New York City Urban Debate League

We are excited to welcome Mark Rush to NYCUDL as our new Director of Programming!

Mark joins us after 28 years at the NYC Department of Education, where he served as a teacher, principal, and in multiple senior system leadership roles, most recently as Deputy Superintendent for Manhattan High Schools, overseeing instruction and leadership for 46 schools serving 33,000 students. His deep experience in NYC public education will bring a new level of alignment between our debate programming and the academic priorities of the schools we serve.

We are thrilled to have Mark on board and look forward to the vision and leadership he will bring as we continue to grow our impact across New York City.

That is a wrap on NYCUDL Summer Debate Institute 2026! 🎉

Last week our Middle School students closed out the summer with a final tournament, capping off weeks of hard work, growth, and exploration of the immigration topic, including a memorable visit to Ellis Island. Our students had the chance to meet debaters from outside their own schools, and to get to know our coaches even better after a summer spent together at camp.

A huge thank you to our incredible Summer Leader cohort and SYEP interns, plus a special shout-out to our SDI directors, Darren and Vida, for leading an unforgettable summer.

📬 Our August newsletter just went out! It's a look back at a busy July for NYCUDL: our Summer Debate Institute, our Dream Team competing at the Coolidge Cup, and bringing our curriculum to the Bella Abzug Leadership Institute and MS 50 Summer Rising programs.

We're also hiring for two roles: Program Manager, Events and Outreach, and Executive Assistant to the CEO. Know someone who'd be a great fit?

Plus, ways to volunteer and donate are inside. Check it all out here: https://mailchi.mp/debate/the-resolution-august-edition-ca95cfcaly

Join Our Team: Program Manager, Events and Outreach

The NYCUDL runs about 40 debate tournaments a year for elementary, middle, and high school students across New York City, and we are looking for an experienced Events and Outreach Manager to join our team.
In this role, you will plan and execute tournaments ranging from small district events to large-scale competitions with 700+ students, coordinate professional development days for coaches, and help lead our Summer Debate Institute, and annual gala. A big part of the job is tracking school registration metrics across all programs to ensure target participation levels and tournament capacity goals are met.

We need someone with 5+ years of event or project management experience, strong organizational skills, and a real passion for youth development and educational access.
Salary range is $85,000–$95,000 with full benefits, commuter support, and generous time off.
Full job description and application at debate.nyc/jobs.
We are also hiring an Executive Assistant. Details in the same link.

We are grateful to the attorneys at Blank Rome who volunteered as judges for our Middle School Summer Debate Institute tournament on Friday, July 31.

It is always a highlight when practicing attorneys take time out of their schedules to judge our students. Beyond the feedback they provide (which is consistently sharp and specific), it gives our debaters a real glimpse of where these skills can lead professionally. This was Blank Rome's first time judging with us, and we are thankful to LAC member David Kaufman for connecting us with his colleagues.

Thank you our wonderful friends at New York Cares who volunteered their Friday to invest in the next generation of leaders. Full album coming later this week!

Join Our Team: Program Manager, Events and Volunteers

The NYCUDL runs about 40 debate tournaments a year for elementary, middle, and high school students across New York City, and we are looking for an experienced Events and Volunteer Manager to join our team.

In this role, you will plan and execute tournaments ranging from small district events to large-scale competitions with 700+ students, coordinate professional development days for coaches, and help lead our Summer Debate Institute and annual gala. A big part of the job is building our volunteer judge pipeline— recruiting alumni, law students, and corporate and community partners who show up to support our students.

We need someone with 5+ years of event or project management experience, strong organizational skills, and a real passion for youth development and educational access.

Salary range is $85,000–$95,000 with full benefits, commuter support, and generous time off.

Full job description and application at debate.nyc/jobs.

We are also hiring an Executive Assistant. Details in the same link.

On July 17, we closed our High School Summer Debate Institute with a tournament on the resolution: Resolved: The United States should significantly increase the cap on H-1B visas.
The debaters really took on the resolution building nuanced, well-researched cases on visa caps, labor markets, and economic impact.

We were honored to have incredible volunteer judges for the tournament: summer associates from Latham & Watkins and Brown Rudnick LLP who brought real legal expertise to the room and pushed our students with sharp, thoughtful feedback. A huge thank you to both firms for supporting our students and taking the time to judge!

📷 https://photos.app.goo.gl/G1V4A9TTHkTet7ZD8

Our Summer Debate Institute students visited the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island to dig into their summer resolution: Resolved: The United States should significantly increase the cap on H-1B visas. The trip gave students a chance to compare the open immigration system of the early 20th century with today's system of quotas and caps, the exact tension at the heart of their topic.

Each student carried a "passport" with 6 checkpoints guiding them through Ellis Island. Along the way, they followed the step-by-step process new arrivals experienced, explored the push and pull factors behind migration, and traced the growth and trends of immigration to America over time.

It is one thing to research immigration policy and another to stand where millions first arrived and connect that history directly to the arguments they are building for debate season. We are proud of the curiosity and rigor our students brought to every stop.

📸 https://photos.app.goo.gl/YjVab2pDEnvDiTxW9

It has been six weeks since we gathered at Tribeca Rooftop to celebrate another transformative year of debate with our supporters and community. We are delighted to share the 2026 NYCUDL Champions of Debate Gala highlight video with you!

https://debate.nyc/2026-nycudl-champions-of-debate-gala-video/

Parents! We still have 2 spots remaining in the middle school session of ☀️NYCUDL Summer Debate Institute.

Mon-Fri, July 20-31, 9am-3pm
25 Broadway, NY, NY 10004 (Manhattan)

🗽Field trip: July 24
🏆Tournament: July 31

All experience levels welcome. More info: https://debate.nyc/summer-institute/