GEARED UP Mentor Conference

GEARED UP Mentor Conference

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.

8:00am EDT

Networking Coffee Grand Ballroom A (400)

9:00am EDT

You Are Not Coaching Alone - How Virginia's growing STEM ecosystem connects mentors, students, and resources across every region. Opening keynote with Amy Sabarre, Director, Virginia STEM Ecosystems. Grand Ballroom A (400)Amy Sabarre

10:15am EDT

Advocacy When You Can't Be in the Room - Reaching sponsors, legislators, and partners online and in person, for teams that can't always travel. Conf Room 4 (40) Access & AdvocacyDenyse Carroll FTC Academy: Start Here - What it is, why it matters, and how to get your team in. Conf Room 2 (35) CurriculumShelly Stoddard • FIRST Robot Design Ideas for FLL Founders - Coaches and mentors trade technical strategies and design possibilities for the new season. Highlands Room (300) FLLTBD • FIRST Chesapeake Strategies for Season Build Process - It’s not my robot, why should I care? - Increasing engineering ownership through the introduction of integrated product teams Grand Ballroom B (275) FRCDr. Andrew Koch FTC Registration, Without the Headache - A live walkthrough of the new FTC registration app: what's changed, how to use it, and the mistakes to skip. See it before your next event cycle. Grand Ballroom C (220) FTCBonnie Crites • FIRST Chesapeake From $250 to Five Figures: Grant Writing That Works - Find the opportunity, write the application, win the award. For every program and every budget. Conf Room 7 (165) Fundraising & PlanningShelly Stoddard • FIRST Chesapeake The Care and Feeding of FIRST Alumni - Your most underused resource: keeping grads connected as mentors, donors, and ambassadors. Conf Room 3 (35) OutreachMatt Sanders • FIRST Chesapeake You Can't Always Win. You Can Always Build Culture. - Concrete moves to build a welcoming, sustainable team, and why they win banners. Board Dining (40) Team ManagementShane Donovan

11:30am EDT

She Leads FIRST: Women in STEM - Building confidence and leadership for girls in STEM, and creating team cultures that recruit and keep them, from FLL through FRC Conf Room 4 (40) Access & AdvocacyDeAnna Williams • Elise Spontarelli • Mary Thompson • Denyse Carroll • Laurie Gray The Innovation Project: More Than a Score - Highlands Room (300) FLLTBD Building a Community Team That Lasts - The structural decisions, funding, leadership, and succession, that separate teams that survive from teams that thrive. Grand Ballroom B (275) FRCConaway Haskins • Tom Milnes The Road to the Inspire Award - How FTC judges really evaluate teams and how to prepare students authentically for the interview Grand Ballroom C (220) FTCShyanne Chan Your Team's Story Is Your Best Pitch - Finding sponsors, making the ask, and keeping them for the long haul, through storytelling, smart tiers, and stewardship. Conf Room 7 (165) Fundraising & PlanningAlex Bryant • FIRST Chesapeake There's a Seat at the Table - FRC and FTC advisory committee members on what these groups actually do, why your voice matters, and how to join, whether you're a strategist or a community cheerleader. Conf Room 3 (35) OutreachDenyse Carroll • Joey Kerns Your Brand Could Be Better: Storytelling, Identity & Community Perception Board Dining (40) Team ManagementJen Kerns The New Control System: What's Coming and When - The unified FTC and FRC platform launching 2027-28, and what coaches should plan for now while testing is underway. Allegheny Room (80) TechnicalPhil Malone

1:30pm EDT

Beyond the Robot: Building Meaningful Community Partnerships Through Outreach Conf Room 4 (40) Access & AdvocacyGeoff Estes FLL BIOGLOW Preview (Futures | Founders) Festival Drum (Expo Hall + Demos)Kaitlin Ilnitzki The Road to the Champion's Award - How FLL judges evaluate Core Values and the Innovation Project, with practical prep for coaches. Highlands Room (300) FLLFLL JA The Road to the Impact Award - How FRC judges evaluate teams, straight answers on transparency and consistency, and how to prep students for interviews and award submissions. Grand Ballroom B (275) FRCSkylar Crews From Kitbot to Machine Shop - When custom parts beat off-the-shelf, what they make possible, and how FTC 20194 JackBots built machining into their design process. Grand Ballroom C (220) FTCAlicen Adkins Project Management Tutorial Conf Room 2 (35) CurriculumBonnie Crites Your Team in 30 Seconds - A repeatable pitch framework that works on sponsors, school boards, parents, or a stranger in an elevator, and that you can teach your students to deliver. Conf Room 7 (165) Fundraising & PlanningLaurie Gray • Alex Bryant Your Team Is Your Volunteer Pipeline - Every program runs on volunteers, and teams are the strongest engine for finding them. Join FCH and volunteer leaders on building a culture of volunteerism that keeps your program strong at home. Conf Room 3 (35) OutreachShelly Stoddard • Jen Kerns 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. Board Dining (40) Team ManagementAdam Spontarelli • Elise Spontarelli

2:45pm EDT

SheLeadsFIRST: Empowering Inclusivity and Change - Real-world actionable steps to improve team recruitment and retention Conf Room 4 (40) Access & AdvocacyDeAnna Williams • Denyse Carroll DEMO Festival Drum (Expo Hall + Demos) Building the FLL to FTC Pipeline - Students never outgrow FIRST - stay involved from program to program. Highlands Room (300) FLLRyan Rich Great Seasons Don't Start in September - How to run an FTC summer program that gets rookies ready: recruiting, structuring the weeks, what to teach, and setting up a strong fall. For coaches starting fresh or improving what they've got. Grand Ballroom C (220) FTCSeelig Sinton Vision and Autonomous That Actually Work - Vision systems, autonomous routines, and AprilTags for both FTC and FRC, grounded in real hardware with Qualcomm. Grand Ballroom B (275) FRCJoey Kerns • Alicen Adkins • Qualcomm Scenario Planning for Nonprofit Leaders - Building Resilience and Sustaining Impact Conf Room 7 (165) Fundraising & PlanningPatti Withington VA STEM Hubs and How They Can Work For You Conf Room 3 (35) OutreachAmy Sabarre The Art of Effective Teamwork Challenges Board Dining (40) Team ManagementEthan Bass This is Not a Strategy Presentation: Building Student Careers in Data Science Conf Room 2 (35) CurriculumGabriel Krotkov Coding in the age of GPT and Claude - Do's and Dont's Allegheny Room (80) TechnicalSairam Geethanath

4:00pm EDT

Every Which Way to Think - Including Neurodiverse Students in FIRST Conf Room 4 (40) Access & AdvocacyTBD FLL Unconference Highlands Room (300) FLLKaitlin Ilnitzki FRC Unconference Grand Ballroom B (275) FRCMatt Sanders FTC Unconference Grand Ballroom C (220) FTCBonnie Crites GEARED UP FTC / STEM HUBS in Your Neck of the Woods - Connecting with FCH parternships and STEM Hubs in your area. Conf Room 2 (35) CurriculumShelly Stoddard Parent Involvement: More Than Just Snacks (but also, Snacks) - Strategies to build support from your team's closest supporters. The volunteers are coming from inside the house! Conf Room 3 (35) OutreachTBD Embracing the Kaizen - How Continuous Improvement Can Turn a Small Dog Into a Much Larger One Board Dining (40) Team ManagementLeon Pryor

4:30pm EDT

Networking Happy Hour At Ruby's Arcade Bar + Arcade

9:00am EDT

Program Team Office Hours Conf Room 4 (40) Access & AdvocacyMatt Sanders • Bonnie Crites • Alicia Haun DEMO Festival Drum (Expo Hall + Demos) FLL BIOGLOW Preview REPEAT (Futures | Founders) Festival Drum (Expo Hall + Demos)Kaitlin Ilnitzki DEEP DIVE: FRC Season Planning & Build Process Workshop - Get your hands dirty planning how to help your students get their hands dirty Grand Ballroom B (275) FRCJoey Kerns FTC Resource Roundup - Tools abound to make a sucessfull team. Dig deep! Grand Ballroom C (220) FTCShelly Stoddard (OFFSITE) PRIMER ON SHOP TOOLS AT X LAB (ADAM + ELISE) Primer on Shop Tools at X LAB Grand Ballroom A (400) The Ask: Sponsor Prospecting, Cold Outreach, and How To Find the Funding Board Dining (40) Team ManagementAlex Bryant DEEP DIVE: First-Year Mentor Bootcamp - Experiences from the Pit to make it to Second-Year Mentor Conf Room 7 (165) Fundraising & PlanningShane Donovan • Conaway Haskins Barriers and Bridges – A Strategic Approach to Having a Real Impact - Don't just win Impact, develop a team that's Impactfull Allegheny Room (80) TechnicalIsriah Keila

11:00am EDT

FIRST in Class - Class and Curriculum or Club and Activity, what fits on your camps Conf Room 7 (165) Fundraising & PlanningShane Donovan DEMO Festival Drum (Expo Hall + Demos) DEEP DIVE: The Future of FLL — LEGO Education Transition & BioGlow Season Planning) - What will the new ecosystem looke like from Bioglow and beyond. Highlands Room (300) FLLKaitlin Ilnitzki DEEP DIVE: Building a Team That Outlasts You - Succession & Sustainability for generations of students Grand Ballroom B (275) FRCConaway Haskins • TBD PROGRAMS TEAM OFFICE HOURS with Bonnie, Matt, and Alicia Conf Room 4 (40) Access & AdvocacyMatt Sanders • Bonnie Crites • Alicia Haun (OFFSITE) PRIMER ON SHOP TOOLS AT X LAB (ADAM + ELISE) Primer on Shop Tools at X LAB Grand Ballroom A (400) Getting Back Up: The Use of Failure in the Process Allegheny Room (80) TechnicalShelly Stoddard Life of a Large Team - Managing Team Growth - Make a space for every student without diluting the experience Board Dining (40) Team ManagementIsriah Keila • TBD

GEARED UP Mentor Conference

From $0.00