Teachers Faculty and Staff
2024 Staff List
Cassandra Lizardi
I debated under the guidance of Kris Wright in high school at JBS Law Magnet with DISD. I competed in both policy and Lincoln Douglas in the Urban Debate League, state forensics, and national level. During and after high school I judged and coached for the Dallas Urban Debate Alliance. I received my Bachelor of Arts in Political Science 2021' and my Masters in Education with a focus on Social Sciences in 2022'. I'm now a full-time teacher in Oakland, California teaching 6th grade History and English Language Arts. My special interests are anti-imperialism, anti-capitalism, structural violence, animal intelligence, Central American history, and overall philosophy.
Kris Wright
Kris Wright has been coaching debate for over thirteen years. He is the Director of Debate for Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School in Dallas. He is also a co-founder of TDC. As a high school debate coach, Kris’s students have been successful nationally and locally in Dallas on one of the toughest circuits in the country. Prior to coaching at Irma Rangel, Kris had exclusively coached LD, working for Marcus, Westlake, Southlake, University School, and Law Magnet. His students achieved success on the local and national levels. In the span of six years, his LDers reached semis or better of TFA state five times, including the 2009 TFA State Champion and Top Speaker. He qualified many students to the TOC & NSDA Nationals and to reach elimination rounds—including a semifinalist at the TOC and top-11 finishes at NSDA Nationals.