--- title: FIRST Robotics Competition Chief Volunteer Coordinators description: Announcing new Co-Chief Volunteer Coordinators Laurie Shimizu and Jess Jankowitsch for the 2017 FIRST Robotics Competition season. --- Written by Dennis Howland, Volunteer Resources. We are very sorry to announce that Jessica Boucher will be leaving the role of FRC Chief Volunteer Coordinator. In that role over the past two years, Jess has been a very valuable resource to all of *FIRST* but especially to FRC Volunteer Coordinators and to Rookie Volunteer Coordinators. Jess has worked hard as the “go to” person at Championship for all field VC’s and has been instrumental in creating a smooth coordinated Einstein transition for both teams and volunteers. We thank Jess for all she has done for *FIRST* and wish her only the best of luck moving forward. We are happy to announce that we have two Co-Chief Volunteer Coordinators for the 2017 FRC season and for the *FIRST*® Championship. **Laurie Shimizu** is a recently retired journalist with 25 years of experience. She has been involved with *FIRST®* since 2005 when her son needed help with his* FIRST* Robotics Competition team. Laurie has been a Championship Volunteer Coordinator for eight years and is the Lead Volunteer Coordinator for four Minnesota Regional Events. Laurie is also a *FIRST* Senior Mentor in Minnesota and is an expert on volunteer recruitment and training. For Laurie, *FIRST* is a year round focus and she has been instrumental in the dramatic growth of *FIRST* programs in Minnesota. **Jess Jankowitsch**  brings 18 years of *FIRST* experience to the role of Co-Chief Volunteer Coordinator. Jess started as an FLL and FRC (Cybersonics Technology Team - 103) team member in Pennsylvania. She is presently the Program Director at *FIRST* in Texas. Jess has been a Championship Volunteer Coordinator for eight years and the Lead Volunteer Coordinator in the FRC Pits since 2009. She has served as the Alamo Assistant Regional Director and Volunteer Coordinator since 2010 and was the Volunteer Coordinator for the Pittsburgh Regional for four years. Jess has also served across all *FIRST* programs as a key volunteer, judge, events coordinator, team mentor, and *FIRST *Senior Mentor. She earned a Bachelors degree from Carnegie Mellon University and a Masters degree in Developmental Psychology (with a Neuroscience focus) from the University of Texas at Austin. Please join us in welcoming our new Co-Chief Volunteer Coordinators! ** [FRC](https://community.firstinspires.org/topic/frc) #### Share it: [** ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://community.firstinspires.org/2016-first-robotics-competition-chief-volunteer-coordinators) [** ](https://twitter.com/share?url=https://community.firstinspires.org/2016-first-robotics-competition-chief-volunteer-coordinators) [** ](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://community.firstinspires.org/2016-first-robotics-competition-chief-volunteer-coordinators) ![Default Author Image](https://community.firstinspires.org/hubfs/Community%20Blog%20v2/images/FIRST-author-icon.svg) Author [FIRST Staff](https://community.firstinspires.org/author/first) These blog posts have been contributed by members of *FIRST* staff. *FIRST* is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization headquartered in Manchester, N.H. ### Related Posts Computer Science Education Week: Celebrating Computer Science Opportunities December 10, 2024 ** [FTC](https://community.firstinspires.org/topic/ftc), [INTO THE DEEP](https://community.firstinspires.org/topic/into-the-deep), [Premier Event](https://community.firstinspires.org/topic/premier-event) KDays and FIRST: A Summer Celebration of Innovation, Community, and Competition July 18, 2025 Disney Imagineering brings life to Audio-Animatronics® Figures April 7, 2021 ![](https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=1200203950045814&ev=PageView&noscript=1) ![](https://ct.pinterest.com/v3/?tid=2615041699514&noscript=1) ![](https://ct.pinterest.com/v3/?tid=2615041699514&event=PageVisit&noscript=1)