Tripp Rebrovick, PhD
Workshop Director
Dr. Tripp Rebrovick has been the Coach of Debate at Harvard College and Director of the Harvard Debate Council since 2017. He received an A.B. from Harvard College in 2009 and a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 2016. He has been teaching and coaching debate for over twenty years. As a debater, in 2005 he won a high school national championship and was the top-ranked individual speaker in the country at the Tournament of Champions. As a coach, his students have won the Rex Copeland Award, given to the college team with the best overall regular season record, and have been the champions at nearly every major college tournament. He directs the Harvard National Speech and Debate Tournament, which draws over five-thousand competitors each February, and the Harvard Debate Council Summer Workshops, along with periodic workshops around the world.
Kim Shanahan
DIRECTOR OF RESIDENTIAL LIFE
Kim is a longtime teacher and debate coach from Dracut, MA and has been the residence director since 2022.
She currently teaches at the Lowell Community Charter Public School, where she has worked for 15 years. Kim taught Kindergarten for many years and now teaches a course in World Cultures.
She was an instructor at the Wake Forest Summer Debate Workshop and the Dartmouth Debate Institute for 20 years. Kim is uniquely qualified both professionally as a teacher and mother to ensure the safety and well being of our students at HDCSW.
Ed Williams
DIRECTOR OF CLASSROOM OPERATIONS AND OUTREACH
Ed Williams is the Head Coach of World Schools Debate at The Westminster Schools in Atlanta and an Assistant Debate Coach with the Harvard Debate Council. With over 30 years of experience, Ed is a nationally respected debate educator known for building high-performing teams and fostering inclusive, globally minded debate communities.
He previously served as Director of Operations at the Global Debate Symposium Summer Workshop for six years before joining the Harvard Debate Council Summer Workshop in 2024. Ed has led successful programs at Charlotte Latin, Calhoun, Pace Academy and Woodward Academy, and other schools, with each qualifying for the Tournament of Champions under his leadership. His students have earned top honors at national tournaments including Greenhill, St. Mark’s, the Glenbrooks, the Barkley Forum, and the Harvard Round Robin.
Ed’s work also reaches international audiences. He has facilitated professional development workshops for students and educators in Tanzania, India, and China, and has judged at the World Schools Debate Championships in Thailand and Mexico City. His workshops emphasize argument literacy, argument construction, effective public speaking techniques and civic engagement.
As an experienced educator, Ed has taught at summer debate institutes hosted by Bates College,Dartmouth, Emory, Stanford, Wake Forest, and other top universities. He is a member of the Georgia Forensics Coaches Hall of Fame and the Barkley Forum Key Society.
Kristy Thomas, EdD
DIRECTOR OF INCLUSION & SUPPORT
Dr. Kristy Thomas is an inclusion specialist who also considers herself to be a lifelong educator. With over twenty-five years of experience within the classroom on the high school and collegiate levels in the areas of speech and theatre she has committed her life to the work she proudly does with students. She expanded her areas of focus to include supporting students, faculty and organizations in their inclusion and equity efforts. She received her DEI Certificate from Cornell University in 2020 and utilizes that work to lead conversations within the student and faculty population at Havard Debate Council. Kristy believes that through education we can open and expand the way we work together in our business organizations so all people are represented, included, and feel as though their work and school places are exactly where they belong and want to be. She is committed to strengthening communication and relationship building across all organizations. Students need to learn how to properly advocate for themselves, while educators work with them on how properly utilizing their voices can assist them to grow in a positive direction as a person and future professional. Her strength comes from her background as an educator in the high school and college classrooms. Kristy has worked with educational institutions, non-for-profit organizations, board members, created videos to address school districts’ work toward creating equality for all, workshops with teen leadership groups and rooms full of educators who want to know more and do better, executives, human resource groups and recruiting officers and hopes to continue her work in these areas and expand to meet the needs of others.
Kristy presently works at Missouri State University where she is the Coordinator of Speech Theatre Education. There she works with future speech theatre educators and prepares them for the classroom and the constant changes that are evolving within education. She also operates Always Writing 4 U LLC, a writing and publishing company. Since opening the business in 2013 she has had National finalists every year with champions in: DI, DUO and five Prose National Champions. Her business Always Writing 4 U LLC also proudly sponsors Original Spoken Word Poetry at the Nationals Speech and Debate Association competition. Through her business she has a catalog of over 650 pieces in all areas of speech, edits oratories and informational speeches, does online coaching throughout the year and does sponsors summer camps. A core piece of her discussions is based on the idea that the information she shares with all of her clients is for them to take in and use within their organizations like a teacher would with their students. Her goal moving forward is to continue to work with students, teach future teachers, and write amazing stories.
Aaron Timmons
Senior advisor
Aaron W. Timmons is an internationally recognized educator, debate coach, and program director with over 40 years of experience building award-winning speech and debate programs. He currently serves as the Director of Debate at Greenhill School, serves as an Assistant Debate Coach at Harvard College, and is a core faculty member of the Harvard Debate Council Summer Debate Workshops.
Mr. Timmons was the USA Debate Team Co-Head Coach who captured the 2023 World Schools Debating Championship in Hanoi, Vietnam. As the longtime Director of Debate at Greenhill School in Addison, Texas, he developed one of the most successful debate programs in the country. He is one of only two coaches in the United States whose students have won National Speech & Debate Association (NSDA) National Championships in three separate debate categories, and the only coach in history to win multiple championships in two of the three categories.
His teams have earned major victories at the Tournament of Champions (TOC), winning the World Schools Division in both 2024 and 2025, as well as the Policy Debate Division once again in 2025, further cementing his program’s national dominance. In 2025, his team also took first place at the inaugural Harvard World Schools Debate Round Robin, displaying excellence on yet another elite stage.
His students have also won Individual Event titles at NSDA, the Tournament of Champions, as well as the National Individual Events Tournament of Champions.
Mr. Timmons has been honored with an induction into the NSDA Hall of Fame, the Tournament of Champions Hall of Fame, and the Texas Forensic Association Hall of Fame. He also serves on the Board of the National Association of Urban Debate Leagues (NAUDL), where he advocates for expanding debate access nationwide in underserved communities across the country.
His international work includes leading workshops, summer programs, and training sessions across the globe. He has taught in the United Arab Emirates, Slovenia, Mexico, Qatar, and other countries, and has supported student success at competitions throughout North America, Europe, and Asia, including events in Canada, Germany, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, and more.
A passionate advocate for World Schools Debate in the U.S., Mr. Timmons brings a culturally aware, globally minded approach to communication education. He is especially excited to help integrate World Schools Debate into the Harvard Debate Council’s summer curriculum, further expanding opportunities for students to grow as thinkers, speakers, and global citizens.