Mentors

4020 would not be the team it is today without the guidance of these dedicated mentors!

Barry Rhea

Mentor since 2012

Education: B.S. in Electrical Engineering

Occupation: Project Manager at Eastman Chemical Company

“I participate in FIRST because it gives me an opportunity to give back to the community by inspiring young people interested in STEM fields”

Dave Hrivnak

Mentor since 2012

Education: B.S. in Industrial Engineering and M.B.A.

Occupation: Former Systems Analyst at Eastman Chemical Company

“FIRST works better than anything else I’ve seen at getting kids excited about STEM”

Mike Paulonis

Mentor since 2013

Education: Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering

Occupation: Former Head of Data Science at Eastman Chemical Company

“Mentoring for the FIRST Robotics Competition is the hardest fun I’ll ever have”

Mert Dibble

Mentor since 2013

Education: B.S. in Mechanical Engineering

Occupation: Former Mechanical Engineer at Eastman Chemical Company

“I like to tinker around“

Mack Lowe

Mentor since 2015

Education: B.S. in Accounting

Occupation: Retired from Eastman Chemical Company 

PAul GillenWater

Mentor since 2017

Education: B.S. in Chemistry

Occupation: Former Manufacturing Manager at Eastman Chemical Company

“Make a contribution on the youth of today with STEM related mentoring”

Laurie Paulonis

Mentor since 2020

Education: B.S. in Chemical Engineering and M.S. in Environmental Engineering

Occupation: Former Industrial Safety Manager at Eastman Chemical Company

“Girls can build.”

Brad Willson

Mentor since 2020

Education: B.S. in Electrical Engineering

Occupation: Electrical Engineer at Cardinal Glass

“FIRST is awesome!”

Andy Paulonis

Mentor since 2022

Education: B.S. in Computer Science and M.S. in Business Analytics

Occupation: Data Scientist at Eastman Chemical Company

"FRC lets me blend my STEM skills and my competitive drive to succeed in a very unique challenge."

Caitlin WIllson

Mentor since 2024

Education: B.S. in Computer Science and M.S. in Business Analytics

Occupation: Data Scientist at Eastman Chemical Company

"FRC lets me blend my STEM skills and my competitive drive to succeed in a very unique challenge."