FIRST Appoints Amy Shapiro to Lead Philanthropic Growth and Strategic Partnerships

MANCHESTER, N.H., August 3, 2026 — FIRST^®, a global robotics community that prepares young people for the future, today announced the appointment of Amy Shapiro as Vice President of Development. In this role, Shapiro will lead the organization's philanthropic strategy and facilitate key partnerships that expand support for the FIRST mission and enable more students worldwide to experience life-changing FIRST programs powered by mentorship, teamwork, creativity, and engineering challenges.

Shapiro brings more than 20 years of leadership experience building transformative partnerships across the nonprofit, education, technology, and corporate sectors. Throughout her career, she has secured millions of dollars in philanthropic support while cultivating innovative collaborations with Fortune 500 companies, foundations, and mission-driven organizations that advance educational opportunity and community impact.

"Securing support through strong partnerships is essential to ensuring even more young people have access to the opportunities FIRST provides," said Chris Moore, CEO, FIRST. "Amy has a proven ability to cultivate meaningful relationships that create lasting impact, and we are thrilled for her to join FIRST in our mission to inspire the next generation of industry leaders and trailblazers."

Prior to joining FIRST, Shapiro held leadership positions at Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Autodesk, and Discovery Education, where she led strategic fundraising and corporate partnership initiatives. Earlier in her career, Shapiro worked at ESPN, contributing to the production of “Monday Night Football” and “Pardon the Interruption,” where she developed an appreciation for the power of storytelling to inspire audiences and connect organizations around a shared purpose.

"I'm honored to join FIRST, an organization that has impacted millions of young people around the world already through uniquely holistic – and fun – robotics challenges," said Shapiro. "I look forward to working alongside our sponsors, donors, and other strategic partners to expand opportunities for more students to participate in FIRST and ensure they build future-ready skills and confidence as they become the innovators of tomorrow."

Learn more about Shapiro and other leaders championing the FIRST mission.

About FIRST^® 

FIRST^® is a robotics community that prepares young people for the future. FIRST provides life-changing, team-based K-12 robotics programs that give young people the skills, confidence, and resilience to build a better world. Boosted by a global support system of volunteers, educators, donors, and sponsors, teams operate under a signature set of FIRST Core Values to conduct research, fundraise, design, build, and showcase their achievements during annual challenges.

An international not-for-profit organization founded in 1989, FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) has a proven impact  on STEM learning, interest, and skill-building well beyond high school. Participants and alumni of FIRST programs gain access to education and career discovery opportunities, connections to exclusive scholarships and employers, and a place in the FIRST community for life. Learn more at firstinspires.org.