Mentors
4020 would not be the team it is today without the guidance of these dedicated mentors!
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: A.A.S. in Business
Occupation: Event Producer at Northeast State Community College
“FIRST is awesome!”