MNUDL Selects 2025 Debate Judges of the Year
From seasoned former debaters to passionate newcomers, these dedicated volunteers shared their expertise and countless hours to elevate student voices across every MNUDL debate program. Selections for the Judge of the Year awards were primarily made by number of hours spent judging for the Minnesota Urban Debate League, determined by our program team and Salesforce database.
But whether you’ve judged just one tournament or a whole season of debates, know we appreciate you! Every round you spend listening to students, considering the issues, and providing constructive criticism makes an impact. You help our debaters speak out, gracefully handle wins and losses, and build important academic skills.
Learn more about how they’ve impacted our debaters below.
Overall Judge of the Year: Ingri Ramirez
Ingri Ramirez
Ingri Ramirez has reclaimed the Volunteer of the Year title! She’s the only volunteer that has judged all five of our core programs in one year, judging an impressive number of rounds—and now she’ll bring her passion and dedication to spending a year as our Volunteer Coordinator! Thank you, Ingri!
Financial Literacy Leadership Debate Judge of the Year
Lauren Hanson
Another title defender, Lauren Hanson (Riversource) was honored for a second time for participating in all of this program’s tournaments, even serving as the speaker at our Championship capstone.
East African Policy Debate Judge of the Year (Tie)
Vanessa Muoh:
At last year’s volunteer appreciation event, Vanessa said, “I will win this award next year.” She kept her promise by showing up consistently for East African Policy Debate and recruiting new judges for the league!
Pwanori Wonosikou:
Pwanori was introduced to our league thanks to Vanessa. He showed consistency, showing up for every tournament, and intuitively knew how to speak to students in a way that makes them feel understood and encouraged.
Debate en Espanol Judge of the Year (Tie)
Sandra Balcazar
Although Sandra was new to judging this year, she remained committed to learning for and improving. By the end of the season, she could give finely tuned feedback to debaters and even judge advanced rounds!
Adolfo Perez
Like Sandra, once Adolfo started, he just kept getting better and better. He became so comfortable interacting with the kids that he helped present the awards at one of our tournaments!
Middle School Debate Judge of the Year
Keith Bistodeau
First in the judges lounge and first in rounds, Keith enthusiastically showed up for our middle school debate season, judging all rounds at every tournament he attended. Keith also provided valuable help at tournaments in our other programs.
MSHSL Debate Judge of the Year (Tie)
Maren Lien
Need a JV judge? Need a varsity judge? Need someone with graphic design skills? Just call Maren. Maren was tied for the most rounds judged this season for MSHSL debate, and she also volunteered her talents to design MNUDL’s sticker for the UDNC, where students from different leagues traded swag.
Teddy Munson
Teddy’s judging record, tied with Maren’s, is made all the more impressive by how often Teddy went from coaching, to judging, to coaching, to judging, all within the span of a day. When the tournament needed a judge, Teddy would answer the call!
Summer Camp Judge of the Year
Max Ulven
Being recognized at national tournaments was not enough for Max! He spent his summer steeped in debate. After graduation, Max judged the most rounds at Summer Speech & Debate Camp, sharing valuable knowledge with aspiring debaters.
