Staff and Co-Founders
President: David Madden, Burlington, VT
The President and Co-Founder of the United States Geography Championships is David Madden. David also founded the National History Bee and Bowl in 2010, since which time hundreds of thousands of students throughout the USA have competed. He is also the founder of the International Geography Bee and the IGB World Championships, the International History Olympiad, and all of the competitions under the International Academic Competitions aegis. Madden also attended the 2012 International Geography Olympiad in Cologne, Germany as an official observer from the United States, and then coached and chaperoned the first ever Team USA at iGeo in 2013 in Kyoto, Japan. He was head coach of the 2014 Team USA in Krakow, Poland, on which the iGeo world champion, James Mullen of California, competed. He is most interested in the impact of geography on geopolitics, as he holds degrees in International Relations from Princeton and the Free University of Berlin in Germany. He has himself competed in a number of geography competitions in the past, and is also a 19 day champion on the US quiz show, Jeopardy! and a champion of the Jeopardy! All Star Games Tournament.
Vice-President: Enrico Contolini, Lakewood, CO
The Vice President and Co-Founder of the United States Geography Championships is Enrico Contolini. Enrico is originally from Italy, has visited many countries, and now lives in Colorado with his family. He is the father of four children and coached his daughter Isabella to victories in the Colorado Geographic Bee in 2010 and 2011, where she was also the top female competitor in the USA both years. He is a geography enthusiast and researcher and a professional engineer. He is especially interested in raising awareness about poverty and disadvantaged children in developing countries.