Tom has a B.A. in philosophy from Swarthmore College and an M.A. in philosophy from the University of Chicago. Tom has spent 20 years actively coaching debate and has worked as a full-time classroom debate teacher, been the director of debate at large institutional programs and is the Executive Director of NSD. 

Tom is one of the most successful debate coaches in the 21st century. He finished 2nd at the 2003 Tournament of Champions, has helped dozens of students advance to elimination debates at the TOC and is the only coach in debate history to coach three straight students to the championship debate of the NSDA National Championship in Lincoln-Douglas debate. Tom’s students have reached finals of or championed every prestigious national invitational in the United States, including Apple Valley, Blake, Berkeley, Emory, Greenhill, Glenbrooks, Harvard, Lexington, Stanford, St. Marks, Valley and Yale. 

Tom met his wife when they were in high school, where she was a policy debater on his team. They now live in Nebraska and are the proud parents of three sons: Benjamin, Jonathan, and Daniel.