Biography
^ Family wedding photo, 2015.
Pronouns: he/him/his
Since 1997, Adam Jacobi has worked in the communication and theatre education fields, as well as public relations, government affairs and politics. Since 2014, he has been full-time executive director of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Speech & Dramatic Arts Association, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that sponsors middle and high school speech, debate, theatre, and film programming. In 2018, he was appointed to a four-year term on the National Federation of State High School Associations' (NFHS) Speech, Debate, and Theatre Advisory Committee. In 2018 and again in 2022, he was elected to the National Speech & Debate Association (NSDA) board of directors.
In 2022, he was honored with the 2021 NFHS National Citation Award for Speech, Debate, and Theatre Education, one of the highest honors in his field, and the first honoree from Wisconsin. In 2024, he was elected to the NSDA Hall of Fame.
Adam is curriculum coordinator for Congressional Debate with the nonprofit Harvard Debate Council Summer Workshops, and curates CongressionalDebate.org.
Adam previously was programs & education coordinator for the NSDA, where he collaborated on development of an international public speaking and debating curriculum and textbook, helped implement in the People's Republic of China, and then taught for a semester in Changzhou, Jiangsu Province (fall 2013). He also ran and developed the National Middle School Tournament from a modest, self-contained event to the large-scale one paired with the high school National Tournament. He also organized the high school Congressional Debate (House and Senate), Student of the Year program, and a number of other educational partnerships. "In each leadership effort," he said, "I aimed to be as inclusive as possible, to overcome barriers coaches and students face, particularly from traditionally marginalized groups."
From 2008 to 2016 he coached speech/forensics and taught public speaking at Ripon College.
For 11 years, Adam directed the speech and debate program at Rufus King International School in the Milwaukee Public Schools (Wisconsin), serving in leadership and service roles in a number of professional organizations. He also taught International Baccalaureate Theatre and served on the board of directors for the Milwaukee Shakespeare Company.
An author of several books, articles and guides, Adam also has led several professional development sessions, as well as academic presentations on the benefits of speech, debate, and theatre education. See Publications and Presentations on my CV/Resume page.
Adam holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Communication -- Public Campaigns from Carroll University, and was licensed to teach at Marquette University. Additionally, he has taken several graduate-level courses, including on the "Teaching for Understanding" framework with Harvard Graduate School of Education's Project Zero think tank. He is currently pursuing a Master of Nonprofit Leadership and Management degree at Metro State University in St. Paul, MN.
Adam was married in August 2015, in the First Congregational, United Church of Christ Church in Ripon, WI, immediately next door to Ripon College's East Hall, where the National Speech & Debate Association was founded in 1925. He lives in Minneapolis, MN with his husband, Scott Baker -- a professor of Secondary Education and former speech and debate coach -- and their son, Ethan.