leadership

Meet the Staff

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Fred is a seasoned leader with over 15 years of experience in non-profit leadership, driven by a passion for advancing workforce development in Washington State.

Fred’s efforts led to recognition by the State Board of Community and Technical Colleges in 2019 and by the GeekWire community (Geeks Give Back Award winner) in 2020.

Fred has a passion for supporting growing talent through centering his efforts through an equity and
inclusion lens. He is a Pacific Northwest native, an active dad (children and cats), husband and Seattle Mariners fan. 

Fred Krug

President

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Lila Mowatt is the Director of Development & Community Relations at FIRST Washington, where she oversees all aspects of linking the organization to resources through donor stewardship, fundraising, and relationship building. Prior to FIRST WA, Lila was the Director of Philanthropy for Washington DECA.

Lila has also held positions with the American Jewish Committee as Seattle Regional Director and with AIPAC in both Seattle and Houston. Lila earned her M.A. in History from the University of Haifa and her B.A. from New York University in Political Science and Middle Eastern Studies.

Lila Mowatt

Director of Development & Community Relations

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Adrienne became involved with FIRST in 2007 when her daughter’s high school started a robotics club. In 2010 she began coaching a FIRST Robotics Competition team where she developed a passion for working with students. In 2011, Adrienne joined the FIRST Washington staff as a part time program coordinator for FIRST Tech Challenge and FIRST Robotics Competition. She loves the way that FIRST can help shape young peoples lives in discovering a career pathway.

Adrienne Collins

Director of Programs

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Bio coming soon! 

Jacque Grimm (she/her)

Program Manager, FLL

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Bio coming soon! 

Natalie Truong

Team Services Coordinator

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Eric has been engaged with FIRST programs for over a decade starting as a parent and then mentor of his kids’ team and then moving into a FIRST Senior Mentor Role, helping new teams start their journey with FIRST.

He is an incredible role model, always willing to help coaches/mentors solve challenges.

In addition to managing FIRST Washington’s Fieldhouse equipment, he mentors an all-girls team at Holy Names Academy in Seattle.

Eric VanBuren (he/him)

Fieldhouse Manager

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Bio coming soon!

Katie Crenshaw (she/her)

Senior Accountant

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In 1999, Eric Stokely started his journey with FIRST while in his first year as a teacher in California with FRC Team 258, The Sea Dawgs. Moving to Washington 3 years later, he joined FRC Team 360, The Revolution. Eric is one of the founding members of FIRST Washington, and saw the addition of both FLL and FTC programs in our state. He served as the first FTC Program Delivery Partner in Washington.

Over the following years, he has worked with many FRC teams, FRC 2557 The SOTAbots, FRC 5295 Aldernating Current, and recently joining FRC 4450 The Olympia Robotics Federation ORF.

Eric won the Woodie Flowers Finalist Award in 2007 in Portland and Volunteer of the Year in 2012 in Seattle. He was awarded the highest honor a Mentor can receive, the Woodie Flowers Award at the 2016 World Championship in St. Louis.

Retiring from teaching in 2022, Stokely is now a FIRST Senior Mentor working alongside FIRST Washington staff to help move the Mission of FIRST forward as a True Believer in what FIRST is accomplishing.

Eric Stokely (he/him)

FIRST Senior Mentor

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Alida is an FRC Team 360 alum with a degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Washington. Professionally, she has diverse experience as an engineer, program manager, and teacher. She has volunteered for more than 15 years at FIRST events, including key roles such as FTC Lead Judge Advisor, FRC Senior District Lead Robot Inspector, and World Championship Lead Robot Inspector.
Now at FIRST Washington, Alida is passionate about helping mentors and teams build sustainable programs that inspire the next generation of innovators and problem-solvers.

Alida Mendes MacCracken (she/her)

FTC/FRC Program & Mentor Support

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Natalie has been involved with FIRST Robotics since 2011 and is an alum of FRC 2471. She has volunteered in various roles across all programs and has worked with FIRST Washington as a Senior Volunteer Coordinator. She is excited to continue to work with our dedicated volunteers to ensure high quality and exciting programs for the FIRST WA students.

Natalie Janson Schmitz (she/her)

Volunteer & Program Support

Meet the Board of Directors

Jordan Charles

Jordan Charles

Board Member

Jamie Garza

Jamie Garza

Governance Chair

Joydeep Hazra

Joydeep Hazra

Board Member

Tiffany Lynch

Tiffany Lynch

Finance Chair

Claudius Mbemba

Claudius Mbemba

Board Member

Viplav Mishra

Viplav Mishra

Board Member

JT Perry

JT Perry

Board Chair

Rami Rafeh

Rami Rafeh

Vice Chair

Kevin Ross

Kevin Ross

Board Member

Tami Schwartz

Tami Schwartz

Board Member

Uday Shankar A.B.

Uday Shankar A.B.

Board Member

Rob Short

Rob Short

Development Chair

Board Members not pictured:  Christie Baudin, Michele Freed, Molly Zammit

Join Us!

If you’re interested in becoming a FIRST Washington board member, please reach out to our Governance Chair Jamie Garza at – Jamie.Garza@freshconsulting.com