Editorial Board
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Steven JohnsonEditor-in-Chief Steven Johnson is an Associate Professor and Director of Debate at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Steven has been involved in competitive debating for over 20 years and believes fervently in the power of academic debating to change people’s lives. Steven has held a variety of leadership positions in academic debating. He was the first president of the National Parliamentary Debate Association, the largest intercollegiate debating organization in the US. Steven is also active in international debating and has served as the Secretary for the World Universities Debating Council. Teams coached by Steven have enjoyed a great deal of competitive success. In 2002 one of the teams he coached won the NPDA National Championship tournament in the US. In January of 2007, a team from the University of Alaska prevailed over 320 teams from around the world to reach the Semifinal round of the World Universities Debating Championships. |
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Logandran BalavijendranEditor Logan discovered debate midway through his Engineering degree, and it changed his life. He has been involved in competitive and academic debate for 10 years, and sees no other future, for the world! Logan has attended 8 World Debate Championships, breaking once as a debater and multiple times as a Judge, and was Chief Adjudicator when MMU hosted in 2005. He also has a long history of involvement in both the Australasian and Asian Intervarsity Debating competitions and communities. Logan has also coached speech and debate in 12 different countries, sat on the WUDC and AIDA executive committees and helped create and edit much debate teaching material. He now teaches Debate, speech and business communication at Chung Ang University, Seoul, Korea. |
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Ray D’CruzEditor Ray is the author of the World Parliamentary Rules (the rules of the World Universities Debating Championships) and is also editor and contributing author of the Australia-Asia Debating Guide, the primary debating text for three on three debate in Australia and Asia and the rules for the AustralAsian Intervarsity Debating Championships. He has participated in AustralAsian and World Universities Debate Championships and World Masters as a speaker and judge. He has twice been Deputy Chief Adjudicator at Worlds and was Chief Adjudicator at AustralAsians. His service to debating has been recognised with life membership of the Monash Association of Debaters, the Debaters Association of Victoria and the Australasian Intervarsity Debating Association, emeritus membership of the World Universities Debating Council and an Australia-Japan Foundation Award. Ray is the founder of the Election Debates blog and has provided debate analysis for radio and print media. He lives and works in Melbourne, Australia. |
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Derek LandeEditor Derek is the Chief Adjudicator for the World Universities’ Debating Championships being hosted by UCC in 2009. He has also been a Deputy Chief Adjudicator at both the European (Berlin) and World (Vancouver) Championships. He has also served as Chief Adjudicator of 14 other tournaments. Derek is a former convenor of the European Universities’ Debating Championships and served two terms as Auditor of the UCC Philosophical Society. He has also sat on both Worlds and Europeans Council for several years, either representing Ireland or IONA. As a speaker Derek has won 13 tournaments including the CUSID BP Championships and the LSE Open. He has also been the top speaker at 16 tournaments including the European Universities’ Debating Championships and the Durham Open. He was a quarter finalist and 3rd best speaker at the World Universities’ Debating Championships in Dublin. Derek now works with Accenture Consulting’s Energy and Utilities practice. |
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Ian LisingEditor Ian is the co-author of the World University Debating Championships Adjudication Guide and Member Emeritus of the World Universities Debating Council. He was the co-Founder, Chair and Coach of the Ateneo Debate Society (Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines). Since 1999, Ian continues to serve as the Director of Forensics and Faculty of the Speech Communication Department at the University of La Verne. He has coached both the Ateneo and La Verne at the WUDC. His teams have become World Octofinalists, Quarterfinalists, Semifinalists, and Grand Finalists. He is a six-time Grand Finals Adjudicator at the World University Debating Championships (WUDC). He has also judged the semifinal of the Australasian Debating Championships and the finals of the Oxford, Yale, Cambridge, CUSID B.P. National, U.S. Universities, and All-Asian Debating Championships. Ian served as the Chair of the World Debating Council from 2002-2008. |
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Neil Harvey-SmithEditor Neill Harvey-Smith is Director of Debate Chamber and Chair of the World Universities Debating Council. As a speaker, he was twice national champion, twice an International Mace finalist, a World Universities Debating Championship (WUDC) finalist and a World Masters winner. Neill is a professional communication coach who works with clients all over the world, primarily in the fields of financial services, IT, academia and politics. |
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Erin O’BrienEditor Erin O’Brien has been involved in competitive debating for more than a decade based on two different continents as her studies took her from Australia to the United Kingdom. She was a Grand Finalist at the World Universities’ Debating Championships in Vancouver in 2007, and Winner of the European Universities’ Debating Championships in Cork in 2005. Erin has served as Deputy Chief Adjudicator for the Australian Intervarsity Debating Championships, the European Universities’ Debating Championships, and the World Universities’ Debating Championships. She is also accredited as an adjudicator with the Australian Debating Federation and has judged at the Australian and World Schools’ Debating Championships. She is currently completing a PhD in Political Science at the University of Queensland, Australia. |
