Ron Therrien
is our FRC Program Manager. Ron’s duties include direct team support and building partnerships with other STEM-partners and organizations in Metro DC, Maryland, and Virginia.
Ron began his journey with
FIRST
as a mentor to his son’s team, 2537 and two years ago helped start team 5945, where he currently serves as a lead mentor.
Currently living in Maryland, Ron holds a BS in Computer Science from North Adams State College and a MS in Industrial Administration from Purdue University.
His professional background includes extensive experience working with volunteers and project management.
Ron says, “at this point in my life, I’m excited to focus on sharing my technical expertise and career experience with today’s youth.”
And that he does- to great effect. This was said about Ron by a student, "He is the Mr. Miyagi to our Karate Kid; Mr. Ron knows how to help us navigate the grey-areas in life. He is a walking cure for confusion. Blues Clues was based off of [him]. Mr. Ron is the embodiment of
FIRST
's values, inspiring us to follow his example."
When Ron’s not helping teams or playing with robots, he can be found designing, building, and deploying satellite and cellular transmitters to track wildlife. In the last few years the main focus has been on transmitters to track deep diving off shore seabirds, but some of his transmitters have also been utilized on dolphins, whales and sea turtles. (The picture below is of a dolphin Ron helped rehab prior to tagging and releasing back into the wild.)
