Cody is a machining instructor who has taught through various organizations. His expertise in CAD and CAM has helped grow the team’s manufacturing capabilities while inspiring more students to take on the learning challenge. Through his experience with FIRST Robotics, he has helped to expand our team’s quality mentorship. Woody Flowers Finalist 2025.
As owner of Ciro Design, Rick works as an industrial designer for a variety of high profile corporations. With a competitive background in Auto Racing, Rick brings his knowledge of design and engineering to mentor this championship level team. Rick has been with the team since 2014. Woody Flowers Finalist for 2020.
Stuart is a self employed design professional specializing in interactive environments and architectural interiors. His involvement with the team began in 2015 when his daughter first joined the team. Since then he’s continued mentoring the Robot Dolphins with an aim at developing students into thoughtful, responsible, and generous individuals. Woody Flowers Finalist 2022.
Connor is a Robot Dolphins alumni who joined the team during its second season and became a mentor in 2018. Following a few years working in the robotics industry, he now teaches STEAM classes for high school students. “When I was in high school, this team became my second family, and my goal as a mentor is to ensure that every single student in our program feels as loved, respected, and supported as I did.”
Logistics & Operations – Rick Johnston
Rick Johnston is a retire executive. He has held numerous director positions as well as being president of a cosmetic company. He has volunteered with our team since 2018 and he is the primary driver hauling the team trailer to our events. To date he has logged over 20,000 miles for the team. He is also helpful in our logistical needs whether it is building field elements each year or revamping the storageracks. He is active in Boys Scouts as a leader having served with the organization for over twenty years.
Business – Eric DeVoe
Eric is a Director of Finance at Broadcom. He started business mentoring in 2023 when his daughter joined the Robot Dolphin’s sister team, 9271 and continues to support both teams.
Electrical – Kris Ponmalai
Programming – Tim Sent
Tim is a Director of Enterprise Architecture at Salesforce. Tim leads a team of Enterprise Architects focused on digital transformation. When not working, Tim spends his time camping, running and building robots with his son.
Mentor – Jonas Norberg
Jonas is a longtime leader in the video games industry, having guided creative teams at Blizzard, Xbox, EA, and more. When he’s not mentoring or making games, he can usually be found on a mountain, in the ocean, or building something new for fun.
Mentor – Austin Oneill
Programming – Jim Wilson
Mechanical Mentor – Hunter Johnston
Hunter Johnston is a mechanical engineering major with an astronomy minor at Cal Poly Pomona. Hunter began competing with FIRST during the 2018 season. Hunter has now been a part of our team for seven years, and is in his second year as a mentor. Hunter has opted to stay with the program and serve as a mentor because he likes the program and the people in it. “I want to give back and stay connected to the team.”
CAD/Mechanical Mentor – Kevin Jung
Technical Director 2018
Alumni Mentor – Tania Al Jashami
Alumni Mentor – Stryker Maltin
