Members of the WDI Board of Directors
Leah Castella, JD Co-Chair of the Board. Leah started her debate career at Duncanville High School in Duncanville, Texas where she competed in LD, extemp, and oratory for four years. She went on to compete as a policy debater for four years at Lewis & Clark College. While there, she won numerous awards, including a quarterfinals finish and a third place speaker award at the 1995 CEDA National Tournament. After finishing at Lewis & Clark, Leah went on to attend law school at the University of Texas School of Law, and graduated with honors in 1999. While there, Leah coached the debate team at Southwest Texas State University. Leah is now a full time litigator. She has been practicing in the San Francisco Bay area since 1999, and is a partner at Burke, Williams & Sorensen. In addition to her work with the WDI, Leah is on the Board of Directors of the Bay Area Urban Debate Commission and coaches the Jessup Moot Court team at Boalt Hall (UC-Berkeley).
Aleava Sayre, JD Co-Chair of the Board. Aleava began debating cross-examination debate while attending Dimond High School in Anchorage, Alaska. She continued debating policy during her four years at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. After graduating from college, Aleava attended the University of Minnesota Law School and graduated magna cum laude. During her subsequent clerkship at the Minnesota Court of Appeals, she began coaching at South High School, a member of the Minnesota Urban Debate League. She currently works as a litigating attorney at the law firm of Leonard, Street and Deinard in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Christi Siver, PhD Executive Director of the WDI. Christi is Professor of Political Science at the College of St. Benedict/St. John’s University in St. Joseph, MN. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Washington, where she coached the parliamentary debate team for nine years. She competed in policy debate at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, OR and at Sunset High School in Beaverton, OR.
Sarah Glaser, PhD Director of Finances. Sarah debated for four years in high school inEmporia, Kansas and went on to debate at and coach for Kansas State University. She earned her PhD in biological oceanography at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and recently completed a postdoctoral research position at SIO and the Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole, MA. She is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology and Marine Sciences at the College of William and Mary.
Catherine (Cate) H. Palczewski, PhD Board Member. Cate is a Professor of Communication Studies and Affiliate Faculty in Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of Northern Iowa, where she also served as the Director of Debate from 1994-2009. She received her Ph.D. from Northwestern University, where she was an assistant coach for the debate team. She competed in policy debate at Northwestern University and at Robert E. Lee High School in San Antonio, TX. In 1987, she was a member of the US team, and in 1999 she served as coach of the team that participated in the Committee on International Discussion and Debate tour of Japan. She presently serves as editor for the American Forensic Association Journal Argumentation and Advocacy and has authored numerous articles about gender and public advocacy. She co-authored Communicating Gender Diversity, which was shortlisted for the International Gender and Language Book Prize in 2008.
Rae Lynn Schwartz-DuPre, PhD Director of Public Relations. Rae Lynn competed in policy debate at the University of Vermont. She coached multiple first-round NDT teams while getting her Masters at Wake Forest University. She then went on to get her PhD in Communication Studies at the University of Iowa. At Iowa, Rae Lynn coached NDT elimination round competitors and got involved with the Women’s Debate Institute. She is currently an Associate Professor of Communication at Western Washington University with a specialization in rhetoric, postcolonial feminist theory, visual and critical cultural studies.
Carly Wunderlich Director of Curriculum. Carly graduated from Michigan State University in 2010 and is the Assistant Debate Coach at Gonzaga University. Her senior year at MSU, Carly won the National Debate Tournament. She is teaching at the debate camp at Michigan State, the University of Georgia, and, of course, the Women’s Debate Institute.
Devin Majkut Director of Community Building. Devin is the Women’s Debate Institute’s Alumni coordinator and coordinates our mentoring program. She cares about empowering, educating, and supporting the community of women in debate and is committed to women being active, powerful leaders in the activity. Devin debated policy for four years at Sehome High School in Bellingham, WA and was involved with the debate team at Western Washington University. She judges and coaches in the Pacific Northwest region, and offers lectures at the WDI on feminism and alternative forms of debate.