Diana (aka Captain) has been a Girl Scout leader for decades and is a lifetime member.  She fell in love with the idea of having a Girl Scout robotics team when her son Jared was coding for FTC Team 13968, the  Herberger Howlers.  The FIRST lessons of teamwork and gracious professionalism align well with the Girl Scouts' aim to improve the world.  Her favorite Girl Scout cookies are the discontinued S'mores.

Tina (aka Phoenix) is a lifetime member of Girl Scouts and has many years of FRC experience as a student and coach.  In her third year as a Techalongs coach, she continues to be excited about working with an all-girls FTC team.  In her spare time, she works as an academic advisor at Arizona State University's Fulton Schools of Engineering.  Her favorite Girl Scout cookie is the discontinued Lemon Chalet.  She settles for Taglongs now that those are no longer available.

Austin (aka Spark Plug) worked with the team in its first year, helping to brainstorm mechanical problems and joined the coaching (build) team last year. Although a novice in the field of robotics, he has helped the team adopt a positive attitude when addressing any difficulty and was the coach on the floor during competitions last year, as well as the primary coach for our JV members.  A mechanic and Eagle Boy Scout, he has years of coaching experience in the field of gymnastics.  In his professional life, Coach Austin is a project manager at Phoenix Children's Hospital.  His favorite Girl Scout cookie is the Thin Mint.

A lifetime Gold Award Girl Scout, coach Ari (aka Twister) brings enthusiasm, a "can do" attitude, and over 10 years of coaching experience to the team.  A former elite trampolinist and coach, Ari has transferred those skills to coaching the Techalongs.  She is taking over as the team drive coach starting in 2025-2026. Although well past high school and a new mother, Coach Ari is often mistaken for a student member of the team when at competitions.  She cannot decide if she like Samoas or Thin Mints better.

Father to two Girl Scouts, David (aka Papa Bear) is a Senior Technical Product Owner at Concentrix and previously worked at Dreamweavers and Adobe. He is our 3D printing expert but also assists with build and coding advice and overall project management. It is his second year being involved in FIRST and he is excited about the opportunities a Girl Scout team provides for girls. His favorite Girl Scout cookies are Lemon Ups. 

Rebbekka (aka Sunny) is a lifetime member of Girl Scouts and was a Girl Scout leader of two troops for 17 years until all of the girls graduated.  She is currently volunteering with her Girl Scout service unit as a Volunteer Support Coach and Welcome Class instructor.  Rebbekkah is a senior advanced software engineer at Honeywell but previously worked at General Motors.  She has experience in multiple coding languages and is the project manager for the coding team, as well as one of the coaches mentoring the girls for their 2025 robotics camp. Her favorite Girl Scout cookie is the Thin Mint!

Dave (aka Nova) is the Senior Technology Manager for Best Western Hotels and resorts.  His prior experience included working for Telus Agriculture as a Software Engineering Manager and a software developer for Bunchball.  Dave came to us with the simple message of (paraphrased) "I've got skills, I can help" and immediately sat down to help debug some issues we were having with our "show bot's" motors.  Dave is one of three coaches who specialize in assisting with code, but he likes to tinker in all areas.  His favorite Girl Scout cookies are Samoas.

Emily (aka Pinkie Pie)  is an alumnus of the Techalongs.  As a Techalong, she was team captain and a driver, as well as working extensively on the portfolio and outreach.  Her Girl Scout Gold Award was centered on robotics.  She is currently attending Cal Poly San Luis Obispo where she is studying engineering, but she has promised her former teammates she will be visiting often.  Her favorite Girl Scout cookie is the Thin Mint.

Jared hoped to mentor a Girl Scout team when he was with the HYSA Howlers, but Covid got in the way.  He taught robotics to Girls Scouts over Zoom (2020) and at a neighborhood day camp (2021) to generate interest.  In 2026, Jared graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in electrical and computer engineering and is pursuing a masters of science in robotics at the University of Bristol. He remains on call for coding questions and stops in to give advice when he is on break. Currently, his favorite song is Bodhisattva by Steely Dan and he reports that the three words that describe him are funny, cool, and awesome.  His favorite Girl Scout cookie is the Samoa.