GEARED UP Mentor Conference: Full Schedule

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.

1:30pm EDT

Rural Teams, Shared Solutions - Vector Space shares hard data on rural recruitment and practice-field access, then we open the floor to swap strategies and pool resources. Bring your challenges.

Saturday August 8, 2026 1:30pm - 2:15pm EDT

Board Dining (40) Team Management @ 1301 Carrier Drive, Harrisonburg, VA 22807

Vector Space will share the results of our FRC team data collection as it pertains to recruitment and practice field assets. Following the presentation we would like to have a discussion with rural teams. The goal of the meetup is to identify solutions, streamline strategies, and consolidate resources to help strengthen teams that share some of the same struggles.

Speakers

Adam Spontarelli

Facilities Manager & Director of Education, Vector Space

Adam began his career as a Mechanical Engineer in the Nuclear Industry, modeling the flow of fluid and heat through pipes and debris, around baffles and impellers, across differing liquids, gasses, and solids. If the laws of Thermodynamics seemed to misbehave and joules of energy... Read More →

Elise Spontarelli

Executive Director, Vector Space

Elise Spontarelli is co-founder and Executive Director at Vector Space, a community makerspace in Central Virginia. She's made an entrepreneurial career rendering lines, arcs, and polygons. You'll often find Elise giving her designs life by plasma cutting, laser engraving, and screen... Read More →

Saturday August 8, 2026 1:30pm - 2:15pm EDT
Board Dining (40) Team Management 1301 Carrier Drive, Harrisonburg, VA 22807

Team Management, Panel

2:45pm EDT

This is Not a Strategy Presentation: Building Student Careers in Data Science

Saturday August 8, 2026 2:45pm - 3:30pm EDT

Conf Room 2 (35) Curriculum @ 1301 Carrier Drive, Harrisonburg, VA 22807

As FIRST mentors, we strive to build students who are excellent outside of it, especially as STEM-literate professionals. When it comes to designing, building, and programming a robot, we tend to strongly link what students do to potential future careers. We're less successful at that when it comes to data collection, pipelines, and analysis. Adding that dimension to your program can help more students find a home at robotics.
I've approached that challenge across very different programs: an all-boys Catholic school in Dallas, an all-girls community team in Pittsburgh, the largest public school in Maryland, and a DC public charter school. Here's what I've learned about handling FRC data to serve your students off the field, as well as on it.

Speakers

Gabriel Krotkov

Statistician, FDA

Statistician & Machine Learning developer, working for the Food and Drug Administration. FRC student since 2014, event volunteer since 2022, and mentor since 2023. Current mentor for FRC 449 and 4821.

Saturday August 8, 2026 2:45pm - 3:30pm EDT
Conf Room 2 (35) Curriculum 1301 Carrier Drive, Harrisonburg, VA 22807

Team Management, Panel

9:00am EDT

DEEP DIVE: First-Year Mentor Bootcamp - Experiences from the Pit to make it to Second-Year Mentor

Sunday August 9, 2026 9:00am - 10:30am EDT

Conf Room 7 (165) Fundraising & Planning @ 1301 Carrier Drive, Harrisonburg, VA 22807

A first-year mentor bootcamp covering the unwritten rules, the seasonal rhythm, and the places to find help that formal training does not always cover. Equally important, it gives new mentors a peer cohort and a way to stay connected after the conference ends.

Speakers

Shane Donovan

Director of Career and Technical Education, DC International School

Shane Donovan is the Director of Career and Technical Education at DC International School, a public charter school in DC. He is the lead mentor for the school's robotics program which includes a summer camp, an "Academy" program for new 6th graders, 2 or 3 FTC teams, and FRC team... Read More →

Conaway Haskins

Mentor | VP, Entrepreneurial Ecosystems, FRC 9709 | VIPC

Sunday August 9, 2026 9:00am - 10:30am EDT
Conf Room 7 (165) Fundraising & Planning 1301 Carrier Drive, Harrisonburg, VA 22807

Team Management, Panel

11:00am EDT

Getting Back Up: The Use of Failure in the Process

Sunday August 9, 2026 11:00am - 12:30pm EDT

Allegheny Room (80) Technical @ 1301 Carrier Drive, Harrisonburg, VA 22807

Every team wants to win, but even the most competitive have plenty of failures along the way. Join mentors to discuss how to foster a team culture that embraces and learns from failure as much as success.

Moderators

Shelly Stoddard

Vice President, FIRST Chesapeake

Sunday August 9, 2026 11:00am - 12:30pm EDT
Allegheny Room (80) Technical 1301 Carrier Drive, Harrisonburg, VA 22807

Team Management, Panel

11:00am EDT

Life of a Large Team - Managing Team Growth - Make a space for every student without diluting the experience

Sunday August 9, 2026 11:00am - 12:30pm EDT

Board Dining (40) Team Management @ 1301 Carrier Drive, Harrisonburg, VA 22807

A presentation on running mega-sized teams of 100+ students — subteam management, leadership layers, facility logistics, budget at scale, and engagement strategies that keep students from falling through the cracks. A case study from a program that has scaled successfully, and multiple strategies to consider.

Speakers

Isriah Keila

Coach | Business Development Manager, FRC 321 RoboLancers | FIRST Inspires

Isriah Keila is a Business Development Manager at FIRST, supporting the growth of FTC and FRC programs across Western PA, FIRST Mid-Atlantic, and FIRST Chesapeake. A proud alum of FLL Jr., FLL Challenge, FTC, and FRC, he has spent the past five years coaching FRC Team 321, the RoboLancers... Read More →