GEARED UP Mentor Conference: Grid

Welcome to GEARED UP 2026: Mentor Conference! Join us at James Madison University’s Festival Conference & Student Center in Harrisonburg, VA, for two days of learning, connection, and community.

You power 10,000+ students across DC, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. This day is built for YOU. Whether you’re a rookie coach launching your first team or a 20-year veteran looking for fresh ideas, you’ll find sessions, workshops, and conversations designed to sharpen your skills and recharge your passion.

Proudly presented by Aramco Americas. See you in Harrisonburg.

Exit

Allegheny Room (80) Technical	Bar + Arcade	Board Dining (40) Team Management	Conf Room 2 (35) Curriculum	Conf Room 3 (35) Outreach	Conf Room 4 (40) Access & Advocacy	Conf Room 7 (165) Fundraising & Planning	Festival Drum (Expo Hall + Demos)	Grand Ballroom A (400)	Grand Ballroom B (275) FRC	Grand Ballroom C (220) FTC	Highlands Room (300) FLL

7:45am
8:00am
8:15am
8:30am
8:45am
9:00am
9:15am
9:30am
9:45am
10:00am
10:15am
10:30am
10:45am
11:00am
11:15am
11:30am
11:45am
12:00pm
12:15pm
12:30pm
12:45pm
1:00pm
1:15pm
1:30pm
1:45pm
2:00pm
2:15pm
2:30pm
2:45pm
3:00pm
3:15pm
3:30pm
3:45pm
4:00pm
4:15pm
4:30pm
4:45pm
5:00pm
5:15pm
5:30pm
5:45pm
6:00pm
6:15pm
6:30pm
6:45pm

The New Control System: What's Coming and When -... 11:30am - 12:15pm

Coding in the age of GPT and Claude - Do's and D... 2:45pm - 3:30pm

Networking Happy Hour At Ruby's Arcade 4:30pm - 6:45pm

You Can't Always Win. You Can Always Build Cultu... 10:15am - 11:00am

Your Brand Could Be Better: Storytelling, Identi... 11:30am - 12:15pm

Rural Teams, Shared Solutions - Vector Space sha... 1:30pm - 2:15pm

The Art of Effective Teamwork Challenges 2:45pm - 3:30pm

Embracing the Kaizen - How Continuous Improvemen... 4:00pm - 4:45pm

FTC Academy: Start Here - What it is, why it mat... 10:15am - 11:00am

Project Management Tutorial 1:30pm - 2:15pm

This is Not a Strategy Presentation: Building St... 2:45pm - 3:30pm

GEARED UP FTC / STEM HUBS in Your Neck of the Wo... 4:00pm - 4:45pm

The Care and Feeding of FIRST Alumni - Your most... 10:15am - 11:00am

There's a Seat at the Table - FRC and FTC adviso... 11:30am - 12:15pm

Your Team Is Your Volunteer Pipeline - Every pro... 1:30pm - 2:15pm

VA STEM Hubs and How They Can Work For You 2:45pm - 3:30pm

Parent Involvement: More Than Just Snacks (but a... 4:00pm - 4:45pm

Advocacy When You Can't Be in the Room - Reachin... 10:15am - 11:00am

She Leads FIRST: Women in STEM - Building confid... 11:30am - 12:15pm

Beyond the Robot: Building Meaningful Community... 1:30pm - 2:15pm

SheLeadsFIRST: Empowering Inclusivity and Change... 2:45pm - 3:30pm

Every Which Way to Think - Including Neurodivers... 4:00pm - 4:45pm

From $250 to Five Figures: Grant Writing That Wo... 10:15am - 11:00am

Your Team's Story Is Your Best Pitch - Finding s... 11:30am - 12:15pm

Your Team in 30 Seconds - A repeatable pitch fra... 1:30pm - 2:15pm

Scenario Planning for Nonprofit Leaders - Buildi... 2:45pm - 3:30pm

FLL BIOGLOW Preview (Futures | Founders) 1:30pm - 2:15pm

DEMO 2:45pm - 3:30pm

Networking Coffee 8:00am - 9:00am

You Are Not Coaching Alone - How Virginia's grow... 9:00am - 9:45am

Strategies for Season Build Process - It’s not m... 10:15am - 11:00am

Building a Community Team That Lasts - The struc... 11:30am - 12:15pm

The Road to the Impact Award - How FRC judges ev... 1:30pm - 2:15pm

Vision and Autonomous That Actually Work - Visio... 2:45pm - 3:30pm

FRC Unconference 4:00pm - 4:45pm

FTC Registration, Without the Headache - A live... 10:15am - 11:00am

The Road to the Inspire Award - How FTC judges r... 11:30am - 12:15pm

From Kitbot to Machine Shop - When custom parts... 1:30pm - 2:15pm

Great Seasons Don't Start in September - How to... 2:45pm - 3:30pm

FTC Unconference 4:00pm - 4:45pm

Robot Design Ideas for FLL Founders - Coaches an... 10:15am - 11:00am

The Innovation Project: More Than a Score - 11:30am - 12:15pm

The Road to the Champion's Award - How FLL judge... 1:30pm - 2:15pm

Building the FLL to FTC Pipeline - Students neve... 2:45pm - 3:30pm

FLL Unconference 4:00pm - 4:45pm

Exit

Allegheny Room (80) Technical	Board Dining (40) Team Management	Conf Room 4 (40) Access & Advocacy	Conf Room 7 (165) Fundraising & Planning	Festival Drum (Expo Hall + Demos)	Grand Ballroom A (400)	Grand Ballroom B (275) FRC	Grand Ballroom C (220) FTC	Highlands Room (300) FLL

8:45am
9:00am
9:15am
9:30am
9:45am
10:00am
10:15am
10:30am
10:45am
11:00am
11:15am
11:30am
11:45am
12:00pm
12:15pm
12:30pm

Barriers and Bridges – A Strategic Approach to Having a Real Impact - Don't just win Impact, dev... 9:00am - 10:30am

Getting Back Up: The Use of Failure in the Process 11:00am - 12:30pm

The Ask: Sponsor Prospecting, Cold Outreach, and How To Find the Funding 9:00am - 10:30am

Life of a Large Team - Managing Team Growth - Make a space for every student without diluting th... 11:00am - 12:30pm

Program Team Office Hours 9:00am - 10:30am

PROGRAMS TEAM OFFICE HOURS with Bonnie, Matt, and Alicia 11:00am - 12:30pm

DEEP DIVE: First-Year Mentor Bootcamp - Experiences from the Pit to make it to Second-Year Mento... 9:00am - 10:30am

FIRST in Class - Class and Curriculum or Club and Activity, what fits on your camps 11:00am - 12:30pm

FLL BIOGLOW Preview REPEAT (Futures | Founders) 9:00am - 10:30am

DEMO 9:00am - 10:30am

DEMO 11:00am - 12:30pm

(OFFSITE) PRIMER ON SHOP TOOLS AT X LAB (ADAM + ELISE) Primer on Shop Tools at X LAB 9:00am - 10:30am

(OFFSITE) PRIMER ON SHOP TOOLS AT X LAB (ADAM + ELISE) Primer on Shop Tools at X LAB 11:00am - 12:30pm

DEEP DIVE: FRC Season Planning & Build Process Workshop - Get your hands dirty planning how to h... 9:00am - 10:30am

DEEP DIVE: Building a Team That Outlasts You - Succession & Sustainability for generations of st... 11:00am - 12:30pm

FTC Resource Roundup - Tools abound to make a sucessfull team. Dig deep! 9:00am - 10:30am

DEEP DIVE: The Future of FLL — LEGO Education Transition & BioGlow Season Planning) - What will... 11:00am - 12:30pm

GEARED UP Mentor Conference

From $0.00

Select ticket

Success you have shared X tickets.

GEARED UP Mentor Conference

Get help with the event