Who we are
About TEAM Alliance
TEAM Alliance runs Sphero Robotics Missions and Competitions for students from age 4 to age 18. The Program is built with approachability in mind: like a new soccer player getting a ball in an undefended goal, TEAM Alliance students find success right out of the box. No build season first. No learning to code first. Students run the missions, adults coordinate.
Mission
Work with a community of volunteers engaging students with fun, affordable robotics programs that build confidence in the future workforce.
Vision
A global community where students have a lifelong
sense of confidence and excitement in technology.
Core Values
Approachable: Make it simple with low entry and high mastery
Student-Powered™: Students are trusted and the adults are coordinators, not coaches
Turnkey: Events are fun and easily run by a small number of volunteers
Community: Recognize the meaningful contribution and roles of volunteers
Confidence: Build confidence through participation, which fuel workforce development skills and beyond.
Pillars
Approachability
Easy entry, limitless possibilities.
Our programs make the first steps simple, but the potential for growth is exponential.
By removing technical, financial, and geographic hurdles, we ensure that students can transition from curiosity to mastery at their own pace.
Excitement
Confidence over Inspiration.
Our success is measured by a student’s enjoyment.
We prioritize a fun robotics competition experience to foster a genuine excitement for STEM and Robotics that prepares students for the future.
Student-Powered™
Guided, not governed.
We trust students to be the primary architects of their success.
In our programs, adults serve as logistical coordinators, ensuring a safe environment where students make all the technical and creative decisions.
Community Engagement
Designed for Volunteers.
Our events are engineered for simplicity.
We prioritize the volunteer experience by creating intuitive systems that allow community members to focus on supporting students rather than navigating complex logistics.
Student-Powered™
TEAM Alliance programs are Student-Powered™: students handle the design, coding, and operation of their robots, and the adults in the room are coordinators, not coaches. That’s a deliberate choice. It means the students run the team, because the program doesn’t ask for adult experts. It also means the results the audience sees on event day is entirely the students’ own work. And most importantly, it means that the experience is powered by the students.
By the Numbers
Since 2020, TEAM Alliance programs have reached more than 8,700 students across the country and more than 1,600 teams.
Leadership
Andy Schaafs
Executive Director
Andy loves robotics. He started at BP as a chemical engineer and after 8 years in the oil and gas industry pursued his passion for teaching. For the last 20 years he taught engineering and robotics, served as the District Administrator across a district of 60+ schools, and ran Programs, Marketing, and Development departments at a competitive robotics nonprofit organization. Robot on!
Kelly Gray
Board Director
Kelly Gray has a passion for education and student-led discovery. She has been at Sphero since 2016, which is an education robotics company. Prior to Sphero, Kelly was in the CPG space and worked for brands such as Pepsi and Crocs in addition to serving in leadership roles at creative agencies. She also served on the Board of the American Council on Exercise.
Dan Merrill
Board Director
Dan has devoted more than 25 years of his professional career to supporting education in a wide variety of applications including technology, curriculum, assessments and STEM. He joined Sphero as an executive in 2025 after being a part of companies such as Apple, PowerSchool, Pearson and LEGO Education.
Dr. Lee Nathan Gardner
Board Director
Nate has an enthusiasm for education and the opportunities it provides for students. He began his career in 1995 when helping found the Maine School of Science and Math which was Maine’s first public charter school. He then spent 11 years as a high school counselor before transitioning to higher education in 2017. Nate currently serves as the director for a graduate degree program preparing future school counselors.
Partners
TEAM Alliance partners with Sphero to run its robotics missions and competitions.
Special thanks to Shook, Hardy & Bacon for legal support.