Our volunteer mentors include teachers, alumni, parents, and friends. Many have been with Team 1403 since our start in 2004. We would like to recognize and express our most sincere thanks to our mentors for their dedication through the years.
Mr. Michael Leicht
Previously a mentor of Team 42 from 2008-2009 and Team 2342 from 2009-2011; Mentor of the Mechanical, Electrical, Design, and Business/Communications Subteams since 2009.
“I went through the natural progression of being a student to becoming a mentor.”
Mr. Nick Trohalides
Mentor of the Design Subteam since 2007.
“I started mentoring because I enjoy the program, the people, and teaching others. “
Mr. Paresh Patel
Mentor of the Programming Subteam since 2017.
Mr. Jeff Bernardis
Mentor of the Programming and Electrical Subteams since 2012.
“I’m really interested in technology. I love the ability to spread my knowledge to the kids on the team.”
Ms. Annie Yip
Mentor of Outreach, A/V, and Business/Communications Subteam since 2017.
Mr. Warren Venema
Mentor of Design and Mechanical Subteam since 2016.
“Cougar Robotics is the reason why I am doing mechanical engineering. I started mentoring because I wanted to help students pursue their passions in the STEM field.”
Dr. Siva Murthy
Mentor of Strategy since 2016
Mrs. Carla Kopp
Mentor of Business and Communications since 2017
“Robotics involves my two favorite passions – working with people and technology. With my background in computer science and having worked in the industry, I have a special interest in mentoring girls to pursue STEM careers.”
Mr. Erik Kopp
Mentor of Business and Communications since 2017
“It’s amazing to see how much applied science, technology, and problem-solving skills these students learn in such a short time. This will go a long way in preparing them to be valuable contributors in whatever field they choose to pursue. It’s great to be able to be a part of their journey.”
Mr. William Davey
Mentor of Programming since 2017
Mrs. Caitlin Davey
Mentor of Mechanical since 2017
Mrs. Reena Singh
Mentor of Strategy since 2017
Ms. Rachael Werner
Mentor of Mechanical since 2018