The Team

Students
Maggie Franckhauser
Zhongliang “Michael” Gai	Michael Gai is an international student from China who joined Beach Forensics in the hopes of becoming more outgoing and a better public speaker, as well as a national speech champion! He quickly fell in love with the team, and his passion for speech and debate led him to add a Communication Studies minor to his Philosophy major. Gai sees the forensics team as an opportunity to invest in himself and a family of teammates and coaches, working together to become better speakers, researchers, and overall communicators. He has already brought home hardware in Informative Speaking and has high aspirations for the future!
John Garnreiter	John Garnreiter is a fourth year Aerospace Engineering student. He believes that communication is a valuable skill in the engineering field, and is improving his ability to speak and communicate as a member of Beach Forensics. He has produced a strong Dramatic Interpretation and plans to keep developing it as the season goes on. Garnreiter also plans to develop a Persuasive or Informative speech, which is mutually beneficial and will assist his studies. He loves traveling and spending time with the team. Garnreiter enjoys the friendship he’s gained since joining Beach Forensics, especially while getting to see new places that Beach Forensics travels to for competition. For Garnreiter, one of the most important parts of competing in speech is getting to listen to others’ speeches at competitions because they imbue him with new perspectives about societal problems that he may not encounter in his daily studies.
Jaysyn Green	Jaysyn Green is a third year History major and President of Beach Forensics. Green has been active in public speaking activities since 2011 and has competed in multiple forms of debate, including World Schools, IPDA, and most recently Policy debate. She has also spent time competing in speech, including Impromptu Speaking, Extemporaneous Speaking, Persuasive Speaking, and Prose Interpretation. She found her love for public speaking when was just 11 years old and has always found a way to weave it into her life. Green takes great pride in being able to represent Beach Forensics wherever she goes.

Nia Johnson	Nia Johnson is a first year student studying Computer Science and Editing in Film. This is her first year in debate and she got her feet wet by participating in the Jack Howe Memorial Invitational as a member of the tournament staff. Johnson enjoys debating because it teaches her about other peoples’ opinions on topics that she shares a passion for.
Natalie Lahney	Natalie Lahney is a second year student majoring in Sociology. She hopes to have a career centered on helping other people when she graduates. When Lahney is not at school or working at her job, she enjoys baking, painting, and has interests in photography and social justice. While she is new to the debate world, Lahney is eager to do well while representing Beach Forensics.
Jessica Monterroso	Jessica Monterroso is a Business major with an emphasis in Management. Monterroso is ambitious, energetic, and passionate when it comes to dance, modeling, writing, learning, and networking. In addition to competing for Beach Forensics, Monterroso also works with the Society for Advancement of Management, the Junior Mentoring Program, and works as an academic coach and tutor in math, English, and Spanish. She hopes that Beach Forensics will get her more connected with her spiritual side and eventually help her to become an entrepreneur, managing her own dance studio and giving back to the community.
Elie Nehme	Elie Nehme is a senior studying Political Science and Economics. Nehme joined forensics because he loves to debate contemporary issues, and listen other’s positions on the same topics. He believes in the Socratic proposition that argument and dialogue are critical in the pursuit of truth and expanding our knowledge base. Nehme says that his worldview and informed opinion about worldly events are the product of engaged dialogue with others, and participating in forensics has provided him opportunities to do just that.
David Ochoa	David Ochoa is a third year Political Science and History student with an emphasis in Law, Politics, Policy, and U.S. and World History. Originally from San Diego, David came to CSU Long Beach and joined the speech team in Spring 2017. Ochoa has enjoyed every minute of it. He competed in speech and debate in high school after a friend suggested he would excel in forensics, and he is grateful for taking his friend’s advice. His passion for public speaking is inspired by John and Robert Kennedy. He participates in Extemporaneous and Impromptu Speaking and has competed in IPDA as well. Ochoa loves helping his community, and that has put him on a path to a career in public service and work on several local campaigns. He is known for impressions of U.S. Presidents, and is usually found with a book on hand that he is reading to increase his knowledge of U.S. and world history.
Signe Olson	Signe Olson is an honors student in the Communication Studies Department, seeking a degree that will help her become an elementary school teacher. She joined Beach Forensics in Fall 2018, and has a background in musical theater and performance. Her musical theater and performance background piqued her interest in Prose Interpretation. Olson is also a singer-songwriter, so performing in front of people is something familiar, and competing in Prose Interpretation is an opportunity to learn, grow, and compete with Beach Forensics! When Olson is not competing or studying, she likes to visit local coffee shops and hang out at the local dog beach.
Rachel Roberts	Rachel Roberts joined Beach Forensics after completing Deven Cooper’s public speaking course and delivering speeches about issues related to feminism, a passion of hers. Joining Beach Forensics on a whim, Roberts has been a member of the team ever since. She is a junior studying Sociology with a minor in Communication Studies and hopes to pursue a career in law. Roberts is a two-time Collegiate Scholar at the Women’s Debate Institute and represents her sorority, Zeta Tau Alpha, both on the forensics team and on the intercollegiate debate circuit. Her passion for debate comes from providing her an opportunity to advocate for women’s rights and related issues. When Roberts is not studying or debating, she jams out to indie and alternative rock music while solving jigsaw puzzles.
Emily Rodriguez	Emily Rodriguez is a senior earning her B.A. in Communication Studies. She was first introduced to speech when she was chosen to compete in Jr. Toastmasters in the 4th grade. Rodriguez has since continued her passion for oral communication by enrolling and excelling in every public speaking course CSU Long Beach has to offer. In the meantime, she tutors public speaking students on campus at the Hauth Center for Communication Skills. As a new member to Beach Forensics, Rodriguez is eager to compete at the intercollegiate level. She was the tournament champion in Persuasive Speaking at her debut tournament and has continued developing her speech while preparing to compete in After Dinner Speaking and Informative Speaking. Rodriguez plans to use her experience in competitive speech to teach English overseas as a Peace Corps volunteer after graduation.
Christian Vazquez	Christian Vazquez is a Business Information Systems major and is a first year debater. Vazquez has already won two intercollegiate Policy Debate tournaments and hopes to continue developing his critical thinking and persuasive speaking skills. When he is not debating or in class, Vazquez enjoys being a musician and being physically active by playing football and soccer. Christian is grateful for the friends he has made through Beach Forensics and hopes to continue to excel during his time at CSU Long Beach.

Coaching Staff
Director of Forensics – Michael Eisenstadt	Michael Eisenstadt debated at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (B.A., 2012), where he learned the value of a diverse and talented coaching staff, a personal dedication to hard work, and the unlimited power and potential of practice in argument. While debating for UNLV, Eisenstadt became the first competitor in school history to qualify for the National Debate Tournament four times and competed in the elimination rounds of several major national tournaments. Eisenstadt was also recognized as a four-time CEDA All-American competitor. In 2012, Eisenstadt qualified to the National Debate Tournament as the top ranked individual speaker and part of the top ranked individual team in the pacific region. After debating at UNLV, he continued working for two years as an assistant debate coach at UNLV, where he completed his M.A. (2014) and was recognized as the 2014 Pacific Region Cross-Examination Debate Association Critic of the Year. Following the footsteps of his intercollegiate debate coach and his M.A. thesis advisor, Eisenstadt continued working as an assistant debate coach at the University of Kansas, where he completed his Ph.D. (2018) under the tutelage of the 1976 National Debate Tournament champion, Dr. Robert C. Rowland. Working at Kansas reinforced his lessons from UNLV, but also gave him unique insight into argument and coaching strategy, as well as directing a forensics program. Eisenstadt took the position as the Director of Forensics at CSU Long Beach in 2018 after the conclusion of an unprecedented season at the University of Kansas, which fielded the Rex Copeland top-ranked First-Round at large bid to the National Debate Tournament and the 2018 National Debate Tournament champion. Generally speaking, Eisenstadt’s scholarly interests lie in the areas of public argumentation, political campaign debates, and the rhetorical form of social movement. Overall, with the help of the rest of an amazing coaching staff and the hard work of the team’s outstanding students, Eisenstadt hopes that Beach Forensics will consistently be one of the most competitive speech and debate programs in America.
Director of Debate – Deven Cooper	Deven Cooper is the Director of Debate at CSU Long Beach, where he coaches multiple formats of intercollegiate debate, including Policy, Parliamentary, IPDA, and Lincoln-Douglas. Cooper was the Cross-Examination Debate Association National Champion in 2008, a finalist at the 2009 Cross-Examination Debate Association National Championship, and a quarter-finalist at the 2009 National Debate Tournament while he attended Towson University. Prior to arriving at CSU Long Beach, Cooper obtained a Master of Arts in Communication Studies at CSU Fullerton while coaching debate, qualifying several teams to the National Debate Tournament and late elimination rounds at national tournaments. Subsequently, Cooper became the Director of Debate at Fresno State University, where he coached the first all-black female Policy Debate team in the school’s history to reach the Sweet 16 of the National Debate Tournament.
Director of Speech – Aaron Fullman	Aaron Fullman is the Director of Speech at CSU Long Beach and is a Southern California native who first became involved in intercollegiate speech at Orange Coast College. He competed in intercollegiate speech for four years, first at OCC, and then at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois. After completing his B.A. at Bradley, Fullman attended the University of Nebraska at Omaha, where he developed his coaching strategy and style while receiving a Master of Arts in Communication Studies. He has since returned to California to rejoin the community with which he first discovered intercollegiate speech. Fullman has experience competing in and coaching all 11 speech events offered at the collegiate level. His motto for the speech team is, “Every day. Every way. Better, better, better.”
Alissa Duong	Alissa Duong is a five-time national speech champion and seven-time state champion in speech, with experience that includes advancing to twenty-seven national out rounds. Duong competed and advanced to state and national out rounds in several events, including: Prose Interpretation, Dramatic Interpretation, Duo Interpretation, Programmed Oral Interpretation, Persuasive Speaking, Communication Analysis, and After Dinner Speaking. She was ranked the 4th overall speaker in the nation at the Phi Rho Pi National Speech and Debate Tournament and was selected to be a member of the exclusive All-American Team at the American Forensics Association National Individual Events Tournament of Champions. Duong received her A.A. in Communication Studies from Orange Coast College and her B.S. from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in Communication Studies with a minor in Political Science. She is currently working toward a Master of Arts in Communication Studies at CSU Long Beach and is happy to be a graduate assistant working with Beach Forensics.
Dorri Mang	Dorri Mang is a graduate student in the Communication Studies Department CSU Long Beach. This is her sixth year of involvement with forensics. Mang first competed for Orange Coast College before completing her B.A. at CSU Long Beach. At CSU Long Beach, Mang teaches public speaking courses and works in the Hauth Center, which helps students across campus develop presentation skills. In addition to coaching at CSU Long Beach, she also coaches speech at Harker High School in northern California and works for a speech academy, Modern Brain, where she teaches and coaches K-12 students. In Mang’s spare time, she plays roller derby and roller skates around Long Beach with her girlfriend. Mang believes that communication is important to all human interactions, and she is working to do her part to teach the next generation how to take information and think critically about their opinions instead of simply regurgitating with others have said.
Christiaan Pipion	Christiaan Pipion is a second year M.A. student in the Communication Studies Department and a Graduate Assistant for Beach Forensics. As an undergraduate, he competed in Duo Interpretation, Programmed Oral Interpretation, Informative Speaking, Prose Interpretation, After Dinner Speaking, Reader’s Theater, and Parliamentary Debate. Pipion enjoys speech and debate because it has helped his growth as a speaker, critical thinking, and provided him a better understanding for how to speak in a variety of situations. Most important, though, is Pipion has fun competing and coaching. He has seen many speeches that he will remember for the rest of his life, and tributes forensics for being an incredible opportunity for personal and academic growth. In Pipion’s view, nothing can help someone more to prepare for whatever comes next than competing in forensics.
Abdullah Salehuddin	Abdullah Salehuddin is a M.A. student in the Communication Studies Department and a Graduate Assistant for Beach Forensics. He received his B.A. in Rhetoric at UC Berkeley with an emphasis in imagery and narratology. Salehuddin had a successful career in intercollegiate speech. While at Los Angeles Valley College, he was the 2016 California State Champion in Persuasive Speaking and the 2016 National Champion in Informative Speaking. Trophies aside, Salehuddin reminds his students that the true value of competing in forensics comes in the form of transferable skills: critical thinking, public speaking, information processing, analytical writing, and active listening. He hopes to continue teaching these skills and values to members of Beach Forensics as a way to empower students from all backgrounds and skill levels to find their voices.

Coaching Staff

Director of Forensics – Michael Eisenstadt

Michael Eisenstadt debated at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (B.A., 2012), where he learned the value of a diverse and talented coaching staff, a personal dedication to hard work, and the unlimited power and potential of practice in argument. While debating for UNLV, Eisenstadt became the first competitor in school history to qualify for the National Debate Tournament four times and competed in the elimination rounds of several major national tournaments. Eisenstadt was also recognized as a four-time CEDA All-American competitor. In 2012, Eisenstadt qualified to the National Debate Tournament as the top ranked individual speaker and part of the top ranked individual team in the pacific region. After debating at UNLV, he continued working for two years as an assistant debate coach at UNLV, where he completed his M.A. (2014) and was recognized as the 2014 Pacific Region Cross-Examination Debate Association Critic of the Year. Following the footsteps of his intercollegiate debate coach and his M.A. thesis advisor, Eisenstadt continued working as an assistant debate coach at the University of Kansas, where he completed his Ph.D. (2018) under the tutelage of the 1976 National Debate Tournament champion, Dr. Robert C. Rowland. Working at Kansas reinforced his lessons from UNLV, but also gave him unique insight into argument and coaching strategy, as well as directing a forensics program. Eisenstadt took the position as the Director of Forensics at CSU Long Beach in 2018 after the conclusion of an unprecedented season at the University of Kansas, which fielded the Rex Copeland top-ranked First-Round at large bid to the National Debate Tournament and the 2018 National Debate Tournament champion.

Generally speaking, Eisenstadt’s scholarly interests lie in the areas of public argumentation, political campaign debates, and the rhetorical form of social movement. Overall, with the help of the rest of an amazing coaching staff and the hard work of the team’s outstanding students, Eisenstadt hopes that Beach Forensics will consistently be one of the most competitive speech and debate programs in America.

Director of Debate – Deven Cooper

Deven Cooper is the Director of Debate at CSU Long Beach, where he coaches multiple formats of intercollegiate debate, including Policy, Parliamentary, IPDA, and Lincoln-Douglas. Cooper was the Cross-Examination Debate Association National Champion in 2008, a finalist at the 2009 Cross-Examination Debate Association National Championship, and a quarter-finalist at the 2009 National Debate Tournament while he attended Towson University. Prior to arriving at CSU Long Beach, Cooper obtained a Master of Arts in Communication Studies at CSU Fullerton while coaching debate, qualifying several teams to the National Debate Tournament and late elimination rounds at national tournaments. Subsequently, Cooper became the Director of Debate at Fresno State University, where he coached the first all-black female Policy Debate team in the school’s history to reach the Sweet 16 of the National Debate Tournament.

Director of Speech – Aaron Fullman

Aaron Fullman is the Director of Speech at CSU Long Beach and is a Southern California native who first became involved in intercollegiate speech at Orange Coast College. He competed in intercollegiate speech for four years, first at OCC, and then at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois. After completing his B.A. at Bradley, Fullman attended the University of Nebraska at Omaha, where he developed his coaching strategy and style while receiving a Master of Arts in Communication Studies. He has since returned to California to rejoin the community with which he first discovered intercollegiate speech. Fullman has experience competing in and coaching all 11 speech events offered at the collegiate level. His motto for the speech team is, “Every day. Every way. Better, better, better.”

Alissa Duong

Alissa Duong is a five-time national speech champion and seven-time state champion in speech, with experience that includes advancing to twenty-seven national out rounds. Duong competed and advanced to state and national out rounds in several events, including: Prose Interpretation, Dramatic Interpretation, Duo Interpretation, Programmed Oral Interpretation, Persuasive Speaking, Communication Analysis, and After Dinner Speaking. She was ranked the 4th overall speaker in the nation at the Phi Rho Pi National Speech and Debate Tournament and was selected to be a member of the exclusive All-American Team at the American Forensics Association National Individual Events Tournament of Champions. Duong received her A.A. in Communication Studies from Orange Coast College and her B.S. from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in Communication Studies with a minor in Political Science. She is currently working toward a Master of Arts in Communication Studies at CSU Long Beach and is happy to be a graduate assistant working with Beach Forensics.

Dorri Mang

Dorri Mang is a graduate student in the Communication Studies Department CSU Long Beach. This is her sixth year of involvement with forensics. Mang first competed for Orange Coast College before completing her B.A. at CSU Long Beach. At CSU Long Beach, Mang teaches public speaking courses and works in the Hauth Center, which helps students across campus develop presentation skills. In addition to coaching at CSU Long Beach, she also coaches speech at Harker High School in northern California and works for a speech academy, Modern Brain, where she teaches and coaches K-12 students. In Mang’s spare time, she plays roller derby and roller skates around Long Beach with her girlfriend. Mang believes that communication is important to all human interactions, and she is working to do her part to teach the next generation how to take information and think critically about their opinions instead of simply regurgitating with others have said.

Christiaan Pipion

Christiaan Pipion is a second year M.A. student in the Communication Studies Department and a Graduate Assistant for Beach Forensics. As an undergraduate, he competed in Duo Interpretation, Programmed Oral Interpretation, Informative Speaking, Prose Interpretation, After Dinner Speaking, Reader’s Theater, and Parliamentary Debate. Pipion enjoys speech and debate because it has helped his growth as a speaker, critical thinking, and provided him a better understanding for how to speak in a variety of situations. Most important, though, is Pipion has fun competing and coaching. He has seen many speeches that he will remember for the rest of his life, and tributes forensics for being an incredible opportunity for personal and academic growth. In Pipion’s view, nothing can help someone more to prepare for whatever comes next than competing in forensics.

Abdullah Salehuddin

Abdullah Salehuddin is a M.A. student in the Communication Studies Department and a Graduate Assistant for Beach Forensics. He received his B.A. in Rhetoric at UC Berkeley with an emphasis in imagery and narratology. Salehuddin had a successful career in intercollegiate speech. While at Los Angeles Valley College, he was the 2016 California State Champion in Persuasive Speaking and the 2016 National Champion in Informative Speaking. Trophies aside, Salehuddin reminds his students that the true value of competing in forensics comes in the form of transferable skills: critical thinking, public speaking, information processing, analytical writing, and active listening. He hopes to continue teaching these skills and values to members of Beach Forensics as a way to empower students from all backgrounds and skill levels to find their voices.

ACADEMICS

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The Team

Students

Coaching Staff