HIGH SCHOOL CAMP DIRECTOR

Joey competed at Stuyvesant High School from 2002-06, on a team that won national recognition and with whom he won the NSDA national championship in prose reading. He’s been coaching ever since, and began teaching in 2017.

Joey has a B.A. in Economics from Clark University and an M.A. in Education from Relay GSE. In a previous life with the 10th Mountain Infantry Division, he was commended for his work as a civil-military liaison, training officer, and WMD-detection platoon leader. If you count his year running an embassy-sponsored Pashtun radio station in Afghanistan, this is his second nonprofit aimed at improving civic discourse.

CAMP ADMIN

From 1999-2003, DiCo competed on the Stuyvesant HS Speech & Debate Team, where they were a state finalist in Extemporaneous Speaking and a national finalist in Congressional Debate. After graduating with a B.A. in Philosophy from Yale, they joined Teach for America and started debate teams at the Frederick Douglass Academy and Achievement First Brooklyn High School.

DiCo is a recipient of several teaching prizes including the Teach for America Alumni Award for Excellence. They have been named a Master Teacher by the Achievement First charter school network and a First Diamond Coach. In 2022, they were honored to receive the Brother Sterner Lifetime Service Award by the National Speech and Debate Association.

COACH, CONGRESSIONAL DEBATE

From 2009-2011, Jonathan competed on the Frederick Douglass Academy Debate Team, where he competed at national tournaments such as the Yale, Columbia and Harvard Invitationals. After graduating with a B.S. in Respiratory Therapy from Stony Brook University in 2017, he started working for NYU Langone Medical Center as a Neonatal Pediatric Specialist.

Jonathan is the author of I Wasn’t Supposed To Be Here, a memoir about his remarkable journey and the unique and diverse cast of characters who Jonathan met along his journey who helped transform his life from mere survival to unimaginable success.

Jonathan is also a successful entrepreneur who has founded Conyers Real Estate, Agbara Health Services, and Conyers Production Company.

If you’re a Speech & Debate alum or coach interested in joining our team, shoot us an email and we'll be in touch.

joey@brooklyndebateleague.org

MIDDLE SCHOOL CAMP DIRECTOR

Full bio coming soon, but Brendan directed Speech & Debate and Middle School at Xaverian High School for nearly a decade where he coached many students to success on the state and national circuit. Trust us: he’s a phenomenal educator and going to run an amazing middle school camp.