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As many of you were preparing for the holiday season in 2016 and feeling one way or another just after the U.S. Presidential election, FIRST � launched Invisible Inequities �a free, online training module to grapple with bias and help create more diverse, inclusive and equitable teams. FIRST Diversity and Inclusion has been collaborating with NAPE to design a training series for Coaches, Mentors, Volunteers, Partners and other key stakeholders who work directly with students. Invisible Inequities is the first of three online modules offered and help participants: �          Identify examples of cultural stereotypes and bias and how they affect equitable participant engagement on FIRST teams, �          Reflect on differences between their team demographics and their community demographics, and �          Apply strategies to recruit participants from underrepresente...

FIRST is an organization whose mission is to show students of every age that science, technology, and problem-solving are not only fun and rewarding, but are proven paths to successful careers and a bright future for us all.  Yet, for so many of us, FIRST touches so much more of our lives than just introducing us to a world of science and innovation. For George Marchant, FIRST has been a part of his life for fifteen years, ten of which was spent volunteering for FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC). His initial introduction to FTC was at its very inception. �When I heard about the demo event that was scheduled for the 2005 World Championship. FTC was always attractive to me as I see the entry cost of the FIRST Robotics Competition as a barrier to many school districts in lower income communities, or areas without major engineering sponsors.  I also think that FTC allows teams to be formed from groups outside the school system such as Girl Scouts, 4-H, or Home school organizations.�...