Fame, with over 40 years of teaching. He’s always willing to mentor new coaches and conduct workshops to help build strong speech programs. He currently coaches at Collinsville HS.
Johannes Starks bio coming soon.
Dr. David Stevens has been involved with UIL in some manner every year since 1976 when he tried out for the Storytelling contest at Rotan Primary School and didn’t make the cut. Since then, he has been a competitor, TILF scholarship recipient, UIL student assistant, theatre teacher, academic coordinator, fine arts director, and happily serving as the UIL director of academics since 2012.
Preston Stolte is the Director of Debate for Winston Churchill HS in San Antonio. A former UIL Policy Debate state champion in Conference 1A, he has coached TFA and UIL state champions as well as debate finalists at the NSDA National Tournament. He represented UIL at the Debate Topic Selection Meeting and his study report produced this year’s national policy debate topic that will be debated in 2024-25.
K. Dawn Stubblefield has been involved in Congress for many years and has taken students to UIL, TFA and Nationals in Congress as well as other speaking events. She has served as a parliamentarian for UIL Congress State and NSDA House and Senate. Additionally, she helps run Tabroom for most of the TFA and UIL tournaments in the Corpus Christi area.
Philip Taylor serves as the Director of Fine Arts for Austin ISD, he oversees various fine arts programs and initiatives that directly support 125 campuses. He taught high school and middle school theatre in conferences 2A, 3A, and 4A, and 5A and advanced to the UIL One-Act Play State Meet in 2011, 2012, 2013, & 2015 winning the State Championships in 2012 and 2013. He is an active member of Texas Thespians, TTAO, and TxETA, serving on various committees and boards.
Chuck Thompson is a former MS & HS UIL Academic Coordinator and Number Sense Coach who retired from public school in 2018. His NS individuals and/or teams advanced to the UIL State Meet 18 consecutive years and he just came out of retirement in 2024 to volunteer coach NS at Springtown HS, where they advanced to the UIL State Meet for the 1st time in NS. He has been the Owner/Director of The Virtual Challenge Meets since 2012.
Rebekah Trevino has worked at Knippa ISD for nine years. She teaches dual credit biology, chemistry, physics, and coaches junior high and high school Science UIL. She is also the cheer sponsor and Student Council Adviser. She has coached several high school district and regional science qualifiers and state runner ups.
Mark Tribett has been an educator for 28 years, having served as a substitute, instructional aide, teacher, central office staff, AP, and Principal. This has occurred across charters, ISD, private, and international schools. A debater in high school, he is currently the debate coach and principal at Dilley High School, conference 1A. Over the last two years, his school has been the speech and debate district champions and are enthusiastic to take on year three!
David Trussell, UIL state director for STEM activities, has served as a UIL state contest director for more than 25 years. He has worked with numerous contest areas in high school and A+ academics, including overseeing the launch of UIL Robotics in 2015.
Rebecca (Becky) Walters has 37 years of theatre teaching and directing experience. She has directed 35 one act plays from zone to state levels of competition in class 3A, 4A, and 5A. As an avid theatre student in high school, college, and community theatre as an actor, technician, and director, she knows that theatre makes a huge difference in the lives of students and their families. She is a member of the Texas Theatre Adjudicator and Officials Organization.
Matt Wasson is from Fort Worth, TX. He studied at the University of Texas at Austin where he received his BFA in Theatre Studies. Over the past 14 years, Matt has worked in Austin, Dallas/Ft. Worth and Houston, currently serving as Theatre Director at Deer Park High School. In his time at DPHS, the One Act Play company has advanced to State twice, 2024’s THE FERRYMAN being named 6A State Champion, and 2021’s MOON OVER BUFFALO being named 6A State Runner-Up. This summer Matt will direct at Tal Lostracco’s Summer Theatre Camp at Baylor University.
**Kay Whitton taught high school accounting for 25 years, brought students and teams to state 21 of those years and coached 10 state champions. Kay coached UIL Accounting, Spelling, Literary Criticism, and Social Studies and was the UIL Academic Coordinator for Jim Ned High School in Tuscola for many years. After retiring from teaching, Kay continued to coach the UIL Accounting TEAM at Jim Ned, and she also assisted area schools with their UIL Academic programs. She has presented at UIL Capital Conferences and UIL Student Activity Conferences for many years. Having just finished her first year as UIL Accounting director, Kay has a vision to assist UIL Accounting coaches in building, growing, and sustaining their own UIL Accounting programs by sharing coaching tips, strategies and motivational ideas.
Larry White, UIL state contest director for Number Sense, retired after 26 years in public schools and 8 years at Angelo State University. After retiring he was a member of the Texas State University Systems Mathematics for English Language Learners team for six years, followed by seven years on the Angelo State Texas Quality Grant program team. He has served as a state contest director for more than 20 years.
Kendra Willeby has been teaching and coaching UIL Academics, speech and OAP for the past twenty years. She is the head theater director at Foster High School in Lamar CISD and has served as the Region 3-5A Academic Director for the past 4 years. Kendra is also the National Competition Chair for Texas Thespians.
Dr. Bradley Wilson is an associate professor of mass communication at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls. He is the state director for Current Issues and Events and Copy Editing. @bradleywilson09 @uilciande
Abel Zamora Jr. has been the La Joya ISD District UIL Academics Coordinator for the past 10 years. Prior to becoming the district coordinator, he was the campus coordinator, math, number sense and calculator coach for 13 years at several LJISD middle and high schools.
** Andy Zapata is a co-founder of Texas Math and Science Coaches Association (TMSCA) and serves as a UIL state contest director and A+ test writer. He taught in the classroom for 43 years including in Azle public schools and sponsored UIL math and science competitions for 40 years, coaching numerous individuals and teams to the UIL state meet.
Jacqueline Zepeda is a theater teacher at PSJA North Early College High School. Jackie graduated from Trinity University and headed to L.A. to work in the movie industry before returning to teach at her Alma Matter. She has been teaching for over 10 years and in 2012 she was awarded the Texas Exes “Rising Star Award” for new and upcoming teachers in the state of Texas. She currently coaches, UIL Prose and Poetry, Extemporaneous Speaking, OAP, Film, and Theatrical Design where she has had numerous state finalists in all events and several State Champions.
Lory Zimmerman has worked for Knippa ISD for the past 12 years. She has been the UIL Coordinator for the past two years. Prior to becoming the district coordinator, she was the assistant for 6 years. She has successfully run a joint district elementary and junior high A+ meet as well as the district high school meet. She has also coached state champions in Spelling, Math, and runners up in Number Sense and Calculator, in addition to state finalists in speaking events. Lory is also the UIL Congress coach for Knippa ISD.