FIRST Tech Challenge Welcomes New Global Volunteers

AI generated image, credit to Google Gemini

FIRST Tech Challenge would not be possible without the tireless efforts of thousands of people around the world. Everyone on the FIRST Tech Challenge staff is grateful for the hard work and passion we see every day from the volunteers making this program happen. Sometimes, this can be a struggle - we often receive more feedback from the community and hear more great ideas from our volunteers than we're able to support.

To that end, we have some exciting news to share.

We'd like to welcome our new Global Key Volunteers! This group will work with the FIRST Tech Challenge staff to build our future. Their goals:

• Work to improve our program
• Make our program more accessible
• Help teams be more successful
• Help volunteers be more successful (at helping teams)!

FIRST Tech Challenge Global Key Volunteers are responsible for the training and support of their specialized volunteer group. They have a significant level of responsibility and are recognized as a supervisory role for their volunteer groups.

All of them are already well known for their embodiment of FIRST Core Values. We're grateful that they will serve as role models for our entire community while helping to implement FIRST's direction.

Please welcome these volunteers to their new roles and help us celebrate their amazing contributions to FIRST.

Below we have a bio for each of our new Global Key Volunteers... AND, to help everyone really get to know them we included a few conversation starters.

Technology Volunteers (Inspectors, FTAs, CSAs, WTAs)

Frank Vissers

The Netherlands

Frank is a Mechanical Engineer from the Netherlands. He began volunteering as a FIRST Technical Advisor at FIRST Tech Challenge in 2023. Frank believes that with determination and support, everyone can achieve greatness. He joined the FIRST Tech Challenge to help all teams succeed!

Get to Know Frank:
"2 truths and a lie" about Frank:

1 - Has been to four out of six continents in the world
2 - Is allergic to chocolate but can't stop eating it
3 - Spent hours debugging a FTC robot once that turned out to be missing a semicolon

Conversation Starter: “If you were on a quiz show, what category would you ACE?“

Frank’s Answer: Greek mythology

AJ Foster

Florida, USA

AJ is a Software Engineer from Orlando, FL USA. He is an alum of FIRST Lego League and FIRST Robotics Competition teams, and he began volunteering at FIRST Tech Challenge events in 2008. He believes math is beautiful, STEM is for all, and everyone should have the opportunities that come with being a participant in FIRST and its volunteer community.

Get to Know AJ:

"2 truths and a lie" about AJ:

1 - I naturally face magnetic North

2 - I am terrified of ducks

3 - I’ve been banned from the Chelsea Flower Show

Conversation Starter: “If you were on a quiz show, what category would you ACE?“
AJ’s Answer: Obscure laws we all break on a regular basis

Referees and Head Referees

Kat Svoboda

Illinois, USA

Kat Svoboda is a mechanical engineer, FIRST alum, & FIRST volunteer. She is employed as product development engineer at Progress Rail, a Caterpillar Company. Kat began her FIRST journey as a student on an FLL team before joining FRC 624 CRyptonite, both in Katy, TX. She volunteered in various roles across the 3 FIRST programs since 2007: FLL mentor, FLL Ref/Head Ref, FRC 4096 Ctrl-Z founding mentor, FRC event volunteer, and FTC volunteer roles. Kat has been an FTC Head Referee/Referee since 2014, the FTC Lead Head Referee in Illinois since 2016 and an FTC Field Head Referee at FIRST Championship since 2023.

Get to Know Kat:

"2 truths and a lie" about Kat:

1 - I have lived on 4 different continents
2 - I have had a planaria and a hedgehog as pets
3 - Mosquitos think I'm a tasty snack

Conversation Starter: “What movie would be better if you added dinosaurs?”

Kat’s Answer: I think dinosaurs would actually fit into the Barbie movie pretty well.

Judges and Judge Advisors

Chris Silvano

Oklahoma, USA

Chris is a Software Engineer working for The Boeing Company. Chris is a FTC alum and a first-generation college graduate with a BSSE degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University! He serves as the Oklahoma Regional Lead Judge Advisor, a FTC Championship Judge Advisor, and a FTC Global Judge Advisor. Chris has served in other roles in FTC from Head Referee to Scorekeeper and more! Outside of FTC he serves as a mentor, Referee, and Head Referee for FIRST Robotics Competition. Chris has also served as a Judge Advisor, a Judge, and a Head Referee for FIRST LEGO League Challenge.

Get to Know Chris:

"2 truths and a lie" about Chris:

1 - I went to Space Camp in Alabama.

2 - I attended the Grand Opening of Disney's Animal Kingdom in Florida.

3 - I've visited more countries in the world than states in the U.S.

Conversation Starter: “What movie would be better if you added dinosaurs?”

Chris’s Answer: Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Jill Wilker

California, USA

Jill is Co-Founder of Playing At Learning, the Northern California delivery organization for FIRST LEGO League and FIRST Tech Challenge. Jill has held senior management and program management (PMO) positions at Micron, Intel, Synopsys, LSI Logic and most recently at Google. Jill holds a BSEE from Purdue. Jill has been recognized as FIRST Tech Challenge Volunteer of the Year in 2019 and received the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award for more than 4,000 hours of Volunteer Service.

Get to Know Jill:

"2 truths and a lie" about Jill:

1 - I have backpacked in Yosemite
2 - I have a caffe macchiato every day
3 - I never sat down to eat at MacDonald's until I became a parent

Conversation Starter: “What movie would be better if you added dinosaurs?”

Jill’s Answer: Home Alone

 Volunteer Coordinators & Event Directors

Emily DeMille

Texas, USA

Emily is a FIRST alum with 8+ years and over 200 events of experience with the FTC program. In her tenure with FIRST she has served as NTX regional head referee, NTX regional volunteer coordinator, and is current co-Program Leader of FTC for FIRST in Texas. Passionate about volunteer engagement, she focuses on recruiting, training, and supporting volunteers to ensure successful and inspiring FTC events.

Get to Know Emily:

"2 truths and a lie" about Emily:

1 - I met my now husband at the 2019 FIRST Championship

2 - I have over 2000 hours played in the Sims 4

3 - I once broke my arm being chased by a chicken

Conversation Starter: “If you were on a quiz show, what category would you ACE?“
Emily’s Answer: “Who's That Pokemon!”

Production & Show (MC/GA)

Kori Bowns-Kamphuis
Illinois, USA

Kori Bowns-Kamphuis is a longtime FIRST volunteer and alum of FRC Team 2903, the NeoBots. She has served in nearly every FTC volunteer role and was the game announcer for the 2018 and 2019 FRC Einstein Finals at the Detroit Championship. In Illinois, she oversees training and management for game announcers and emcees while coordinating show production elements, including scripts, graphics, and playlists. She teaches physics at Lindblom Math and Science Academy in Chicago, where she mentors the school’s FRC team and two FTC teams.

Get to Know Kori:

"2 truths and a lie" about Kori:

1 - My cat once went viral on TikTok for a silly trick.

2 - I once loaned a celebrity my microphone at the FIRST Championship and had to chase him down to get it back.

3 - I lived in 8 different houses before graduating high school.

Conversation Starter: “What movie would be better if you added dinosaurs?”

Kori’s Answer: Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour