| President John Koch  | John Koch graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He also has an MBA from the University of Iowa Tippie College of Business. John has spent most of his career working at HNI Corporation in various product development and product marketing roles. He currently leads product development for Workplace Furnishings at HNI. John is passionate about education and learning, especially in engineering related areas. He is excited to work with the Quad City STEM community to foster the skills needed to solve difficult problems and give back to our great community. He currently resides in Moline. |
| Vice President / Award Chair Susan Eckert  | Susan Eckert holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Food Science and Human Nutrition from Iowa State University and has held roles across Iowa and New York. She currently works in Corporate Social Responsibility for John Deere, supporting the Foundation’s global initiatives. A dedicated STEM and youth education advocate, Susan has been involved with FIRST® Robotics since 2010, serving in coaching, mentorship and leadership roles across all program levels. Her contributions have been recognized with the 2016 QCESC STEM Volunteer of the Year and the 2018 FLL World Festival Coach of the Year. Susan has been on the Quad Cities FLL Kickoff Planning Team since launching in 2013, served as the Quad Cities FLL Event Volunteer Coordinator since 2019, and Awards Chair since 2020. Since 2022, she has served as the FIRST® Senior Mentor for Iowa. She currently resides in Davenport. |
| STEM Coordinator Kimberly Mayeski  | Kimberly Mayeski is a recent retiree after a 32 year career. Kim’s employment started with the United States Forest Service in Pocatello, Idaho as a GIS (Geographic Information System) analyst, then worked for SIMPOT implementing Precision AG and GIS. These experiences led to a position at John Deere in 2000 as a part of an effort to provide producers with farm management tools using these technologies. Kim has had various IT, Business and Management roles during her 23 year career with John Deere. Kim’s focus now is on volunteering in the community. These volunteer activities include tutoring at Project Renewal, CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate), helping at Cinderella Cellar, and participating on multiple boards. Kim and her husband, Mark, live in Bettendorf, IA. |
| Professional Development Coordinator Dan D’Alessandro  | Dan D’Alessandro retired from Deere & Company in 2016 after 40 years of service. In his last role, he was the Global Manager of an engineering organization that developed embedded electronic hardware and software systems for Deere agricultural and turf products. Dan graduated from Northwestern University with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and also holds a Master’s in Business Administration from University of Northern Iowa. He is involved in several volunteer roles including FIRST FLL/FTC/FRC competition Judge, Southeast Iowa STEM Advisory Board, American Red Cross, Western Illinois University Engineering Advisory Group Member, and numerous church activities. Also, Dan is an independent engineering management consultant. Dan and his wife, Pat, reside in Le Claire, IA. |
| Treasurer Suzy Gainer | . |
| Communications Chair Mary Johnson | |
| Scholarship Chair Tom Hein  | Tom retired from Deere & Company in Moline, Illinois after 32 years of service. He was a leader of innovation and in evaluating and applying emerging technologies for the company, most recently focusing on information technology impacting Deere’s customer and product. He also supported research alliances with Universities, industry and standards groups. He served on the boards of the Object Management Group and the Automotive Industry Action Group. He has held various positions in manufacturing, engineering, and systems management during his 41-year career, including several entrepreneurial startups. Tom has a degree in Manufacturing Engineering from the University of Illinois, Chicago. In retirement, Tom is continuing his focus on innovation and STEM literacy through community organizations. He currently resides in Moline. |
| Fundraising Chair Currently open  | |
| Director Beth Ullmark  | Beth Ullmark graduated from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana with a degree in Computer Science through the College of Engineering. She has an MBA degree through St. Ambrose University. Beth has spent the majority of her career at John Deere working in Global IT before retiring. She had been a member of the State of Iowa SE Stem Advisory council since 2016 where she has helped choose STEM startup programs, STEM Teacher of the Year, and STEMBest awardees. She has volunteered extensively with FIRST Lego League Challenge events for the Quad Cities, for World Championships and for the Global Innovation Awards. A lifelong Quad City inhabitant, she is committed to ensuring that all children have opportunity to realize the potential of a STEM career. She currently resides in Davenport. |
| Director Emeritus Pat Barnes  Twitter @PatrickOBarnes | Pat Barnes holds an Electrical Engineering Degree from Iowa State University and is a lifetime member of IEEE. Pat is currently the QCESC Director Emeritus and has served since 1992 in various roles including three times as QCESC President along with Award Chair, STEM Coordinator, and webmaster. He was the 1992 QCESC Co-Junior Engineer of the Year award recipient. Pat works at John Deere as the Global Program Director, Youth Education n in their Corporate Social Responsibility and Foundation Group. In this role, Pat manages John Deere’s global youth education program, John Deere Inspire which is supporting over 100,000 youth annually in 36home communities in 8 countries. In addition to the QCESC, Pat serves on several other boards including on the Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council since 2011 and as Vice Chair of the United Way Quad Cities Education Council. |
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