"The wisest man has something yet to learn." George Santayana

Staff

Will Baker, Executive Director

Will Baker - Will was tapped for ALOUD based on his twenty years of experience in nonprofit management, debate coaching, and marketing. He was a finalist in the Ford Foundation’s Leadership for a Changing World competition and is a past winner of the Paul Slappy Award for Diversity and the Barkley Forum Award for Distinguished Service. He is listed in the Marquis Who's Who in the World. Mr. Baker is the Chief Executive Officer of the IMPACT Coalition, an educational development nonprofit organization. His work with IMPACT has received accolades in the NY Times, US News & World Report, the Nonprofit Times and the Christian Science Monitor. As head of Baker Consulting Services International, he has provided management consulting services to major foundations, corporations, United Nations agencies and nearly one hundred nonprofit organizations. He is a Past President of the Committee of Religious Non-Governmental Organizations at the United Nations and serves as the Alternate UN Representative for the International Association for Religious Freedom (IARF). Will was elected president of the Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA), the largest intercollegiate organization sponsoring policy debate. He is a former Assembly District Leader for the 27th District in Queens. Mr. Baker serves as special consultant to the Zuckerman Forum at NYU.

Astrid Carillo previously worked in California Congresswoman Eshoo’s office where she was responsible for advancing the legislative agenda. Her Capitol Hill experience provides a base for outreach to political, media and average citizens. She participated in the Americorps * VISTA program working on youth development and debate. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of California Santa Cruz

Bridgette Cornwell is a former public school teacher and a product of the NYC Teaching Fellows program.She was a Magna Cum Laude graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and studied for her JD at New York University. In previous capacities, she has consulted with Sponsors for Educational Opportunity, Anderson After-School Renaissance, and the JPMorgan Chase foundation on the development of debate-related projects for at-risk students in middle school and high school. Ms. Cornwell has substantial experience in web design, tabulation, curriculum development and event planning combined with a decade of debate experience.

Xian Chiang-Waren serves as the Legislative Monitor. Finishing her final year at the Institute for Collaborative Education, she participated in the New York Urban Debate League and public debates on the Iraq war, landmines and voting rights. Xian has been a UN Debate Ambassador for the People Speaks program with the UN Foundation and has made presentations at Rockefeller Center, Emory University, for the City Bar Association and Bank of America. She has traveled to Africa, Romania and across the US on goodwill debate excursions.

This is our message to urban students:

Your Voice. Your Future. Debate.