When: Tonight @ 6:30pm to 8:30pm

Where: FIT

Presented By: Lauren Velasco

Lauren Velasco was raised locally – a graduate of Gunn High School and Stanford University. Her undergraduate years were spent at Bates College in Maine, where she competed on the national and international speech and debate circuits, and graduated with Highest Honors in Rhetoric. She and her debate partner were ranked #4 in the United States, and were selected to compete in three North American and two World Debate Championships. Lauren also competed in the World Individual Speech Championship and participated in the World Summit on Women in Debate. She has independently produced five documentary films and videos, three of which have been shown on television and featured in local, national and international film festivals. While a Communication graduate student at Stanford, she served as Interim Director of the Women’s Center and taught Public Speaking in Stanford’s Technical Communication Program. Also a licensed disc jockey, Lauren has been a full-time member of the Communication Studies faculty at Foothill College since 2000. She is the founder and coach of Foothill’s award-winning Speech and Debate Team, and offers private workshops and tutoring, as time permits.