Board of Directors
William Schneider, President
President, Teocali Energy, LLC
William Schneider is the CEO and President of Teocali Energy, LLC, a private oil and gas exploration and production company based in Denver. Prior to founding Teocali Energy, Mr. Schneider was President of Venoco, Inc. where he was actively involved in the company’s growth and played an integral role taking the company public. Mr. Schneider spent over 10 years in investment banking, including as a managing director at Harris Nesbitt, an investment bank, focused on mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Schneider also held various investment banking positions with Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette and Smith Barney. Mr. Schneider has over forty years of experience including investment banking, corporate finance, worldwide business development, engineering, and corporate planning. Mr. Schneider presently serves on the Boards of Iron Oil and Edge Energy Wattenberg, and is an Operating Partner of Edge Natural Resources, a private equity provider based in Dallas.
In addition to ColoradoFIRST, Mr. Schneider’s community involvements have included co-chair of the Energy Panel for WIRED (Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development), founding member of the Advisory Board of the Global Energy Management program at the University of Colorado, and a member of the Venoco Community Partnership. Mr. Schneider has a degree in Petroleum Engineering from Colorado School of Mines and an MBA in finance from UCLA’s Anderson Graduate School of Management. Mr. Schneider has served on the Board of Directors for ColoradoFIRST since April 2007.
Dawn Lutz, Director, President, Technetronic Solutions, Inc.
Dawn Lutz received her B.A. from Hampshire College and her J.D. from the University of Denver. Dawn practiced corporate law for several years but then decided to pursue her love of technology and co-founded Technetronic Solutions, Inc. (TSI), a computer consulting company, with her husband. TSI has been very involved in supporting ColoradoFIRST. Dawn helped form and coach FIRST LEGO® League® teams from 2003 through 2008, founded a FIRST Robotics Competition® (FRC) team at Rocky Mountain School of Expeditionary Learning, and mentored FRC team 1410 at George Washington High School from 2005 – 2022. For three years Dawn served as the FIRST Senior Mentor for Colorado. She has volunteered as the FIRST Regional Director for Colorado, the FIRST Program Delivery Partner for FIRST Robotics Competition, FIRST Tech Challenge® and FIRST LEGO League. Dawn also volunteered as the Chair of the Colorado Regional Planning Committee from 2004 – 2022, as the ColoradoFIRST Chief Operating Officer from 2017 – 2022 and has been a member of the board of ColoradoFIRST since May 2006.
Mark Valerio, Director
Retired VP, Lockheed Martin Space Systems
Mark Valerio was vice president and general manager of the Military Space line of business for Lockheed Martin Corporation’s Space Systems Company. In this capacity, Mark has general management responsibility for critical national security space programs including the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF), Defense Meteorological Space Program (DMSP), Global Positioning System (GPS), the Mobile User Objective System (MUOS), Space Based Infrared Systems (SBIRS), Space Protection and other space programs for the Department of Defense.
Mark has broad program and functional management experience and has had overall management responsibility for three of the five Space Systems Company’s lines of businesses (Military Space, Special Programs and Commercial) and in addition has worked in the Civil Space line of business early in his career.
Prior to his current role, Mark served as vice president of Programs where he led the Program Management, Subcontract Management and Assembly, Test, and Launch Operations (ATLO) functional organizations across Space Systems Company, concentrating on strengthening program performance and operational excellence.
Throughout his 35 year career, Mr. Valerio has served in a variety of positions of increasing responsibility within the organization leading several critical initiatives for Lockheed Martin Corporation, including leadership for multiple first-of-a-kind space development programs.
He has delivered key national security space capabilities from numerous launch vehicles and launch sites, and has worked on various types of contracts for the U.S. Government as well as national and international commercial customers.
Mr. Valerio has a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Widener University-Pennsylvania, a Master of Business Administration degree and a Master of Science degree in Information Systems from University of Colorado, Denver. He is also a graduate of the Harvard JFK School of Government’s National and International Security Management program.
Mr. Valerio serves on the board of directors for the ColoradoFIRST which represents the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) organization, and is an executive sponsor for the Lockheed Martin Asian Leadership Mentoring Association. He supports Colorado Home Front Cares, The Mission Continues, GPS for Troops and other organizations that support our military personnel. He is a two-time winner of the prestigious Lockheed Martin NOVA Award, and has received various recognition awards from Martin Marietta, Lockheed Martin, General Electric and NASA customers. Mark was selected as an AIAA Associate Fellow in January 2014 and is a member of the Air Force Association (AFA) and the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA). Mr. Valerio has served on the board of ColoradoFIRST since February 2010.
Rodger Stewart, Chief Growth Officer
Retired CEO
Rodger Stewart, with a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Colorado, has over 30 years’ experience in the cardiac surgery device industry since starting with COBE Cardiovascular, Inc. in 1977 and most recently completed 18 months as CEO of a venture backed medical device startup in Israel. Over his career he has held positions of increasing responsibility in engineering, marketing, sales and business development. Mr. Stewart has been awarded six US patents and is a licensed professional engineer in the state of Colorado. In the 8 years prior to retirement he held the positions of President and CEO for UltraShape, Inc., CEO of Carbomedics, Inc., and President and CEO of COBE Cardiovascular, Inc. Mr. Stewart retired in July of 2008 and is currently the President of EXPAND Beyond, Inc., a Colorado 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing adaptive waterskiing to individuals living with physical disabilities. Mr. Stewart has served on the Board of Directors for ColoradoFIRST since June 2009.
Tribby Warfield, Chief Marketing Officer
Retired Chairman & CEO, APC Automotive Technologies
Tribby Warfield most recently served as chairman and chief executive officer of APC Automotive Technologies, overseeing a restructuring and a strategic refocusing on braking and exhaust related products. Earlier, she served as senior vice president, business development and strategy for Nitta Corporation, a Japanese global provider of power transmission and conveyor belting products for Europe, the Middle East & Africa. Previously, Warfield held dual positions at Kaman Corporation (NYSE:KAMN), as senior vice president and general manager for Kaman Fluid Power and Kaman Automation. Her career includes 25 years with the Gates Corporation (NYSE:GTES) and 11 consecutive years in Europe in key senior management and operational positions, serving in Belgium, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
Tribby currently serves on two public boards, Motorcar Parts of America, Inc. (Nasdaq: MPAA) and Badger Infrastructure Solutions (TSX: BDGI) and two private equity-sponsored global diversified manufacturing portfolio companies. She is an advisor board member of the University of Colorado Denver Business School, and formally served as an adjunct professor at the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver. She is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors, as well as The Committee of 200, comprised of the world’s most successful women entrepreneurs and corporate innovators.
Tribby graduated Cum Laude with a bachelor’s degree in business administration from National University, San Diego, California. Tribby has served in leadership roles within key industry associations and was awarded in 2017 the PTDA Foundation Wendy B. McDonald Award, which acknowledges a woman who has established herself as a critical contributor to her company’s success and has affected positive change within the power transmission/motion control industry. She is a strong supporter and advocate of FIRST Robotics and has served on the Board of Directors for ColoradoFIRST since October 2011.
Scott Springer, Team Growth Officer
Retired Principal of CEC Early College, DPS
Mr. Springer worked for Denver Public Schools for 34 years as a teacher, assistant principal, Executive Director for the Office of College and Career ready, Director of Career and Technical Education for the district, and recently retired as principal of CEC Early College. Mr. Springer helped develop the CEC Early College of Denver when he was first appointed principal in 2005, which is now one on the most successful high schools in the Denver Public Schools, serving 88% first generation college-bound students, enrolling 70% of their graduate in two year or four year program. Every student at CEC Early College graduates with an average of 18 college credits. This most recent semester, over 500 students enrolled in college course work with a 93% pass rate.
When Mr. Springer retired in 2017 he became an educational consultant. His main client is Harbor Freight Tools for Schools, a program of the Smidt Foundation, where he advises on the advancement of skilled trades in U.S. high schools. In addition, Mr. Springer consults for Early and Middle Colleges around the country coaching principals and advising on curriculum to help prepare students for their post-secondary education.
Marsha Williams, Development Director
Retired CIO, E-470 Public Highway Authority
Marsha Williams has over 25 years of executive experience across a diverse set of industries including manufacturing, medical device, pharmaceutical, transportation, energy, criminal justice, and various private equity environments. Ms. Williams has served as the Vice President and Chief Information Officer of several publicly held companies working in both the United States and Europe including Sorin Group S.p.A, COBE Cardiovascular, Gambro Renal Care, and BI Incorporated. Additionally, she was a partner at Tatum LLC which is a management and advisory services firm assisting companies with strategic challenges that can occur at various stages of the business life cycle.
Throughout her career Marsha has pursued the innovative use of technology to drive business growth. This resulted in the introduction of numerous market changing technologies related to intelligent vehicle identification and capture, mobile offender monitoring and biometric verification, configurable surgical supplies, and revenue stream automation for fossil fuel extraction.
Marsha has been actively involved in FIRST since 2005, was awarded Volunteer of the Year by ColoradoFIRST in 2013, and began serving on the ColoradoFIRST Board of Directors in October 2017. Marsha has served on the Board of Directors for the Society of Information Management, and the Advisory Board of United Launch Alliance and Warren Occupation Technical Center (aka Warren Tech). She has also received recognition as the Business and Profession Women’s Woman of the Year and finalist in the Denver Business Journal CIO of the Year award. Ms. Williams holds a Master’s Degree in Technology Management from University of Denver and a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science.
Denise Henry, Director
Outreach Manager, Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp.
Denise Henry is Outreach Manager for Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., serving in this role for over thirteen years. She manages Ball’s STEM outreach for NASA missions such as the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope. This role involves collaborating with other aerospace companies, local school districts, universities, and organizations such as the Goddard Space Flight Center and the Space Telescope Science Institute. She was awarded a NASA ROSES grant for an informal outreach program that she developed and then acted as the program’s co-investigator.
Denise has conducted Ball’s STEM outreach at national events such as the World Science Festival, the South by Southwest Festival, and the Suomi NPP launch, and at local events such as the Society of Women Engineers’ GESTEM event and the Denver Museum of Nature & Science’s Space Day. Denise also manages Ball’s STEM activities supporting organizations such as FIRST Robotics. In 2002, Denise spearheaded Ball Aerospace’s participation in ColoradoFIRST as the program began growing in the state. She has continued to lead Ball’s participation by recruiting mentors, filling mentor and teacher needs, donating materials and funding, maintaining executive awareness, and posting FIRST news on social media. She has led Ball’s participation in the FIRST Tech Challenge and FIRST LEGO League as well. “My effort supporting ColoradoFIRST reflects my sincere belief in FIRST Robotics’ value for not only the students and teachers, but also the professional mentors and participating companies. I am proud to lead Ball Aerospace’s participation in this outstanding STEM program.”
Terry Olkin, Secretary
SVP & Chief Architect, Workday, Inc.
Terry Olkin currently serves as Senior Vice President and Chief Architect at Workday, Inc. Previously, he was Vice President of Emerging Technologies at The Toro Company which had acquired his commercial snow-clearing and turf-mowing robotics company, Left Hand Robotics, of which he was a co-founder and the CEO. Before starting Left Hand Robotics, Mr. Olkin was a Fellow at Workday where he advised on architecture. Prior to Workday, Mr. Olkin co-founded and was CTO at GridCraft, Inc., which was acquired by Workday. Before GridCraft, Mr. Olkin was Senior Vice President and CTO of Oracle’s Global Business Units. In this role, he advised on M&A, architecture, and product-related issues across all seven of Oracle’s vertical industry product lines. Previously while at Oracle, he initiated, designed, and led a team to build Oracle’s collaboration and social suite of products. Prior to that, he worked on key areas of Oracle’s flagship database product.
Since graduating MIT in 1988 (Computer Science and Engineering), he has worked at both large technology companies (Oracle, Microsoft, Workday, Toro) and small start-ups, including three that he co-founded. His experience encompasses everything from software and robotics engineering, project management, executive management, entrepreneurship, raising money, building business plans, setting vision, delivering products to market, interacting with customers, and public speaking.
Mr. Olkin is a named inventor on over 36 patents. He was also instrumental in several common technology standards including the ANSI SQL database language, Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) interface, and the Java Messaging Service (JMS). He has also taught Enterprise Data Security at the University of Colorado – Boulder, AP Computer Science at Niwot High School, and is a Senior Member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM).
Mr. Olkin has been an active member of the FIRST community for more than 10 years as a mentor, advisor, volunteer, and judge. He is a founder and currently serves as President of the GEAR Alliance, a Colorado 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that promotes STEM to approximately 200 K-12 students each year in the Boulder/Longmont community through partnership with FIRST.
Tony English, Director of Operations
Mechanical Engineer, Neaera Consulting Group
Tony English is an owner of Neaera Consulting, a company he started in 2004, specializing in connected and automated vehicle projects. Tony graduated from Colorado State University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He is a recognized expert in security, networking, system engineering, and robotics. Tony is also a veteran of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Tony first stepped into FIRST in 2006 by starting a FIRST Lego League team for his three children. The team eventually progressed to a FIRST Robotics Competition team and has since been competing at this level for the past ten years as Team 4499 ‘The Highlanders’. Tony’s expertise in engineering and robotics has inspired over 150 students to progress through The Highlanders, most going to college for STEM-related degrees. He was nationally recognized as an inspiration in FIRST by receiving the Woody Flowers Finalist Award in 2015.
Most recently, Tony joined the Colorado FIRST Board of Directors. Tony was inspired to join the Board to entice more students to join FIRST programs in the state. Tony has served on the Board since May 2022.
Leslie Karnauskas, Treasurer
Retired CFO, BMGI
Leslie Karnauskas is a retired financial executive with over twenty-five years of experience in multiple industries including medical device, manufacturing, distribution, equipment service, and consulting. She retired in 2014 as CFO of BMGI, a consulting firm specializing in Lean Six Sigma implementations. Ms Karnauskas held senior accounting positions at Datex-Ohmeda, COBE Cardiovascular and Gambro Renal Care where she was involved in strategic planning, business consolidation efforts to improve efficiency, financial analysis and budgeting projects, and multiple ERP system implementations. She has a BSBA in Finance from the University of Minnesota, an MBA in Accounting from the University of Colorado – Denver, and is a Certified Management Accountant (CMA).
Ms Karnauskas has served on various professional and nonprofit organization boards over the last thirty years including the Mile High Chapter of the American Red Cross, Institute of Management Accountants, Financial Executives International, Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame, Business and Professional Women, and the Women’s Bean Project. She has been the volunteer CFO for ColoradoFIRST since 2011 and a judge for the Colorado Regional FRC tournament since 2010. Ms Karnauskas was honored with the Outstanding Volunteer of the Year Award by ColoradoFIRST in 2021.