Dr. Emily Van Dunk
Executive Director, Argosy Foundation

Emily Van Dunk became the Executive Director of the Argosy Foundation in 2011 after first joining the foundation as a program officer in 2006. The family foundation was founded by John Abele with a Board of Trustees consisting of four family members. Emily has spent over a decade learning about all aspects of FIRST. Additionally, in her own capacity as a volunteer, Emily founded the Milwaukee Robotics Academy where three FIRST Robotics Competition teams operate during the competitive season and year-round FIRST Robotics Competition training is offered to City of Milwaukee high school students. Since the launch of the Academy in 2021 Emily has raised over $500,000 to fund the expansion of FIRST programming in Milwaukee.

Before joining the foundation, Emily served as the Budget Operations Manager for Milwaukee County. Prior to that, she was Research Director for the Wisconsin Policy Forum. Emily earned a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, a master's from Iowa State University, and a bachelor's from Luther College, in Decorah, IA. Emily resides in Milwaukee, WI where the headquarters of the Argosy Foundation is located.