North Shore Debate Institute Summer Workshop
Founded in 2023, the North Shore Debate Institute will be returning in 2026 for a fourth summer of making summer debate accessible to as many students as possible!
June 8, 2026 to June 18, 2026
The North Shore Debate Institute Summer Workshop is a two-week policy debate workshop designed to provide a basic workshop experience for younger debaters looking for an introduction to the upcoming topic. Instruction will be targeted towards students competing on their second or third policy debate topic. Current middle schoolers with heading into high school are welcome.
Unlike most workshops, we focus on providing a more narrowly tailored workshop experience to provide maximum accessibility. We offer one of the lowest cost summer programs available, and provide remote evening lectures. Additionally, our program is designed to accommodate students with other summer obligations such as work or summer school.
Staff/Lecturers
We’re excited to have the following lecturers for the June 2026 Workshop:
Parth Shah (University of Pittsburg, Glenbrook North High School)- Parth was a successful high school and college policy debater. His competitive successes included multiple individual and team awards, and he qualify for the National Debate Tournament in 2022. Parth has been lecturing at NSDI since its inception.
Ashton Smith (University of Michigan)- Ashton was a successful high school and college policy debater, with his career culminating being named the 2020 American Debate Association’s Varsity Debater of the year while debating for the University of Michigan. In addition to lecturing at NSDI, he has taught at University of Michigan Summer Debate Institute and at the Detroit Urban Debate League Summer Camp. Ashton has been lecturing at NSDI since its inception. **UPDATE: we’re happy to confirm that Ashton Smith will be returning for the June 2026 Summer Workshop!
Wayne Tang (Northside College Prep)- Wayne has a lengthy debate resume. He has been initiated into the Barkley Forum’s Golden Key Society, and is a three-Diamond coach with the National Speech an Debate Association. Wayne has coached teams to win the Illinois State Championships in both the varsity and novice divisions. In 2026, Wayne was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Illinois Debate Coaches Association (IDCA). Wayne began lecturing for NSDI in 2024.
Victoria Yonter (Von Steuben Metropolitan Science Center)- Victoria is the head debate coach at Von Steuben in Chicago, where she has overseen the rapid development of the program. She was the Illinois Debate Coaches Association “Rising Star” coach for 2025-2026. Previously, Victoria debated for 4 years at the University of Georgia. This is Victoria’s first year lecturing for the NSDI.
Sonny Patel (Chicago Debate League)- Dr. Sonny Patel currently serves as the Director of Programs for the Chicago Debate League. Before that he served as head coach of the University of Chicago Lab School, where he coached multiple teams to the Tournament of Champions. This is Sonny’s first year lecturing for the NSDI.
Ariel Gabay (UC Berkeley)- Ariel currently serves as an assistant debate coach at UC Berkeley. Before that, Ariel spent 3 years working as an assistant debate coach at Niles North High School. Ariel debated for 4 years at the University of Kentucky. This is Ariel’s first year lecturing for the NSDI.
Previous year’s lecturers include:
Nicholas Jennings (Niles West High School)- Nicholas is currently the head coach at Niles West High School in Skokie, Illinois, where his teams have experiences successes at every level. In addition, Nicholas is also serves as a lab-leader at the University of Michigan Classic workshop. Nicholas began lecturing for NSDI in 2024.
Bella Piekut (Emory University)- Bella was a successful high school and college policy debater. Her accomplishments include being named to the Illinois All-State Debate team (2021), qualifying for the Tournament of Champions (2021), qualifying for the National Debate Tournament (2024, 2025), and making it to the quarter-finals of 2024 NDT. Bella began lecturing for NSDI in 2024.
Nicholas’s and Bella’s previous lecturers are available in the NSDI archives.
Analysis of the Topic
Students will be introduced to topic staples including the Politics disadvantage, and Security kritik, as well as topic specific content including lectures, including topicality.
Schedule
Instruction is Monday through Friday from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. CDT. Day will consist of a one (1) hour lecture on a designated topic, immediately followed by a 30-minute question and answer period. Instructors will remain available for at least 30 minutes following the completion of their lecture.
Week 1
June 8, 2026 The U.S. Healthcare and Health Insurance Systems: The Status Quo with Dr. Sonny Patel
June 9, 2026 Topicality with Ashton Smith
June 10, 2026 Politics and the legal context of US Healthcare and Insurance with Ashton Smith
June 11, 2026 Affirmatives of the Topic with Victoria Yonter
June 12, 2026 Core Discussions: Financing and Impacts with Ariel Gabay
Week 2
June 15, 2026 Counterplans: States, Private Solutions, Advantage CPs with Wayne Tang
June 16, 2026 Framework/Role of the Ballot with Sonny Patel
June 17, 2026 Antiblackness & Healthcare with Parth Shah
June 18, 2026 Capitalism Kritik with Parth Shah
Fees
The total fees for the 2026 North Shore Debate Institute Summer Workshop are $300.00. Early bird registration of $275.00 will be available through May 1, 2026. The full balance shall be due at the time of registration.
Team resource packages range from $875.00 to $1,375.00, and can include unlimited registrations for all students from a single school for a single price.
Application Policy
The June Session will be limited to 50 applicants. Should the June program fill up, additional applicants may be wait-listed for a potential July session. At this time, we do NOT anticipate a July session occurring.