--- title: FIRST Tech Challenge Welcomes New Global Volunteers description: Celebrating new Global Key Volunteers for FIRST Tech Challenge, who will drive program improvements and support teams and volunteers worldwide. Meet the dedicated individuals making a difference! image: https://community.firstinspires.org/hubfs/Picture1-Mar-28-2025-04-18-39-2882-PM.jpg --- *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)   ![](https://community.firstinspires.org/hs-fs/hubfs/image-png-Mar-28-2025-04-03-47-3707-PM.png?width=465&height=423&name=image-png-Mar-28-2025-04-03-47-3707-PM.png) **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 *FIRST *Tech Challenge 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 ---   **![](https://community.firstinspires.org/hs-fs/hubfs/image-png-Mar-28-2025-04-05-47-7907-PM.png?width=466&height=378&name=image-png-Mar-28-2025-04-05-47-7907-PM.png)** **AJ Foster** Florida, USA AJ is a Software Engineer from Orlando, Florida, 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   ![](https://community.firstinspires.org/hs-fs/hubfs/image-png-Mar-28-2025-04-07-17-4469-PM.png?width=466&height=503&name=image-png-Mar-28-2025-04-07-17-4469-PM.png) **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 *FIRST *LEGO League team before joining *FIRST *Robotics Competition 624 CRyptonite, both in Katy, Texas. She volunteered in various roles across the 3 *FIRST *programs since 2007: *FIRST *LEGO League mentor, *FIRST *LEGO League Ref/Head Ref, *FIRST *Robotics Competition 4096 Ctrl-Z founding mentor, *FIRST *Robotics Competition event volunteer, and *FIRST *Tech Challenge volunteer roles. Kat has been an *FIRST *Tech Challenge Head Referee/Referee since 2014, the *FIRST *Tech Challenge Lead Head Referee in Illinois since 2016 and an *FIRST *Tech Challenge 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 ![](https://community.firstinspires.org/hs-fs/hubfs/image-png-Mar-28-2025-04-09-05-9838-PM.png?width=465&height=465&name=image-png-Mar-28-2025-04-09-05-9838-PM.png) **Chris Silvano ** Oklahoma, USA Chris is a Software Engineer working for The Boeing Company. Chris is a *FIRST *Tech Challenge 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 *FIRST *Tech Challenge Championship Judge Advisor, and a *FIRST *Tech Challenge Global Judge Advisor. Chris has served in other roles in *FIRST *Tech Challenge from Head Referee to Scorekeeper and more! Outside of *FIRST *Tech Challenge 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 --- ![](https://community.firstinspires.org/hs-fs/hubfs/image-png-Mar-28-2025-04-10-50-1341-PM.png?width=466&height=466&name=image-png-Mar-28-2025-04-10-50-1341-PM.png)   **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 ![](https://community.firstinspires.org/hs-fs/hubfs/image-png-Mar-28-2025-04-14-14-9449-PM.png?width=465&height=475&name=image-png-Mar-28-2025-04-14-14-9449-PM.png) **Emily DeMille ** Texas, USA Emily is a *FIRST *alum with 8+ years and over 200 events of experience with the *FIRST *Tech Challenge 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 *FIRST *Tech Challenge for *FIRST* in Texas. Passionate about volunteer engagement, she focuses on recruiting, training, and supporting volunteers to ensure successful and inspiring *FIRST *Tech Challenge events. **Get to Know Emily:** "2 truths and a lie" about Emily: 1 - I met my now husband at the 2019 *FIRST C*hampionship 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) ![](https://community.firstinspires.org/hs-fs/hubfs/image-png-Mar-28-2025-04-15-34-9724-PM.png?width=444&height=456&name=image-png-Mar-28-2025-04-15-34-9724-PM.png) **Kori Bowns-Kamphuis** Illinois, USA Kori Bowns-Kamphuis is a longtime *FIRST *volunteer and alum of *FIRST *Robotics Competition Team 2903, the NeoBots. She has served in nearly every *FIRST *Tech Challenge volunteer role and was the game announcer for the 2018 and 2019 *FIRST *Robotics Competition 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 *FIRST *Robotics Competition team and two *FIRST *Tech Challenge 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   ![](https://media4.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExZnh1ZWlmeWYxNDBpbHFnOGptdml6ZWV1aTVuOW5icXZhMm05cDJ4dCZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/fnmsu2lTw3r1e/giphy.gif)       ** [Volunteers](https://community.firstinspires.org/topic/volunteers), [FTC](https://community.firstinspires.org/topic/ftc) #### Share it: [** ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://community.firstinspires.org/first-tech-challenge-welcomes-new-global-volunteers) [** ](https://twitter.com/share?url=https://community.firstinspires.org/first-tech-challenge-welcomes-new-global-volunteers) [** ](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://community.firstinspires.org/first-tech-challenge-welcomes-new-global-volunteers) ![Default Author Image](https://community.firstinspires.org/hubfs/Community%20Blog%20v2/images/FIRST-author-icon.svg) Author [FIRST Tech Challenge Staff](https://community.firstinspires.org/author/first-tech-challenge-staff) ### Related Posts ** [Volunteers](https://community.firstinspires.org/topic/volunteers) FIRST Volunteers: Meet Amazon Employees Jason & Manjiri April 16, 2021 ** [Volunteers](https://community.firstinspires.org/topic/volunteers) Celebrating FIRST Volunteers During Volunteer Month (April 2023) April 18, 2023 ** [Alumni](https://community.firstinspires.org/topic/alumni), [STEM for Everyone](https://community.firstinspires.org/topic/stem-for-everyone), [Volunteers](https://community.firstinspires.org/topic/volunteers), [Featured](https://community.firstinspires.org/topic/featured) Celebrating the 2025 FIRST Volunteer of the Year Award Recipients August 1, 2025 ![](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)