Ashley Robbins
Executive Director
Ashley’s experience with FIRST dates back to 2015, when she managed after-school programs that provided funding for FLL, FTC, and FRC programs at New Prairie schools in northwest Indiana. She was a mentor with FRC team 2197 until 2019. Ashley has a wealth of experience in nonprofit administration, grant writing, fundraising, marketing, and communications. She is a graduate of Purdue University with a Bachelor of Arts in Professional Writing and a minor in Organizational Leadership and Supervision. She completed her Masters of Science degree in Communication with a concentration in Strategic Communication & PR from Purdue in 2020. Ashley also holds certifications in Nonprofit Executive Leadership and Strategic Communications Management. She joined the staff as President in March 2023 and hopes to focus on the growth of FIRST programs across the state and the sustainability of FIN.
Chris Osborne
Director of Programs
Chris has been involved in FIRST since his son joined an FLL team as a 6th grader in 2010. Over the past few years, he has volunteered at FLL, FTC, and FRC events throughout Indiana and began mentoring on FRC 1741 Red Alert Robotics in 2012. Professionally, Chris was a classroom teacher for 10 years and has recently worked in the nonprofit sector for various nonprofits in Central Indiana.
As the Vice President of Programs, Chris will work with existing teams on sustainability and help grow FIRST throughout the state and provide team support for coaches, students, mentors, and communities to help ensure program sustainability.
Dan Leathers
Director of Operations
Dan started in FIRST as a member of FRC Team 135 (Black Knights, Penn HS) in 2005. After helping mentor Team 135 & attending IU Bloomington to study music, he became the main mentor for Team 3494 (Quadrangles, Bloomington South HS) during their inaugural season in 2011, and continued to mentor until taking on Indiana event managing roles in 2019.
Dan will focus his efforts on all things related to our events. FIN equipment, volunteers, event planning, competition structure, etc.
Trisha Thompson
FLL / FTC Program Manager
Trisha Thompson became a supporter of FIRST when her son joined his school’s FLL team in 2017. A graduate of the Indiana University Kelley School of Business, Trisha has a wide variety of experience in banking, human resources, and real estate.
In her role as FLL/FTC Program Director, she will work with partners to identify future FLL/FTC programs in Indiana, raise awareness of FIRST Indiana Robotics as an organization in the education community, and support FLL and FTC teams.
Lori Langley
Statewide Volunteer Coordinator
Lori Langley has been actively involved with FIRST since 2011, when her children joined the rookie FIRST LEGO League team known as Team Storm. She and her husband coached the team until 2019, witnessing every day the transformative impact FIRST programs have on youth. Lori enjoyed the connections she made with FIRST teams, mentors, and volunteers in her role as a FIRST Senior Mentor for nearly five years while supporting the FIN leadership team. As the Statewide Volunteer Coordinator, Lori will work to expand an inclusive volunteer network and support volunteers across all programs.
Kyle Heaton
FIRST Senior Mentor of Northeast Indiana
Kyle has been involved with FIRST Robotics since 2013, when he was a student on FRC 45 (The TechnoKats, Kokomo HS), and has since been volunteering and mentoring. While at Purdue University, Kyle received a B.S. in Computer Science and was a member of Purdue FIRST Programs as a mentor, director, and vice president. As a FIRST Senior Mentor, Kyle is working to create and expand FIRST programs in Northern Indiana. Kyle currently works at Raytheon in Ft. Wayne as a Software Engineer. In his role as FIRST Senior Mentor, Kyle will work to expand access to the FIRST program for students in Northern Indiana, with a specific focus on the Fort Wayne and greater Northeast Indiana Region.