The FIRST in Upper Midwest Nominating and Governance (NomGov) Committee is pleased to announce eight nominees for open positions on the FUM Board of Directors. They are:

Rachel Clark
Gene Jasper
Tom Lageson
Andy Paulson
Jane Peterson
Yoji Shimizu
Ryan Swanson|
Mike Vogelwede

The new board will hold its initial meeting in December, where officers will be elected, an initial mission statement will be developed, and initial set of focus areas will be defined. The new directors join Mark Lawrence, Steve Peterson and Laurie Shimizu, who cofounded FIRST in Upper Midwest (FUM) earlier this year.

“I am pleased to welcome these eight new Directors to the inaugural board of FUM,” said Steve Peterson, FUM co-founder. “These individuals bring a wealth of experience, both in their individual careers and their incredible involvement in FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC). The Nominating and Governance Committee was faced with the difficult job of choosing from a deep candidate pool. The selected individuals represent many aspects of the FRC experience – alumni, mentors, event volunteers, Regional Planning Committee members, team founders, teachers, off-season event organizers, and small and large school experiences. I’m excited to see how this group comes together to help power the next stage of growth and team sustainability in the three state area we intend to serve.”

Any active Woodie Flowers Finalist Award winner involved with a Minnesota, North Dakota, or South Dakota team or regional event was eligible to participate in this year’s NomGov Committee. Members included Nate Cmiel (Team 2052), Evan Hochstein (Team 2470), Jim Irvine (Team 2175), Mark Lawrence (Team 1816), Sean Lenhardt (Team 3184), Sandy Olson (Team 2502), John Peterson (Team 2220), Steve Peterson (Team 3081), and Laurie Shimizu (Team 1816). Committee members spent several hours reviewing applications, interviewing candidates, discussing their priorities for board composition, and selecting the nominees.

Questions about FUM can be directed to Steve Peterson at steve@stevepeterson.com.

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Rachel Clark is a founding student member and now mentor to Team 2177, The Robettes in Mendota Heights. In addition to FRC, she is also an active member of the Society of Women Engineers. Rachel is a Senior Manufacturing Technology Engineer at 3M in the Abrasive Systems Division.

Gene Jasper is a founder and mentor to Team 2498 Bearbotics (Minneapolis), Team 3630 Stampede (Minneapolis) and Team 5996 R. U. R. (Prague, Czech Republic). Since 2008, he has worked in a variety of volunteer roles at FRC events in Minnesota, Indiana, and Wisconsin, where he co-founded the Seven Rivers Regional. Gene is Vice President of Federal Solutions at Optum.

Tom Lageson is the Lead Mentor for Team 2846, the Roseville FireBears in Roseville. He started the Minnesota Robotics Invitational in 2011. He also served as an FRC event volunteer from 2008 to 2012. Tom works for TML Consulting LLC as a consultant delivering custom business software applications.

Mark Lawrence is a founding mentor of Team 1816, The Green Machine, Edina, MN. He has been Chairman of the MN FIRST Regional Planning Committee and a member of the MN FIRST Executive Advisory Board since their inception (2006). He is also an active member of the Double DECC’r and Great Northern Regional Planning Committees. Mark was selected as a Woodie Flowers Award winner in 2015. He retired from Cisco Systems in 2005 after a high tech career that lasted 30 years.

Andy Paulson is the Lead Mentor to Team 4539, KAOTIC Robotics in Frazee, MN. He has been a part of FRC since 2010, serving as the Lead Mentor to Team 3276 for 3 years prior to starting KAOTIC Robotics in 2013. He also serves as a board member for the Great Northern Regional and has been an Industrial Technology instructor for 15 years, 8 at New London-Spicer High School and 7 at Frazee-Vergas High School.

Jane Peterson has been a mentor to Blue Twilight Team 2220 in Eagan since 2010. She has served in a variety of 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 FRC 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.

Laurie Shimizu is a volunteer and mentor to Team 1816, “The Green Machine,” in Edina, MN. She has served as Volunteer Coordinator for the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) Regional events in Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, and North Dakota, since 2008. A retired journalist, Laurie has served as a FIRST Senior Mentor, focused on FRC sustainability in Minnesota and North Dakota, since 2014. She also is the Chief Volunteer Coordinator for the FIRST Robotics Competition since September 2016. As Chief Volunteer Coordinator, Laurie has a key role in making sure that 200 Volunteer Coordinators around the globe are trained and prepared for their events. Laurie is instrumental in recruiting, assigning and managing over 1200 volunteers at FIRST Championship in April.

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 FRC 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.

Ryan Swanson is an alumni and mentor from Team 4607, CIS out of Becker, and a mentor to a number of other teams from around Minnesota and North Dakota. He has served as a Robot Inspector alongside members of Bison Robotics from North Dakota State University at every Minnesota and North Dakota Regional event. Ryan is the Founder of COR Robotics and a Mechanical Engineer at Massman Automation and Designs.

Mike Voglewede has been the advisor of Team 876 Thunder Robotics, one of the initial FRC teams in North Dakota, since 2001-02. He has worked with FLL, FTC and BEST Robotics and is on the Great Northern Regional Planning Committee. After teaching high school science for 37 years, Mike is now retired.

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