Our team

For the past thirty years Julian actively participated in speech and debate activities in the US and abroad. He started at Buchholz High School in Florida, where he became half of the first team in his school’s history to earn a bid to the Tournament of Champions in policy debate. Julian went on to become a scholarship debater at the University of North Texas. He advanced to the elimination rounds of most major national tournaments and went on to work with the UNT debate team.

In addition to working with college students, Julian worked for years at Highland Park, Grapevine, St Augustine and Edgemont high schools. His students reached the elimination rounds and won speaker awards at every national high school tournament, including two semifinalists at the ToC and the Texas and New York State championships. In his first year with Kugnus ACTS his middle school team reached the final round of the National Junior Forensics League’s national championship.

Julian went on to become the director of debate at the Asian Debate League in Taipei and later at the Putai school in Puli. He’s worked with the top debate students in Taiwan, won the international division of public forum at the ToC and reached elimination rounds of major international PF tournaments in China, Japan, and South Korea.

More recently, Julian served as the academic director for the National High School Debate League of China where he organized five debate camps and around 50 tournaments a year. Outside of debate, Julian has real world writing experience working as an independent copywriter for four multimillion-dollar companies and served as the graduate assistant editor of HoundBytes magazine. He is currently the founder of Mekong Speech and Debate in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and a master’s candidate in communication at Eastern New Mexico University.

For over a decade, Tyler has built a diverse and grounded career rooted entirely in Cambodia. His early instructional work in the capital included serving as a primary school teacher. During this classroom period, he taught all core subjects while placing a strong, practical emphasis on English pronunciation. Tyler expanded his professional work into personalized one-on-one tutoring. He designs custom lessons tailored directly to the specific goals of his students, who range from everyday learners to corporate CEOs and government officials.

Tyler also teaches specialized debate preparation classes for students looking to sharpen their public speaking skills. In addition to coaching, he regularly serves as an accredited debate judge to evaluate competitive rounds. His teaching style avoids stiff jargon, focusing instead on natural, conversational communication and practical clarity. Every part of his work reflects a straightforward, approachable commitment to helping people communicate with confidence.

SreyLai graduated as an A student from Samdach Techo Hun Sen Soung High School in Thboung Khmum province. She received a scholarship to attend Beltei University in Phnom Penh and studied tourism and hospitality. At Beltei University, SreyLai joined the debate team and reached the final round of the university’s 2026 Season 4 tournament. SreyLai is proficient in both Khmer and English, and brings her positive attitude and energy to the classroom.

Alexander is an international relations specialist based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. He is a lecturer and senior international relations officer at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics and Finance (UEF) and chairs the Education and Training Committee at AmCham Vietnam.

He is the founder and managing director of ARP Education, where he provides partnership development and advisory services for organizations in Vietnam, leads speech and debate programs and public speaking workshops, and advises students applying to universities in the U.S. and beyond.

Alexander is an active member of the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam, the Council of Taiwanese Chambers of Commerce in Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City Branch), and the China Chamber of Commerce, Ho Chi Minh City Branch. He is also the editor-in-chief of My Asia Connections, an internationally-minded blog focused on promoting a greater understanding of the Asia-Pacific.

He holds master’s degrees from SOAS University of London and Peking University and a bachelor’s degree from Portland State University.

Josephine brings 8 years of experience in teaching speech, storytelling, and public forum debate, along with 5 years of experience in college counseling, interview prep, and coaching students in building powerful personal narratives for applications. Josephine graduated from University of Pittsburgh with a degree focused on education and communication, and previously studied at RDFZ ICC, where she began her debate journey and developed her interest in cross-cultural storytelling.

She has worked with students across public and international schools in Beijing, Qingdao, and Dalian. Josephine also taught at multiple summer speech and debate camps for We Schools Debate Association (WSDA) in China. In addition to teaching, Josephine has years of experience helping students gain acceptance at many of the top high schools for study abroad programs. Her students have gone on to speak confidently in competitions, interviews, and life.

Josephine is known for cultivating quiet leadership, self-advocacy, and authentic voice through her teaching. Her classrooms emphasize visualized logic, interactive drills, and narrative building—not just for competition, but for life.