David Madden
Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director

David Madden is the co-founder and co-Executive Director of International Academic Competitions and the International History Olympiad. He began his involvement in academic competitions in the 1990’s playing quiz bowl for Ridgewood High School and Princeton University. In 2003, David received a Rotary scholarship to pursue a master’s in international relations at the Free University of Berlin. During his stay in Berlin, he appeared as a contestant on the American quiz show Jeopardy! winning 19 games in a row. He also participated in the Jeopardy! All Star Games tournament in early 2019 which he and his teammates won. While taking coursework to become a history teacher, he established the National History Bee and Bowl in June 2010. This quickly became a full-time position in its own right, particularly as in the 2011-2012 academic year, the International History Bee and Bowl were launched in Europe and Asia. These competitions, and many others, including the International History Olympiad, are now organized under the aegis of International Academic Competitions. As of 2025, over 100,000 students in over 50 countries compete in IAC events each school year. David is also a published art historian, an Ambassador with the Rainforest Alliance, and once hiked the entire length of the US east coast for the Fisher House Foundation, a veterans charity. He enjoys running, skiing, baking chocolate chip cookies, and playing with IAC’s mascots Apple, Maui, and Gigi (three cheeky parakeets).

Nolwenn Madden
Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director

Nolwenn Madden is the co-Executive Director of International Academic Competitions and the co-founder of the International History Olympiad. Prior to her career in academic competitions, Nolwenn, a native of Alsace and dual French-US citizen, studied at the French grande école EM Lyon where she received a MS in Management. She also worked as a translator for Microsoft and booking.com before launching the International History Bee and Bowl in 2011. She and David were co-coaches for the first team from the USA to attend the International Geography Olympiad in Kyoto, Japan in the summer of 2013. This indirectly led to the idea for the first International History Olympiad two years later. She has organized and directed hundreds of tournaments for IAC throughout North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, and oversees organizational strategy and outreach for IAC. In her spare time, she enjoys playing the ukulele, which she began playing at the 2016 International History Olympiad in Honolulu. She also enjoys skiing and goofing around with Apple, Maui, and Gigi as well playing the cello, baking delicious French desserts, and traveling.

Kiersten Brown
Director of Communications

If you follow us on social media or email IAC, you’ve likely talked to Kiersten! USA West Coast born and raised, she now works and lives in Upstate New York with her husband and teenaged kids. One of the IAC Jeopardy! alumni, Kiersten brings a love of maps and history to the organization as well as a love of trivia she loves to share with the kids at regional competitions. In her spare time, she writes book reviews and enjoys photography and writing.

Kevin Commo

Co-Director of Statistics and Scheduling

Kevin Commo has worked full time for International Academic Competition since 2022, focusing primarily on staffing for regular-season events and statistics for national and international events. He previously staffed the 2022 International History Olympiad in Princeton, New Jersey. Kevin has long been associated with the quiz bowl circuit in Vermont, where he serves as Tournament Director of the Vermont-NEA Scholars’ Bowl and coaches the team at Burlington High School. In his free time, Kevin enjoys fishing, kayaking, board games and trivia.

Joseph Cox

Director of Staff

Joseph Cox serves as the Director of USA Middle & Elementary School Operations for International Academic Competitions. He joined IAC full-time in 2022 after several years of supporting tournaments as an assistant tournament director and science content creator. Prior to his current role, Joseph spent seven years as a high school science teacher in Florida and was honored with the Pinellas County Teachers Association Kraf-Custer Outstanding Educators Award in 2018. He holds a B.S. in Biochemistry with a minor in History from Purdue University. Outside of work, Joseph enjoys playing the piano, reading and watching science fiction and fantasy, gaming, and spending time with his partner, their dog, and three cats. He is also an avid Dungeons & Dragons player and currently plays in a regular campaign with friends.

Audra Dankwardt
Director of Student Accommodations

Audra is currently a PhD student in School Psychology at UMass Boston. She has spent most of her life in Massachusetts, and joined the IAC staffing team in Fall 2021. She has served as an Outreach Coordinator, US Operation Specialist, and tournament director for regional tournaments across New England. In Paris, she will serve as Director of Student Accommodations. She loves traveling and is excited to be joining the team of IAC staff at the 2025 International History Olympiad in Paris!

Jason Flowers
Director of Exams & Assessments

Jason Flowers is the Director of Exams for IAC and the 2025 International History Olympiad. Jason joined IAC in 2015 as a Team Leader for the US Geography Team and as the head writer for the US Geography Championships (USGC). Since then, he has helped to write the US History Bee and National Political Science Bee qualifying exams, all levels of USGC exams, National Championship Exams in history, and various exams and events for the International History Olympiad and IGC. In addition to writing for IAC, Jason is the Quiz Bowl and History Bowl coach at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy in Austin, TX, where his teams have won two National History Bowl titles and four quiz bowl national championships.

Scott Fowler
Co-Director of Field Trips

Shortly after being awarded IAC Middle School Coach of the Year in 2015, Scott began his career with IAC at the first International History Olympiad in Williamsburg, Virginia, USA. He has staffed every National Championships since then, as well as five International Championships. Scott also works as the Director of Scheduling for IAC in the USA, directs numerous Middle & Elementary School Regional tournaments and assists with outreach in the USA. Scott’s middle school teams have placed in the top 10 at the National Championships five times, and were crowned NAQT National Champions in 2024. Scott and his wife Traci enjoy wine, traveling, and soccer.

John Garner
Co-Director of Field Trips

John Garner is a former high school and middle school social studies teacher, who currently serves as the US National Director of Outreach and Engagement for International Academic Competitions. When he is not spreading word about IAC in schools all over the USA you can find him staffing regional and national championships and facilitating engaging events for students participating in the International History Olympiad, International Geography Championships, and International Environmental Science Olympiad. In his sixteen years of teaching middle and high school social studies, John was repeatedly recognized for excellence in teaching, most recently being named the 2022 Gilder Lehrman Georgia (US State) History Teacher of the Year. Additionally, John serves as the President of the National History Club and sits on the Board of Directors of the Georgia Council for History Education. Having led close to two hundred field trips in his career, including trips for IAC in five different countries at our world championship level events, John is excited to bring his enthusiasm and experience to the Olympiad and to Paris!

Lee Holden

Director of Buzzer-Based Competitions

Lee Holden is the Senior Director of Question Production for IAC. He serves as Competition Director at our National tournaments and Buzzer Competition Director for Internationals. As a high school student, Lee was a competitor in the National History Bee and his team, Dorman High School, lost a close match against the eventual champion to finish tied for 3rd position in the 2013 National History Bowl. Lee is also a writer and will receive his MFA in Creative Writing – Fiction from the Bennington Writing Seminars in January, 2026. In his spare time, Lee enjoys reading and watching reality TV with his partner and cats at his home in Vermont.

Deborah Pettingill
Director of Logistics

Deborah Pettingill is the Senior Director of Operations for International Academic Competitions where she supervises all of the staff in the United States and Canada and is the Tournament Director for both the Varsity and Junior Varsity US National Championships and the Middle and Elementary School US National Championships. She joined IAC full time in June of 2021 after working for IAC part time as a Coordinator for the Middle and Elementary School Division and directing tournaments around the country. Deborah was a history teacher for 22 years at Largo High School in Florida where she taught both US and World History. Deborah coached the History Bowl Team. was advisor for Rho Kappa (the History Honor Society) and coordinated both the school and county National History Day competitions. She enjoys traveling with Eleanor, her adventure cat, fostering kittens for rescue organizations, and participating in historical reenactment (especially the Roman time period).

Ragavan Ramsubramani
Co-Director of Statistics and Scheduling

Ragavan Ramsubramani is the Co-Director of Statistics and Scheduling for the 2025 International History Olympiad. He is excited to return to France for the first time since his college semester abroad in Lyon. Ragavan’s 2017 Jeopardy! appearance ultimately led to his start with IAC in 2020 as an online tournament reader. He now supports US regional tournaments as Waitlist Coordinator and as an Online Tournament Coordinator. In addition, Ragavan has helped to implement the widespread adoption within IAC of digital scorekeeping and question distribution. Outside of IAC, Ragavan has degrees in Finance and International Studies from the University of Pennsylvania and works as an equity research analyst. In his spare time, Ragavan enjoys playing trivia online, reading, escape rooms and watching British murder mysteries.

Anthony Walker-Pearson
Director of Host School Arrangements

Anthony is Head of History and Geography (Grades 6 to 10) at École Jeannine Manuel – the host school for this year’s Olympiad! He founded the school’s History Club in 2016 with 8 students; it has since grown to include 100 students passionate about history. These students performed brilliantly during the 2025 European Championships in Vienna, emerging as Champions in the Varsity, Junior Varsity, and Middle School Divisions. Anthony is very excited to welcome staff, students, and parents from around the world to Paris and to help ensure that this is the best International History Olympiad yet!

Eli Bertuccioli
Assistant Director of Student Accommodations

Eli has just graduated from the University of Cambridge, where he read for a BA in Philosophy. During his time in Cambridge, he was variously a Scholar of Sidney Sussex College, an undergraduate representative on the Board of the Faculty of Philosophy, a very mediocre rower and coxswain, and an incipient knitter, among other things. His philosophical work focuses on beauty and related concepts, both in modern research and in a wide variety of historical periods, with recent projects on philosophy of love in the Renaissance, and the relationship between beauty and virtue in Plato and Aristotle.

Joan Dietrich
Assistant Director of Staff

Joan is IAC’s Regional Coordinator for Canada, and is delighted to be attending the Olympiad in Paris. A native of Vancouver, Canada, Joan participated in Reach for the Top, a national quiz competition, when she was in high school. Joan has a degree in English Literature from the University of British Columbia, and is a certified Montessori Early Childhood instructor. Her appearance on Jeopardy! in 2019 led to her working with IAC. Joan enjoys playing trivia with her online team, watching World War II documentaries, and spending time with her family and her energetic corgi.

Abigail Ecal
Assistant Director of Statistics

Abigail Ecal has been working as a Question Editor for IAC since 2022. Abigail is an alumna of Milpitas High School, where she founded her school’s quiz bowl club during her junior year. She then went on to earn her BA in History with a Minor in Biology from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo in 2019. In her free time, Abigail enjoys watching movies, completing her daily New York Times puzzles, and putting her knowledge to use in local pub trivia nights. Since having previously staffed for regional tournaments in the Bay Area, national tournaments, and the International Geography Championships in 2024, Abigail is looking forward to staffing her second International History Olympiad this summer!

Deborah Holden-Holloway

Music Coordinator

Deborah Holden Holloway is excited to be serving as the Music Coordinator for this year’s International History Olympiad. Having served as a music minister for over 53 years, she has extensive experience working with all ages, from beginners to professional musicians and everything in between. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from William Paterson University, a Masters in Sacred Music from Westminster Choir College, Princeton, certifications in Orff Schulwerk, has been on the faculty of conferences for the Presbyterian Association of Musicians, and serves on the board of the local chapter of the American Guild of Organists. Debbi plays many instruments, conducts, composes and arranges music and is passionate about helping people make music an important part of their lives. Of note: with the exception of his parents, she has known David Madden, (Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of the Olympiad) longer than anyone else at the Olympiad!

Marshall Mullins
Assistant Director of Logistics

Marshall has been staffing events across the United States for IAC since 2012, most recently serving as its Director of US Varsity and Junior Varsity Operations. This will be his third International History Olympiad, having attended the Olympiads in 2016 and 2018. He lives in Illinois with his wife and two young daughters, and enjoys puzzles, board gaming and quizbowl!

Jess Peña
Assistant Director of Competitions

Jess Peña is the Assistant Director of Competitions for the 2025 International History Olympiad, a role she also served in at both the 2025 Varsity and Junior Varsity Nationals and the 2025 Elementary and Middle School Nationals in the USA. She got her start with IAC in 2021 writing National Championship Exams and continues to contribute to the various exams and events at both national and international tournaments. During the school year, Jess supports regional tournaments in the US on the Elementary and Middle School team. In addition to her work with IAC, Jess teaches AP US History at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Austin, TX.

Vella Ross
Assistant Director of Student Accommodations

Vella works as a chemical biologist at UMass Chan Medical School in Worcester, Massachusetts. They have been working at IAC since 2022 and are excited to staff another International History Olympiad. In their free time, they enjoy birding, reading, swimming, playing water polo, and hanging out with their cat, Malina.

Sara DelVillano
Trivial Pursuit Event Director, Assistant Music Program Coordinator

Sara DelVillano is a Regional Tournament Coordinator for IAC’s US Varsity & Junior Varsity division. An experienced moderator and Regional Tournament Director, Sara coordinated the Geocache Treasure Hunt at the 2022 International Geography Championships and the Geopardy! games at the 2024 IGC. Sara is writing this year’s Classical Music History Bee, after contributing to that event at the 2022 and 2023 Olympiads. Sara studied music education at Ithaca College and was a 20-year music teaching veteran before joining IAC; she continues teaching private music lessons and plays in the Category 5 Wind Ensemble. Sara was a finalist on the Jeopardy! Teachers Tournament in 2019 and won in the series premiere of Trivial Pursuit on The CW and can’t wait to see you all again in Paris!

Jeff Gepner
Table Combined Event Director

Jeff Gepner has taught history at international schools in Guam and the United Kingdom, and he currently teaches AP World History and IB History at Ruamrudee International School in Bangkok, Thailand. In addition to teaching, Jeff coaches his school’s History Bowl team, and he has also directed tournaments for International Academic Competitions across East Asia. Jeff is looking forward to staffing his fourth Olympiad, having previously served on the History Olympiad staff in Berlin, Princeton, and Rome.

Ritvik Katta
Historical Monopoly Event Director

Ritvik is a rising sophomore at Purdue University, studying Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, and currently interning with IAC for the summer. He has staffed the 2025 IAC Middle and Elementary School National Championships and the 2024 International Geography Championships in Vienna, and he’s excited to return to internationals this year. In high school, Ritvik led Ridgewood High School’s Quiz Bowl and History Bowl teams for three years, serving as Club President his senior year. He remains active in the quiz bowl community by staffing and tournament-directing events, as well as writing and packetizing questions for the Long Island Quiz Bowl Alliance. Outside of academics, Ritvik enjoys watching and attending college football and basketball games, going on side quests, playing racket sports, and exploring his passion for planes, trains, and cars. He’s also an avid user of Duolingo and loves traveling. Ritvik is eager to use his French skills in Paris and looks forward to connecting with people at the Olympiad. Attached is a picture of him with the Neil Armstrong Statue at Purdue.

Grayson McCready
Civilization & Civilization Scenario Event Director

Grayson’s teaching career started in the mountains of British Columbia but over 20 years ago, he left to teach internationally with stops in the Bahamas, Cuba and now Basel, Switzerland. Prior to teaching, he served as a paratrooper in the Canadian Army. Grayson has staffed both the International History Olympiad and International Geography Championships in 2018 in Berlin, 2022 in Princeton and New York, 2023 in Rome, and 2024 in Vienna. He has attended two European IAC European Championships in Rome as a coach!

Malcolm Surer
Walking Tours Event Director

For the past three years, Malcolm has been teaching history and geography at École Jeannine Manuel in Paris, the host school of the 2025 International History Olympiad. He is currently preparing to begin a new teaching position at the Lycée Français in Hong Kong beginning this August. This is his second summer in a row working at an IAC world championship level event, and after last summer’s International Geography Championships in Vienna, Malcolm looks forward to being on home turf this time around. Malcolm is a native Parisian, has worked as a tour guide in the city, and looks forward to organizing this summer’s walking tours throughout the city.

Rob Varty
Medals Ceremonies Event Director

Rob is a teacher of English, geography, and history at the International German School of Brussels, where he is also launching the school’s first debating academy. Originally from South Africa, he has lived and taught in several countries, including Vietnam and Russia, and now speaks six languages, with Hungarian as his latest challenge. Since 2015, he has worked in a range of settings, including delivering university courses in German and French, and has received various awards for his dedication to education. Rob joined IAC at the 2024 International Geography Championships in Vienna and later directed the inaugural International History Bee and Bowl of Benelux. In 2025, he brought three teams from his school to the European Championships, the first time a team from Belgium took part. His hobbies include gardening, public speaking, gaming, travelling, and trying new hobbies!

Jay Wickliff
Great Trading Game Event Director

As Director of Strategic Planning, Jay helps chart the future of IAC. He is the co-founder of the National Political Science Bee and coordinates the related discussion groups. He designs academic games like the Great Trading Game and MCs award ceremonies at major competitions including every International History Olympiad. As a teacher at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, he coached the History Bowl team to a National Championship. Jay has also served as Executive Director at Presidential Classroom, a Washington-based civic education program for outstanding high school students, where he founded the Future World Leaders Summit for teenage leaders from around the world. During his career in human resources management, he worked as Vice President for Global Human Resources at Gerber Scientific, Inc., a mid-sized New York Stock Exchange listed company. Jay and Jason Flowers are the only staff whose last name isn’t Madden to have staffed every IAC world championship-level event.

Adrien Amouroux
Adrien is a rising 3rd year at the University of Chicago studying economics, and participated in IAC competitions as an Ecole Jeannine Manuel student from 2019 to 2023. In his free time, he enjoys video games, cooking, and spending time with his lovely fiancée. Adrien is very excited to participate in his first International History Olympiad and help make something awesome happen!

Norman Aponte
Norman Aponte joined International Academic Competitions in 2022, when he helped bring IAC to Puerto Rico. He began by coaching various delegations at regional and national tournaments and assisting tournament directors. He currently serves as the director of the Puerto Rico History Bee and Bowl regional tournament, as well as a staff member for national and Olympiad tournaments. Mr. Norman is passionate about history, which led him to complete a doctoral degree in the field. He currently works as a university professor and as a workshop leader for history teachers.

Jeffrey Aroulanda
Hi, I’m Jeffrey Aroulanda, a pharmacy student at Université Paris-Saclay and a proud Parisian with Indian roots. I founded the history club at my former high school, which has continued to grow since. I’ve competed in the French IHBB circuit and have stayed involved by staffing national tournaments over the years. This is my first time staffing an international IAC event, and I’m excited that it’s happening right in the school where my own journey with academic competitions began. Outside of my studies, I enjoy learning languages, playing the violin, and — unsurprisingly — geeking out over history!

Sean Briody
Originally from Long Island, Sean Briody graduated from Brown University with a dual degree in American Studies and Egyptology & Assyriology. He is currently an AP U.S. History teacher and History Bowl coach at Cardinal Newman School in Columbia, South Carolina. He also coaches quiz bowl students virtually, including many who are competing at the Olympiad. He is the reigning back-to-back Teachers’ Bee Champion at the US Middle and Elementary National Championships, and loves a good buzzer round! Sean has published a book on the Brown University Band, and is currently co-authoring a book on the history, sociology, and mechanics of quiz bowl.

Sean Brown
The other half to the Director of Communications, Sean has helped out behind the scenes last summer at the International Geography Championships in Vienna as well as at regional IAC competitions in New England. He uses his skills from his time in the United States Air Force and with video games to help with logistics and maintenance for the staff and crew, as well as tech support as needed throughout the competition for anyone who needs it. A Northern New York native, he loves spending time with his family, playing Dungeons and Dragons and Magic the Gathering, and exploring the historical sites in his own backyard.

Charlotte Bruewer
Charlotte is an experienced moderator and tournament director for IAC since 2022. She’s staffed both the Varsity & Junior Varsity and Elementary & Middle School US National Championships for several years and this will be her first International History Olympiad experience. Charlotte completed her Bachelor of Business Administration: Finance degree from the University of Cincinnati, attending as a non-traditional student while working full time. After nearly two decades in the financial services industry working in compliance, operations, and client relationship management, she’s excited to bring her vast talents to IAC. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her wife Leslie and chosen family, being involved in local politics as a former elected official, playing trivia, doing DIY projects, and caring for her two pitties and three cats.

Thomas Chamier
Thomas Chamier is a second year student studying Economics at the University of Nottingham, England. Tom has staffed previously at the 2024 International Geography Championships in Vienna. Tom enjoys playing sports including rugby, tennis and football. Having a French heritage, Tom is ready to face Paris face-on and brush off some linguistic cobwebs.

Seema Chari
Seema Chari has one undergraduate and three graduate degrees across three languages, including a Master’s in Didactics from the Università Ca’ Foscari, Venice. She organised the first Indian Academic Championship with IAC and staffed her first Asian Academic Championship in Khao Lak in June 2025. She has compiled and conducted a couple of thousand quizzes over 2 decades. Seema speaks seven languages, has translated half a million words in 5 of them, interpreted for the Pope, written two dozen books on general knowledge and trivia, and is a keen student of linguistics and etymology.

Daniel Coates
Daniel got his start as a contestant and multiple-time champion in the International History Bee and Bowl, and has been moderating IAC events for the last four years while studying his undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in global history at Durham and Warwick, and since the beginning of the year has been working as a tournament director for the European and Asian divisions. When he’s not quizzing or working on his degree, he enjoys doodling, playing the saxophone and spending time with his cat.

Mason Cole
Originally from London, Mason is currently a Teacher of History and English Literature at an international school in Switzerland. He graduated with a BA in History from the University of Southampton and an MA in Politics and Contemporary History from King’s College London, specialising in 20th century international relations. Among that, he has studied in France and lived in Canada, Poland and Switzerland (as well as dabbling in British politics). Staffing his first Olympiad, Mason is most looking forward to meeting such a gifted, diverse group of contestants and ticking some missing visits from his Paris bucketlist!

Ryan Curran
This will be my first Olympiad. I am very excited to join the team after hearing about it from two current members. At home in Ireland I work for the government assisting the homeless, refugees and deprived community members access housing, jobs and education opportunities. Outside of work I love bikepacking and rock climbing.

Pieter de Jong
Pieter is very excited to be part of his first International History Olympiad this summer, bringing his experience as a history teacher at international schools across Europe. He has taught at Eerde International School for the past 3 years at the IGCSE and IB levels. Outside the classroom, Pieter enjoys windsurfing, playing the trumpet, and spending far too much time on board games. As this is his first time being a staff member at an IAC he is excited to see the excellence of both staff members and students alike!

Michael Doherty
Michael is an experienced international educator with a strong focus on the IB’s Theory of Knowledge, History and English B. Having worked in Australia, Spain, and Japan, he brings a deep cross-cultural insight and expertise in both curriculum development and student engagement. With a background in both public and private education, Michael is passionate about curriculum alignment, fostering critical thinking, and helping learners connect academic knowledge to real-world contexts. Currently in Madrid, he continues to innovate in humanities education and support students and staff through the DP and MYP frameworks. As part of a growing number of separated/divorced dads in Spain, Michael works as an unofficial McKenzie Friend helping others. His hobbies include the guitar, cooking and writing. And yes, he speaks Japanese.

Fergus Douglas
Hi, I’m Fergus, and this is my first time taking part in the International History Olympiad. I’ve been teaching science and maths at École Jeannine Manuel in Paris for the past three years. Although I’m Irish, I was born and raised in Paris and have been lucky to call it home most of my life. I’m excited to be part of this year’s Olympiad and to connect with passionate students and educators from around the world!

Leslie Hamiton-Bruewer
Leslie HB is excited to be the brand new Director of Online Competitions for IAC’s year-round programming, having started with the organization in 2020 during the COVID online tournaments. At the 2025 International History Olympiad, she’ll be a jill-of-all-trades supporting students, staff, and families. In her previous work as a Social Sciences & Social Justice teacher covering K-20, she has coordinated and overseen multi-day, multi-state field trips to meet over two dozen Nobel Peace Laureates. She is thrilled to be adding international travel with these remarkable students to her adventures!

Chloe Hoff
Chloe has been staffing at various IAC competitions since 2022 – you’ve possibly seen her at an online tournament, one of the New England area regionals, Varsity & Junior Varsity US Nationals, or Middle & Elementary School US Nationals! This will be her first International History Olympiad, which she is very excited and eager to experience! Chloe currently works as a lab technician with Lake Malawi cichlids at UMass Amherst and will begin a graduate program in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology this coming fall. She’s recently discovered a passion for birds and hopes to work with them in the future. In her free time, she gets a kick out of doing jigsaw puzzles, reading fantasy books, going birding (note the Chipping Sparrow), and hanging out with her cat, Juniper.

Bradley “Brad” Kirksey
Bradley Kirksey is a youth pastor and chess coach in Charlotte, North Carolina. A former college quiz bowl player, Brad had staffed events and tournaments for 16 years. Bradley Kirksey is excited to go staff his first International History Olympiad, go to France for the first time, and try exotic food like “may-o-nase.” If you spot him, he’ll probably be glad to play a game of chess and ask you annoyingly detailed questions about your hobbies.

Arthur Lee
Arthur Lee has helped staff, direct, and write for various IAC tournaments since graduating in 2013 from the Liberal Arts and Science Academy, where he competed in History Bowl with Jason Flowers as coach. Since then, he graduated with degrees in biochemistry, history, and French from the University of Texas at Austin and has lived in France for two (non-consecutive) years. He is currently a History PhD candidate at Johns Hopkins University, desperately nearing completion of a dissertation on destruction, regeneration, and terror in the French Revolution.

Dylan Letellier
Dylan Letellier is from Fredericksburg, Virginia. She holds a BA in English from Brown University and a MSEd in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Pennsylvania. Dylan currently teaches literature and history at QSI International School of Bratislava in Slovakia. Dylan first started playing quiz-bowl style competitions through Certamen in middle school; she competed in both Scholastic Bowl and Certamen in high school. Dylan now coaches the Knowledge Bowl team at QSI Bratislava. Outside of the classroom, Dylan enjoys running and is an avid fan of women’s sports.

Jack Light
Jack has taught History, Geography, and Economics in six different international schools in France, Belgium, Germany, Qatar, and China. Before moving abroad, he spent much of his life in Montana, with a brief stint in Washington, D.C., while working on Capitol Hill. Jack is excited about participating in this summer’s International History Olympiad at Ecole Jeannine Manuel, where he currently teaches.

Susan Madden
Susan Madden has been staffing IAC tournaments since 2010, including every prior International History Olympiad and many other regional, national, and international tournaments. She has an MBA from NYU Stern and is an alumna of Wellesley College and Tenafly High School. She has worked for Chase Manhattan in banking, in numerous community volunteer positions, and as a parent advisor and driver for the powerhouse Ridgewood High School quiz bowl team in the 1990’s. Susan spent a semester studying in Strasbourg, France while in college and is looking forward to returning to Paris for the first time in 22 years. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, skiing, traveling, and solving the New York Times crossword. 

Tim Madden
Tim Madden has staffed over 100 IAC tournaments since their inception, including every prior International History Olympiad. In high school, Tim played on the Loyola Academy (IL) quiz bowl team, and he is an alumnus of Boston College and New York University, where he completed his MBA. Before retiring in 2016, Tim worked in banking for 43 years, including postings with Chase Manhattan in Jakarta and Paris, the latter exactly 50 years ago. He recommends you visit his favorite Parisian brasserie Au Pied de Cochon, while you are in France. Tim advises IAC on organizational strategy and also built the flagpole stantions that you will see holding your country, region, or state’s flag in Paris. His favorite International History Olympiad memory is moderating the finals of the Naval History Bee on the deck of the USS Missouri during a tropical depression in 2016.

Eloic Malekzdeh
Eloic is a rising sophomore at McGill University, studying history and political sciences. He previously attended Ecole Jeannine Manuel, through which he participated in the International History Bee and Bowl for three years, including a European Championship title in the History Bee in 2023. In his free time, he enjoys reading, debate, strategy games, and spending time with his two cats.

Alex Marshall
Alex is one of growing number of IAC staff based in the UK, whose IAC past dates back to the all-online COVID era. His year with IAC has seen him directing events in the UK, Cyprus and as far-flung as Dubai. Outside that, he’s a pub quiz host, experienced quizzer and former gameshow contestant. He is very much looking forward to returning to the International History Olympiad, which two years ago was his first big summer international tournament, and seeing lots of friendly faces!

Steve Muench
Steve Muench is a world history teacher at Leonia Middle School in Leonia, NJ. Steve has been part of IAC’s staff for nearly a decade, serving as tournament director for elementary, middle, and high school regional competitions across the United States. This will be his fifth International History Olympiad on staff, having attended the Olympiads in 2015, 2018, 2022 and 2024. Along with Jason Flowers, Steve is the co-coach of Team USA for the International Geography Olympiad (iGeo), having taken the team to Serbia (2017), Quebec City (2018), Hong Kong (2019), Indonesia (2023), and Ireland (2024). After this year’s Olympiad, Steve and Jason will be bringing Team USA to Thailand for the 2025 iGeo in Bangkok. Back home, Steve is proud to be married to Ligia for 31 years and has two adult children.

Lucas O’Flanagan
Lucas is so excited for this year’s International History Olympiad. He competed in National History Bee and Bowl during his middle and high school years. Lucas is also the reigning Overall Varsity Champion of the International History Olympiad, having triumphed in 2023 in Rome! He’s from Darien, Connecticut and studies at the George Washington University. He enjoys Model UN, drawing, and reading fantasy novels.

Edward Pettingill
Edward is a professional SCUBA diver, who lives in Florida in the Tampa Bay area. He has previously staffed the 2024 International Environmental Science Olympiad in Puerto Rico and the IAC US Middle and Elementary National Championships in Orlando. He enjoys anything to do with the water and spending time with his dog and cat.

Brina Ratangee
Brina Ratangee first became involved with International Academic Competitions as a competitor at the 2018 International History Olympiad in Berlin before transitioning to IAC’s staff in 2020, as an intern and then Tennessee Outreach Coordinator. She now helps direct online tournaments and staff the IAC Varsity & Junior Varsity and Middle & Elementary School US National Championships annually, as well as staffed the 2022 International History Olympiad in Princeton. She recently graduated from Vanderbilt University with a BA in neuroscience and medicine, health & society (MHS) and a MA in MHS. She is currently pursuing an MD at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. An avid quizzer, she competed on It’s Academic as a high schooler and on Jeopardy! earlier this year. Her other interests include journalism, the violin, and tennis.

Jack Riegert
Jack is currently a high school history teacher in Vienna, Austria. He holds a double Bachelor’s from Bowling Green State University in History and German Philology, and he is currently pursuing his Master’s in Global History at the University of Vienna. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, reading (history mostly), and spending time with friends and family.

Ken Romeo
Ken is a math teacher at Middlesex Middle School in Darien, Connecticut. In 2009, Ken started the Middlesex Quiz Bowl program, and has helped coach the team to be one of the best in the country. In 2016, Ken and his co-coach Barbara Ivey were recognized as the National History Bee and Bowl Middle School Quiz Bowl Coaches of the Year. Ken brings his passion for academic competitions to his podcast, For 10 Points, which he hosts with his assistant coach Andrew Turriago.

Evelyn Rubin
Evelyn Rubin is very excited to be making her International History Olympiad debut in Paris. Based in Toronto, she joined IAC in 2020 as an online moderator for International History Bee and Bowl events, and has since served as Assistant Tournament Director for various competitions, including Canadian Regionals earlier this year. She currently works as a Family Doctor, and is Assistant Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto. She has always loved trivia and game shows, and got to live out her dream of becoming a Jeopardy! contestant in 2018. In her spare time, you can find her playing pub trivia, cooking, traveling or listening to 60’s music.

Samik Shetty
Samik (or Sam for short!) has been a competitive quiz bowl player ever since early 2023 and has moderated in two International History Bee and Bowl competitions in Dubai. During his quiz bowl career, he participated in multiple competitions such as the Dubai International History Bee and Bowl regionals for 2023 and 2024, the 2023 IAC Asian Championships and the 2023 International History Olympiad, where his Team US West won the greatest upset in IAC history (per David Madden) en route to the Varsity Division World Championship title in the International History Bowl. Currently, he’s the secretary of the LSE Quiz Club and has spent the past year running pub quizzes in London. In his free time, he’s into playing video Games, playing the bass and solving Rubik’s cubes.

McKinnie Sizemore
McKinnie became an IAC Associate Director of Question Production soon after working up from staffer to writer to editor. His work is key in the planning, crafting, and editing of our tournaments. He’s provided editorial direction and majority authorship for the Sports History, Sports and Entertainment, Pop Music, and Art History Bees and has guided new formats like Geographeud and Geopardy! while working full-time on our regional, national, and international question sets. McKinnie’s passion for trivia took off in 2011, when he co-founded and led the quiz bowl program at his alma mater, UCF, and he’s been professionally editing, organizing, and writing for trivia and media outlets ever since. His experience and knowledge of what’s happening across the quiz world got him invited to be a play-tester for major network game shows, and you might have seen him as a contestant on Jeopardy!, Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, and The Chase. In his spare time, McKinnie has been a player and team captain in numerous domestic and international quizzing leagues, holding multiple titles in subject-specific and general knowledge contests. He also enjoys pop culture, sports and fitness, and spending time with friends and his wonderful girlfriend.

Travis Sizemore
Travis, though known to everyone as T.J., has staffed National Championships for IAC for the past four years. In that time he has been privileged enough to help write questions, compose press releases, and run IAC’s livestream operations, which he will also be doing in Paris. One thing he has always loved about IAC is watching the next generation of kids become interested in and eventually excel in Science, Geography, and History. He believes there is nothing like watching a participant get a question right and thinking to yourself “I didn’t know that when I was in school!” He is continually impressed by the breadth of knowledge displayed by the next generation of academics.

Adam Smulovics
Adam is a rising college freshman at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts where he will study political science and art history. Adam is a big history and geography nerd and is always open to discussing these topics. Last summer he competed in the 2024 International Geography Championships, receiving first place in the Scramble and the Hungarian Geography Bee. Having competed last summer, Adam is excited to now staff an international IAC tournament.

Tamas Smulovics
A rising freshman at the University of Maryland, College Park, Tamas is originally from Long Island and has staffed numerous IAC tournaments in the Tri-State area, as well as the 2025 IAC US Middle & Elementary School National Championships. He is looking forward to moderating at his first international event. Tamas also founded his high school’s history bowl team and competed at nationals multiple times. In his free time, Tamas loves traveling both in America, as well as in Europe, where he connects with his birthplace of Budapest, Hungary and the historical sites in the region.

Dan Stone
Dan Stone began a partnership with IAC in 2018 to promote academic competitions in Vietnam. As the International History Bee and Bowl tournament director and head of an education center in Hanoi, he and his team launched the country’s first tournaments, each drawing over 60 students from more than 15 international, private, and bilingual schools. His team developed custom training courses, animated promotions, and workshops featuring David Madden.
Dan’s support for students extends to his work as a college admissions coach, helping students worldwide apply to international colleges and universities. In his free time, you can find him playing the drums, ice hockey, and weightlifting.

Brian Tynan
Brian Tynan is originally from Tennessee, but has been living in Europe since 2010. He graduated from James Madison University in 2008 with a degree in International Relations. He was a long time camp counselor and followed this up as an outdoor science teacher in Virginia and California before moving to Budapest in 2010 to teach English. He pursued a masters degree through the Erasmus Mundus program in Outdoor Education and has worked in International Schools in Germany, Hungary, Czechia (Czech Republic…it’s still hard for him to call it Czechia) and has been in Switzerland since 2021. He teaches 10th Grade Pre-AP World History and Geography and also enjoys disc golf and backcountry snowboarding.

Aude Desroche
Aude Desroche is currently a high school student at Ecole Jeannine Manuel and has participated in IAC competitions since 2021. She has been living in Paris since she was born and is thrilled to share her knowledge and love of the city and its history as you tour with her. She hopes you’re as excited as she is for this Paris Olympiad and that you’ll enjoy the croissants there!

Constantin Dupichot
Constantin is a 18 year-old Parisian who just graduated high school. It will be his first time staffing the International History Olympiad and he is looking forward to taking part in it. He has been living in Paris for the past 18 years, therefore he will be glad to be your guide throughout this Olympiad in Paris and especially for the trips, monuments and museums. Obviously, as a French guy, he recommends you to try the baguettes and croissants in the boulangeries and all the other amazing food the capital has to offer you!

Giorgio Grego
A member of the Ecole Jeannine Manuel History Club from the moment he could join (2022), Giorgio has gone to two International History Bee and Bowl European Championships, in London and in Vienna, both times with pleasing success. Despite only having lived in Paris for five years and being originally Anglophone, he feels ready to use his knowledge of the city and French language skills to help other contestants better appreciate the history and intricacy of their host city.

Yuxuan He
Yuxuan He is a student at École Jeannine Manuel in Paris, France, with a deep interest in art, design, creation, and uncovering stories from the ancient world. Fascinated by the intersection of creativity and history, Yuxuan is thrilled to be part of the staff of the International History Olympiad this summer and looks forward to connecting with fellow students from around the world who share her curiosity and drive.

Katerina Ildis
Katerina Ildis is a student at Ecole Jeannine Manuel and is eager to staff her first International History Olympiad this year! Born and raised in Paris, France, she grew up in a very multicultural background, with her father being French and her mother being Ukrainian and Canadian. She remembers her love for history ever since she can remember, especially 20th century history, which also gave her a passion for international relations and geopolitics. She has participated in two International History Bee and Bowl competitions, one in London in 2024 and one in Vienna in 2025, where her team won in the varsity division! She is super excited to watch these passionate students compete against each other in these different tournaments but also meet them and work along the other staff members!

Huzair Khan
Huzair Khan is currently a secondary student at the Lycee International de Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Since 2022, he has been an active participant in the International Academic Competitions primarily in Geography and won the Geography European Championships in 2022 and 2024. Born in Bangalore, India, Huzair has been residing in France for the past six years and has a profound interest in Geopolitics, the Napoleonic Wars and Formula 1. Huzair is exalted to be a part of the staff for the International History Olympiad and is ready to collaborate with fellow staff members and experience a fair and engaging competition between these ardent and dedicated competitors.

Dimitri Lambertie
Dimitri Lambertie is 15 years old and lives in Paris. He is originally from Canada and can speak roughly four languages, Chinese (though not fluently), French, English, and some Spanish. He attends the host school, Ecole Jeannine Manuel and will also be competing at the Olympiad. He is good at touring Paris and will try do his best to translate whatever French you need his help with.

Angus Piper
Angus Piper has been competing in International Academic Competitions since the 7th grade, the earliest he could do so. Having participated in many IAC competitions around Europe, he is deeply pleased to be able to now help others enjoy IAC events as much as he did. As an American with British nationality and living in France, he brings much to the table for anyone crossing the Atlantic for a competition. Currently a high school student at Ecole Jeannine Manuel, he is well prepared to assist in the 2025 Summer Olympiad as well as at future competitions.

Mayeul Vély
Mayeul is a student at Ecole Jeannine Manuel. He first joined the vaunted EJM history club in 2021, which led him to participate at an International History Bee and Bowl European Championship for the first time in 2023 in Barcelona. Mayeul is French, mostly from Brittany, though he was born in the UAE. He enjoys sports such as biking, skiing or tennis, and looks forward to both competing in and staffing the Olympiad this year.