Presenter: Dr. Sohini Stone, Fremont High Robotics (Sunnyvale)

Regardless of whether a team is “student-run” or “mentor-run”, it is universally true that student leadership in FIRST represents an important opportunity to foster growth and build life-long skills for FIRST participants. As mentors, it is our responsibility to help student leads develop skills to be successful in their roles. Within Fremont High Robotics, we strive to create a to create a safe and supportive environment for students to develop through hands-on experiences. Focus areas for leadership development include: strategy & prioritization, team management, ED&I, data, finance, communication and public relations. We will explore these areas share strategies for effectively building these skills among your student leaders.

About Dr. Stone

Dr. Sohini Stone, has been a FIRST Mentor for over 15 years, supporting FLL, FTC, and FRC teams. A Woodie Flowers Finalist Award recipient in 2024, Sohini serves as the lead mentor for the Fremont High Robotics team in Sunnyvale. In this role, she supports team day-to-day operations, mentors, and relationships with parents and the broader community. She works closely with the student leadership team and drives teamwide ED&I efforts. When it comes to competition, Sohini is deeply focused on strategy & scouting, building a data-driven culture on the team.

Outside of FIRST, Sohini is a Pediatrician and leads the Global Employee Health team at Google, focused on cross-company strategy to provide an integrated portfolio of equitable, evidence-based programs and services to promote health and wellbeing of Google’s workforce, their family members, and the community around them. Sohini has a background in quality, patient safety, and process improvement, and sits on the board of Health Care Without Harm. Prior to joining Google, she led clinical, quality, and business analytics teams at a late stage Silicon Valley health start-up.