Crawford Leavoy is the Director of Speech & Debate at Durham Academy in Durham, NC. Throughout his years coaching throughout the Southeast, Crawford has coached multiple TOC Qualifiers, NCFL Qualifiers and NSDA Qualifiers. His students have gone on to be the Runner-Ups & 3rd Place in Public Forum in NSDA, 9th Place in Lincoln Douglas, 9th Place in International Extemporaneous Speaking and multiple Semifinalists in Congressional Debate. At the 2020 NSDA National Tournament, Durham Academy was recognized as a School of Outstanding Distinction (Top-10 school).
Crawford focuses into creating a diverse team with well-rounded students. He works closely with students in Lincoln-Douglas, Congressional Debate and Interpretation.
Crawford serves on the NSDA’s Lincoln-Douglas Wording Committee, NSDA Tarheel East District Chair and the Director of Debate for the Dogwood Speech and Debate League.
Amy Lattimore is a school nurse for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. Before working at CMS, Amy worked in a variety of nursing roles including in Pediatrics and the PICU in hospitals in the Charlotte and Chicago areas. At ISD, Amy lives in the dorms and is available 24/7 for any health concern that may arise for our students. She handles all medication distribution and ensures that students receive the care and attention that they need while away from home.
2024 will be Amy’s 9th summer with ISD and she cannot wait to return for another summer with her ISD Family!
Jennifer Jerome is currently coaching at Millard West High School in Omaha, Nebraska. She has been coaching since 1989 and a member coach since 1996. She is a member of the NSDA Board of Directors. She has served on the Nebraska District Committee since 2002, serving as chair multiple times. In 2010, she was the local director for the NCFL Grand National Tournament held in Omaha and has served at the Archdiocese of Omaha League Director since 2006. Jennifer was awarded the James Thurber Distinguished Teacher award by the Nebraska Speech Communication and Theater Association in 2010. She also sits on the Board of Directors for Guided by Kids, a non-profit in Omaha, NE that gets students involved with their community by teaching critical thinking skills through speech and debate. She was the NSDA Nebraska State Educator of the Year in 2018. She has been awarded the NSDA Nebraska District Coach of the Year in 2015 and 2018. Along with numerous state champions and state finalists, Jennifer has coached students to out rounds, including finals, at all levels of national competition, including the 2018 NIETOC Expository Champion. In 2019, Jennifer was the coach of the NSDA Student of the Year. Jennifer is a four-diamond coach.
Meg Howell-Haymaker is the Director of Forensics at Mountain View High School in Mesa, AZ. Throughout her 33 years as a coach, her teams have won seven state championships and fourteen NSDA District Trophies. She has had over 150 students qualify to compete at NSDA nationals, with many reaching elimination rounds and ten students have competed in various final rounds. She has also coached one student to the American Legion National Championship and six students to collegiate National Championships. In 2011 she was inducted into the NSDA Hall of Fame and in 2016, she was named the NSDA National Coach of the year.
Meg is excited to join the ISD Family this summer as the Curriculum Director for the Interpretation of Literature program. Her philosophy of coaching is simple: She will work with any student who has drive, even if finding their forensic strengths is an initial struggle. She cares about students and about forensics…and has seen the transformations that occur when the two are combined. She looks forward to working with you this summer!
Brian is the Director of Debate at Edgemont Jr./Sr. High School in New York and Director of Policy Debate at Stanford University, in addition to serving as a consultant for the National Speech & Debate Association. Widely recognized for his unrivaled talent in revitalizing traditional programs, Brian was named the 2008 Michael Bacon Coach of the Year and 2016 Val A. Browning Director of the Year. He has been coaching for nearly 20 years and was recently elected to the Executive Board of the National Debate Coaches Association.
Under his leadership, Edgemont’s debate program has flourished, winning five state championships and countless speaker awards, as well as presenting to the House Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill. His students championed the 2015 Georgetown Day School Invitational and 2018 Mamaroneck Round Robin in Policy Debate; 2018 Harrison Round Robin and 2019 Newark Round Robin in Lincoln-Douglas Debate; and 2016 Lakeland Round Robin, 2016 Westchester Classic, 2018 University of Michigan High-School Tournament, and 2019 Lakeland Round Robin in Public Forum Debate. After past outround appearances in Policy and Lincoln-Douglas, Edgemont will be represented in all principal debate events at this year’s Tournament of Champions. Brian has enjoyed equal success at Stanford, where he coached its first team in two decades—and fourth team ever—to qualify for the National Debate Tournament, finishing in the top 30 in both 2013 and 2015.
Over the course of his professional career, Brian has coached for Harvard University, College Preparatory School, Cathedral Preparatory School, Chattahoochee High School, Lakeland High School, and Scranton High School. His students have advanced to elimination rounds at every major national tournament, including NSDA, NDCA, NCFL, and CEDA Nationals. He also coached the champions of the 2003 Big Bronx Invitational, 2008 Barkley Forum, and 2012 Golden Desert Tournament in Policy Debate, along with the 2007 NCFL finalists, 2012 NSDA finalists, and 2013 Phyllis Flory Barton top speaker.
During the summer, Brian serves as the Academic Director at the Stanford National Forensic Institute. He previously taught workshops at the University of Kentucky, University of Michigan, Georgetown University, and Millennial Speech & Debate. Brian is looking forward to his first summer at ISD!
Bilal Butt is the Director of Speech and Debate at Charlotte Latin School. Bilal is a one-diamond NSDA coach who was the North Carolina coach of the year in 2019. He has served on the Tarheel Forensic League state committee, and the NSDA Public Forum Debate Topic Wording Committee. Over his time in the activity, his students have earned a long list of impressive results. His teams closed out Yale (1st and 2nd place), championed the George Mason Invitational, reached finals of Wake Forest, Durham, Harvard, Blake, and NCFL Grand Nationals, reached semifinals of the New York City, Emory, Sunvite, and Glenbrooks invitational tournaments. They also reached quarterfinals at the Tournament of Champions and top 8 at the NSDA National tournament in both Public Forum Debate and World Schools Debate.
