Board of Directors
President
Will Hill
Mr. Hill has been a Youth Robotics Competition Team Coach since 2014. He started coaching in the F.I.R.S.T. LEGO League Jr league, then moved to the VEX IQ league for his 5th season… where his rookie team earned a trophy at a tournament out of 40+ teams and won 4th place at a separate tournament out of 30+ teams.
Mr. Hill earned a B.S. in Computer Engineering from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has over 15 years of sales, marketing, & business development experience for small and large multinational electronics and software technology companies.
Mr. Hill created the ckingknowledge brand around the year 2000 as a personal email address. It was invented to express a deep-rooted passion for lifelong learning. Carrying this fire into becoming a parent while living as a proud nerd, he complained to his wife about his nephew not choosing engineering in college, like he preached for over 8 years. She kindly educated him that he needed to 'show his children engineering' if he was serious about influencing them to choose engineering as a career. So, they created ckingknowledge Robotics Club in 2016; then, created ckingknowledge Institute on 2020 June 25.
Mr. Hill can be reached at will.hill@ckingknowledge.org
Vice-President & Treasurer
Jenell Kelly, Ph.D
Dr. Kelly has been a robotics club coach since 2016. She started coaching in the F.I.R.S.T. LEGO League Jr league, then moved to the VEX IQ league in 2020. She holds a Bachelor’s in Sociology and a Master’s and Ph.D. in Human and Community Development from the University of Illinois.
"In addition to teaching at the university level, I have several years of experience working with young children as an intern, volunteer, mentor, teacher, and robotics coach. Whether I am working with preschoolers or college students, I enjoy tapping into my inner child to help students learn and I always try to make learning fun! As a mother of three, I become excited when I witness my children learning about the world around them. I feel the same excitement watching all human beings stretch their thinking, cultivate their talents, and tap into their full potential to make the world a better place."
Dr. Kelly can be reached at jenell.kelly@ckingknowledge.org
Secretary
Mark Braxton, PE, PMP
Mr. Braxton is a licensed professional engineer and project manager with a strong passion for encouraging high school and college students to pursue Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) careers. He graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering (BSCE) and spent 21 years on active duty as a commissioned officer; he served as a Civil Engineering Instructor at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy for 5 years, teaching fundamental civil and mechanical engineering courses to undergraduates. While on staff, he also coached elementary and high school students with the FIRST Robotics Competition. Mr. Braxton holds Masters degrees in Civil Engineering and Business Administration from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and is currently enrolled as a Civil Engineering PhD candidate at the University of Connecticut at Storrs.
Mr. Braxton can be reached at mark.braxton@ckingknowledge.org