Team Overview
History
Founded in 1997, the Monta Vista Robotics FIRST Team #115 was established by a few friends looking for a way to venture into the the technological world through creative innovation. Over the last twenty years, MVRT has taken great strides in technology and leadership by encouraging its members to further pursue their imaginations beyond the mundane world and into the extraordinary realm. However, none of the achievements and advancements in technology would have been gained without the continuous and unfailing support of our community, parents, and the more than valuable guidance of our advisors and alumni. They have assisted us in overcoming obstacles along the path for original and unique ideas. MVRT continues to fulfill its mission in creating the “visionaries of tomorrow” today by participating in FIRST and inspiring young students through mentoring and community outreach. We stand together as a diverse group of people ready to face hardships and difficulties and combine our ingenuity to attain a common goal: building a masterpiece and inspiring the next generation of engineers and leaders.
Mission Statement
Dedicated to fostering a passion in science and technology within our community, the Monta Vista Robotics Team inspires students and develops interpersonal skills through team-based engineering challenges.
Team Goals
To create an environment that promotes sharing of knowledge, skills and experience.
To respect opinions of others as well as ourselves despite differences.
To create a friendly and professional environment.
To work towards an operating structure to ensure a solid team.
To promote the vision of FIRST in the community.
To ensure equal opportunity for all.
About FIRST
What is FIRST?
Founded in 1989, FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition in Science and Technology) prides itself on its leadership in the scientific arena and its commitment to building a strong foundation for the country’s future workforce. Founder Dean Kamen, the recipient of the 2000 National Medal of Technology, has “awakened the innovative and imaginative leadership in America’s youth to the excitement of science and technology.” FIRST has competitions for several different age groups, from JFLL (Junior FIRST LEGO League) for elementary school students, FLL (FIRST LEGO League) for middle school students, to FRC (FIRST Robotics Competition) and FTC (FIRST Tech Challenge) for high school students.
FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC)
One of FIRST’s main goals is promoting scientific innovation through the annual FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC), designed to immerse high school students in real-life engineering in the spirit of “Gracious Professionalism” to others. FIRST has experienced exponential growth since its creation, and amazing success, as indicated by the hundreds of colleges offering scholarships to team members and the dozens of media networks that publicize the organization and its achievements. Each year FIRST develops the competition by supplying an objective to teams of students, who have six weeks to conceptualize, design, build, and test their robotic solution. Each year the objective is different; details are kept secret until early January, when they are simultaneously revealed to all teams during the Kick-Off. Once the six weeks have passed, robots are transported to the competition site where teams will compete in March. Teams go head-to-head in a series of two-minute qualification and elimination rounds during a three-day competition. This format requires that teams strategize and build into their design both offensively and defensively. The robot that scores the most points during the two minutes wins each round, and the one that earns the most points in these rounds is declared champion.
FIRST Values
FIRST strives to teach not just engineering skills, but also life skills. FIRST pushes for teams to exemplify gracious professionalism and coopertition. Gracious professionalism is “the way of doing things that encourages high-quality work, emphasizes the values of others, and respects individuals and the community.” FIRST teams can demonstrate this ideal by promoting good sportsmanship and maintaining the integrity of our members and team. While teams are happy to receive awards and do well in competitions, teams never put other down. Coopertition, a theme that’s especially prevalent in competitions, is “to display unqualified kindness and respect for other teams, even in the face of fierce competition.” FIRST teams cooperate with others even while competing, so teams can teach each other, promoting mutual learning. To learn more about gracious professionalism and coopertition, refer to FIRST's website.
Team History
We pride ourselves in our long and successful history as a team. Here is a glimpse of our past.
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2024
CRESCENDO (Presented by Haas)
Awards
Regional Quality Award at Ventura County Regional
Rank 3 and 2nd Alliance Captain at Ventura County Regional
Rank 4 at Monterey Bay Regional
FIRST Dean's List Finalist - Lilja Kiiski
Leadership
Paarth Mishra - President
Naveen Karun - VP of Engineering
Saketh Korada - Director of Electrical
Anish Bayyapu- Director of Mechanical
Tanisha Kholiya - Director of Software
Sohni Tagirisa - VP of Operations
Nithya Appannagaari - Director of Marketing
Kathryn Foo - Director of Finance
Jahnavi Kumar - Director of Outreach
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2023
CHARGED UP (Presented by Haas)
Awards
Regional Impact Award at San Francisco Regional
Regional Finalist at San Francisco Regional
Regional Judges' Award at Idaho Regional
Leadership
Sohan Shingade - President
Lara Vaidya - VP of Engineering
Rohit Iyer - Co-Director of Electrical
Aan Yadav - Co-Director of Electrical
Jacob Gino - Co-Director of Mechanical
Jai Gupta- Co-Director of Mechanical
Insiah Kizilbash - Co-Director of Software
Vincent Zhao - Co-Director of Software
Darpan Singh - VP of Operations
Nithya Appannagaari - Director of Marketing
Ryan Tan - Director of Finance
Sohni Tagirisa - Director of Outreach
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2022
RAPID REACT (Presented by the Boeing Company)
Awards
Regional Engineering Inspiration Award at Central Valley Regional
Spirit Award at Houston World Championship
Leadership
Arnav Dalal - President
Vidhya Kalimani - VP of Engineering
Samantha Au - Co-Director of Electrical
Sanya Garg - Co-Director of Electrical
Ishaan Gupta - Co-Director of Mechanical
Malavika Vutukuru- Co-Director of Mechanical
Sohan Shingade - Co-Director of Software
Vincent Zhao - Co-Director of Software
Jasmita Yechuri - VP of Operations
Yaseen Sadaat - Director of Marketing
Minsoo Kim - Director of Finance
Sidhant Malik - Director of Outreach
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2021
INFINITE RECHARGE (Presented by Lucasfilm)
Awards
Innovation Challenge Semifinalist
Game Design Challenge Engineering Design Award
INFINITE RECHARGE at Home Autonomous Award
FIRST Dean's List Finalist - Arnav Dalal
Leadership
Akash Palla - President
Jatin Soni - VP of Engineering
Jainam Doshi - Co-Director of Electrical
Samantha Au - Co-Director of Electrical
Ritvik Dutta - Co-Director of Mechanical
Aditya Patil - Co-Director of Mechanical
Gavin Hung - Director of Software
Harshitha Pandian - VP of Operations
Benjamin Tang - Director of Marketing
Soumil Gupta - Director of Finance
Riya Ranjan - Co-Director of Outreach
Naimisha Adira - Co-Director of Outreach
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2020
INFINITE RECHARGE (Presented by Lucasfilm)
Awards
Regional Finalist at Los Angeles North Regional
Quality Award at Los Angeles North Regional
Houston Championships qualification by Wild Card
Leadership
Divya Satrawada - President
Veronica Hui - VP of Engineering
Matthew Sheh - Director of Electrical
Sreyas Dhulipala - Director of Mechanical
Steven Long - Director of Software
Sophie Ye - VP of Operations
Benjamin Tang - Director of Marketing
Seung-Ah Choi - Director of Finance
Ranya Pendyala - Director of Outreach
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2019
DESTINATION: DEEP SPACE (Presented by the Boeing Company)
Awards
Entrepreneurship Award at San Francisco Regional
Team Spirit Award at Ventura Regional
FIRST Dean's List Finalist at San Francisco Regional - Divya Satrawada
FIRST Dean's List Award at Einstein Field (Houston) - Divya Satrawada
Leadership
Andy Ding - President
Pavan Kalla - VP of Engineering
Divya Satrawada - Director of Electrical
Veronica Hui - Director of Mechanical
Steven Long - Director of Software
Isha Chakraborty - VP of Operations
Sophie Ye - Director of Marketing
Seung-Ah Choi - Director of Finance
Ranya Pendyala - Director of Outreach
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2018
FIRST POWER UP
Awards
Entrepreneurship Award at Utah Regional
Leadership
Ishan Mitra - President
Ninaad Sridharan - VP of Engineering
Michael Wan - Director of Electrical
Gautham Gujjula - Director of Mechanical
Saurav Pahadia - VP of Operations
Sophie Ye - Director of Marketing
Isha Chakraborty - Director of Finance
Ranya Pendyala - Director of Outreach
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2017
FIRST STEAMWORKS
Awards
Winner at Arizona North Regional
Semi-Finalist at Sillicon Valley Regional
Roebling Division Finalist at Houston Championships
FIRST Dean's List Finalist at Silicon Valley Regional - Saurav Pahadia
Leadership
Akhil Palla - President
Ninaad Sridharan - VP of Engineering
Ishan Mitra - Director of Electrical
Rithin Venkatesh - Director of Mechanical
Aditya Kalari - VP of Operations
Benjamin Danek - Director of Marketing
Saurav Pahadia - Director of Finance
Sameer Kapur - Director of Outreach
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2016
FIRST STRONGHOLD
Awards
FIRST Dean's List Finalist - Akhil Palla
Semi-Finalist at Utah Regional
Leadership
Praxis Bays - President
Nihil Muthaiah - VP of Engineering
Marcus Plutowski - Director of Electrical
Anand Rajamani - Director of Mechanical
Akhil Palla - Director of Engineering Data
Namrata Subramanian- VP of Operations
Sophie Cao - Director of Media
Sameer Kapur - Director of Public Relations
Arushi Rai - Director of Outreach
Saurav Pahadia/Kingsley Wang - Co-Director of Finance
Aditya Kalari - Director of Technology
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2015
RECYCLE RUSH
Awards
Entrepreneurship Award at Utah Regional
Quarter-Finalist at the Sillicon Valley Regional
Leadership
Archana Kikla - President
Andrew He - VP of Engineering
Lee Mracek - Director of Electrical
Chirag Toprani - Director of Mechanical
RJ Cunningham - Director of Engineering Data
Divek Toprani - VP of Operations
Sophie Cao - Director of Media
Michelle Danese - Director of Public Relations
Jeremy Chen - Director of Finance
Praxis Bays - Director of Outreach
Sydney Howard - Director of Documentation
Shovik Guha - Webmaster
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2014
AERIAL ASSIST
Awards
Quarter-Finalist at Sacramento Regional
Leadership
Karen Feng - President
Jimin Park - VP of Engineering
Andrew He - Director of Electrical
Chirag Toprani - Director of Mechanical
RJ Cunningham - Director of Engineering Data
Archana Kikla - VP of Operations
Emma Lewis - Director of Media
Sachin Makaram - Director of Public Relations
Namrata Ramani - Director of Finance
Praxis Bays - Director of Outreach
Nikita Sankar - Director of Documentation
Shovik Guha - Webmaster
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2013
ULTIMATE ASCENT
Awards
Team Spirit Award sponsored by Chrysler at Sillicon Valley Regional
Leadership
Evelyn Ding - President
Kumar Veeravel - VP of Engineering
Karen Feng - Director of Electrical
Mark Sinks - Director of Mechanical
Joyce Yan - VP of Operations
Emma Lewis - Director of Media
Sachin Makaram - Director of Public Relations
Namrata Ramani - Director of Finance
Jessica Chen - Director of Documentation
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2012
REBOUND RUMBLE
Awards
Best Website Award at Championships
Johnson & Johnson Gracious Professionalism Award at the Sillicon Valley Regional
Best Website Award at Sacramento Regional
Leadership
Anant Singhania - President
Nupur Garg - VP of Engineering
Karen Feng - Director of Electrical
Kumar Veeravel - Director of Mechanical
Evelyn Ding - VP of Operations
Daniel Tan - Director of Media
Jessica Chen - Director of Documentation
Dahyoung Yoon - Director of Public Relations
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2011
LOGO MOTION
Awards
Judges’ Award at Silicon Velley Regional
Best Website Award at Silicon Valley Regional
Excellence in Design Award at Seattle Cascade Regional
Best Website Award at Seattle Cascade Regional
Leadership
Helena Qin - President
Karthik Kumaravel - VP of Engineering
Nupur Garg - Director of Electrical
Abhijaat Kelkar - Director of Mechanical
Rohan Gupta - VP of Operations
Daniel Tan - Director of Media
Anant Singhania - Director of Public Relations
Evelyn Ding - Director of Finance
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2010
BREAKAWAY
Awards
Regional Chairman’s Award at Silicon Valley Regional
Best Website Award at San Diego Regional
Second Place at San Diego Regional
Leadership
Parag Kikla - President
Karthik Kumaravel - VP of Engineering
Make He - Director of Electrical
Abhijaat Kelkar - Director of Mechanical
Arun Kuchibhotla - VP of Operations
Rohan Gupta - Director of Media
Vinay Venkatesh - Director of Public Relations
Helena Qin - Director of Finance
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2009
LUNACY
Awards
Best Website Award at Davis Regional
Engineering Inspiration Award at Davis Regional
Leadership
Jean Feng - President
Ashwin Mathur - VP of Engineering
Make He - Director of Electrical
Karthik Kumaravel - Director of Mechanical
Prashanth Vijay - VP of Operations
Arun Kuchibhotla - Director of Media
Aravindh Dorai - Director of Public Relations
Parag Kikla - Director of Finance
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2008
FIRST Overdrive
Awards
Champion at Davis Regional
Best Website Award at Davis Regional
Champion at Silicon Valley Regional
Website Award at Nationals
Johnson & Johnson Gracious Professionalism at Silicon Valley Regional
Best Website Award at Silicon Valley Regional
Leadership
Brij Datta - President
Humphrey Hu - VP of Engineering
Christine Chen - Director of Electrical
Ashwin Mathur - Director of Mechanical
Schott Chen - VP of Operations
Jeremy Le - Director of Media
Rijuta Ravichandran - Director of Public Relations
Rosalind Lee - Director of Finance
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2007
Rack "N" Roll
Awards
Quarter-Finalist at Davis Sacramento Regional
Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers Entrepreneurship Award at Davis Sacramento Regional
Best Website Award at Davis Sacramental Regional
WRRF Volunteer Award
Leadership
Pavan Dutta - President
Danica Chang - VP of Engineering
Christine Chen - Director of Electrical
Humphrey Hu - Director of Mechanical
Brij Datta - VP of Operations
Jerry Chen - Director of Media
Rijuta Ravichandran - Director of Public Relations
Rosalind Lee - Director of Finance
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2006
Aim High
Awards
Semi-Finalist at Sacramento Regional
Best Website Award at Silicon Valley Regional
Leadership
Pavan Dutta - President
Danica Chang - VP of Engineering
Christine Chen - Director of Electrical
Humphrey Hu - Director of Mechanical
Brij Datta - VP of Operations
Eileen Laitinen - Director of Media
Vannett Li - Director of Public Relations
Rosalind Lee - Director of Finance
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2005
Triple Play
Awards
Quarter-Finalist at Sacramento Regional
Quarter-Finalist at Silicon Valley Regional
Judges’ Award at Silicon Valley Regional
Coached a FIRST Lego League Team which Qualified for the State Tournament
Programming Award to the FIRST Lego Team
Outstanding Mentor Award at Northern California State Tournament, for Shrenik Shah
Leadership
Shrenik Shah - President
Eric Zhou - VP of Engineering
Stephanie Lin - Director of Electrical
Tom Clegg - Director of Mechanical
Siyu Song - VP of Operations
Jeffrey Lee - Director of Media
Uta Gou - Director of Public Relations
Irem Mertol - Director of Finance
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2004
FIRST Frenzy
Awards
Engineering Inspiration Award at Silicon Valley Regional
Woodie Flowers Award to Ted Shinta
Quarter-Finalist at Silicon Valley Regionals
Leadership
Akshay Dodeja - President
Shrenik Shah - VP of Engineering
Rebecca Illowsky - Director of Electrical
Eric Zhou - Director of Mechanical
Jennifer Tse - VP of Operations
Siyu Song - Director of Media
Uta Gou - Director of Public Relations
Irem Mertol - Director of Finance
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2003
Stack Attack
Awards
Semi-Finalist at Sacramento Regional
Website Design Award at Sacramento Regional
General Motor’s Industrial Design Award at Sacramento Regional
Champion at Silicon Valley Regional
Website Design Award at Silicon Valley Regional
Xerox Creativity Award at Silicon Valley Regional
Leadership
Patrick Wang - President
Jonathan Liang - VP of Engineering
Rebecca Illowsky - Director of Electrical
Shrenik Shah - Director of Mechanical
Jennifer Tse - VP of Operations
Siyu Song - Director of Animations
Akshay Dodeja - Director of Graphics
Uta Gou - Director of Public Relations
Catherine Chen - Director of Finance
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2002
Zone Zeal
Awards
Second Place at Silicon Valley Regional
Leadership
Patrick Wang - President
Jonathan Liang - Vice President (Term Incomplete)
Matt Rock - Executive Officer
Paul Marshall - Director of Mechanical (Term Incomplete)
Frank Wang - Director of Electrical (Term Incomplete)
Katherine Lai - Director of Animations
Lisa Warner - Director of Graphics
Abby Chen - Director of Finance (Term Incomplete)
Catherine Chen - Director of Finance (Mid-Season Entry)
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2001
Diabolical Dynamics
Awards
Third Place Nationwide at National Competition, selected in the top ranking alliance for the Curie Division
Second Place at Silicon Valley West Coast Regional
Honeywell Leadership in Control Award at West Coast Regional
Leadership
Henry Chen - President
Thomas Fong - Vice President
Matt Rock - Executive Officer
Frank Wang - Director of Electrical
Travis Covington - Director of Mechanical
Katherine Lai - Director of Animations
Lisa Warner - Director of Graphics
Aya Maeda - Director of Public Relations
Helen Wang - Director of Finance
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2000
Co-opertition FIRST
Awards
Second Place at Southern California Los Angeles Invitational
Fifth Place at NASA Ames West Coast Regionals
Honeywell Leadership in Control Award at West Coast Regional
“Most Unconventional” Award in Whimsy Division at Sandhill Challenge Modern Soap-Box Derby in Menlo Park
Second Place at WRRF/FIRST California Robotics Games
Speed Division Winners at WRRF/FIRST California Robotics Games
Leadership
Aya Maeda - President
Henry Chen - Vice President
Thomas Fong - Executive Officer
Amol - Director of Electrical
Travis Covington - Director of Mechanical
Patrick and Henrick Shyu - Director of Animations
Helen Wang - Director of Public Relations
Helen Wang - Director of Public Finance
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1999
Double Trouble
Awards
Fourth Place at NASA Ames West Coast Regionals
Leadership
Shirley Lai - President
Janice Chen - Vice President
Ben Doyle - Executive Officer
Tom Lauwers - Director of Electrical
Rajesh Nishtala - Director of Mechanical
Einoville Talvala - Director of Animations
Leadership
Engineering Directors
Members
- Aaraadh Johal
- Aashi Venkat
- Adeeb Mahmood
- Adhvika Wangoo
- Pranav Gupta
- Adhya Thota
- Advaith Anand
- Aiden Huang
- Aiden Huang
- Aiden Huang
- Aishi Nanda
- Alicia He
- Amanda Xiao
- Amish Tyagi
- Anderson Wang
- Andrew Liu
- Andrew Ryu
- Anish Bayyapu
- Anna Zhang
- Anthony He
- Apru Rupanagunta
- Arianna Fu
- Arnav Purbiya
- Arunabh Thakuria
- Asha Boyapati
- Ben Lo
- Bhaavya Renukuntla
- Brandon Wang
- Bryan Fu
- Carolyne Chiang
- Chloe He
- Chloe Hung
- Chloe Lee
- Cindy Tao
- Cindy Xiao
- Ananya Kotla
- Damon Lee
- Devansh Gulati
- Dhruv Yadati
- Dylan Canoglu
- Eesha Sah
- Elaina Pan
- Elizabeth Lin
- Eric Liu
- Esther Seok
- Ethan Lewis
- Ethan Eisler
- Ginny Tie
- Grace Lin
- Hanaa Mohamed
- hannah wu
- Harmony Tse
- Harsh Patil
- Harshith Nelluri
- Harshitha Somasundaram
- Hershey Janga
- Hrithik Mallireddy
- Ishaan Garg
- Jaden Bae
- Jahnavi Kumar
- Jason He
- Jennifer Jelovic
- Jihoo Won
- Julia Chen
- Justin Chen
- Jyothish talari
- Kathryn Foo
- Kevin Liu
- Kevin Wu
- Krish Paul
- Lilja Kiiski
- Lisa Fan
- Liz Liu
- Manan Dua
- Matthew Settles
- Maya Pullara
- Michelle Dong
- Mihir Sharma
- Mukhil Saravanan
- Nandita Joshi
- Naveen Karun
- Neel Kansara
- Neha Bayyapu
- Nicola Haghighi
- Nidhi Saravanan
- Niranjana Sankar
- Nishi Patel
- Nishka Yadav
- Nithya Appannagaari
- Noah Ruderman
- Noora Kiiski
- Orion Yap
- Paarth Mishra
- Parker s Scott
- Patrick Li
- Paul Ye
- Pragti Gupta
- Prita Mathashery
- Ranvir Bhasin
- Riddhika Sharma
- Rohan Kale
- Rohan Saxena
- Rohin Garg
- Ronav Dholakia
- Ryan Xia
- Saahithi Srikanth
- Sabrish Prasad
- Sahana Jaware
- Sahana Suresh
- Sai Avula
- saketh korada
- Samarth Kashyap
- Sara Chhabra
- Saumit Korada
- Sean Foo
- Shreya Shivkumar
- Shreyas Rajalingari
- Siran Gao
- Sohni Tagirisa
- Sophie Tam
- Sreevatsa Pervela
- Srithika Barakam
- Steve Yang
- suhani sharma
- Sumedha Kumar
- Surbhi Sachdeva
- Tanay Parikh
- Tanisha Kholiya
- Tanya Bandodkar
- Tashvi Bansal
- Teresa Wan
- Tommy Liu
- Trisha Sharma
- Ved Barakam
- Vedant Patel
- Wayne Tse
- Yash Guruprakash
Mentors
Dedicated mentors, advisors, and volunteers are our team's most essential asset. Not only do they share their knowledge and expertise with the team, but also their valuable time and energy, which together comprises the backbone of our team.
Head Mentors
John Yelinek
Ted Shinta
Current Mentors
Steve Bronstein
Ashwin Mathur
Anand Rajamani
Rithin Venkatesh
Jon Pannell
Anant Singhania
Patrick Wang
Vinay Venkatesh
Past Mentors
Mauri Laitinen
Connie Laitinen
Jeff Lou
Edwin Datu
Ken Leung
Steve Rock
Peter Easton
Nick Baker
Alice Chang
Daniel Yang
Jaiom Sambyal
Randy Lam
Rachel Yang
Abhijaat Kelkar
Ryan Lee
Umesh Toprani
Bhaven Toprani
Karthik Kumaravel
Rod Sinks
Galen Embry
Cara Lai
Nupur Garg
Sridhar Palla
Kyle Evans
Elena Stumm
Dewal Gupta
John Arakaki
Peter Chase
Arun Kuchibhotla