Leadership

Marcus founded Valkyrie in 2016 with a group of committed friends and students in Cupertino, California; since then, he's continued to work as President and Executive Director to provide the kind of top-tier education that the Bay Area is known for to all students, no matter their race, gender, or economic background. Within two years, Valkyrie had grown to support numerous activities and programs, staffed by dozens of volunteers from throughout the Bay.

Marcus' educational background in Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley enabled Valkyrie to quickly acquire volunteers and funding from the software engineering industry, while also shaping its mission into what it is today. By leveraging Valkyrie's unique position within the heart of Silicon Valley, he's been able to directly connect students in need with industry-level experience, mentors, and skills alike. In his free time, Marcus enjoys reading poetry and discussing global policy.

Since helping to found Valkyrie in 2016, Lee has been a continuous and tireless force for improvement within Valkyrie. Ever since the first days of the organization, he has worked to push Valkyrie's programs to the next level: by drawing on his years of industry experience in the fields of software engineering and finance, he gives students the opportunity to learn real-world skills and gain real-world connections to help them as they move towards joining the workforce in turn.

In his free time, Lee enjoys reading, cooking, going on walks through the streets of New York City — and, of course, working with robots: Lee is the primary maintainer of many of Valkyrie's own internal robotics frameworks, including Wyrd and Mass.

'Chris' Carbone firmly believes in giving back to his community and those around it; even in the Bay Area, center of the global tech market, many students grow up without access to quality technical education, and thus without the chance to discover their passions. Since founding the organization, Chris has worked as both an administrator at the corporate level as well as a volunteer and mentor for several of our charitable programs, including FIRST Robotics Team #299 and VEX Robotics Team #22999.

Since joining the organization in late 2018, Fletcher's skills and expertise in facilities and operations have proved invaluable for the growth and development of Valkyrie's charitable programs. While such work is often underappreciated, without it nothing that Valkyrie does would be possible.

As an alumnus of one of Valkyrie's educational robotics programs, Jiahong serves to provide valuable first-hand experience of what it's like to be a student with Valkyrie. With a background in Computer Engineering from the University of California, San Diego, Jiahong's passion lies in spreading access and awareness to STEM education. As Marketing Director, his boundless excitement and endless creativity clearly shine through the materials he makes and supervises, spreading a sense of passion and inspiration to our local community.