Name: Eric VanBuren
Occupation: FIRST Senior Mentor, Washington FTC & FRC Team Advocate, Washington FIRST Robotics
Real Estate Broker, Keller Williams Puget Sound
FIRST Experience: FRC Mentor Team #2046 2009-present, LRI 2014-present, Woodie Flowers Finalist Award Recipient
Ri3D role: Team leader, Assembly & Fabrication
Hobbies: There is life outside of FIRST?
Name: Kenny Wells (The Sorcerer)
Occupation: Hardware and Mechanical Test Engineer
Years in FIRST: 7 years(2009-present) – Founding member of team 2907, Wyoming FIRST Mentor and MC/Game Announcer, Washington FIRST MC, Mentor (Team 2907)
Education: Robotics degree from Casper College
Hobbies: Underwater Hockey and other cool stuff
Name: Aaron Schmitz
Occupation: Xbox Mechanical Engineer
FIRST History: 3 years of FLL, 2 years of FRC (2502 Talon Robotics), 3 years as FIRST Volunteer and FLL/FTC/FRC Mentor (including 1 as FRC Lead Mentor of 2502)
Favorite Game: Rebound Rumble – 2012
Education: Bachelor’s of Mechanical Engineering – University of Minnesota; Master’s of Electrical Engineering – University of Washington (in progress)
Hobbies: Ex-pro unicyclist, but that’s a story for a different time
Role: Mechanical Design Co-lead
Name: Jon Grimm
Occupation: Computer Programmer for Hitachi Solutions America, Ltd
Years in FIRST: 4 years – Mentor (Team 2046)
Role: Programming
Name: Chelsea Olson
Occupation: Electrical Engineer (and professional student/hopeful astronaut candidate). I have worked for Blue Origin and currently work for Boeing Defense, Space & Security.
Years in FIRST/Role: 4…? I started part-time as a mentor in 2012 for FRC 2046 (Bear Metal) and have continued mentoring Bear Metal as an electronics mentor since. I’ve been volunteering for FRC and FTC since January 2013. This year, I have volunteered (or am planning on volunteering) for FLL, FTC, and FRC. Looking forward to working with more teams in Western Washington with FIRSTWA.
Favorite Game: Civilization V and Settlers of Catan. FRC? I loved 2012’s game (Rebound Rumble)… it was our best robot. 🙂
Education: BS Electrical Engineering (Embedded Software & Hardware Design, Control System Design), MS Electrical Engineering (Control System Design), and a PhD in progress (haptic user interfaces & forced feedback for teleoperated robotics). All at the University of Washington. (Go Huskies!)
Hobbies: Volunteering, Youth STEM Education, Reading, Violin, Yoga & Pilates, Dog Walks with my Pups, and Coding/Tinkering with Electronics.
Role on Team: Electronics + Software Integration + Food Planning
Name: Jansen Hillis
Occupation: Boeing Lighting/Camera Test Engineer
Years in FIRST: 1 year FIRSTWA Media Mentor, 2 years active enthusiast
Favorite Game: Aerial Assist (2014)
Education: BS Computer Science – Western Washington University 2009
Hobbies: Multicopters, Tennis, Photography, Videography
Role on Team: Media, Fabrication, Coding
Name: Darren VanBuren
Occupation/Employer: Jr Tester at Prowess Consulting
FIRST Experience: 2009-2012 Student on Team 2046, 2013 Mentor for Team 2046
Favorite Game: 2011 – LogoMotion
Education: Working on an associate degree at Green River
Hobbies: Playing video games, programming
Role on Team: Video-type media
Name: Kay Grubb
Occupation: Student at Western Washington University
Years in FIRST: 4 years as student 2011 – 2014 (Team FRC 2907), Washington FIRST Intern 2013 – 1014, FIRST Dean’s List Finalist 2014, FIRST Volunteer 2014- Present
Favorite Game: Rebound Rumble (2012)
Education: In progress…
Hobbies: Swimming, Robots, Exploring, Going to Disneyland
Role on Team: Strategy, Food, and Media
Name: Regina Grubb (Mama Grubb)
Occupation: High School Horticulture Teacher, Head Girls Swim Coach
Years in FIRST: 5 years – 1 year as parent, Coach 2011-2012 (FLL Team 10689), Head Strategy and Logistics mentor 2012 – present (FRC Team 2907, FTC Team 5953)
Favorite Game: Rebound Rumble (2012)
Education: BS in Plant Science from University of Idaho, MS in Agriculture Sustainable Urban Systems from Washington State University (in progress)
Hobbies: Therapeutic weed pulling, Knitting, Volunteering for FIRST
Role on Team: Sustenance Manager and Strategy Analyst
Name: Paul Roush
Occupation: Mechanical Engineer at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
Years in FIRST: A very long time… Founding mentor of Team 360 through 2009, Washington FIRST Machine Shop Lead, Woodie Flowers Award Finalist recipient
Role on Team: Assembly and Fabrication
Name: Stephanie Hornung
Occupation/Employer: Product Engineer, Target Corp.
Years in FIRST and Roles: 2 years FRC, 7 years volunteer (FRC field reset, FLL referee, FTC judge and referee)
Favorite Game: Rack & Roll (2007)
Education: Bachelor’s Mechanical Engineering, University of Minnesota/ current masters student, Human Factors & Ergonomics, University of Minnesota
Hobbies: tap dancing, baking
Name: Kevin Parsons
Occupation: Software Engineer at Microsoft
Years in FIRST and Roles: 1 year Lego League, and volunteered at a Lego League event one time in college.
Education: BS in Computer Science from University of Minnesota
Hobbies: Reading, programming, video games
Role on Team: Programmer