FIRST in Upper Midwest is led by a dedicated corps of volunteers with over a century of combined experience starting teams, mentoring students, and organizing and conducting robotics competitions.

Ryan Baird has been involved with FRC since joining team 3275 “The Regulators” as a high school freshman in 2011. After competing in 4 Seasons and graduating High School, he then moved on to mentoring his hometown teams as a build and programming mentor while studying for his Technology Education Degree at St. Cloud State University. He has also participated as a Programming instructor at the annual NMRC Programming Camp in Bemidji, Minnesota, along with volunteering at many off-season events over the years. Currently Ryan is a Production Engineer for Full Circle Water, in St. Joseph MN.

Jennie Engle Co-founded the team 4986 Iron Eagles in Tower, MN and then moved to Alexandria where she is now the lead mentor for 3313 Mechatronics. Jennie enjoys competitions and continues to be active in leading all ages into STEM related fun. Jennie has founded 1 FTC team 16981 Gear Ratios and 3 FLL teams 46828 Bot Sensei, 46827 Mistake & Remake and 43037 Space Pirates. Jennie helped to start the Alexandria FLL tournament through High Tech Kids. Jennie is also currently an active member of the Northern Minnesota Robotics Conference which helps bring FIRST robotics to most of greater MN.

Rory Held – Bio and Picture coming soon!

Bryan Herbst has been involved with Team 2052, KnightKrawler (from New Brighton, MN) since 2007 as both a student and mentor. He has volunteered in many different volunteer roles since 2011, most recently as an FTA at Minnesota regionals and the FRC Championships. While studying at the University of Minnesota: Twin Cities, he served as President of the FRC alumni organization. Bryan is a Lead Engineer at Target working on Target’s Android applications.

Sheryl Kammerer has been a mentor with the Cambridge-Isanti Bluejacket Robotics teams since 2013. She mentors FRC team 5464 and also mentors 3 FTC teams in the Bluejacket robotics program. Sheryl proudly sponsors some teams within her surrounding area with sponsorship dollars or parts that need purchasing. She enjoys volunteering at FIRST Robotics Competitions and has volunteered in the Upper Midwest as both a Robot Inspector and a Judge. Sheryl offers support and mentoring to new FRC coaches as well as those from rural communities. Sheryl is also dedicated to her career in real estate and is proud of her accomplishment as a top producing realtor with Edina Realty.

Aaron Perkins is founding mentor to FRC team 8298 The Mighty Morphing Banana Slugs in Luverne along with 4 FLL teams, 3 FTC teams and helping various schools start FIRST programs. He has volunteered for various FIRST events in South Dakota. Aaron has been teaching various STEM related subjects since 2001 and teaching chemistry and physics at Luverne High School since 2018.

Jane Peterson has been a mentor to Blue Twilight Team 2220 in Eagan since 2010. She has served in a variety of FIRST Robotics Competition event volunteer roles in the Upper Midwest including Safety Advisor, Robot Inspector and Judge.  Jane works for 3M as a Program Manager in the Connected Roads group developing infrastructure materials for connected and automated vehicles.

Steve Peterson is a mentor to Team 3081, Kennedy RoboEagles in Bloomington.  He has served in a variety of FIRST Robotics Competition event volunteer roles in Minnesota, North Dakota, Illinois, and Washington since 2013.  Steve works for Microsoft Corporation as a Principal Architect on the Office 365 service.

Yoji Shimizu has been involved in FIRST Robotics since 2005 as a parent, volunteer, and mentor.  Over the past decade, he has volunteered as an MC and game announcer at regional events and at FIRST Championships.  He also works in a mentoring capacity with FIRST Robotics Competition teams throughout the region.  At the University of Minnesota, Yoji is a Professor in the Medical School, Associate Dean of Graduate Education, Director of the Medical Scientist Training Program (MD/PhD), and Director of the Graduate School Diversity Office.

Jon Stratis is a founding mentor to Team 2177, The Robettes in Mendota Heights.  He has volunteered since 2011, first as a Robot Inspector, then Lead Robot Inspector, and serves as a division Lead Robot Inspector at the FIRST Championship.  After joining the Minnesota Regional Planning committee, he oversaw a redesign of the regional website and its conversion to the FUM website, and manages the state rankings for the annual MSHSL Tournament.  Jon is a Senior Software Engineer at Trimin Systems, in the Government Solutions division.

The Nominating and Governance committee is responsible for reviewing applications and presenting a slate of nominees to the board for its consideration.  The committee is composed of past Woodie Flowers Finalist Award winners from local teams who are actively involved in the program.  Board members are appointed to two year positions, and directors may not be appointed for more than three consecutive terms.  All board members must comply with the Conflict Of Interest Policy.
Express your interest in being nominated to the board by emailing NominatingGovernance@firstuppermidwest.org.