Noah Macdonald (founder & COach)

Noah is a Masters student at the University of British Columbia studying Philosophy, with a focus on Ethics and Philosophy of Mind. He also holds a BA in Honours Philosophy from UBC, where he studied on a full-ride scholarship. Noah started debating in high school and went on to win Top Speaker at Canadian Nationals in addition to making elimination rounds at a number of international tournaments. He has also served as a Chief Adjudicator for 21 different tournaments, including three different National Championships.

Noah has been coaching debate for eight years. He was the Training Director of the UBC Debate Society in 2019/2020, and the coach of the Danish National Debate Team in 2021/2022. Eleven of Noah’s current and former students have made Team Canada. His students have also won or top spoke at major international tournaments including Junior CNDF Nationals, Senior CNDF Nationals, BP Nationals, US Nationals, Oxford Finals Day, and Stanford World Schools Invitational, among others. Noah’s specialty is teaching analysis and argumentation skills; his coaching philosophy is focused on making sure that students can quickly and precisely analyze problems and effectively articulate well-reasoned solutions.

Outside of his interests in philosophy and debate, Noah is an avid mountaineer/climber/skier. If you get him talking about mountains, he may never stop.

Abigail Conrad (Coach)

Abigail has completed her undergraduate degree in International Relations at UBC. She has been involved in the debate world for ten years and has been coaching for seven. In high school, she was a semi-finalist at the 2020 Canadian National Debate Championships and third place speaker at the 2018 Harvard World Schools Debating Championship. As a university debater, Abigail won Hugill 2020, and was a semi-finalist at and the top speaker of Canadian Parliamentary Nationals 2022. Abigail has worked as the head coach of Team Denmark and was the president of the UBC Debate Society in 2021-22. She was previously the VP Bilingual of the Alberta Debate and Speech Association, and is now its VP Debate. Her students often attend provincial, national, and international tournaments, where they frequently advance to elimination rounds and win speaker awards. Abigail is thrilled to be able to share her experience and passion for debate with FDT students and looks forward to helping them excel.

Vishwa Srinivasan (Coach)

Vishwa is a student at McGill University pursuing an Honours Degree in Economics. Vishwa started competitive debate and public speaking in middle school and competed in several international competitions in high school. Some of his highlights include being the 2021 National Public Speaking Grand Champion, a two time grand finalist at the World Individual Debate and Public Speaking Competition, and a semi finalist at the National British Parliamentary Debate Championship. As a teacher, Vishwa’s students have placed as finalists in the World Independent Debating and Public Speaking Championships and qualified for the International Optimist Oratorical Competition. Vishwa teaches debating and public speaking and is also fluent in French.

Victora Moldovan (Coach)

Victoria is completing a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science at the University of British Columbia. She has been debating and public speaking competitively for over 7 years, and has competed at the national level within Canada, as well as in international tournaments. She has been coaching students in debate and public speaking for over 2 years, at FDT and within her high school. This experience has led her to place 1st in the 2022 BC provincial mock trial championship. She also placed 3rd in the 2021 Canadian International Public Speaking Competition as well as in the top 5% of speakers at the 2022 Harvard World Schools Debate Invitationals. Victoria is passionate about sharing what she has learned with new debaters and helping students find their passion for debate and public speaking.