FIRE NSBE Jr. Coaching Teams
VEX IQ Robotics
Coach Brenna Freeman
Brenna has previously mentored high school and middle school Vex robotics. She will be returning for the 21-22 season to coach middle school Vex. She has degrees in aerospace engineering and works as a thermal engineer at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Brenna has previously mentored high school and middle school Vex robotics. She will be returning for the 21-22 season to coach middle school Vex. She has degrees in aerospace engineering and works as a thermal engineer at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Coach James Olsen
James has been coaching software for the NSBE FIRE Jr Vex teams since Fall 2018. As a coach, James likes to emphasize critical thinking, experimentation, and most importantly, fun! During the week, James works as a Computer Engineer at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
James has been coaching software for the NSBE FIRE Jr Vex teams since Fall 2018. As a coach, James likes to emphasize critical thinking, experimentation, and most importantly, fun! During the week, James works as a Computer Engineer at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
Math Counts
Coach Tracee Jamison-Hooks, PhD
Dr. Tracee L. Jamison Hooks, A NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Electrical Engineer, has experience working as a Digital Signal Processing Product Design Lead (PDL) for multiple planetary and lunar spectrometry applications. She has served as a Co-I on several technology maturation proposals. Her background is in Electrical Engineering with a focus on digital signal processing (DSP) and statistics algorithms. She has designed/implemented digital spectrometers targeted for various field-programmable gate array (FPGA) applications. The latest FPGA that she has worked with is the Xilinx RFSoC device. Some of her areas of expertise and interest include digital logic and DSP design and implementation into FPGAs, DSP/Digital Logic algorithm development, MKID and TESS Detectors, CASPER ROACH systems, Xilinx RFSoC, python, and C++.
In her spare time, Dr. Hooks enjoys spending time with her husband and two sons kayaking, biking, hiking, and travelling in her RV. She practices and teaches yoga and a breathing meditation called the Sudarshan Kriya to persons from age 8-108!!
Dr. Tracee L. Jamison Hooks, A NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Electrical Engineer, has experience working as a Digital Signal Processing Product Design Lead (PDL) for multiple planetary and lunar spectrometry applications. She has served as a Co-I on several technology maturation proposals. Her background is in Electrical Engineering with a focus on digital signal processing (DSP) and statistics algorithms. She has designed/implemented digital spectrometers targeted for various field-programmable gate array (FPGA) applications. The latest FPGA that she has worked with is the Xilinx RFSoC device. Some of her areas of expertise and interest include digital logic and DSP design and implementation into FPGAs, DSP/Digital Logic algorithm development, MKID and TESS Detectors, CASPER ROACH systems, Xilinx RFSoC, python, and C++.
In her spare time, Dr. Hooks enjoys spending time with her husband and two sons kayaking, biking, hiking, and travelling in her RV. She practices and teaches yoga and a breathing meditation called the Sudarshan Kriya to persons from age 8-108!!
Coach Jayme Bankole
Hi, I'm Jayme Bankole. I have the pleasure of working with some amazing students in the Math Counts program. My passion as a an educator started at a young age, lining up my dolls and teddy bears for school and creating assignments. I attended University of Maryland and have spent over 15 years as a teacher at several middle schools, homeschool coops, and academic intervention programs. As a coach at FIRE NSBE jr., I hope to partner with students as they explore the fun of math, while they discover and appreciate the way their individual minds work and the value they bring to any group or organization that they are a part of.
Hi, I'm Jayme Bankole. I have the pleasure of working with some amazing students in the Math Counts program. My passion as a an educator started at a young age, lining up my dolls and teddy bears for school and creating assignments. I attended University of Maryland and have spent over 15 years as a teacher at several middle schools, homeschool coops, and academic intervention programs. As a coach at FIRE NSBE jr., I hope to partner with students as they explore the fun of math, while they discover and appreciate the way their individual minds work and the value they bring to any group or organization that they are a part of.
Coach Cassandra Smith
Cassandra Smith, Founder, is a dedicated educator who has spent over 30 years engaging and empowering students and teachers in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. She has worked both in state and local district educational systems in both Illinois and Maryland as Classroom Teacher, Technology Coordinator, Professional Development Specialist, Instructional Technology Specialist ,Mathematics Coach, Grant Writer and Education Program Specialist.
Cassandra is passionate about teaching and learning. Her life goal is to provide opportunities for young people to strengthen their skills through hands-on, minds-on, real world experiences that will equipped them for careers of the future. In 2010, she put her vision into action and formed, Engineering Mindz, LLC to engage the potential of every child in STEM.
Cassandra Smith is a Community Advocate for STEM Education, an active PTA board member and parent volunteer, as well as a Family STEM Night Coordinator, Destination Imagination Team Manager, Stock Market Game Coach and Science Facilitator for home-schoolers and at schools in Bowie, Greenbelt and Lanham-Seabrook. She has been a Jr. First and First LEGO league coach for 8 years and Math Counts Coach for 4 years, joining the FIRE NSBE Jr. team as a coach in 2020.
Cassandra Smith, Founder, is a dedicated educator who has spent over 30 years engaging and empowering students and teachers in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. She has worked both in state and local district educational systems in both Illinois and Maryland as Classroom Teacher, Technology Coordinator, Professional Development Specialist, Instructional Technology Specialist ,Mathematics Coach, Grant Writer and Education Program Specialist.
Cassandra is passionate about teaching and learning. Her life goal is to provide opportunities for young people to strengthen their skills through hands-on, minds-on, real world experiences that will equipped them for careers of the future. In 2010, she put her vision into action and formed, Engineering Mindz, LLC to engage the potential of every child in STEM.
Cassandra Smith is a Community Advocate for STEM Education, an active PTA board member and parent volunteer, as well as a Family STEM Night Coordinator, Destination Imagination Team Manager, Stock Market Game Coach and Science Facilitator for home-schoolers and at schools in Bowie, Greenbelt and Lanham-Seabrook. She has been a Jr. First and First LEGO league coach for 8 years and Math Counts Coach for 4 years, joining the FIRE NSBE Jr. team as a coach in 2020.
VEX V5 Robotics
Coach Joseph M Galante, PhD
Joe joined FIRE as a Vex Robotics Coach in Fall 2018. He has a love of teaching, a drive to give back, and a passion for playing with robots. Joe's main contribution to the Vex Robotics Team has been helping the students program software, with an emphasis on learning software fundamentals and developing basic autonomy. The Vex team was able to score points in the autonomous portion of their competition this past year at every event; this was particularly impressive given that the team switched from the old Cortex electronics system to the new Version 5 system which uses a new software language.
Joe has a history of robotics experience. In high school he built a battle bot robot with composite armor and a pneumatic punching weapon. He completed a Double Major in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology where he earned a patent for a novel tattoo machine. While working on a Masters in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Maryland, he helped found the Robotics@Maryland Autonomous Underwater Robotics Team which won the AUVSI International RoboSub Competition. His Masters work included development and testing of a number of orientation estimation and control algorithms on several high-agility autonomous underwater robots. He went on to earn a Doctorate in Aerospace Engineering studying nonlinear stochastic estimation and control algorithms for orientation of spacecraft, submarines, helicopters, and other applications.
Joe now works as an attitude estimation and control systems analyst at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. He has earned a patent for a LIDAR image processing algorithm, designed navigation systems for spacecraft rendezvous/docking, and developed orientation estimation and control algorithms for several satellite missions. When Joe isn't at work or helping Vex, he enjoys spending time with his family, walking his dog, hiking, bicycling, SCUBA, and playing guitar.
Joe joined FIRE as a Vex Robotics Coach in Fall 2018. He has a love of teaching, a drive to give back, and a passion for playing with robots. Joe's main contribution to the Vex Robotics Team has been helping the students program software, with an emphasis on learning software fundamentals and developing basic autonomy. The Vex team was able to score points in the autonomous portion of their competition this past year at every event; this was particularly impressive given that the team switched from the old Cortex electronics system to the new Version 5 system which uses a new software language.
Joe has a history of robotics experience. In high school he built a battle bot robot with composite armor and a pneumatic punching weapon. He completed a Double Major in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology where he earned a patent for a novel tattoo machine. While working on a Masters in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Maryland, he helped found the Robotics@Maryland Autonomous Underwater Robotics Team which won the AUVSI International RoboSub Competition. His Masters work included development and testing of a number of orientation estimation and control algorithms on several high-agility autonomous underwater robots. He went on to earn a Doctorate in Aerospace Engineering studying nonlinear stochastic estimation and control algorithms for orientation of spacecraft, submarines, helicopters, and other applications.
Joe now works as an attitude estimation and control systems analyst at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. He has earned a patent for a LIDAR image processing algorithm, designed navigation systems for spacecraft rendezvous/docking, and developed orientation estimation and control algorithms for several satellite missions. When Joe isn't at work or helping Vex, he enjoys spending time with his family, walking his dog, hiking, bicycling, SCUBA, and playing guitar.
Coach Dakota Rusley
Aero Tech Innovation: FIRE Rocket Challenge
Coach Charis Houston
Charis has been a part of FIRE NSBE Jr. since 2015. Joining the FIRE family as a member of TARC (The American Rocketry Challenge), Charis graduated high school in 2019 and returned to FIRE as part of the Aero Innovations coaching team. Participating in STEM-related competitions and projects since 2009, she is a massive advocate of K-12 STEM outreach organizations and activities.
Charis has also competed in local, national, and international model rocketry competitions, representing the U.S. team in Poland 2018 during the World Spacemodeling Championships and selected to the 2020 team for competition in Romania. A junior at Capitol Technology University majoring in Astronautical Engineering, she aspires to start a career in Mission Operations upon graduation. During her time at Capitol, Charis has been part of the CACTUS-1 CubeSat ground team that launched in January 2021 and the RockOn workshop, working on a sounding rocket payload experiment launched in June 2021.
Charis has been a part of FIRE NSBE Jr. since 2015. Joining the FIRE family as a member of TARC (The American Rocketry Challenge), Charis graduated high school in 2019 and returned to FIRE as part of the Aero Innovations coaching team. Participating in STEM-related competitions and projects since 2009, she is a massive advocate of K-12 STEM outreach organizations and activities.
Charis has also competed in local, national, and international model rocketry competitions, representing the U.S. team in Poland 2018 during the World Spacemodeling Championships and selected to the 2020 team for competition in Romania. A junior at Capitol Technology University majoring in Astronautical Engineering, she aspires to start a career in Mission Operations upon graduation. During her time at Capitol, Charis has been part of the CACTUS-1 CubeSat ground team that launched in January 2021 and the RockOn workshop, working on a sounding rocket payload experiment launched in June 2021.
Coach Robin Houston
Robin is credited with founding, assisting, and supporting extracurricular STEM clubs for over twelve years. She began her focus on developing quality STEM opportunities for students in PGCPS elementary schools as the result of looking for challenging extra-curricular activities for her daughter. In addition to using curriculums from First Lego League, TARC, NASA, and Society of Automotive Engineers, Robin has developed and implemented original curriculums for real-world Project Based Learning units. In 2015, she created a real-world project-based competition (concept, rules, rubric, and parameters) for a local NSBE Jr. chapter, MD Space Business Round Table, INSPIRE Project, and NASA collaboration, which resulted in the top-placing team winning a trip to Space Camp in Huntsville. She has also organized events to promote exposure to industry professionals from NASA, CIA, NSA, Lockheed Martin, National Securities Technologies, and Aurora Flight Sciences, a Boeing Company. Robin has recruited, managed, and coached various groups of students during competition season for local and national activities such as Rocket Day at Goddard, Team America Rocket Challenge, First Lego League, Solar System Competition, NSBE Kids Zone Science Olympiad and Math Counts.
Robin earned a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Special Education from The George Washington University; a Master’s of Arts in Deaf Education from Gallaudet University; and Administration I Certification from McDaniel College. Robin is currently part of the coaching team for the Aero Innovation program, which exposes middle and high school students to rocket design and principles of flight.
Robin is credited with founding, assisting, and supporting extracurricular STEM clubs for over twelve years. She began her focus on developing quality STEM opportunities for students in PGCPS elementary schools as the result of looking for challenging extra-curricular activities for her daughter. In addition to using curriculums from First Lego League, TARC, NASA, and Society of Automotive Engineers, Robin has developed and implemented original curriculums for real-world Project Based Learning units. In 2015, she created a real-world project-based competition (concept, rules, rubric, and parameters) for a local NSBE Jr. chapter, MD Space Business Round Table, INSPIRE Project, and NASA collaboration, which resulted in the top-placing team winning a trip to Space Camp in Huntsville. She has also organized events to promote exposure to industry professionals from NASA, CIA, NSA, Lockheed Martin, National Securities Technologies, and Aurora Flight Sciences, a Boeing Company. Robin has recruited, managed, and coached various groups of students during competition season for local and national activities such as Rocket Day at Goddard, Team America Rocket Challenge, First Lego League, Solar System Competition, NSBE Kids Zone Science Olympiad and Math Counts.
Robin earned a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Special Education from The George Washington University; a Master’s of Arts in Deaf Education from Gallaudet University; and Administration I Certification from McDaniel College. Robin is currently part of the coaching team for the Aero Innovation program, which exposes middle and high school students to rocket design and principles of flight.
Ten80 Racing and Autonomous Vehicles Team
Coach Gary Palmer II, PhD
Dr. Gary Palmer II is a native of the Washington DC Area where he attended the University of Maryland and received his BS in Mechanical Engineering. Gary also received his Masters in Mechanical Engineering and PhD in Industrial Engineering at Clemson University. Over the last 6 years in industry, Gary has become a User Experience expert while obtaining certifications with Nielsen Norman Group, Human Factors International, and the Project Management Institute. For the NSBE Jr Chapter of Greenbelt-NASA, Gary has been the Ten80 Team Lead for the past 5 years where the team won the Drag Competition (2018), 2nd in the Pit Challenge (2018), 1st in Racing and Pit Challenge (2019), and Overall First Place (2019). Lastly, Gary has coached and prepared numerous middle and high school students for careers in STEM and to be better members of society.
Dr. Gary Palmer II is a native of the Washington DC Area where he attended the University of Maryland and received his BS in Mechanical Engineering. Gary also received his Masters in Mechanical Engineering and PhD in Industrial Engineering at Clemson University. Over the last 6 years in industry, Gary has become a User Experience expert while obtaining certifications with Nielsen Norman Group, Human Factors International, and the Project Management Institute. For the NSBE Jr Chapter of Greenbelt-NASA, Gary has been the Ten80 Team Lead for the past 5 years where the team won the Drag Competition (2018), 2nd in the Pit Challenge (2018), 1st in Racing and Pit Challenge (2019), and Overall First Place (2019). Lastly, Gary has coached and prepared numerous middle and high school students for careers in STEM and to be better members of society.
Coach Crystal Cobb
Crystal holds a B.S in Natural Science from Bowie State University and a M.S. in Computer Science from Bowie State University. Crystal, a seasoned coach with FIRE will be supporting Ten80 this year.
Crystal holds a B.S in Natural Science from Bowie State University and a M.S. in Computer Science from Bowie State University. Crystal, a seasoned coach with FIRE will be supporting Ten80 this year.
Coach Julian Alford
Julian Alford is a Combat System Analyst at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab (APL). He has his Bachelor's degree from North Carolina A&T State University and Master's degree from Michigan State University; both in Electrical Engineering. Julian is the Robotics Coach for the Ten80 RC Racing competition.
Julian Alford is a Combat System Analyst at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab (APL). He has his Bachelor's degree from North Carolina A&T State University and Master's degree from Michigan State University; both in Electrical Engineering. Julian is the Robotics Coach for the Ten80 RC Racing competition.
Coach Jucain Butler
Department of Defense Project Manager
MS and BS Computer Science and Engineering
Department of Defense Project Manager
MS and BS Computer Science and Engineering
Tech Entrepreneurship Junior Achievement
Coach Jody Mitchell
Mr. Jody Mitchell is the founder of Directed Analytics. Mr. Mitchell has 17+ years of combined experience in Systems Engineering, Technical Project Management, and Research and Development. Mr. Mitchell’s notable contributions include; leading a geographically dispersed team of engineers to significantly increase the longevity of 2 space based systems, standing up & managing a development team to deliver an Enterprise web application capable of allowing employees to search and access products & capabilities across an Enterprise, leading a cross agency effort to deliver a data to the cloud software Extract Transform Load (ETL) prototype for an Enterprise, and leading a high visibility acquisition effort to develop a revolutionary high performing data processing platform consisting of advanced processors & algorithms to support future Enterprise systems, increasing efficiencies in operations, aligning strategic goals & building out performance metrics for a 300 plus employee organization and optimizing initiatives & performance measures to develop student employability skills, and developing the theory, framework, and technology for attaining complicated goals at scale while minimizing system impacts and controlling outcomes. Moreover, Mr. Mitchell holds a Master of Science in Computer Engineering and a Project Management Professional (PMP) certificate. Additionally, Mr. Mitchell has received numerous awards and recognition for his technical contributions to government customers. Additionally, Mr. Mitchell has served the FIRE NSBE program over the last 5 years.
Mr. Jody Mitchell is the founder of Directed Analytics. Mr. Mitchell has 17+ years of combined experience in Systems Engineering, Technical Project Management, and Research and Development. Mr. Mitchell’s notable contributions include; leading a geographically dispersed team of engineers to significantly increase the longevity of 2 space based systems, standing up & managing a development team to deliver an Enterprise web application capable of allowing employees to search and access products & capabilities across an Enterprise, leading a cross agency effort to deliver a data to the cloud software Extract Transform Load (ETL) prototype for an Enterprise, and leading a high visibility acquisition effort to develop a revolutionary high performing data processing platform consisting of advanced processors & algorithms to support future Enterprise systems, increasing efficiencies in operations, aligning strategic goals & building out performance metrics for a 300 plus employee organization and optimizing initiatives & performance measures to develop student employability skills, and developing the theory, framework, and technology for attaining complicated goals at scale while minimizing system impacts and controlling outcomes. Moreover, Mr. Mitchell holds a Master of Science in Computer Engineering and a Project Management Professional (PMP) certificate. Additionally, Mr. Mitchell has received numerous awards and recognition for his technical contributions to government customers. Additionally, Mr. Mitchell has served the FIRE NSBE program over the last 5 years.
Coach Sally Miller
Until April 2018, Sally was the CEO of the Institute of International Bankers (IIB), a New York and Washington, DC-based trade association representing international banks conducting business in the United States. Before joining the IIB, Sally served as Senior Vice-President at the American Bankers Association and Executive Director and General Counsel of ABASA, ABA’s securities affiliate. Sally is a co-founder of ALLRISE DC (www.allrisedc.org), an organization established in 2019 dedicated to working to lift women’s careers in financial services through mentoring, networking and education. Since July 2019, Sally has served as a member of the Board of Directors of ROX Financial Inc, a real estate fintech company dedicated to bringing accessibility, transparency and liquidity to the single-property commercial real estate (CRE) market. Sally also serves as a board member of Asylum Works, a Washington DC-based non-profit, providing services and support to help asylum seekers regain confidence and control over their lives so they can fully participate in the asylum process. Sally volunteers as a coach/mentor for NSBE/Fire sponsored Junior Achievement Company.
Sally holds a B.A. from Boston University and a J.D. from American University’s Washington College of Law.
Until April 2018, Sally was the CEO of the Institute of International Bankers (IIB), a New York and Washington, DC-based trade association representing international banks conducting business in the United States. Before joining the IIB, Sally served as Senior Vice-President at the American Bankers Association and Executive Director and General Counsel of ABASA, ABA’s securities affiliate. Sally is a co-founder of ALLRISE DC (www.allrisedc.org), an organization established in 2019 dedicated to working to lift women’s careers in financial services through mentoring, networking and education. Since July 2019, Sally has served as a member of the Board of Directors of ROX Financial Inc, a real estate fintech company dedicated to bringing accessibility, transparency and liquidity to the single-property commercial real estate (CRE) market. Sally also serves as a board member of Asylum Works, a Washington DC-based non-profit, providing services and support to help asylum seekers regain confidence and control over their lives so they can fully participate in the asylum process. Sally volunteers as a coach/mentor for NSBE/Fire sponsored Junior Achievement Company.
Sally holds a B.A. from Boston University and a J.D. from American University’s Washington College of Law.
Try-Math-A-Lon (TMAL)
Coach Cassandra Smith
Cassandra Smith, Founder, is a dedicated educator who has spent over 30 years engaging and empowering students and teachers in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. She has worked both in state and local district educational systems in both Illinois and Maryland as Classroom Teacher, Technology Coordinator, Professional Development Specialist, Instructional Technology Specialist ,Mathematics Coach, Grant Writer and Education Program Specialist.
Cassandra is passionate about teaching and learning. Her life goal is to provide opportunities for young people to strengthen their skills through hands-on, minds-on, real world experiences that will equipped them for careers of the future. In 2010, she put her vision into action and formed, Engineering Mindz, LLC to engage the potential of every child in STEM.
Cassandra Smith is a Community Advocate for STEM Education, an active PTA board member and parent volunteer, as well as a Family STEM Night Coordinator, Destination Imagination Team Manager, Stock Market Game Coach and Science Facilitator for home-schoolers and at schools in Bowie, Greenbelt and Lanham-Seabrook. She has been a Jr. First and First LEGO league coach for 8 years and MathCounts Coach for 4 years, joining the FIRE NSBE Jr. team as a coach in 2020.
Cassandra Smith, Founder, is a dedicated educator who has spent over 30 years engaging and empowering students and teachers in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. She has worked both in state and local district educational systems in both Illinois and Maryland as Classroom Teacher, Technology Coordinator, Professional Development Specialist, Instructional Technology Specialist ,Mathematics Coach, Grant Writer and Education Program Specialist.
Cassandra is passionate about teaching and learning. Her life goal is to provide opportunities for young people to strengthen their skills through hands-on, minds-on, real world experiences that will equipped them for careers of the future. In 2010, she put her vision into action and formed, Engineering Mindz, LLC to engage the potential of every child in STEM.
Cassandra Smith is a Community Advocate for STEM Education, an active PTA board member and parent volunteer, as well as a Family STEM Night Coordinator, Destination Imagination Team Manager, Stock Market Game Coach and Science Facilitator for home-schoolers and at schools in Bowie, Greenbelt and Lanham-Seabrook. She has been a Jr. First and First LEGO league coach for 8 years and MathCounts Coach for 4 years, joining the FIRE NSBE Jr. team as a coach in 2020.