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Patrick Felty Named Executive Director

05.19.2018

Patrick FeltyFIRST in Texas announced that its Board of Directors has named Patrick Felty to the position of Executive Director, effective immediately. Felty previously served as the Development Director at FIRST in Texas, as well as [first] Regional Director for the Alamo Region of Texas. Felty’s resume is further bolstered by eleven years of supporting FIRST programs as a volunteer.

Felty’s success as a FIRST Regional Director in Texas is a result of his multi-tiered approach to development and delivery of all FIRST programs in the Alamo Region. His ongoing work with field leaders to merge event production and fundraising has helped introduce the entire region to the full continuum of FIRST programs.

His regional efforts have established the blueprint for the statewide fundraising strategy of FIRST in Texas. During his time as the Alamo Region Regional Director and the Director of Development for FIRST in Texas, Felty established strong relationships with stakeholders across the organization and earned the respect of the FIRST family in Texas and at FIRST’s national headquarters.

“Patrick Felty is 100 percent dedicated to the mission of FIRST, and he exemplifies FIRST’s core values,” said Chairman of the Board Ray Almgren. “Felty is inclusive of all of the people, teams, and organizations necessary to create a successful FIRST program and experience for the participants.”

Felty’s first course of action will be to collaborate with statewide field leadership as well as FIRST to transition Texas to the [first] Robotics Competition District Model. This shift is a significant undertaking that will see FIRST in Texas become responsible for all [first] Robotics Competition events (including the UIL State Championship) as well as fundraising to deliver FIRST programs in Texas. The goal of this transition is to make FIRST programs available to more students at a lower cost, enabling further growth in Texas.

“Big things are on the horizon for FIRST teams and programs in Texas,” said [first] President, Donald E. Bossi. “With Patrick’s leadership and direction, FIRST in Texas, working in concert with current FIRST affiliate partners and a strong volunteer community, will bring new FIRST opportunities to more schools and communities, so all children who want to participate on a FIRST team can do so.”

“Our vision is simple,” said Almgren. “We want to make FIRST programs available to every student in Texas. Every dollar we raise and every action we take is in support of this vision. We believe Patrick Felty is the perfect person for this role as we embark on this significant transition from FIRST in Texas being a grant-making organization to delivering all of the FIRST Robotics Competition programs in Texas. Patrick’s knowledge and experience in development and delivery of FIRST programs and his strong relationship throughout Texas are critical to the success of our mission.”

Before joining FIRST in Texas, Felty served as the Chief Operations Officer at Prism Technologies Group and was the founder and Chief Operations Officer of Fintan Technologies. He received his Bachelor’s Degree from Stephen F. Austin State University.