Coaches
2022 – 2023

"Easily the most badass coaching staff in the Bay Area." - Ethan Boneh '23, National Champion 

Kyle Hietala (he/him)
​Program Director & Head Coach

Kyle Hietala is the Program Director and Head Coach of Paly Speech & Debate, holding one Diamond from the National Speech and Debate Association.  He was recognized as the 2022 California Coast District Volunteer of The Year. Kyle was a 2x Maine State Champion in LD and also competed in Original Oratory. At Yale University, Kyle was the 2nd place Novice of The Year in the American Parliamentary Debate Association (APDA) in 2015, a National Semifinalist and 3rd Team of The Year in 2017, and North American (NorthAms) Champion in 2017. Kyle has coached for over decade, including at the St. Luke’s School, The Spence School, and Sidwell Friends School. 

Jennie Savage (she/her)
Program Director Emeritus

​Jennie Savage is the Program Director Emeritus, having retired in 2022 from a legendary 18-year tenure.  Jennie is among a select few coaches nationwide to be awarded three Diamonds by the National Speech and Debate Association for her coaching dedication and results. She has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Virginia 1988. In high school, she competed in Policy (CX) debate for the Montgomery Academy, AL, regularly won top speaking awards, participated in numerous out-rounds, and was on the state champion team. Jennie is a published author, a non-profit board founder and chair, and mom of three awesome kids. 

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Adrian Youngquist (they/them)
Head Coach - Lincoln Douglas

The most tenured coach on staff, Adrian Youngquist leads the Lincoln Douglas debate team, entering their 6th season of coaching. A Paly HS alum,  Adrian was highly successful in competitive LD and has since coached many champion debaters for the program.  Among the best framework and cross-examination coaches in the nation, they lead both intensive novice workshops and advanced varsity practices, mentoring debaters of all skill levels. Adrian is also among the best competitive bridge players in the world, holding the title of 2019 World Champion in the Youth Open. 

Maya Levine (she/her)
Co-Head Coach - Congressional Debate

Maya Levine is the returning Co-Head Coach of Congressional Debate. She was on the Paly Congress team for four years as a high schooler, and captained the team as a senior. She placed in many local tournaments and made it to semifinals at the national tournament in 2019 and 2020. She is a senior at Stanford University, where she studies Urban Policy and Management.

Alison Cohen (she/her)
Co-Head Coach, Congressional Debate

Ali Cohen is the returning Co-Head Coach of Congressional Debate. She is a senior at Stanford University. Competing in Congressional Debate since 6th grade, Ali amassed over 12 bids to the Tournament of Champions and finaled at 10 national circuit tournaments, while serving as team captain and mentoring many novices. Notable achievements include winning the Arizona State championship, finaling at the Berkeley Invitational and becoming the only freshman in the country to semi-final at the Tournament of Champions. 
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Michael Alisky (he/him)
Head Coach - Extemp

Michael Alisky previously assisted in Public Forum Debate and now coaches Extemporaneous Speaking. A junior at Stanford, Michael is majoring in International Relations and Computer Science. Originally from Aurora, Colorado, he competed with the Smoky Hill speech and debate team, finishing his senior year with a seventh-place finish at nationals and a state championship in National Extemp. Michael continues to debate in college with Stanford’s Parliamentary Debate team and is also a member of the club swim team. He enjoys learning languages, backpacking, skiing, playing chess, and stumbling upon pretentious words.
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Claire Beamer (she/her)
​Coach - Novice Public Forum Debate

Claire Beamer is the Coach of Public Forum Debate - Novice. She is a freshman at Stanford, where she plans to major in Mathematical and Computational Sciences. She competed in Public Forum Debate for four years at College Prep in Oakland, CA. She was a team captain for the last two of those years and attended many local and national tournaments. Throughout her career, she qualified to the TOC twice (accumulating 10 gold bids) and championed Presentation’s Nano Nagle Invitational, James Logan’s MLK Invitational, and the California Round Robin. Claire also has experience coaching debaters of all skill levels, from working one-on-one with middle schoolers, volunteering at a student-run debate camp, leading novice practices, and coaching at NSD’s summer camp after her senior year.

Stephanie Lee (she/her)
Coach - Speech (Interps)

Stephanie ‘Steph’ Lee is the Coach of Speech - Interps, returning to the team in-person after previously coaching remotely from 2020-2021. She graduated from Johns Hopkins University in May 2022 with a degree in East Asian Studies with double minors in Marketing and Management. Steph graduated from Palo Alto High School in 2018, and was the team's Speech Captain from 2016 to 2018. She did DI, DUO, and OPP, and qualified for the State Championship in OPP her senior year. Outside of speech and debate, she loves working out, music, food (she’s a huge foodie), and petting every animal she sees. Steph is very excited to return to the PASD community!​

YuYu Yuan (she/her)
​Coach - Speech (Platform)

YuYu Yuan coaches Platform Speech. She also coaches Public Forum Debate for Redwood Middle School. A sophomore at Stanford, she plans on majoring in Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity with a potential minor in Anthropology. YuYu competed at Cheyenne East High School in Wyoming in Public Forum Debate, Original Oratory, and Extemporaneous Speaking. She is a three-time national qualifier, once in PF and twice in OO, getting to out rounds for both events. She is also an OO and PF State champion and got to out rounds at NIETOC in OO. During her free time, YuYu enjoys baking, crocheting, and binge watching shows on Netflix. 

Arjun Maheshwari (he/him)
Coach - Varsity Public Forum Debate

Arjun Maheshwari is the Coach of Public Forum Debate - Varsity. He is a sophomore at Stanford University studying Symbolic Systems with a concentration in Applied Logic. Known for blending compelling lay appeal with strong technical know-how, he debated for Edina High School in Minnesota and qualified to the TOC three times, reaching octofinals his Junior Year. As a result of many late-elimination round appearances and undefeated preliminary round streaks, he was ranked 1st in the nation in PF during his Junior year. He co-founded the Edina Debate Camp to coach novices and also taught with the Public Forum Academy. 
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Emilin Mathew (she/her)
Asst. Coach - Lincoln Douglas

Emilin Mathew debated for American Heritage in South Florida for four years. Her senior year, she was ranked the #1 debater in Florida by the NSDA, #6 nationally, achieving 9 career bids and consistently reaching deep elimination rounds in national tournaments. Emilin enjoys all types of debate but specializes in philosophy, theory, and critical debate. She’s excited to work with Palo Alto High School to share her love for debate! Emilin’s interests outside debate include dancing, basketball, ultimate frisbee, and spending time with friends. 

Isaac Kan (he/him)
Asst. Coach - Congressional Debate

Isaac Kan is a freshman at Stanford University who hails from Arizona, where he competed on the Desert Vista speech and debate team for four years. Throughout his seven years of competition in Congressional Debate, he was a 2-time state champion in Congressional Debate, earned 17 bids to the Tournament of Champions, and took second at the Yale Invitational (twice!). Most recently, he finished off his career placing 4th at NSDA nationals. When he isn’t debating, Isaac enjoys crossword puzzles, video games, and meeting new people.

Maia Decker (she/her)
Remote Coach - Lincoln Douglas

Maia is a sophomore studying English at Yale University. She attended high school in Missoula, Montana where she competed in Lincoln-Douglas debate for all four years. While in high school, she represented Montana at the NSDA National Tournament in 2018 and 2019 and was the 2nd highest ranked LD debater in the state. Now, she competes for the Yale Debate Association (YDA) in both American Parliamentary Debate (APDA) and British Parliamentary Debate (BP). She is particularly interested in popular culture, art, and literature debates while also appreciating the standard debate repertoire of philosophy, international and domestic politics, and development.

Maddie Nagle (she/her)
Remote Coach - Extemp

Maddie is a rising sophomore at Yale University studying environmental engineering and economics. She did public forum debate and extemporaneous speaking in high school on the Colorado circuit, where she returned to coach during her gap year, and she now competes on the top ranked American Parliamentary Debate team. In her free time, Maddie plays beach volleyball and collects stuffed animals. She’s excited to work with you all! ​