Mentors
Mentors and Coaches are individuals from all backgrounds and disciplines who work with students to share their knowledge and guide them through the season. Many Mentors contribute on a weekly basis during competition season, or support the team with subject matter expertise on an as needed basis. Teams may have additional or more specialized roles or a combination of roles as needed. In addition, Mentors help to foster the idea of Gracious Professionalism® and have the students do as much of the work as possible.
– Mentor and Coach Roles, USFIRST.org
Bellarmine Faculty
Andrew Lawrence
| Mentor For | Program Management & Robotic Design |
|---|---|
| Career | Robotics Program Manager at Bellarmine |
| Team 256 | Student (2010-2014) |
| Team 1323 | Mentor (2014-2017) |
| Team 971 | Mentor (2015-2017) |
| Team 299 | Mentor (2017-2022) |
| Team 1351 | Mentor (2022-2024) |
| Team 254 | Mentor (2025-) |
Sachin Salgaonkar
| Mentor For | FTC |
|---|---|
| Career | Mathematics Teacher at Bellarmine |
| Team 254 | Mentor (2018-) |
Brad Lindemann
| Mentor For | Software Development |
|---|---|
| Career | Computer Science Teacher at Bellarmine |
| Team 254 | Mentor (2012-) |
Industry Mentors
Travis Covington
| Mentor For | Design, Manufacturing & Strategy |
|---|---|
| Career | Senior Director of Hardware Engineering at Johnson & Johnson |
| Team 115 | Student (1998-2001) |
| Team 968 | Mentor (2001-2008) |
| Team 254 | Mentor (2008-) |
Ryan Johnson
| Mentor For | Software Development and Wiring |
|---|---|
| Career | Senior Software Engineer at Intuitive Surgical |
| Team 254 | Student (2014-2017), Mentor (2021-) |
Cory McBride
| Mentor For | Manufacturing, Strategy, Scouting, Team Organization |
|---|---|
| Career | Principal Mechanical Engineer at Neptune Medical |
| Team 100 | Student (2000-2004) |
| Team 254 | Mentor (2006-) |
Andrew Torrance
| Mentor For | Mechanical Design and Manufacturing |
|---|---|
| Career | Senior Mechanical Engineer at Johnson & Johnson Medtech |
| Team 254 | Student (2011-2015), Mentor (2016-) |
Mark Sheridan
| Mentor For | Mechanical Design and Manufacturing |
|---|---|
| Career | Senior Mechanical Engineer at Intuitive Surgical |
| Team 766 | Student (2002-2005), Mentor (2006-2011) |
| Team 3309 | Mentor (2011-2014) |
| Team 3476 | Mentor (2014-2018) |
| Team 254 | Mentor (2019-) |
Patrick Fairbank
| Mentor For | Project Management, Manufacturing, Web Dev, Scouting |
|---|---|
| Career | Senior Staff Software Engineer at LinkedIn |
| Team 296 | Student (2001-2005), Mentor (2005-2006) |
| Team 1503 | Mentor (2007-2011) |
| Team 254 | Mentor (2012-) |
EJ Sabathia
| Mentor For | Strategy & Design |
|---|---|
| Career | Mechanical Design Engineer at Carbon, Inc. |
| Team 254 | Student (2000-2002), Mentor (2003-) |
Jared Russell
| Mentor For | Software, High Level Design, Strategy |
|---|---|
| Career | Technical Lead at Waymo |
| Team 341 | Student (2001-2005), Mentor (2005-2013) |
| Team 254 | Mentor (2014-) |
Gianluca Zanutta
| Mentor For | Wiring |
|---|---|
| Career | Mechanical Engineer at Carbon, Inc. |
| Team 254 | Student (2016-2018), Mentor (2018-) |
Kevin Sheridan
| Mentor For | Drive Team |
|---|---|
| Career | |
| Team 254 | Mentor |
Solomon Chang
| Mentor For | Software Development & Controls |
|---|---|
| Career | Software Engineer at Google |
| Team 1160 | Mentor (2012-2015) |
| Team 1868 | Mentor (2016) |
| Team 254 | Mentor (2017-) |
Nick Eyre
| Mentor For | Graphic Design |
|---|---|
| Career | Mechanical Engineer at Johnson & Johnson |
| Team 254 | Student (2007-2011), Mentor (2011-) |
Joey Diamond
| Mentor For | Design, Wiring |
|---|---|
| Career | Senior Mechanical Engineer at Johnson & Johnson |
| Team 254 | Mentor (2019-) |
Bryan Culver
| Mentor For | Design |
|---|---|
| Career | Mechanical Engineer at Auris Health |
| Team 254 | Mentor (2021-) |
Tom Bottligeri
| Mentor For | Design, Manufacturing & Strategy |
|---|---|
| Career | Autonomy Engineer at DoorDash Labs |
| Team 195 | Student (2002-2006) |
| Team 125 | Mentor (2007-2011) |
| Team 254 | Mentor (2010-) |
Cameron Aishin
| Mentor For | Wiring |
|---|---|
| Career | |
| Team 254 | Mentor |
Peter Zollinger
| Mentor For | Assembly & Controls |
|---|---|
| Career | Spacecraft Propulsion Engineer at Lanteris Space Systems |
| Team 254 | Mentor (2021-) |
Ann Johnson
| Mentor For | Program Management & Logistics, Leadership Development, Business |
|---|---|
| Team 254 | Mentor (2013-) |
Aidan Miranda
| Mentor For | Software, Operations, & Competitions |
|---|---|
| Career | Computer Science & Engineering at SCU |
| Team 254 | Student (2021-2025), Mentor (2025-) |
Adam Hersh
| Mentor For | Software & Manufacturing |
|---|---|
| Career | Robotics Engineering at UCSC |
| Team 4 | Student (2019-2022) |
| Team 254 | Mentor (2023-) |
William Stanley
| Mentor For | Robotic Design |
|---|---|
| Career | Mechanical Engineer, Hardware at Neptune Medical |
| Team 971 | Student (2016-2019) |
| Team 254 | Mentor (2025-) |
Kylan Siwinski
| Mentor For | Manufacturing |
|---|---|
| Career | Mechanical, Electrical, & Computer Engineering at SCU |
| Team 254 | Student (2020-2024), Mentor (2024-) |
Thomas Lampertius
| Mentor For | Robotic Design |
|---|---|
| Career | Mechanical Design Engineer, Intuitive Surgical |
| Team 2834 | Student (2018-2019) |
| Team 33 | Mentor (2022-2024) |
| Team 254 | Mentor |
Diego Plascencia
| Mentor For | Robotic Design |
|---|---|
| Career | Mechanical Engineering at SCU |
| Team 254 | Student (2019-2023), Mentor |
Abhi Jana
| Mentor For | Robotic Design |
|---|---|
| Career | Mechanical Engineering at SCU |
| Team 254 | Student (2020-2024), Mentor |
