Institute Staff

Director: Nadia Steck

Nadia has been involved in forensics for nine years, competing in multiple debate formats
at Moorpark College, and Concordia University Irvine. She joined the Lewis & Clark staff 2 years
ago. Having students make multiple deep elimination and final rounds across the
country, she is dedicated to making sure students are defending what they believe in
and doing it exceptionally.

Speech Director: Mike Catlos

Mike has been involved in forensics for over 10 years, first competing for Ohio University, then coaching for Ball State University. Joining the coaching staff four years ago, Mike has helped students speaktheir truth in a variety of different events to great success, including multiple final round showings at NFA nationals and two national titles in 2019.

Director Emeritus: Joe Gantt

Joe is the Director of Forensics at Lewis & Clark College. The 2020-2021 academic year will be his fifteenth year as a director and eighth at Lewis & Clark, after previous positions with Rocky Mountain College and Texas Tech University. Joe has been involved with forensics for over twenty  years, with competition and coaching experience at both the high school and college level.  Joe previously directed the program at Texas Tech University, where his debate teams won national championships of the National Parliamentary Debate Association in 2008 and 2010 and finished in 2^nd place at the 2012 National Parliamentary Tournament of Excellence. At Texas Tech, 22 of Joe’s teams qualified for the NPTE, and that success continued at Lewis & Clark, winning the 2014 NPTE and qualifying 16 teams in just four years. Lewis & Clark’s speech competitors have also won national championships in Extemporaneous Speaking and Informative Speaking at the 2019 NFA championship. Joe has also been involved in leadership of many national organizations, including the Presidency of the NPDA and NPTE. Joe also worked closely with high schools in Texas, serving as a member and then consultant to the University Interscholastic League’s Lincoln-Douglas Advisory Committee.

Additional staff postings will be available as the camp gets closer. Last year’s staff included over 230 years of debate experience, with coaches and students from top programs in the region and nationally.