List of National Speech and Debate Association members

The National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) is the largest interscholastic speech and debate organization serving middle school and high school students in the United States.[1] It was known as the National Forensic League from 1925 to 2014.[2] Many NSDA alumni have risen to the pinnacle of their respective fields, including the following.[3]

Academia

Name Chapter Notability Reference
Tracy Packiam Alloway Liberty University Professor of psychology at the University of North Florida
Douglas Bernheim Harvard School Professor of economics at Stanford University
John Bessler Loyola High School Professor of law at the University of Baltimore School of Law
Russell L. Caldwell Wooster High School History professor and chair at the University of Southern California
Brittney Cooper Ruston High School Professor of women's and gender studies and Africana studies at Rutgers University-New Brunswick
Mike Edmonds Northwest High School academic administrator and acting co-president of Colorado College
Kenneth Hersh St. Mark's School of Texas CEO of the George W. Bush Presidential Center
Leah Litman Edina High School Professor at the University of Michigan Law Schoo
W. Walter Menninger Topeka High School Dean of the Karl Menninger School of Psychiatry and Mental Health Science and CEO of the Menninger Clinic
Melissa Murray Lincoln Park Academy Professor of law at New York University
Benjamin Olken Milton Academy Economist and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Elinor Ostrom Beverly Hills High School Winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences and professor of political science at Indiana University,
Farah Pandith Milton Academy Senior fellow with the Future of Diplomacy Project at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School
Sarah Parcak Bangor High School Egyptologist and professor of anthropology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham
James Poterba Pennsbury High School Professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and president and CEO of the National Bureau of Economic Research
Robert D. Putnam Port Clinton High School Political scientist and professor at the Harvard Kennedy School
Lewis Sargentich Alhambra High School Professor at Harvard Law School
John Sexton Brooklyn Preparatory School Professor of Law at New York University
David Alan Sklansky Corona del Mar High School Professor of law at Stanford Law School
Anand Veeravagu Grapevine High School Neurosurgeon at Stanford University Hospital and Clinics

Business

Name Chapter Notability Reference
Aimee Allison Antioch High School Founder of She the People
Roy Bahat Stuyvesant High School Venture capitalist
Austan Goolsbee Milton Academy President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers
Frances Haugen Iowa City West High School Whistleblower on Facebook
Ann Kim Apple Valley High School James Beard Award-winning chef and restaurateur
Craig Newmark Morristown High School Founder of Craigslist
Justin Rosenstein The College Preparatory School Software programmer and co-founder of Asana
Deena Shakir Leland High School Venture capitalist
Ben Silbermann Des Moines Roosevelt High School Co-founder and executive chairman of Pinterest

Entertainment

Name Chapter Notability Reference
Kalen Allen Sumner Academy of Arts & Science Actor and internet personality
Kristen Soltis Anderson Cypress Creek High School Republican pollster, television personality, and writer
Brian Baumgartner The Westminster Schools Actor
Daniel Beaty Actor, singer, and writer known as KOA
David Begnaud Teurlings Catholic High School Correspondent for CBS This Morning, the CBS Evening News, and 48 Hours
Chadwick Boseman T. L. Hanna High School Actor
Benjamin Bratt Lowell High School Actor
Nancy Cartwright Fairmont West High School Emmy Award-winning voice actor
Jessica Chastain Sacramento City College Actress and producer
Stephen Colbert Porter-Gaud School Comedian and television host
Chris Colfer Clovis East High School Golden Globe Award winning actor and singer
Bertha Coombs Milton Academy Reporter for CNBC
Robert Costa Boston Latin School Chief election and campaign correspondent for CBS News
Jim Cummings Ursuline High School Voice actor
James Dean Fairmount High School Actor [4]
Joyce DeWitt Speedway Senior High School Actress
Paul W. Draper Olympus High School Mentalist and magician
Zac Efron Arroyo Grande High School Actor
Billy Eichner Stuyvesant High School Actor and comedian
Nelsan Ellis Illinois State University Actor
Sutton Foster Troy High School Broadway actress
Josh Gad NSU University School Actor
Ginger Gonzaga Fred C. Beyer High School Actress
Becky Gulsvig Moorhead High School stage actress
Arsenio Hall Ohio University Comedian, actor, and television host
LaRoyce Hawkins Thornton Township High School Actor, stand-up comedian, spoken word artist, and musician
Brian Tyree Henry E. E. Smith High School Actor
Marcello Hernández John Carroll University Stand-up comedian and actor
John Hoogenakker South Mecklenburg High School Actor
Chuck Huber Trinity High School Voice actor
David Henry Hwang Harvard-Westlake School Playwright and screenwriter
Hallie Jackson Pennsbury High School Correspondent and anchor for NBC News
Erik Jensen Apple Valley High School Actor, playwright, and documentarian
Cherry Jones Henry County High School Actress
Colin Jost Regis High School Comedian, actor, and screenwriter
David Lindsay-Abaire Milton Academy Playwright, screenwriter, and lyricist
John Lithgow Princeton High School Actor
Tom Llamas Belen Jesuit Preparatory School Emmy Award-winning anchor of ABC World News Tonight and NBC Nightly News
Shelley Long South Side High School Actress and comedian [4][5]
Jon Lovett Syosset High School Podcaster, screenwriter, and television producer
Carlos Maza Video producer who started the Vox series Strikethrough [6]
Brian McBride Westbury High School Musician known for Stars of the Lid
Heather McGhee Milton Academy Television political commintator
Idina Menzel Syosset High School Actress
Hasan Minhaj Davis Senior High School Comedian, actor, and producer
John Moe Federal Way High School Radio personality and podcaster
Anson Mount Dickson County High School Actor
Donna Murphy Masconomet Regional High School Actress
Roberto Orci Spring Woods High School Screenwriter and producer
Jared Padalecki James Madison High School Actor
Fred Parker Jr. Northside Independent School District Actor [7]
Jane Pauley Warren Central High School Television host of Today and Dateline NBC
Jordan Peele Calhoun School Comedian, actor, and filmmaker
Kal Penn Freehold Township High School Actor
Brad Pitt Kickapoo High School Actor
Michaela Jaé Rodriguez Newark Arts High School Actress and singer
Paul Rudd Shawnee Mission West High School Actor and comedian
Danielle Schneider Spanish River Community High School Actress
Heidi Schreck Wenatchee High School Screenwriter, playwright, and actress
Katy Selverstone Scranton Central High School Actress
Yara Shahidi Dwight Global Online School Actress and producer
Casey Simpson Agoura High School Actor
Jenny Slate Milton Academy Actress, comedian, and writer
Brent Spiner Bellaire High School Actor known for Star Trek: The Next Generation [5]
Bruce Springsteen Freehold Borough High School Rock musician [4]
Jason Sudeikis Shawnee Mission West High School Actor and comedian
Maria Thayer Apple Valley High School Actress
Kenan Thompson Woodward Academy Comedian and actor
Stephen Tobolowsky Justin F. Kimball High School Actor
Michael Urie Plano Senior High School Actor
Michael Benjamin Washington Plano Senior High School Actor
Pete Williams Natrona County High School Television correspondent for NBC News
Oprah Winfrey East Nashville High School Talk show host, actress, producer, and author [4]
BD Wong Abraham Lincoln High School Actor
Bowen Yang Smoky Hill High School Actor and comedian
"Weird Al" Yankovic Lynwood High School Comedy musician
Anthony E. Zuiker Chaparral High School Screenwriter

Law

Name Chapter Notability Reference
Samuel Alito Hamilton High School East Justice, Supreme Court of the United States
Preet Bharara Ranney School United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York
Lisa Blatt Bellaire High School Lawyer and partner at the law firm Williams & Connolly
Stephen Breyer Lowell High School Justice, Supreme Court of the United States
Paul Clement Cedarburg High School Solicitor General of the United States
Viet Dinh Fullerton High School United States Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy
David Frederick Thomas Jefferson High School Appellate attorney and partner at Kellogg, Hansen, Todd, Figel & Frederick
Thomas Goldstein NSU University School Lawyer and co-founder of SCOTUSblog
Ketanji Brown Jackson Miami Palmetto Senior High School Justice, Supreme Court of the United States [8]
Neal Katyal Loyola Academy Appellate lawyer professor at the Georgetown University Law Center
Anna M. Manasco Saint James School U.S. District judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama
Katherine M. Menendez Topeka High School U.S. District judge of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota
Janet Reno Coral Gables High School United States Attorney General [4]
Sonia Sotomayor Cardinal Spellman High School Justice, Supreme Court of the United States

Religion

Name Chapter Notability Reference
Pope Leo XIV St. Augustine Seminary High School Bishop of Rome, head of the Catholic Church [9][10]

Literature and print journalism

Name Chapter Notability Reference
Ty Burr Milton Academy Film critic at The Boston Globe
Pintip Dunn Parsons Senior High School Author of young adult fiction
Saeed Jones Lewisville High School Poet
Priya Krishna Greenhill School Food journalist for The New York Times
R. F. Kuang Greenhill School Fantasy writer
Min Jin Lee Bronx High School of Science Author and journalist
Ben Lerner Topeka High School Poet, novelist, essayist, and critic
Larry Magid Ulysses S. Grant High School Technology columnist, writer, and commentator
Celeste Ng Shaker Heights High School Novelist
Alan Sepinwall Montville High School Chief television critic for Rolling Stone
Bryan Washington James E. Taylor High School Writer

Politics

Name Chapter Notability Reference
Stacey Abrams Avondale High School Georgia House of Representatives
Rebecca Blank Alexander Ramsey High School United States Secretary of Commerce
James H. Burnley IV High Point Central High School United States Secretary of Transportation [11]
G. T. Bynum Cascia Hall Preparatory School 40th mayor of Tulsa, Oklahoma
Yvanna Cancela Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart White House Senior Advisor to Governors and Statewide Elected Officials and chief of staff to the Governor of Nevada
Joaquin Castro Thomas Jefferson High School United States House of Representatives and Texas House of Representatives
Frank G. Clement Dickson County High School Governor of Tennessee
William J. Crowe Jr. Classen High School U, S, Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and a U.S. Navy admiral
Steve Daines Bozeman High School United States Senator and U.S. House of Representative
Diana DeGette South High School U.S. House of Representative
Russ Feingold Joseph A. Craig High School United States Senator, Wisconsin Senate, and U.S. Special Envoy for the African Great Lakes and the Congo-Kinshasa
Peggy Flanagan St. Louis Park High School 50th Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota
Bob Graham Miami Carol City High School Governor of Florida and United States Senator
Thamar Harrigan North Miami Beach Senior High School White House Chief of Staff and White House Liaison of the U.S. Trade and Development Agency [12]
Megan Jones Spencer High School Iowa House of Representatives
Colin Kahl John F. Kennedy High School Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and national security advisor to the vice president und
Kevin Kiley Granite Bay High School United States House of Representatives and California State Assembly
Richard Lugar Shortridge High School United States Senate
Michael McFaul Bozeman High School United States Ambassador to Russia
Tom Ridge Cathedral Preparatory School Governor of Pennsylvania and the first United States Secretary of Homeland Security
Karl Rove Olympus High School White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Senior Advisor to the President [4]
Robert Rubin Miami Beach High School 70th U.S. Secretary of the Treasury
Terri Sewell Selma High School United States House of Representatives
Jake Sullivan Southwest High School U.S. National Security Advisor
Megan Srinivas Fort Dodge High School Iowa House of Representatives
Elizabeth Warren Northwest Classen High School United States Senate
John Wertheim Chairman of the Democratic Party of New Mexico and political candidate
Paul Wesselhoft Oklahoma House of Representatives
Zohran Mamdani Bronx High School of Science New York State Assembly, 2025 Democratic nominee for New York City Mayor

References

  1. ^ "What Is Forensic Competition?". Small Business - Chron.com. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  2. ^ "Rebranding - USA National Forensic League becomes National Speech & Debate Association". Global Debate. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  3. ^ "Notable Alumni". National Speech & Debate Association. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "26 Famous People Who Were on the Debate Team". Ranker. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Before Brent Spiner was Famous". National Forensic League. Archived from the original on January 3, 2011. Retrieved September 3, 2024 – via web.archive.org.
  6. ^ "2018-IMG-Alum-Carlos-Maza". National Speech & Debate Association. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
  7. ^ "Texas Actor Fred Parker, Jr. Broadway-bound". Focus Daily News. Archived from the original on October 21, 2014. Retrieved September 21, 2024 – via web.archive.org.
  8. ^ Mazzei, Patricia (February 26, 2022). "How a High School Debate Team Shaped Ketanji Brown Jackson". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  9. ^ "(Robert Prevost) Attends State Forensic Congress in Lansing - Newspapers.com™". May 9, 2025. Archived from the original on May 9, 2025. Retrieved May 12, 2025.
  10. ^ ""Did you know the newly appointed Pope Leo XIV was head of his high school speech and debate team? NSDA Executive Director Scott Wunn shares how the skills built in prep rooms and rounds have been creating leaders for generations. Read more by checking the link in our bio!"". Instagram. May 12, 2025. Retrieved May 12, 2025.
  11. ^ Williams, Lena (October 10, 1987). "MAN IN THE NEWS: James Horace Burnley 4th; TOUGH CABINET NOMINEE". The New York Times. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
  12. ^ "Thamar Harrigan – USTDA". Retrieved September 20, 2024.
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