IVY BRIDGE ACADEMY - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- IBA Summer Camp Instructor
Ms. Christine Baek is in Brown University's Class of 2025 interested in pursuing English and Literary Arts.
Job Titles:
- Coach
- IBA JV Debate Coach
Job Titles:
- IBA Head Debate Coach College Consultant
- IBA Head Debate Coach Director of UWG Debate College Admissions Consultant
Dr. Hester is renowned in the debating community for his achievements in coaching the very best debaters in the nation.
I've been involved in competitive debate for the past 7 years. I started at Taylor Road Middle School's debate club, organized by Chattahoochee High School, where I later continued debating. In high school, I was the first team in four years to qualify for the high school policy Tournament of Champions, qualifying twice. I received speaker awards at tournaments such as Harvard, Marist, Isidore Newman, and more.
In my first year as a coach, I have guided local schools like John's Creek High School and Alpharetta High School to multiple bid rounds, including four bids to the policy TOC, and coached students to eliminations at tournaments such as Westminster, UGA, Bingham, and more. I began judging national competitive debates as a sophomore for the Chicago Urban Debate League and later judged within Georgia's competitive circuit and the national circuit, covering local public forum debate to policy rounds at the high school Tournament of Champions.
Job Titles:
- Coach
- Coach Debate Tournament Coordinator
- Coach English Teacher
- Coach for Novice Debate at IBA Cumming / Suwanee Campus
- Coach Math Teacher
- Coach since 2017 at IBA Cumming / Suwanee Campus
Job Titles:
- IBA Johns Creek Center Director
Job Titles:
- IBA Marietta Center Director
Job Titles:
- Teacher ( MS - College ) SAT Teacher
- Teacher ( MS - HS ) SAT Teacher
Job Titles:
- IBA Debate Coach English Teacher
Jada Ford received her B.A. in English at Louisiana Christian University. She is scheduled to graduate in the winter of 2023 with an M.F.A. in Creative Writing. She is an adjunct professor at Point University and a debate coach at the Ivy Bridge Marietta Campus.
I am a debate coach for the IBA Marietta Campus and I have been involved in debate for about 6 years, competing and getting top places at tournaments including qualifying for NSDA nationals. Now I am a student at Georgia State University focusing on Philosphy and Education; additionally I am a Director for the GSU Debate Team. I have coached students to win tournaments at Alabama State, and Princeton and students to qualify for NSDA nationals.
I received my BA from Florida Atlantic University and my Masters in Curriculum: Reading from Grand Canyon University. I have 20 years' experience teaching students ranging from gifted to special education, 3rd to 12th grade. While I am certified to teach all major subjects, my focus is English/Language Arts. I am retired from Fulton County Georgia, but I've not stopped teaching. I've been at Ivy Bridge Academy for the past 5 years. For me, there is nothing more satisfying than helping students achieve success in academics.
Job Titles:
- Debate Coach Math Teacher
For over ten years, Mr. Eric Lang has taught high school English, SAT reading and writing, and essay writing.
Job Titles:
- Director
- IBA Marietta Center Director
Casey Kang serves as the director of our IBA Marietta Center.
Job Titles:
- IBA Summer Camp Math & Writing Instructor
Ms. Eman Sayani is a rising sophomore at Boston University where she is working towards a B.A. in Neuroscience. She graduated from Alpharetta High School in 2020 where she was involved with swim & dive, and as the President of both National Honor Society and Raider Ambassadors. Eman looks forward to working with students this summer to ensure that they are prepared to excel in this upcoming school year.
Job Titles:
- IBA Debate Coach Debate Tournament Coordinator
Ms. Siobhan Connolly is a graduate of UGA (Communication & Public Speaking)
Learn about our IBA Debate Teams
I have been involved in various styles of debate for over 15 years. My experience started with policy debate at Chattahoochee High School, where I won the state championship twice and reached out rounds at multiple national tournaments. After that, I debated at Georgia State University and started working with the Atlanta Urban Debate League. Post-graduation from UGA, I began working with Ivy Bridge Academy and have been there for over 9 years now. During that time, we have grown IBA into a nationally competitive program. Over the past few years, my students have championed MS and HS Harvard, Georgetown, TOC, and NSDA nationals - along with numerous top speaker awards.
Job Titles:
- Founder
- IBA Johns Creek Center Director
Susan Rhee is the founder of Ivy Bridge Academy, and currently serves as the IBA Johns Creek Center Director.