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.
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.
Jason Bodnar
FLL / FTC Program Manager
Jason’s passion for FIRST grew after having the opportunity to support the development of programs in Fort Wayne. He has a true passion for helping students see the importance and fun in dynamic STEM programming. He has worked in Indiana as a science teacher, administrator, and curriculum coordinator. His degree in Biology Teaching is from Purdue University Fort Wayne and he received his Master’s in Educational Leadership from Ball State University.
Jason will work on supporting existing FLL and FTC teams as well as help grow FIRST in the state.
Amanda Ledtke
Business Operations Coordinator
With over 15 years of experience in government and political administration, I’ve worn many hats—organizer, communicator, problem-solver, and team builder. I love bringing order to chaos and helping great ideas come to life, which is why I’m so excited to be part of FIRST Indiana Robotics! My background in administration has taught me how to keep things running smoothly behind the scenes so teams can focus on innovation and creativity. I’m thrilled to use those skills to support my FIRST team and ultimately students and mentors as they learn, compete, and grow.
David Ebersol
FIRST Senior Mentor
David is the Future Lab Coordinator for the CANoPs district. He also manages and maintains all of the K-12 makerspaces across all 5 buildings. He is passionate about manufacturing and creating high-wage-earning career opportunities for students in our community. He believes that economic development starts with a strong focus on human capital and education. He strongly believes in changing lives and building robots.For the past twelve years, he has had the privilege of coaching the High School’s Robotics team, which has grown from just 15 students to 35 His goal is to build a program that not only teaches students technical skills but also fosters a sense of teamwork, passion, and grit.
Jason and LeeAnne Maxwell
FIRST Senior Mentors
Jason & LeeAnne Maxwell have been actively involved with FIRST since 2017, when their son, Ryan, joined the rookie FIRST FRC team 6498 – Castle Robotics. They coached their youngest son, Tyler, on the FTC team 13403 Castle South Middle School in the 2018 season. The ability to manage both rookie FRC and FTC teams at the same time presented an overwhelming challenge, they made the decision to focus on FRC and growing other FRC teams in Southern Indiana. They were mentors for the Castle Robotics team until 2024, witnessing every day the impact FIRST programs have on youth and the community. After stepping away from day-to-day mentoring, the focus became looking at the Southern Indiana area and how they could support more than one team. Volunteering at events and learning the extraordinary effort that the FIN family puts into all year long, to host events throughout the Indiana District.
Jason has been employed as Senior Applications Administrator at The University of Southern Indiana in Evansville for 25 years. LeeAnne is an Asset Property Manager for an Evansville Commercial Real Estate Firm.
As FIRST Senior Mentors, they are working to solidify current FRC teams, create a network of resources for mentors to transform mentoring into a more gratifying experience hopefully providing a wonderful opportunity for more youth.
Jason and LeeAnne will work to identify future opportunities for students and mentors to promote a stronger future workforce after being a part of the FIRST program as well as raise awareness of FIRST Indiana Robotics as an organization in the education community, and support FRC teams in the Southern Indiana Region.