Tonya Scott - Co-Club Director
Tonya has been homeschooling for 14 years and counting. She has three boys ages 19, 17, and 15. Her oldest started Verve in 2012 and graduated in June 2016. She has been director for several tournaments in the area, and has helped at numerous tournaments in state and out of state. |
Stephanie Dropping - Co-Club Director and Speech Coach
Stephanie is starting her fifth year coaching Verve speech as part of Verve Speech and Debate. She enjoys seeing her students incredible growth in public speaking and interpretive skills each season. Several speakers from Verve have qualified for and competed at Stoa’s national tournament with several earning a top 10 award for their speeches. Stephanie previously worked in the wireless communication industry in Training and Development, and then in Human Resources. |
Scott Alford - Varsity Debate Coach
Scott started debate in the Homeschool Speech and Debate Community in 2006. He personally chose to give the event a try after visiting a tournament and has not looked back since. In 2008 he earned a qualification to the National Tournament in Birmingham Alabama where he did not place. From 2009 to 2010 Scott judged at local tournaments after high school graduation before joining the debate team at Biola University where he graduated from in 2013. During his competitive tenure on the debate team, Scott competed in two types of debate on the national collegiate debate circuit: Parliamentary Debate (Parli) and Lincoln Douglas Debate (LD). At his first national tournament composed of Christian colleges, Scott and his partner won the Junior division in Parliamentary debate. Before graduating, Scott added multiple final round showings and speaker in the Open (Senior) Division to the list of Parli finishes. His record improved in LD debate to multiple LD tournament championships receiving 1st place in the Junior division at his first college tournament, multiple 1st place titles in the Open division following that, and a final round victory in the Open division of the Christian College National Tournament in 2013. Upon graduation, Scott returned to Washington and promptly began judging at local Homeschool tournaments and privately coaching. In 2014, he joined Verve Debate Club as the novice coach and has served as the Varsity coach for the last two years coaching multiple teams to top 20 finishes at the national tournament. Scott currently lives in Renton Washington and works as a Client Relationship Manager for a technology sales company in Bellevue where he utilizes all of the skills he learned in debate on a daily basis. Scott values hard work and a dedication to excellence in his debate coaching and is excited to work with his students this coming debate season. |
Philip Beasley - Novice Debate Coach
Philip was homeschooled K-12 and competed in debate with Verve for 4 years of high school. He is beginning his 6th year coaching Verve debate, primarily working with 1st year debaters. Philip has a Master’s Degree in Structural Engineering from the University of Washington and works in Seattle. |