David Madden – Founder and Executive Director

David Madden is the founder and Executive Director of The National History Bowl. Having played quiz bowl for four years at Ridgewood High School from 1995-1999 and college quizbowl for two years at Princeton University, he is well-versed with all the formats, concerns, and issues surrounding quiz bowl. He is committed to high standards for tournaments, well-written questions, and the growth of academic competition throughout the world. He is a former 19-day champion on Jeopardy, a published art historian, a professional genealogist, and a hiker of the entire length of the US East Coast for the Fisher House Foundation, a veterans’ charity. He was taking courses in Princeton’s Program in Teacher Preparation to become a high school history teacher himself when he had the idea to run a history themed quizbowl tournament. That was the Tri-State History Bowl attended by 34 teams on May 22, 2010. Soon after that, he put his teaching plans on hold to establish The National History Bee and Bowl. Aside from NHBB, he also has established a summer all-subject tournament, the Jersey Shore Open and he teaches History courses at ACE Quizbowl Camp. He can be reached at director@historybowl.com.

Eric Huff – Director of Elementary & Middle School Operations

Eric Huff joined NHBB in the summer of 2012 as the Director of Elementary & Middle School Operations. Previously, Eric had spent twelve years as a high school history teacher and one of America’s most highly respected and successful quizbowl coaches at Dorman High School in Roebuck, South Carolina, where his team won a National Championship in 2003. Eric focuses primarily on outreach and development of The National History Bee’s Elementary & Middle School Competition, though he also assists with high school operations as well. Having directed numerous tournaments of varying sizes while at Dorman, Eric brings a wealth of experience to logistical planning, and he will serve as a consultant for NHBB’s 2012 High School National Championships. Eric also serves as one of the Directors of ACE Quizbowl Camps, a partner organization of NHBB. Eric can be reached at: eric@historybee.com

Nick Clusserath – Assistant Executive Director

Nick Clusserath brings years of quizbowl experience to his position as Assistant Executive Director of the National History Bee and Bowl. He primarily focuses on handling operations with the National History Bee Middle School Competition, but he assists with directing and recruiting for our high school tournaments as well. He was a quizbowl player at Dorman High School in Roebuck, SC from 2005-2008 where he claimed a top-5 finish at four National Championship tournaments and was named a member of the NTAE’s 2008 All-America Team. Nick also founded the college quizbowl team at Clemson University where his team finished 2nd in the 2010 NAQT Division II Championship Tournament. He also directed several high school and college quizbowl tournaments while at Clemson. He can be reached at nick@historybee.com.

Nolwenn Léon Madden – Director of International Operations

Nolwenn serves as NHBB’s International Director, helping to establish tournaments throughout Europe and Asia, and beginning in 2013, Canada and Australia. She has a master’s degree with a concentration in marketing from the French grand école EM Lyon, and spent five months during the 2011-2012 school year traveling throughout Europe and Asia in support of NHBB’s operations. Within the USA, Nolwenn also assists with planning and outreach upon occasion, especially with regards to the National Championships. She can be reached at: nolwenn@historybowl.com

Assistant Directors of The National History Bee and Bowl

Alan Blayne

Alan is a recently retired teacher and quiz bowl team coach from Half Hollow Hills High School (West) on Long Island. Alan brings a wealth of experience from years of organizing quiz bowl tournaments, some of which were attended by over 80 teams. He assists with all aspects of tournament organization and directing, along with outreach and recruiting in the Northeast.

Raynell Cooper

Raynell Cooper is a sophomore at George Washington University, where he is studying geography and history. In 2011, while a student at Richard Montgomery High School, Raynell was a National Quarterfinalist in The National History Bee; and in the same year, he was also the Teen Tournament champion on Jeopardy! Raynell assists NHBB with outreach and tournament directing in the Washington, DC area, and also coordinates the question set used in the National Entertainment History Bee run at our National Championships.

Will Mantell

Will Mantell is a junior at Princeton University where he is a politics major. While still in high school the 2010 Tri-State History Bowl, Will captained his team from Horace Greeley High School to victory and was named tournament MVP. As an Assistant Director of the National History Bowl, Will helps out with tournament directing, development of the official NHBB Study Guide, and assisting with outreach to the various host sites in Washington, DC. for our National Championships. He can be reached at: will@historybowl.com

Brian Smiley

Brian is a junior at Columbia University and former captain of the White Plains High School Quiz Bowl team. Brian is also a veteran of the 2010 Tri-State History Bowl, where he captained his team to a semi-final finish. As an Assistant Director of the National History Bowl, Brian helps out with tournament directing and organizational development, especially in Westchester County, NY. He can be reached at brian@historybowl.com.

Danielle Hobeika – Webmaster

Danielle Hobeika is the chief webmaster for The National History Bowl and the High School Divisions of The National History Bee. She has worked for over ten years as a web designer, and helps to maintain and develop the different websites used by NHBB. Her personal website can be viewed here, which contains her contact information if you are interested in hiring her to work on your projects. Danielle is upon occasion assisted by Joshua Ma, a junior at MIT who originally designed the websites at www.historybowl.com and hs.historybee.com