Meet Our Instructors

Paul Rose

Founder
jacob-thackston-image

Jacob Thackston

Director of Operations

Nina Rose

Caterina Olin

Katie Sullivan

Marc Davis

Adeline Martin

Walker Stewart

Christina Monaco

 

As Co-founder and CEO, Paul heads teacher training and development at Rose Institute.

Paul is a two-time national debate champion. He holds national accolades in competitive Drama, Impromptu, and Platform Speaking.

In his free time, Paul enjoys singing, baseball, and classic cars.

 Jacob is the Director of Operations for Rose Debate, and also serves as a senior instructor. He recently graduated from Harvard Law School with a J.D., and has an undergraduate degree in philosophy from Hillsdale College. In high school, Jacob twice placed in the top 25 in the nation in Lincoln-Douglas debate with NCFCA, and has now taught for several years with Rose Debate.

In his free time, Jacob enjoys hiking, watching and playing sports, and reading novels.

 Caterina Olin, a Senior Instructor at Rose Debate, has years of experience in the world of speech and debate. She competed for 5 years, qualifying for Nationals every season. Before teaching at Rose Institute, Caterina directed theatre camps and volunteered as a counselor for elementary and middle school girls’ leadership clubs. In college, Caterina studied psychology.

Outside of the classroom, Caterina enjoys the outdoors, cooking, and spending time with her family.

 Nina Rose has a passion for teaching and communications. She qualified for the Stoa Nationals in all four years of debate in high school, ranking 2nd place in the nation for Team Policy Debate. She has won numerous tournaments in both Team Policy and Parliamentary Debate in both Stoa and the California High School Speech Association. Nina has more than six years of teaching experience, coaching with Rose Debate for four years, as well as tutoring piano.

Nina studied English at UCLA and graduated Summa Cum Laude in June 2020. In her spare time, Nina enjoys reading and going to the beach.

 For years, Katie has explored her love for public speaking. In high school, she was the captain of her Speech and Debate team and found that she was passionate about helping students find confidence and improve their speaking skills. She performed with an award-winning improv troupe for four years and now is on Santa Clara University’s mock trial team. She is currently pursuing a Marketing degree and is minoring in political science and Spanish.

In her free time, she loves going to the beach, road-tripping anywhere with her friends, and finding new hikes around the Bay Area.

 Marc Davis has been involved in speech and debate for over half of his life. In middle and high school he competed in Team Policy debate in the NCFCA for 6 years, qualifying to Nationals once. He also placed in the top 10 at Nationals in Extemporaneous speaking twice. In college, Marc participated in both American and World style parliamentary debate, winning multiple tournaments at the regional and national levels. Since then he has coached speech and debate for nearly ten years. In 2019 he coached the NCFCA Team Policy National Champion team. Outside of speech and debate, Marc writes and podcasts about board games for The Thoughtful Gamer, and enjoys cooking, golf, and movies.
Adeline Martin is an undergraduate student at Harvard University, where she studies Molecular & Cell Biology and Social Anthropology. She has been an instructor at Rose Debate for one year working directly under the Director of Rose Debate, teaching several programs, hundreds of students, and helping run 3 tournaments. She is incredibly passionate about using her extensive teaching experience and public speaking background to foster youth development.
Starting in elementary school and continuing through high school, Adeline competed in several public speaking competitions, delivered speeches for school ceremonies, and performed lead roles in countless theatre productions. She thus knows the importance of helping students to gain confidence in public speaking at a young age. Adeline also has years of experience with leading classes and communicating with children. She has been a successful swimming instructor for six years and has worked as a camp counselor and retreat leader.

 Walker Stewart has been involved in the debate world for years. He primarily competed in Public Forum Debate throughout high school, rising to the rank of 7th nationally during his senior year. Since graduating, Walker has loved teaching speech and debate to middle and high school students.

Walker is currently a sophomore at Stanford University studying Management Science and Engineering and history and loves playing board games and watching baseball and hockey.
Christina Monaco is a sophomore at Vanderbilt University majoring in Human and Organizational Development; a degree focused on psychology in a business setting. She has done theatre her entire life as an actor, in an improv troupe for children, and behind the scenes as a stage manager. Additionally, she has held numerous elected positions, including Student Body President, that entailed giving speeches, emceeing rallies, and hosting fundraisers. Her experiences onstage and in student leadership have taught her the confidence, comedic intuition, and presence in front of a crowd that she believes all kids should have the chance to learn. Christina works as an instructor and administrative assistant and in her free time, she enjoys singing, painting, videography, and scheduling.

We’ve had 1000s of Happy Students

"Anthony enjoys the class and likes the teachers. He was happy every time after the class.
He reads to me every week day and has tried to remember speeches assigned to him. ... Thanks a lot!"

– Lingling Sun

"Rose Debate's class was really fun and engaging. I learned a lot as a public speaker, and the tournament was REALLY well organized and enjoyable."

– Isabelle Shi

"Rose Institute helps our students fine tune their public speaking skills and
students are eager to attend and return each year."

– Fabienne Esparza, Principal, St. Catherine School

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