"It's hard to find the words to fully capture the passion, energy and fun of the Science in a Suitcase team."
Theo Boomsma, IT Core President
Our Team
Jeremy Mwenda | Program Coordinator - Kenya
Nicole Richard | Board President
Lillan Spiertz | Board Vice President
Antonio F Delgado | Minster of Fun and Education
Barbara Joubert | Logistics
Barbara's Description coming..
Andy Hinde | Finance
Andy's Description coming...
Author, musician, producer, engineer, teacher, technologist, and friend - these are just a few hats that Antonio wears. Antonio's robotic journey begins when his co-worker Jenny Mojica asked if he might be interested in mentoring a robotics team in east Austin. In 2012, Govalle Elementary was 90% free and reduced lunch. Antonio was reluctant at first. Jenny gave Antonio and out, "If you don't like it, just let me know. And you don't have to go back." A few days later, Antonio entered the doors at Govalle and his life was never the same.
Since then, Antonio has trained hundreds of teachers and mentors and has taught thousands of students around the world. You can always find Antonio sharing his passion for logic and creativity, teaching robotics, holding a guitar, and singing a song.
Lillan's Description coming...
Nicole spent nearly a decade leading the NI development teams behind the creation of the LEGO® MINDSTORMS® and LEGO® WeDo® robotics software. This unexpected opportunity to use her engineering degree to develop toys sparked a passion in Nicole for helping children discover and cultivate an interest in science and technology. She soon found herself traveling far and wide to places like Cambodia, India, and Vietnam, seeking opportunities to provide these learning tools and experiences to disadvantaged children, leading to the eventual creation of SIAS.
I was born and raised in the rural areas on the slopes of Mt Kenya at Meru. I had a passion for Maths and STEAM-related subjects. I grew up in an environment full of kids at Kithoka Children's Home(IPI). A passion and love for kids developed, and this inspired me to become a teacher and transform the lives of kids through STEAM, In July 2023 I graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Maths and Geography).
I was introduced to Robotics by Antonio in July 2023, I fell in love with robotics. Since then I have been working with teachers every day in the classroom empowering the next generation of tech enthusiasts and problem-solvers.
Brian Powell | Board Member
With over 30 years of experience in Austin high-tech, Brian has worked in a variety of software development and team leadership roles. At National Instruments, Brian was the technical lead for LabVIEW Robotics, a visual programming language coupled with sensor drivers and robotics algorithms, used for building autonomous vehicles and industrial and academic robots. Brian was also Director of Engineering for Athenahealth, a healthcare IT company, and was VP of Engineering for a small insuretech startup. He now runs his own software and engineering management consulting company.
Brian is passionate about the cultural arts and community. He serves on the boards of Austin Opera and the Long Center for the Performing Arts, and is a member of OPERA America and the North American Nature Photography Association.
