Lisa deOliveira
Juniors
Lisa de Oliveira is our Juniors coach. She has a passion for children and education. After earning her BSN from the University of Florida, she pursued a career in pediatric intensive care nursing, &
was the director of marketing for a pediatric homecare company. She, along with her husband Glênisson, a chemistry professor and Dean of the Honors
College and Texas Academy of Mathematics & Science (TAMS) at University of North
Texas, have been homeschooling for 21 years. They have three boys JJ (25) who graduated from Cornell University with a Mechanical Engineering degree, but is currently working on Master’s Degree in Computer Science. David (23) graduated from TCU with a Mechanical Engineering degree and is now working at Lockheed Martin. Daniel (17) is a senior and entering his fourth year with Fortify Speech & Debate Club. Prior to moving to Denton in 2015, Lisa was an active member in a thriving homeschool community in New England, including Speech & Debate thru NCFCA and served as a Founding Board Member of “A Work In Progress” (AWIP); an organization established to support the development of children’s talents, interpersonal and communication skills, in a wholesome environment. She also served as a founding board member for the Explorium Children’s Museum which utilizes inquiry-based learning to ignite kids’ passion for learning. Since moving to Texas, Lisa has been heavily involved with the homeschool community and served in various groups such as Classical Conversations, CIM Science, Arrow Christian Academy and with Fortify for the past four years. Currently, Lisa is supporting local homeschoolers thru her new role helping families navigate high school and college planning thru DeoFam consulting.
Cindy Quilici
Mars Hill, Extemp, Platform
Cindy Quilici is our Mars Hill, Extemp, and
Platform Coach. She is entering her 4th year in debate with her youngest son. She is excited to coach Mars Hill because of her love for the Lord and passion for a biblical worldview and encouraging students to walk with Jesus and follow His ways, not the ways of the world. Cindy is an innovative, professional home educator with thirty years of experience teaching preschool through 12th grade in private and classroom settings. She has served her community in various roles; Exhibitor Coordinator at local Home Educator Conferences, Public Speaker, Director of several educational cooperatives, the Northern California State Manager of Classical Conversations for five years, and a mentor mom to new homeschoolers.
Cindy is very relational and enjoys working with families and students of various ages and from different cultural backgrounds and works for International Cultural Exchange Services. She is also a registered IEW instructor and teaches online writing classes. Cindy is married to her best friend and high school sweetheart, a retired police officer, and they homeschooled all eight children and love spending time with their eleven grandbabies.
Cindy Fleming
Interpretive
Cindy Fleming is headed into her 4th year as the Fortify interpretive coach. She has a Bachelor of Science in Education- Theatre and Communication Arts from Oklahoma Baptist University, Jan. 1993. She has over 25 years experience teaching children pre-k through high school in many different venues-including teaching drama and speech classes at several area homeschool Co-ops. Cindy loves to share her passion for theatre and communication with her students. Her greatest joys at home are~
•Continuing homeschooling her youngest son, Sam a high school senior.
•Encouraging her 2 adult sons, Christian a senior Communications Major Marketing minor at Dallas Baptist University and Garrett a graduate of Dallas Baptist University B.A. Music.
•Being help-mate to her sweet husband of 27 years, Dave.
•Leading her 3 rowdy rescue dog pack.
•Serving in her church’s youth group.
•Spending time in God’s Word learning about our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Robin Owens
Apologetics
Robin Owens coaches Apologetics and Juniors. Having a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering, she spent five years in the chemical and textile industry before beginning seminary. There she received a Master of Arts in Theology in Biblical Studies from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth. Robin has taught a variety of subjects through various homeschool groups. Most recently, she enjoys teaching Physical Science, Physics, Chemistry, and Dual Credit Biblical Literature. She is also a Merit Badge Counselor with Boy Scouts and she and her husband help lead a homegroup for their church as well as provide premarital mentorship to couples. She loves inspiring students to pursue Scripture and more importantly the One the Scriptures espouse: Jesus.
Originally from Florida, Robin has lived in Texas since 2002. She has enjoyed 20 years of marital bliss with her husband, Chris, and they have four children: Payne, Evie, Auburn, and Liam. Payne is attending college, Evie and Auburn will be entering their fifth and second years (respectively) as speech and debate competitors, and Liam is continuing as a junior competitor. Robin's dream vacations include hiking trails with family, reading Jane Austen and theology books, and hammocking.
Heather Link
Impromptu
Heather Jane Link is the Fortify Impromptu Coach and Treasurer. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Southern Methodist University in Mechanical Engineering with minors in Spanish and Mathematics. Working in technical sales quickly taught her that having the correct solution to a problem is only significant if you can communicate your ideas to others in a meaningful way.
Heather Jane and her husband Keith have been married for 20 years and have four children. This will be their twelfth year homeschooling. She delights in seeing students mature and progress in their abilities. She is excited to coach Impromptu because there are so many opportunities to use these skills in the real world every week!
Heather Jane and her husband also love encouraging foster and adoptive families and have been part of the Tapestry Ministry for over a decade. She and her family are very active in sports and she enjoys working out at Camp Gladiator boot camps. Heather Jane loves to laugh and share funny stories and retreats to the comfort of a good book to renew her energy. Heather Jane believes Stoa is genuinely equipping the next generation to speak boldly for Christ and is truly grateful to be a part of this ministry!
Avery Harrington
Team Policy
Avery C. Harrington is our Team Policy Debate Coach. He is a Stoa speech and debate alumni with three years of competitive experience. He has qualified for nationals all three years, and has earned numerous awards during his many tournament experiences. Avery is committed to maintaining ethics and sportsmanship in all areas of his life, and especially in Team Policy Debate. He has competed in Team Policy, Parliamentary, Extemporaneous, and Impromptu, and has qualified for NITOC in all four categories.
He enjoys making others laugh, and sharing what he learns for the betterment of everyone. In his free time Avery enjoys playing Nintendo games, watching movies with his dad, and sharing life with his two, adorable cats Barry Allen and Iris West. He has a firm grip on the Bible, and endeavors to continue learning about God and the wonderful world He has created. Above all, Avery searches for truth in all that he does, never ceasing to question the status quo for its reasoning and methodology. To God be all of the glory, honor, and praise.
Jillian Heise
Lincoln Douglas
Jillian Heise is our Lincoln Douglas Debate Coach. This will be her fifth year in Stoa Speech and Debate. She has competed in Team Policy debate for three years, Parliamentary debate for two years, Lincoln Douglass debate for one year, Extemporaneous, Apologetics, and various Platforms. She has qualified for NITOC on multiple occasions in many of her events. During the previous competitive year, she participated in Lincoln Douglass debate achieving various awards throughout the year including winning a tournament and going 5-1 in preliminaries at NITOC. During the second half of the season, she gained experience by assuming the coaching role. After shifting from Team Policy debate she has found great enjoyment in reaching beyond the numbers to the morality and reasoning of various ideas and principles.
Aside from speech and debate she plays the piano and has done ballet for six plus years. Her main hobby can be found in her love for horses, owning one herself. She enjoys baking, crocheting, and basically anything animal related.
Berlin Roberts
Parliamentary
Berlin Roberts is our Parliamentary Debate Coach. Growing up in the private homeschool education community, Berlin was held to strong academic standards. And she grew to genuinely love learning new information, facts, and philosophy. She is now an Anatomy major at University in Dallas, planning to go into physiological and cellular research next. One of the biggest contributors to her success in higher education and personal life now is her ability to think critically about, process, and express thoughts effectively. Teaching her how to formulate a well-rounded and logically based argument, speech and debate prepared her beyond expectation how to reach a place of informed confidence in herself, her perspectives, and her faith.
Parliamentary debate and impromptu styles of speaking quickly become her favorite practices in speech and debate during her time as a student. So, when the opportunity arose to come back and coach the next generation of students, her immense gratitude for Fortify made it an easy choice. Fortify is through and through a dedicated team of coaches, parents, and students; and she considers it an honor to work with everyone here!
Kevin Moody
President
Kevin Moody is a Board Member and President for the Fortify club, and his family has been part of Fortify since the club was formed. Kevin has been married to his wife Carri for almost 22 years, and they have three kids and one grandson, with the youngest two children being homeschooled. Jackson is the youngest child and is a member of Fortify. Jackson’s sister, Emma, was a member of Fortify and the family has been to NITOC on three occasions: twice for Emma, and once in 2023 for Jackson. Kevin most enjoys watching and judging Lincoln Douglass Debate.
Kevin is a native Texan but has lived in a couple of other states. Kevin has a B.A. in Art, with a photography concentration, from Austin College. Until recently he served as a Senior Relationship Manager for Microsoft and has worked in IT for over 15 years. Kevin and Carri attend The Village Church, and he serves in the Recovery ministry by co-leading the Grief Recovery groups. Kevin enjoys travel, international mission trips, photography, reading fiction, going to the movies, and learning about fast cars. He has drag raced a couple of summers in the amateur 1/8-mile races at Texas Speedway. He’s a fan of both Star Wars and Star Trek.
Heather Link
Treasurer
Heather Jane Link is the Fortify Impromptu Coach and Treasurer. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Southern Methodist University in Mechanical Engineering with minors in Spanish and Mathematics. Working in technical sales quickly taught her that having the correct solution to a problem is only significant if you can communicate your ideas to others in a meaningful way.
Heather Jane and her husband Keith have been married for 20 years and have four children. This will be their twelfth year homeschooling. She delights in seeing students mature and progress in their abilities. She is excited to coach Impromptu because there are so many opportunities to use these skills in the real world every week!
Heather Jane and her husband also love encouraging foster and adoptive families and have been part of the Tapestry Ministry for over a decade. She and her family are very active in sports and she enjoys working out at Camp Gladiator boot camps. Heather Jane loves to laugh and share funny stories and retreats to the comfort of a good book to renew her energy. Heather Jane believes Stoa is genuinely equipping the next generation to speak boldly for Christ and is truly grateful to be a part of this ministry!
Melissa Harrington
Administrator
Melissa Harrington is our club admin. She has been homeschooling since 2006 and just graduated her son Avery last year. She has a B.A. in Finance and Accounting, a Masters in Business Administration, and a Six Sigma Black Belt certification. Her and her husband are involved in a homeschool co-op where he teaches Worldview class, and she serves as his admin. Her passions include tending to the many animals they call pets, including chickens, cats and a dog...crafting anything and everything, painting, drawing, sewing, and cooking and baking healthy things from scratch. She has seen the magic of speech & debate and has a passion for helping the club be successful and serving the families in our club.
Lisa deOliveira
Advisor to the Board
Lisa de Oliveira has a passion for children and education. After earning her BSN from the University of Florida, she pursued a career in pediatric intensive care nursing, &
was the director of marketing for a pediatric homecare company. She, along with her husband Glênisson, a chemistry professor and Dean of the Honors
College and Texas Academy of Mathematics & Science (TAMS) at University of North
Texas, have been homeschooling for 21 years. They have three boys JJ (25) who graduated from Cornell University with a Mechanical Engineering degree, but is currently working on Master’s Degree in Computer Science. David (23) graduated from TCU with a Mechanical Engineering degree and is now working at Lockheed Martin. Daniel (17) is a senior and entering his fourth year with Fortify Speech & Debate Club. Prior to moving to Denton in 2015, Lisa was an active member in a thriving homeschool community in New England, including Speech & Debate thru NCFCA and served as a Founding Board Member of “A Work In Progress” (AWIP); an organization established to support the development of children’s talents, interpersonal and communication skills, in a wholesome environment. She also served as a founding board member for the Explorium Children’s Museum which utilizes inquiry-based learning to ignite kids’ passion for learning. Since moving to Texas, Lisa has been heavily involved with the homeschool community and served in various groups such as Classical Conversations, CIM Science, Arrow Christian Academy and with Fortify for the past four years. Currently, Lisa is supporting local homeschoolers thru her new role helping families navigate high school and college planning thru DeoFam consulting.
Dale Heise
Advisor to the Board
Dale Heise is an Advisor, and the Fortify Lincoln Douglas debate coach with his daughter Jillian. After growing up on a farm and acquiring B.S. & M.S. degrees in Agricultural Engineering from Kansas State University, he has spent 35+ years testing military aircraft. Dale and his wife Shannon have homeschooled their children, three having graduated and the only girl now a Junior. Applicable interests include politics, the economy, current events, and debating about them. His goal for Lincoln Douglas debate is to tackle the big picture of why we should act and the moral imperatives too, in spite of the difficulties. This should be done in a fun and interactive environment where great outcomes will require hard work and dedication. Dale and his family have participated in all forms of debate and many speech events for over 15 yrs, experiencing many highs and “learning experiences.”
Dale has lived in Texas since graduating and getting married in 1987. He enjoys spending time on the little family ranch raising chickens, cattle, and a horse and puttering around on the tractor. Life lessons include learning of our limitations through life’s obstacles and yet marveling at God’s provision of everything needed in the accomplishment of His plan.