Melissa is a tenured UX Researcher and manager at Google Workspace. She is the first FIRST alum on the Board, having participated as a student in FLL and FRC 1251, and has actively volunteered in various roles over the years. She was the 2018 FIRST Inspire Gala Evelyn Kamen "Rising Star" Award Recipient.

Darren serves as the Senior Vice President of General Operations at Onshape, a pioneering cloud-based CAD platform under PTC. In this pivotal role, he orchestrates a diverse array of teams, including marketing, tech services, documentation, training, customer success, and technology partnerships. His multifaceted expertise allows him to seamlessly integrate sales, marketing, and operational strategies, driving revenue growth and enhancing customer satisfaction.

Juju is a Technical Mentor for 6328, Mechanical Advantage, and leads the team’s Student Experience, Engagement, and Development. An alum of FRC 2168 and a WPI mechanical engineering grad, she’s passionate about creating systems that help students grow into confident leaders and capable members of the STEAM Community.

Dave started his career working as an oil exploration geophysicist in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil before moving to Flagstaff, AZ and becoming a physics, engineering, oceanography, and geology teacher for 21 years at Coconino High School. He was named National Science Teacher of the Year in 1999. He initially got involved with FRC in 2007 after being approached by former U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick. He has been the lead mechanical engineering coach of 2486, the CocoNuts, since 2008. He is currently retired and living in Flagstaff, enjoying working with the CocoNuts, working as the co-partner for FTC in Arizona, and spending time outdoors.

Drew has been involved in FIRST Robotics in New England since 2013 and has been a mentor since 2017, serving as a CAD & Mechanical mentor for teams 4564, 6329, and 3467. He is currently an Education Solutions Engineer for Onshape and PTC Education, where he has spent almost 3,000 hours in Onshape and worked with a large number of FRC teams to troubleshoot Onshape and teach CAD best practices. 

David is a 2013 alum of FRC 1071, Team MAX, and current mentor of FRC 195, CyberKnights, with 15 years in FIRST. He is a volunteer leader at all levels of FIRST programs, from FLL qualifiers to FTC scrimmages to FRC district events, and actively promotes volunteerism with his students. David is an exceptional Judge Advisor for all program levels and has held the Sr. Judge Advisor role for NE FIRST, where he helped standardize training, enhance consistency, and elevate the quality of the judging experience for teams.

Louis is a dedicated STEM educator and longtime advocate for youth robotics. Starting in 2012 as an FLL coach and tournament director in SC, he soon became the state’s Program Delivery Partner and led a nonprofit supporting robotics education across the region. He has worn many hats in the FIRST ecosystem: mentor, volunteer, planning committee member, Compass Award–winning coach, and founder of a state champion FTC team. After 13 years as a physics and astronomy professor, he relocated to Las Vegas, where he now serves as the Team Development & Education Specialist for FIRST Nevada, helping schools and communities launch and sustain impactful FIRST programs through the state, in addition to being the FLL PDP.

Mike is the Head Coach of FRC Team 1678, the Citrus Circuits, and has been coaching the team since 2008. Trained as a Mechanical Engineer, Mike's day job is providing engineering consulting services for a wide range of clients spanning energy, manufacturing, ag-tech and med-tech applications. He lives in Davis, California with his wife Pearl and their two pets.

Isriah is a Business Development Manager at FIRST, supporting the growth of FTC and FRC programs across Western PA, FIRST Mid-Atlantic, and FIRST Chesapeake. A proud alum of FLL Jr., FLL Challenge, FTC, and FRC, he has spent the past four years coaching FRC 321, the RoboLancers, a FIRST Hall of Fame team.

Anupam has been part of FIRST since he started as a student in 2009 with FRC 1002. He has gone on to mentor teams 1648, 1746/1833, and started 9477. Anupam was the recipient of the Woodie Flowers Finalist Award at the 2025 Peachtree District Championship. He is currently the skills development mentor for FRC 1833 and is pursuing his Master’s degree in Robotics Engineering. He is presenting at NEMC with content that was developed in collaboration with Kellen Hills from Peachtree.

Brian has been a part of FRC for 20 years, starting as a student on 1153 before going to WPI to pursue a degree in Computer Science. Since graduating he has returned to 1153 as a Software Mentor, Drive Coach, and now Head Coach and coordinator for the Walpole High School Robotics Program. When he isn't mentoring, he is a frequent volunteer at events working as a Game Announcer and Emcee for FTC, FRC, Vex, and FIRST Global events. He is one of NE FIRST's Senior Voices!

Bryce has been involved in FIRST since 2017 as a student, alum, volunteer, mentor, and non-profit board member. With his degree in Human and Organizational Development, he currently serves as a More Than Robots mentor for 125 and advisor to the head mentor and non-profit program director for 7525, where he focuses on team organization and structure, student leadership development, strategy, and non-technical subteams. Beyond mentoring, Bryce is an Emcee and Game Announcer, lending his voice to events in 5 different states and the FIRST Championship each season.

Cory is the drive coach for FRC 2767, Stryke Force, out of Kalamazoo, Michigan. He has been drive coaching for 2767 and other teams for 14 years, and has been involved with FIRST since 2002.

Jonah is a software mentor for FRC 6328 Mechanical Advantage and a student studying computer science and mathematics at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Jonah has led Team 6328’s efforts to develop novel vision and localization systems for 5+ years. He is also a core developer for WPILib and the lead developer for AdvantageScope and AdvantageKit.

Orion is a FIRST alum with 15+ years of experience designing competitive robots and giving back to the FIRST community as a mentor, volunteer, and supplier. Senior Manager of Mechanical Engineering at FIRST, Orion is passionate about helping teams of all levels and backgrounds succeed in all of FIRST’s arenas. He was most recently Lead Design Mentor for FRC 3005 RoboChargers and its various FTC programs.

Randy has mentored FRC 2040, DERT, since 2023. He currently works at Caterpillar as a Sr. Engineering Specialist working on control systems. Janelyn was a student on DERT from 2021–24 and is now a systems engineering and design student trasnferring to University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. FRC 2040 is excited to partner with Mathworks on this presentation.

Ronan is a recent alum of FRC 2713, currently studying mechanical engineering at WPI. This summer, Ronan is an engineering intern with Onshape! 

Drew is a mentor of FRC 6329 and Education Solutions Engineer for Onshape and PTC Education. He has spent almost 3,000 hours in Onshape and worked with a large number of FRC teams to troubleshoot Onshape and teach CAD best practices. 

McKenzie is an alum of FRC 2648 and Education Programs Senior Manager at PTC. She is one of the Lead FTAs for the New England district and a key part of the PTC and FIRST relationship!

Ask them almost anything in their session!

Steve has been involved in FRC since his freshman year of high school and just completed his 10th season as a Mentor for FRC 1757. He serves as a fabrication and business mentor for the team, including running the team's 501(c)(3) organization. Steve serves as a correspondent for FUN, providing Event Forecasts and team pit interviews for teams across the New England Region. In his day job, he works as a project manager for a heavy civil construction firm which specializes in large transportation and marine projects.

Travis is the Head Coach of FRC 2423, an alum of FRC 2468, and a founder of the New England Mentor Conference. As hobby 3D printing enthusiast and a software engineer at Markforged, he’s been printing robot-ready parts for over 10 years. Learn about material selections, design recommendations, print settings, and a variety of robot applications through examples of printed parts from top level FRC teams from around the world.

Dave is an FLL/FTC/FRC alum of 228, a mentoring alum of FRC 2168 / 1678, and President of the Board and Technical Mentor of FRC 6328. He studied management and mechanical engineering at WPI before working in Littleton, MA, where he started mentoring Mechanical Advantage as their lead technical mentor. Wanting to further his career in robotics, he took a leap and moved to California to join a startup that was setting out to change the agriculture industry. There, he joined Citrus Circuits as a hardware mentor and supported their developing educational curriculum. Having grown up with FIRST, he continues to mentor and volunteer to provide the next generation of students with the support and education he feels lucky to have.

Sam is the NE FIRST Director of Communications + Advancement, focused on advancing the mission of the organization through fundraising and information sharing. An alum of FRC 230, she has lived (and volunteered) all over New England and mentored teams from CT, MA and RI. She is now the Lead Coach of FRC 3182, Athena's Warriors, a 4-H community team out of the largest makerspace in CT. 

Jamee is the programming advisor for FRC 2648, Infinite Loop from Oakland, Maine, as well as the team leader for community outreach. She graduated with a degree in Mathematical Sciences from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She currently is the Director of the Robotics Institute of Maine and has led the New England District Championship event planning committee since 2023.

Manisha is an alum of FRC 1100, Inverse Polarity, and a 2014 Dean's List Award Finalist. She returned to 1100 to mentor, focusing on team strategy, outreach and Impact. Manisha is a biomedical engineer focused on user-centric design and testing, seeking ensure safety and efficacy in medical products. She is a Senior Voice for New England and has been featured on the largest FIRST stages around the world at FIRST Championship and FIRST Global.

Scott has coached numerous teams over the years and is a wealth of FIRST Robotics knowledge. Serving as the Senior Mentor in Vermont and FLL regional coach, he is part of FIRST in Vermont and Executive Director of NEARS.