PEOPLE
Since its inception, over 200 UW undergraduates have trained to become speech consultants. Coaching speech provides benefits to both the trainer and the receiver. Visitors to the Center get high-quality feedback that can immediately improve their speeches. Coaches deeper their sense of rhetorical judgment, which makes them better speakers and consultants.
Matt McGarrity | Director
Matt is a Teaching Professor of Communication at the University of Washington.
Matt started the Center in 2006 and has trained every consultant since. Matt’s teaching and research focus on public speaking, argumentation, debate, and the history of rhetoric. He founded and continues to direct the University of Washington Center for Speech and Debate. He has won multiple teaching awards, including UW’s Distinguished Teaching Award, Toastmaster’s Communications & Leadership Award, and the National Speakers’ Association’s Outstanding Professor Award. His free online public speaking class has reached a million students in over 170 countries.
Affiliate Faculty
Justin Eckstein
Justin Eckstein (PhD, University of Denver) is an Associate Professor of Communication at Pacific Lutheran University and Affiliate Faculty in the Department of Communication at the University of Washington. Dr. Eckstein studies how a sensual social supplies citizens with resources for advocacy. He co-edited Cookery: Food Rhetorics and Social Production (University of Alabama Press), published in peer review journals, numerous edited collections, and conference proceedings. Dr. Eckstein’s scholarly contributions won him the 2020 Rhetorical Communication Theory’s Early Career award. Since 2015, he has worked with the Washington State Debate Coalition (WSDC) a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to supporting debates in the state of Washington. In 2020-2021, he was awarded a Fellowship at the Jackson Family Foundation. Since then, Dr. Eckstein has used his expertise to consult with likeminded groups that share his commitment to depolarization.
Current Consultants
Brinley Aiken
Despite her deep love for the craft, she recalls the nerves that accompanied each speech during her time in COM 220. She understands how intimidating public speaking can be and hopes to encourage others who are stepping out of their comfort zone. Her goal as a coach is to empower students to feel confident in their abilities and firmly believes that with the right coaching and practice, anyone can become comfortable with public speaking.
Allen Bautista
Allen is a third-year student pursuing Economics and Finance degrees at the University of Washington. He has practiced speaking in front of audiences ever since he was ten years old, when he entered a passage recitation competition. Today, he hones his skills and confidence through active participation in his ministry, frequently speaking in front of large audiences. During his time in COM 220, he eventually gained even more confidence through experience, allowing him to perform at his best. While he views speech structures and skills as important, he emphasizes the importance of building confidence in helping people improve in public speaking.
Helena Borozan
Faith Ellis
Hannah Madsen
Hannah is a third-year student at the University of Washington majoring in Political Science and Communication. She comes to UW from Dallas, Texas, and has a strong background in acting and theater, which inspired her love for public speaking.
Through her experiences on stage and in the classroom, Hannah has learned that confidence in public speaking is something that grows with practice and encouragement. As a tutor, she is passionate about helping students build confidence in a supportive, low-pressure environment where mistakes are part of the learning process. Hannah understands how challenging public speaking can be and is excited to work with students to help them become confident, effective,
and engaging speakers.
Reese Reddemann
Reese is a Communication major at the University of Washington and a speech consultant at the Center for Speech and Debate. Originally from Los Angeles, he’s always been interested in how communication plays a role in confidence, connection, and everyday interactions.
Reese enjoys working with speakers at all stages and understands that public speaking can feel uncomfortable or intimidating at times. As a consultant, he focuses on helping speakers organize their ideas, feel more confident in their delivery, and find a style that feels natural to them. He aims to create a welcoming, low-pressure space where speakers can practice, ask questions, and leave feeling more confident than when they walked in.
Henry Rivera
Henry is a second-year student at the University of Washington. After completing one year in the Foster School of Business, he is now pivoting his academic focus toward communication after discovering a passion for helping people become more confident speakers. Having experienced anxiety that comes with public speaking assignments Henry sought help through the UW speaking Center while taking COM 220. Today he uses that experience to create a warm and welcoming environment to help calm initial nerves and offers the same support that helped him.
Henry designs speaking tactics that encourage, enable, and reward practice because he believes confidence is strengthened through preparation. He works to ensure each speaker leaves feeling more capable and confident than when they started.
Center Alumni
The Center has had many UW students serve as tutors and consultants. Many of whom continue to apply their consulting skills. Below are a few notable alumni of the program.
Mikayla Hall
Mikayla is a content editor for a non-profit, preparing opinion pieces and editing original content. She was previously a speechwriter for Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Eastern Washington.
“The most valuable aspect of tutoring at the speaking center was the opportunity to work with so many different people. You learn how to work with people to improve their writing and speaking, but in a way that highlights their own unique styles and voices. While I no longer serve in a speechwriting role, the ability to adapt my own writing and editing to other people’s voices is a skill I’ll carry with me to any job I may have down the road.”
Maddy Epstein
Maddy is currently a Senior Communications Manager at Microsoft. Prior to that, she worked for years as a Communications Account Director at the PR firm, WE Communications. Maddy has drafted executive speeches, helped manage Microsoft’s Environmental Sustainability Communications Agency Team, and launched a Corporate Responsibility Campaign for AT&T’s CEO. She also helped lead communications for Capitol Hill Block Party.
“Being a tutor in the Public Speaking Center has been integral to my career. I have heavily referenced my experience as a public speaking tutor in every job interview. Beyond landing the job, my experience has helped me perform in my job. Public speaking is a critical skill, especially if you work in the field of communications. As they say – if you really want to learn something, try teaching it to someone else. My experience as a tutor has informed how I write speeches, add humanizing charisma to my writing, and help brief others for public speaking engagements. I am so grateful for my experience at the public speaking center.”
Elizabeth Woolf
Elizabeth is currently a speech and communication consultant at Woolf Communication focusing on engineering. She has also consulted in the Healthcare and Life Sciences industry. She consulted for Slalom and served as a keynote speaker for their events. She is a Make-A-Wish Ambassador, delivering talks in Washington.
Serving as a consultant in the Center “changed how I perform as a professional. Not only did it exponentially increase my skills in public speaking, but it taught me how to give and receive feedback – a critical part of career growth.”
William Ray
William is an Analytics Lead for Google Cloud Storage. He has worked in economic consulting, preparing analyses for various cases, such as the lawsuits against mortgage originators after the 2008 financial crisis.
The Center is “a great opportunity to learn to do a consulting-type role where you meet 1:1 with others and offer them support. I also feel strongly that the best way to learn something is by teaching. Often when I have to speak now I self-reflect by thinking about what advice I’d give to someone who came to the speaking center. It was a great use of my time and I’m glad I was able to take advantage of it in college.
Hannah Doyle
Hannah Doyle is a diplomat in the U.S. Foreign Service. As a Foreign Service Officer, her mission is to promote peace, support prosperity, and protect American citizens while advancing U.S. interests abroad. She graduated from the University of Washington with a B.A. in Communication and a minor in Scandinavian Area Studies.
“My time at the UW Speaking Center was fundamental to cultivating effective communication skills. The knowledge I gained as a speech consultant – how to think on my feet, how to build rapport, and, most importantly, how to listen – informs my work on a daily basis.”
