VEX Robotics

OPEF VEX Robotics Team Member

"From robotics I learned to be patient (even when things are stressful!), to communicate with teammates/peers and how to overcome things I never thought were possible for me to achieve."

Parent of OPEF VEX Robotics Team Member

“He’s not a sports program participant, so this was a marvelous way for him to be engaged with something. I was amazed to find him become a leader and ‘take charge’ guy when necessary. He grew highly skilled in problem solving and confident enough to be able to abandon solutions in favor of new solutions and consequences.”

OPEF VEX Robotics Female High School Mentor & Former Team Member

“What I didn’t know before I joined the VEX Robotics program is that I am really good at computer programming. This is something that I hope I can develop into a career and I have the VEX Robotics program to thank.”

Parent of OPEF VEX Robotics Team Member

“This was an amazingly positive experience for my daughter. . . She has had the invaluable experience of learning to speak her mind, think creatively, and be an active participant in a group setting.”

Mary Beth Hausken

VEX Robotics Coordinator / mbhausken@opef.org

Mary Beth Hausken began working with VEX Robotics in 2008 as the Julian Equipment Manager when her son joined the team. She became the Brooks/Julian Competition Event Director in 2010 and the VEX Robotics Coordinator in 2012. Mary Beth has a BA in Communications from Stephens College and has worked in both television and advertising. She has been an active organizer and volunteer in many community and school projects and was awarded the Those Who Excel Community Volunteer Award of Merit in 2011. She and her husband Phil have lived in Oak Park since 1987, where they've raised 3 children.

Kristi Braun

Kristi Braun has been an active volunteer with VEX Robotics since 2012, when her daughter first joined the program at Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School. Kristi’s experience includes 16 years of sales, business and product development in the financial services industry. She most recently worked for Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry as Community Program Manager. Kristi has a BA in Business with an emphasis in Marketing and a minor in Photography from the University of Missouri. She resides in Oak Park with her husband and two daughters.