Team 254: The Cheesy Poofs
About

Mentors

The engineers, teachers and alumni who work alongside our students through the season.

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. 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, FIRST

Bellarmine Faculty

  • Andrew Lawrence

    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

    FTC

    Career
    Mathematics Teacher at Bellarmine
    Team 254
    Mentor (2018-)

  • Brad Lindemann

    Software Development

    Career
    Computer Science Teacher at Bellarmine
    Team 254
    Mentor (2012-)

Industry Mentors

  • Travis Covington

    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

    Software Development and Wiring

    Career
    Senior Software Engineer at Intuitive Surgical
    Team 254
    Student (2014-2017), Mentor (2021-)

  • Cory McBride

    Manufacturing, Strategy, Scouting, Team Organization

    Career
    Principal Mechanical Engineer at Neptune Medical
    Team 100
    Student (2000-2004)
    Team 254
    Mentor (2006-)

  • Andrew Torrance

    Mechanical Design and Manufacturing

    Career
    Senior Mechanical Engineer at Johnson & Johnson Medtech
    Team 254
    Student (2011-2015), Mentor (2016-)

  • Mark Sheridan

    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

    Project Management, Manufacturing, Web Dev, Scouting

    Career
    Software Engineer
    Team 296
    Student (2001-2004), Mentor (2005-2006)
    Team 1503
    Mentor (2007-2011)
    Team 254
    Mentor (2012-)

  • EJ Sabathia

    Strategy & Design

    Career
    Mechanical Design Engineer at Carbon, Inc.
    Team 254
    Student (2000-2002), Mentor (2003-)

  • Jared Russell

    Software, High Level Design, Strategy

    Career
    Technical Lead at Waymo
    Team 341
    Student (2001-2005), Mentor (2005-2013)
    Team 254
    Mentor (2014-)

  • Gianluca Zanutta

    Wiring

    Career
    Mechanical Engineer at Carbon, Inc.
    Team 254
    Student (2016-2018), Mentor (2018-)

  • Kevin Sheridan

    Drive Team

    Team 254
    Mentor

  • Solomon Chang

    Software Development & Controls

    Career
    Software Engineer at Google
    Team 1160
    Mentor (2012-2015)
    Team 1868
    Mentor (2016)
    Team 254
    Mentor (2017-)

  • Nick Eyre

    Graphic Design

    Career
    Mechanical Engineer at Johnson & Johnson
    Team 254
    Student (2007-2011), Mentor (2011-)

  • Joey Diamond

    Design, Wiring

    Career
    Senior Mechanical Engineer at Johnson & Johnson
    Team 3324
    Student (2011-2014)
    Team 4251
    Student (2011-2014)
    Team 3132
    Mentor (2015-2018)
    Team 118
    Mentor (2018)
    Team 254
    Mentor (2019-)

  • Bryan Culver

    Design

    Career
    Mechanical Engineer at Auris Health
    Team 254
    Mentor (2021-)

  • Tom Bottligeri

    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

    Wiring

    Team 254
    Mentor

  • Peter Zollinger

    Assembly & Controls

    Career
    Spacecraft Propulsion Engineer at Lanteris Space Systems
    Team 6401
    Student (2017)
    Team 6969
    Mentor (2018)
    Team 254
    Mentor (2021-)

  • Ann Johnson

    Program Management & Logistics, Leadership Development, Business

    Team 254
    Mentor (2013-)

  • Aidan Miranda

    Software, Operations, & Competitions

    Career
    Computer Science & Engineering at SCU
    Team 254
    Student (2021-2025), Mentor (2025-)

  • Adam Hersh

    Software & Manufacturing

    Career
    Mechatronics Engineer at Blue River Technology
    Team 4
    Student (2019-2022)
    Team 254
    Mentor (2023-)

  • William Stanley

    Robotic Design

    Career
    Mechanical Engineer, Hardware at Neptune Medical
    Team 971
    Student (2016-2019)
    Team 254
    Mentor (2025-)

  • Kylan Siwinski

    Manufacturing

    Career
    Mechanical, Electrical, & Computer Engineering at SCU
    Team 254
    Student (2020-2024), Mentor (2024-)

  • Patrick Youssef

    Team 254
    Mentor

  • Thomas Lampertius

    Robotic Design

    Career
    Mechanical Design Engineer, Intuitive Surgical
    Team 2834
    Student (2018-2019)
    Team 33
    Mentor (2022-2024)
    Team 254
    Mentor (2024-)

  • Diego Plascencia

    Robotic Design

    Career
    Mechanical Engineering at SCU
    Team 254
    Student (2019-2023), Mentor (2023-)

  • Abhi Jana

    Robotic Design

    Career
    Mechanical Engineering at SCU
    Team 254
    Student (2020-2024), Mentor (2024-)

  • Zachary Pascual

    Mechanical Design and Software Development & Controls

    Career
    Senior Mechanical Engineer at Capstan Medical
    Team 1671
    Student (2015-2018)
    Team 1323
    Mentor (2018-2021)
    Team 1678
    Mentor (2022-2024)
    Team 254
    Mentor (2026-)