Director Bios
Joel Anguiano
Senior Director
Specialty: Program Oral Interp., Poetry, Prose, Duo, Dramatic Interp.
Joel Anguiano competed in both High School at Bel Air High School in El Paso Texas, and college speech at El Paso Community College. In College he was a 4 time Pi Kappa Delta National Champion in Prose, POI, Drama and Duo Interpretation as well as a National Champion at the Phi Rho Pi National Community College Speech Championships.
Immediately after competing he coached at El Paso Community College as the Assistant Director of Forensics where he coached 32 Phi Rho Pi National Champions, as well as 7 consecutive years as the Gold Team Winner at Phi Rho Pi. He also coached 4 consecutive years of top community college at the AFA-NST National tournament. After his tenure at EPCC he coached at Wiley College where he coached a Pi Kappa Delta and NFA National Champion in Poetry Interpretation.
Currently Joel works as an Executive Director for Advantage Communications and is the District Director at Hacienda La Puente Unified School District. In 2023 he coached the Middle School National Champion in Program Oral Interpretation.
Joel has been an elected council member for the Pi Kappa Delta National Speech and Debate Association as well as a committee member for the AFA-NST National Championships and the National Forensic Association Speech Championships.
Quote: "What matters in life is not what happens to you, but what you remember and how you remember it.” – Gabriel García Márquez
Mariela Garcia-Alvarado
Senior Director
Specialty: Debate, Limited Preparation, Platform, Interpretation
Mariela attended California State University-Fullerton and pursued three Bachelors of Arts degrees in American Studies, Chicana/o Studies, and Philosophy. Mariela debated for the Varsity Policy Debate division, receiving multiple individual speaker and finalist awards along the way. She was awarded the Giles Forensics Scholarship and was recognized as a CEDA All American Scholar.
Mariela has coached numerous school and academy teams in California and Illinois since 2015, helping many students place in finalist rounds, raise their grades, and get accepted to prestigious schools. To her, speech and debate activities act as a vessel for students to excel as students, citizens, family members, and friends, "Our students build their confidence to be active listeners, speakers, and members of a community. Most importantly, our students learn to care about the world and their ability to change it. Not all students will be first-place winners, it is simply not possible for everyone to win. But they will gain a network of support in this community. They will learn to compete against themselves to reach their fullest potential. And they will learn how to create goals and the work ethic necessary to meet them. Our students will learn how to care for themselves and others, and that is much better than a trophy."
Claribel Gomez
District Director
Specialty: Prose, Dramatic and Humorous Interpretation
After competing with Sal Tinajero's Fullerton High School team, Claribel Gomez decided to share her team's knowledge with other students. She believes that all students deserve an opportunity to explore their public speaking skills to find their voice. Claribel believes in using a student's natural abilities and skills to give them a competitive edge when performing. Her philosophy is to "Pay it Forward". She felt changed after participating in Speech and Debate, and strives to help others grow competitively and personally.
Vanessa Young
District Director
Specialty: HI, Storytelling
Vanessa's speech journey began in 8th grade, and her speech journey inspired her to find her passion and her voice in the forensic world. Her competitive speech world came to an end to focus on her education in the world of hospitality and food and beverage. Vanessa Young Studied Hospitality Management with a minor in Entrepreneurship at Grand Canyon University.
She has been a coach for Advantage communications since 2019, and has joined the team full time, realizing her passion is to help students discover their voice, and become their most confident self. Vanessa loves to see the growth of students in this space, and is excited to be apart of the team.
Raul Ruano
Co-Director
Specialty: Platform, Limited Preparation, Debate
Raul Ruano studied Philosophy and American Studies at California State University, Fullerton. Throughout his undergrad, he competed in Varsity Policy Debate, winning multiple awards, including: 1st place speaker, top-10 speaker finishes, and octo-final finishes in 2 National tournaments. He was also awarded All-American Debater at the national CEDA Policy Debate Tournament in 2018.
His training in performative-style argumentation fueled a passion for teaching others how to use Debate as a platform for refining civic leadership and critical thinking skills. Raul has trained and coached up many students to compete at a higher level in Limited Preparation and Debate events, as well as Platform speaking events.
Emily Trader
Co-Director
Specialty: Platforms & Interpretation
Emily Trader graduated from Bradley University in 2021 with a degree in Spanish and History. She also competed for Bradley University’s illustrious speech team, making her way to four national finals, becoming the Vice President, and winning a national championship in Persuasive Speaking in 2019. She has coached for Santa Ana Unified School District and Advantage since May of 2020, and now proudly works with the brilliant students of Peoria, IL.
Emily’s extensive experience and success in both interpretation and platform govern her belief that students can convey any important message through argumentation, humor, drama, or movement. Her coaching paradigm emphasizes accessibility, meeting students where they are, and creating a compassionate environment in which students of any and all identities can thrive in their unique creative expression.
Sal Tinajero Jr
Assistant Director
Specialty: Platform, Limited Preparation
Sal Tinajero is a graduate of Western Kentucky University and a graduate student at University of San Francisco. He has 11 years of experience with Speech and Debate as a competitor, and has coached since 2016. In that time, he has won multiple awards on the State and National levels as well as worked with students to reach the final rounds at National tournaments. He works predominantly with Interpretation events, but also specializes in Platform Speaking.
In addition to his experience in Forensics, he is a published author. He has been published in Evocations Review, Zephyrus Magazine, and in Zimbell Publishing House's Secrets in the Water Anthology. He was also commended by the Wilbur and Niso Smith Foundation in their Writers of Tomorrow series. As a coach, he hopes to foster a safe space for students to develop as speakers and as people.
Joshua Beckles
Assistant Director
Specialty: Dramatic, Duo, and Poetry Interpretation
Joshua is a recent graduate of the Bradley University Speech Team, known for his charisma and boisterous attitude. Over his forensics career, he has found himself in five National Final Rounds. He was also a part of the first black Duo team to win first and second at the National Tournament in Bradley's history. When not working on Speech, Joshua writes poetry and coaches his students. He has had the honor of coaching multiple National Finalists and is excited to continue the positivity and success in the activity!
Josh's coaching philosophy is to always help build and grow off of students' creativity. His desire is for each student to leave Speech with the confidence and creativity to express their thoughts and emotions through Public Speaking and Interpretation skills. His mission is to guide students to master the skills of Public Speaking.