MakerspaceCT to Host 2019 New England Maker Summit in Hartford

The downtown Hartford location of MakerspaceCT will be brimming with “makers” from throughout the region as the 2019 New England Maker Summit (NEMS) takes place on Friday, November 15 from 10am to 6pm.

The Summit will bring together experts in city planning, entrepreneurs, educators, manufacturers, Maker Movement industry leaders, and curious minds from across New England for the day-long conference. This year’s theme: The Impact of Innovation & Making on Urban America.

The Maker Movement empowers people, businesses and communities across the U.S. and around the globe. The movement provides greater access to the hardware and technology needed to design and make anything imaginable. The New England Makers Summit is held annually; last year at the University of Hartford there were more than 300 people in attendance.

“It’s exciting to be able to host this event at our own location this year,” said MakerspaceCT Executive Director Devra Sisitsky. “We are looking forward to showcasing our new space to individuals who share the same interest in being creative and innovative.”

MakerspaceCT, located at 960 Main Street in the historic G. Fox building in downtown Hartford, opened this past April, and is the largest Makerspace in Connecticut and the second largest in New England. The space features 25,000 square feet of workshops that house more than a dozen shops with specialized manufacturing equipment, including wood, welding, textiles, plastics, 3D manufacturing and more.

General Admission for the New England Maker Summit is $45; tickets purchased by Nov. 4 will be reduced by $10. Tickets are now available at https://makerspacect.com/nems2019/.

The New England Maker Summit will feature two tracks, “Innovative Manufacturing, Education & Makerspaces” and “Redefining Our Cities.” Keynote speakers will be Lee Wellington and Ilana Preuss:

● Lee Wellington: Director - Urban Manufacturing Alliance. Wellington has dedicated her career to industrial development for over a decade. She has directed New York City Council’s land use decisions and helped create Industrial Business Zones, broader industrial policy for the NYC Mayor’s Office, and expanded incentive boundaries to include new industrial neighborhoods.

● Ilana Preuss: Founder and CEO - Recast City. Based in Washington D.C, Preuss works with real estate developers, economic development corporations, and other local leaders to go from idea to plan to action to build great places with vibrant economies. She works to develop and integrate small-scale manufacturing businesses that draw people to the target neighborhood.

Guest speakers for NEMS 2019 include Connecticut Commissioner of Economic and Community Development David Lehman, State Chief Manufacturing Officer Colin Cooper, and Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin.

A panel discussion, Innovation Success in Downtown Hartford, will be moderated by Jamie Brätt, Engagement Manager at Infosys. Panelists include Jackie Mandyck, Managing Director of Hartford’s iQuilt Partnership, Marty Guay, Vice President of Business Development at Stanley Black & Decker, Paul Tyler, Chief Marketing Officer at Nassau Re, and Jeff Auker, Head of Innovation at Infosys.

The New England Maker Summit will also include featured speakers Dorothy Jones-Davis, Executive Director of Nation of Makers, Dr. Ron Williams, Chief Innovation Officer of the Institute for Business & Education Solutions (IBES), Inc. and leaders from Connecticut, New England, and beyond.

● Dr. Ron Williams: Former Dean, College of Business, Coppin State University (CSU), Former Chair, Department of Management & Marketing, CSU College of Business, Founder of Bachelor of Science in Entertainment Management Program Dr. Williams has developed the unique concept of “ingepreneurship,” entrepreneurial solutions for urban and marginalized communities.

● Dorothy Jones-Davis: Nation of Makers is a nonprofit whose mission is to support America’s maker organizations through advocacy, resource sharing, and the building of community within the maker movement and beyond. She is deeply interested in creating connections between a diversity of makers, enabling them to use their collective skills to harness solutions for the world’s challenges – grand and small.

Additional speakers during NEMS 2019 include Steve Heath, Executive Director of FabNewport, Ken Kaplan, Director of the New England Motorcycle Museum, and Renée Tribert, Project Manager of the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation. The day’s events will also include an expo of small manufacturers and makers, lunch in the Gershon Fox Ballroom and an after-event cocktail reception and networking hour.

MakerspaceCT provides opportunities not only entrepreneurs and small businesses, but also local hobbyists, crafters, students, and artists, providing training for individuals seeking to expand their skills and companies looking to expand their product lines.

MakerspaceCT supports an almost limitless variety of material types and fabrication processes - CNC Machining, Metal Fabrication, 3D Printing, Laser Engraving, Vacuum Forming and much more - equipment that is, in many cases, too expensive or too large for a home or small business to accommodate.

More information is available at www.makerspacect.com