Meet the Staff

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 2023, 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 and Maui (two 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 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 and Maui, as well playing the cello, baking delicious French desserts, and traveling.

Arthur W. Ramsay
Director

Arthur Ramsay is the Senior Director of Summer Programs for International Academic Competitions and Director of the 2023 International History Olympiad. Arthur joined IAC in January 2018 after earning his BA in American Government and History from SUNY Empire State College. Arthur previously worked for the State University of New York System Administration and interned with the New York State Assembly. An alumnus of the National History Bee and Bowl, Arthur has attended all thirteen NHBB National Championship tournaments, as a player, moderator, off-site captain, staff director, and most recently, as tournament director. Arthur enjoys reading and casual trivia in his free time, and has been a volunteer summer camp counselor at Long Island’s Camp HorseAbility since 2011.

William Tippins
Associate Director

William Tippins is the European Regional Director for International Academic Competitions and will be serving as the Associate Director of the 2023 International History Olympiad in Rome. Based in London, he directs tournaments, builds and maintains connections with European schools, and is overseeing the transition of the European division to a new competition model. William joined IAC in 2017 immediately after finishing his IB diploma at St. Stephen’s School, the host of this summer’s Olympiad; he previously competed in four European tournaments as part of his school’s team. Despite having a BSc in Biomedical Sciences and an MSc in Dementia Research, history has always been his greatest passion and the reason he first got involved in both competing and later directing IHBB events. When he’s not running or planning events, William maintains his hobbies in writing fiction and non-fiction, gaming, participating in pub quizzes, and being an active member of London’s large LGBT community.

Inge Wuestink
Host Coordinator

Inge Weustink is a Dutch classics teacher who has been living in Rome for over 20 years. She currently teaches at St. Stephen’s School, where she is also the co-coach of the History Club. She has accompanied students to IHBB tournaments and championships in Italy and throughout Europe since 2014. Inge has staffed the International History Olympiad in 2018 in Berlin and in 2022 in Princeton and New York. She is looking forward to welcoming participants, families and coaches to St. Stephen’s and to showing everyone the wonders of Rome this summer!

Eli Bertuccioli
Eli first joined IAC as an International History Bee and Bowl competitor in 2018, and went on to participate in several local and regional competitions, including winning the 2022 European Bee Championships, before starting to work as a staffer. He is currently pursuing a BA in Philosophy at the University of Cambridge, where he is also active as a student representative. In his free time, Eli enjoys reading, coxing, and playing board games.

Alex Bowden
Alex is a teacher of history and geography at El Altillo International School in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain. Coming from a naval family, Alex was brought up at The Royal Hospital School in Suffolk, England. He discovered a passion for history early in life and went on to study Maritime History at the University of Hull. Linking his passion for history with research skills, Alex worked for the Manchester United Museum and the British Museum before moving to Spain, where he has been teaching ever since. He loves to write, read, travel, hike and spend time in the countryside. Five years in the making, he is currently finishing his first historical novel.

Sean Briody
Originally from Long Island, Sean Briody graduated from Brown University with a dual degree in American Studies and Egyptology & Assyriology (but sadly, he does not walk like an Egyptian). He is currently an AP U.S. History teacher and history bowl coach at Cardinal Newman School in Columbia, South Carolina. Sean was a player for Commack High School in the 2014 and 2015 seasons, and has been a familiar face at tournaments since he started staffing back in 2017. This will be his second IHO. He also used to play quiz bowl against Arthur Ramsay in high school, since they grew up 15 minutes from each other! He has a book coming out next year on the history of the Brown University Band, which was an important part of his college experience.

Kiersten Brown
If you’ve called the IAC help desk phone, you’ve probably talked to Kiersten Brown to have your questions answered. One of the IAC Jeopardy Alumni, Kiersten staffed the 2022 IGC and IHO events in Burlington and Princeton, and runs regional tournaments around the country for Elementary and Middle School divisions. In her downtime, she likes to spend time with her kids, her husband, and in Montreal for the comedy festivals. She also reviews books on World War II history, particularly in regards to resistance fighters.

Maximilien Brugma
Maximilien is studying business and economics at McMaster University in Canada. As an alumnus of St. Stephen’s School, he grew up in the heart Rome, and has also lived in Vietnam, Sudan, and Bangladesh. He has always had an interest in history, and is looking forward to staffing his first International History Olympiad this year. In his free time, Max enjoys traveling, skateboarding, soccer, and art, and he is excited to share his knowledge of Rome and Italy with students this summer!

Sara DelVillano
Sara DelVillano is a Tournament Coordinator for IAC’s US Varsity & Junior Varsity divisions. An experienced moderator and regional director, Sara coordinated the Geocache Treasure Hunt at the 2022 IGC and contributed to the Classical Music History Bee at the 2022 Olympiad. Sara studied music education at Ithaca College and was a 20-year music teaching veteran before joining IAC, and she continues teaching private woodwind lessons and plays in the Category 5 Wind Ensemble. Sara was a finalist on the Jeopardy! Teachers Tournament in 2019 and loves playing pub trivia. Sara is especially looking forward to visiting Italy for the first time, as her grandfather was born just over 150 km from Rome!

Ola Firlag
Ola has always been fascinated with English and its history, and this is why she decided to study the language, spend time in the USA to do her dissertation research and attend courses in literature, culture and translation. She holds a Masters from the Department of English Studies from Warsaw University, and currently teaches English as a Second Language at the British School of Warsaw. Earlier in her career, she taught ESL to adult students and worked as a legal interpreter. Ola previously staffed the 2018 International History Olympiad in Berlin, and is looking forward to her second Olympiad this summer. In her free time, Ola enjoys arts and crafts, practices yoga, and has a passion for travel.

Jason Flowers
Director of Exams & Assessments

Jason Flowers is the Director of Exams for IAC and the 2023 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 IHO 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.

Suopeng Gao
Suopeng is the Director of IAC’s Asia and Australia & New Zealand Divisions. He played quiz bowl for four years at Lexington High School in Massachusetts, where he was also the captain of his school’s National Science Bowl team. Upon receiving his Bachelors and Masters degrees in Management from Babson College, he moved to China to pursue a career in education. Since 2016, he has overseen IHBB tournaments in China as well as assisting with various other IAC tournaments and competitions around the world.

John Garner
Field Trip Coordinator

John Garner is a history teacher at Temple High School and the field trip coordinator for the International History Olympiad and International Geography Championships. In his sixteen years of teaching middle and high school social studies, he has been repeatedly recognized for excellence in teaching, most recently being named the 2022 Gilder Lehrman Georgia History Teacher of the Year. For International Academic Competitions, John also coordinates teacher and administrator outreach and directs regional tournaments across the United States. Additionally, John serves as the president of the National History Club, sits on the Board of Directors of the Georgia Council for History Education, and spends quite a bit of time working with students on all things social studies. Having led close to two hundred field trips in his career, John will provide a memorable experience for anyone that takes one of his tours around Rome this summer!

Jeff Gepner
Jeff Gepner has taught history at international schools in Guam and the United Kingdom, and currently teaches history at an Ruamrudee International School in Thailand. In addition to teaching, Jeff coaches his school’s History Bowl team. Jeff has also directed tournaments for International Academic Competitions in Asia and is looking forward to staffing his third Olympiad, having previously been on staff in both 2018 in Berlin and 2022 in Princeton and New York.

Susan Madden
Susan Madden has been staffing IAC tournaments since 2010, including the first two International History Olympiads and many other regional, national, and international tournaments. She co-directs the Colorado History Bee and Bowl each year with her husband, Tim. 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 Ridgewood High School quiz bowl team in the 1990’s. She has staffed each International History Olympiad, and in her free time, she enjoys cooking, skiing, traveling, and solving the New York Times crossword.

Tim Madden
Tim Madden has staffed NHBB and IHBB tournaments since their inception, in addition to each International History Olympiad. Tim is one of four staffers who have attended all thirteen NHBB National Championships. 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. Before retiring in 2016, Tim worked in banking for 43 years, including postings with Chase Manhattan in Jakarta and Paris. Tim’s favorite 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.

Alex Marshall
Alex is looking forward to his first International History Olympiad this summer, having previously moderated at regional IHBB tournaments and IAC’s 2023 European Championships. Alex has history as a competitive quizzer and game show contestant, and writes and hosts pub quizzes in London. Alex also works as an extra in various film and television productions around the South East. In his free time he loves to cook, plays for a football team, and is a big fan of both board and video games.

Grayson McCready
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 and in 2022 in Princeton and New York. He has attended two European History Bowl Championships in Rome as a coach and based on past performance, expects to earn a gold medal the Gelato Consumption events this summer!

Christopher Miller
Chris has worked as a writer, moderator, and regional tournament director with International Academic Competitions since 2021. Chris has a long history in the quiz bowl community, having played for Woodgrove High School and the College of William & Mary. Chris also competed in the inaugural National History Bee & Bowl in 2011. Chris recently completed a Masters of Public Administration at George Mason University and has written extensively for IAC events including the National Political Science Bee, the International Geography Championships, and the International History Olympiad. In his spare time, Chris enjoys baking, tutoring, traveling, coin collecting, and visiting museums.

Simon Morales Santacoloma
A Colombian national, Simon has lived in Rome for most of his life and is an alumnus of St. Stephen’s School. He currently studies Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom. An avid traveler, Simon also enjoys kitesurfing and mountaineering. Simon is looking forward to staffing his first Olympiad this summer, and he is excited to share his love of ancient Roman history with students at this summer’s Olympiad!

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 in across the United States. This will be his fourth History Olympiad on staff, having attended the Olympiads in 2015, 2018, and 2022. Along with Jason Flowers, Steve is the co-coach of Team USA for the International Geography Olympiad (iGeo), having taken the team to Serbia in 2017, Quebec City in 2018, and Hong Kong in 2019. After this year’s IHO, Steve and Jason will be bringing Team USA to Indonesia for the 2023 iGeo in Bandung. Despite his extensive travels, this will be Steve’s first time in Rome. Back home, Steve is proud to be married to Ligia for 29 years and has two adult children.

Jess Peña
Jess Peña is a Regional Coordinator for IAC’s Elementary and Middle School competitions in the United States. She got her start with IAC in 2021 in writing National Championship Exams and has since served as Assistant Director of Exams at IAC’s US National Championships since then. Outside of IAC, she has worked for educational nonprofit organizations and has taught high school social studies for five years. Jess lives in Austin, TX with her husband and adorable pup, Bear. In her free time, Jess enjoys powerlifting, live music, and pub quizzes.

Jez Strickley
Jez has taught a range of humanities courses in both Italy and the United Kingdom, and currently teaches Religious Studies, History and Politics in an independent school on the Isle of Wight. Jez also enjoys hiking lesser-walked trails and reading a variety of literature, especially place writing. In 2011, Jez co-supervised a team of international school students at an IHBB competition at St. Stephen’s School, and is looking forward to staffing his first Olympiad this summer.

Ethan Swail
Ethan was born in the United Kingdom, but has called Italy home since he was a child. As a teaching assistant, he has experience working with students of various ages. He is looking forward to staffing his first International History Olympiad and sharing his knowledge of Italy with students and their families this summer!

Zachary Turinsky
This summer, Zachary will be the first former Olympiad competitor to join our staff! Last summer, he competed in both the International History Olympiad and International Geography Championships, earning several medals and, with his first-place finish on the IGC Country Exam, a trip to North Macedonia this past spring with IAC Executive Director David Madden. Zachary competed in the National History Bee and Bowl while a student at Millburn High School, and currently studies history at the University of Oxford. In his free time, he enjoys playing tennis and the trumpet.

Marije van der Vorm
Originally from the Netherlands, Marije has lived, studied, and worked in Rome for over a decade, where . She enjoys exploring the rich history of the eternal city and the combination with her background in Italian literature studies and love for the Italian cuisine make Rome the perfect fit. She teaches Latin, Classical Greek and ancient Roman History at St. Stephen’s School, which allows her to use the city of Rome as an extension of her classroom. Since 2018, she has co-coached the school’s History Club and has accompanied students to participate in various IHBB tournaments in Italy and at the 2022 European Championships. Marije is excited to staff her first International History Olympiad this summer and looking forward to meeting many students from all over the world who share a love for history and competitions!

Anthony Walker-Pearson
Anthony is a professor of History and Geography at École Jeannine Manuel in Paris, France. In 2016, he started a History Club for 8 students at the school. Since then, the club has grown tremendously with over 60 passionate students now part of the History Club. EJM students etched their way into the IHBB history books during the 2022-2023 academic year as they claimed thrilling victories in the Varsity, JV, and MS divisions at the European Championships in Barcelona. Anthony is very excited to staff his first International History Olympiad this summer, and is looking forward to seeing the very best students around the world come together and compete against one another!

Jay Wickliff
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.

Dror Yuravlivker
Dror is Head of History at Eton College near Windsor, England. He has taught there for seven years and has coordinated student participation in the History Bee and Bowl since he taught at a previous school. At Eton, he started both the History Book Club and the History Journal, and he still gets a kick out of donning the bow tie every morning for school. Dror loves to lead trips dealing with History and related subjects, whether to London, mainland Europe, or the US. After hosting the British History Bee and Bowl Championships, he is excited to come to his first International History Olympiad this summer!