Camp Staff
Mrs. Margaret Benton
Margaret Benton serves as the head coach for WD40. She has been a member of Stoa for six years, currently serving on Stoa’s Training and Development committee which seeks to equip parents, coaches and tournament directors in their journey as leaders in Stoa. At tournaments, Mrs. Benton has served in judge hospitality, ballot check, ballot push, and facilities. This year she served as the tournament director for the Continental Divide Challenge and the lead of the Logistics team at NITOC. What Mrs. Benton enjoys the most about Stoa is that it provides the opportunity for Christlike character development.
Mr. Corey Benton
Corey Benton serves as a Board member for WD40. He and his family have been part of Stoa for six years. Mr. Benton often serves on the Judge Orientation team at tournaments, including at NITOC for the past three years. Mr. Benton also enjoys serving as a Parli Proctor and Extemp Proctor. His passion is raising up great debaters. What he enjoys the most about Stoa is teaching students how to think instead of what to think.
Mr. Jonah Benton
Jonah Benton is a Stoa alumnus. During his tenure in Stoa, he was an accomplished debater in both Lincoln Douglas and Parliamentary debate, earning second place in Parliamentary debate at NITOC in 2023 with his partner Justin. He was also an accomplished Extemporaneous speaker, finishing in the top 25 at NITOC. Jonah will be a junior this fall at Concordia University in Nebraska where he is a member of the speech and debate team.
Mrs. Maggie Carabelos
Maggie Carabelos was a founding member in establishing homeschool speech and debate in Colorado and has been at its core ever since. She has been coaching Homeschool Forensics and the SALT (Speaking As Living Testimonies) club since 1999. Maggie also has extensive experience in tournament directing and administration.
She served on the Directors Team for NITOC 2012, as the Tournament Assistant for NITOC 2013, and she was working hard as the 2020 Tournament Director before the unprecedented cancellation of NITOC due to COVID-19. Maggie and Sharon Nagatani were honored to direct the NITOC 2021 in person at Union University in TN.
Maggie served on the Stoa Debate Committee for 6 years and currently serves as on the Stoa Board of Directors.
She and her husband Leonard have been happily married for 34 years and have two adult sons who were both homeschooled and are alumni debaters.
Mrs. Sarah Carabelos
At 12 years old, Sarah Carabelos was put into a Speech and Debate class, which completely terrified her. After the first day of watching some of the older students get into a heated discussion and so clearly communicate their ideas, she quickly fell in love! For the next six years, Sarah competed in Team Policy and Parliamentary Debate, often taking home the first place speaker award, and she also excelled in several speech events, including Extemp, Impromptu, Persuasive, Original Oratory, and Expos. She placed among the top national competitors, was the team debate captain, and partnered to develop a training curriculum
for new students to fall in love and excel in this sport. After graduating, Sarah continued to coach for her local club, international students, and debate camps across the country.
Sarah and Zack have been married for seven years and are currently living in Dallas, Texas, homeschooling their two children. She spends her days primarily at home with the kids and working as a private high school math and writing tutor. This fall, she will start her own Speech and Debate club, continuing her love of coaching in her local community.
Mrs. Amber Conover
After starting the homeschooling journey 20 years ago, Amber Conover was excited to delve into the STOA community with speech and debate. She enjoys all facets of involvement in STOA, including judging, coaching, script submission, and tournaments. Out of the many activities that her family has participated in, the value of STOA Speech and Debate has been unparalleled. She believes that Apologetics is by far the most important and should reflect our daily lives as we live out the Gospel. STOA is a great avenue to do so. Amber Conover enjoys coaching sWord Speech and Debate Club in Fremont County. She is an entrepreneur and enjoys bookkeeping and financial analytics for small to mid-size businesses and non-profits. If Amber has a few spare moments, she loves reading, painting, hiking, gardening, and of course, learning some new challenge.
Mr. Andy Eltiste
Andy Eltiste is a former high school debater and currently coaches the WD40 club in Denver, CO. He holds a BS in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Tulsa and has worked in the energy industry for 30 years. He has been married to Wendy for 25 years and is the father of four wonderful daughters.
Mrs. Alyssa Hayes
Alyssa Hayes runs a small country of 10 children with her oldest being 24 and her youngest being 3. Though not a native she graduated from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and has enjoyed working with and for non-profits in the region. She is a former
Prudential Youth Leadership Coach, graduate of the Center for Creative Leadership’s Community Leadership Program, and previous director of multiple Classical Conversations Challenge levels. She has adored being part of the Stoa community and enjoys working with
the Stoa Marketing Committee. In her spare time, she relishes growing in business development and operating as COO of a local landscaping company.
Mr. Larry Sparks
Larry Sparks is a business insurance and bonding agent in Colorado Springs, where he lives with his wife of thirty-five years and their two sons. He is active in his church and as a Gideon. Back in the Reagan administration he began competing in speech and debate. Throughout his professional career he has trained leaders on improving their communication skills. In 2005, he was introduced to the world of Homeschool Forensics when invited to be a community judge. In 2007 Colleen Enos and he launched RESOLVE Speech and Debate club. He has been coaching debate ever since.
Although Resolve has enjoyed competitive success, the most rewarding experience is seeing young people learn to think critically, research thoroughly, and communicate passionately. Larry currently serves on Stoa's debate committee.
Mr. Steven Vaughan
Steven Vaughan has had a successful career combining technical knowledge, analytical thinking, teaching and training, and management skills to help people and keep them healthy.
A registered nurse, he spent 30 years in the healthcare industry, culminating in owning and managing a successful vascular access company. Throughout those years, he taught nurses, patients, and their family members.
Steven is a Ziglar Legacy Certified Speaker and owns Co-Inspire, a leadership development company in Denver. Co-Inspire works with corporations to build their management teams and organizations. He is a motivational speaker and executive coach. He leads team building and leadership workshops and retreats.
In past years Steven has coached in the NCFCA, been on the Stoa Debate Committee, also serving once as the chair, and served on the Stoa Board. He is currently the lead coach for LOGOS Speech and Debate, a Denver-area club affiliated with Stoa USA.
He and his wife have homeschooled their six children, and Steven serves on the board of Christian Home Educators of Colorado, as well as the board for Spirit of Elijah Ministries.