The IMPACT of INNOVATION & MAKING on Urban America
Friday, November 15, 2019
Hartford, Connecticut
The IMPACT of INNOVATION & MAKING on Urban America
Gold Sponsor:
Welded Steel Sponsor:
MAKING an IMPACT
The Maker Movement empowers people, businesses and communities across the U.S. and around the globe.
We have greater access to the hardware and technology needed to design and make anything imaginable.
Spirited and inclusive Maker communities are rising in urban areas everywhere, as the tools and tech available to passionate and creative people become more powerful, less expensive, and easier to use. How do these trends impact cities?
New England Maker Summit 2019 brings together experts in city planning, Maker Movement industry leaders, entrepreneurs, educators, manufacturers and curious minds to explore “The Impact of Innovation & Making on Urban America.”
Lee Wellington
Director – Urban Manufacturing Alliance
Ilana Preuss
Founder and CEO – Recast City
Track 1
Innovative Manufacturing, Education & Makerspaces
Featuring:
Dorothy Jones-Davis, Ph.D.
Executive Director – Nation of Makers
Steve Heath
Executive Director – FabNewport
PLUS:
More Speakers
To Be Announced
Track 2
Redefining Our Cities
Featuring:
Ron Williams
CIO – Institute for Business & Education Solutions
Ken Kaplan
Director – New England Motorcycle Museum
Renée Tribert
Project Manager – CT Trust for Historic Preservation
Luke Bronin
Mayor – City of Hartford
David Lehman
Commissioner – CT DECD
Colin Cooper
CT’s Chief Manufacturing Officer
MODERATOR
Jamie Brätt
Engagement Manager
Infosys
Devra Sisitsky
Founder & Exec. Director,
MakerspaceCT
Jackie Mandyck
Managing Director,
iQuilt Partnership LLC
Jeff Auker
Head of Innovation
Infosys
Marty Guay
VP, Business Development
Stanley Black & Decker
Paul Tyler
Chief Marketing Officer
Nassau Re
Devra Sisitsky
Founder & Executive Director – MakerspaceCT
Devra Sisitsky, a native of Hartford returned to the Farmington Valley after many years living in Boston and Washington, DC. She started her career at Xerox and proceeded to spend over 20 years owning a consultancy assisting hospitals in creating a suburban presence with the turnkey development of walk-in centers, mammography, and surgicenters before she transitioned to managed care and designed Hartford’s first PPO for St. Francis Hospital, HealthChoice.
Devra developed 32 startup facilities throughout the United States while she was a national speaker for NAFACC (National Association for Ambulatory Care Centers). Devra established a niche newspaper called “The Homesteader” with a family-oriented audience. She is known as a” serial entrepreneur” and views each start-up as a puzzle to craft into place.
Devra is impassioned about changing society from one of “conspicuous consumption” to a culture of innovation and “Making”. Her goal is to positively impact the local economy and workforce by engaging students, innovators, entrepreneurs and Connecticut residents in relevant technology illuminating new pathways to financial stability. With years of preparation and experience, her dream of opening MakerspaceCT in Hartford has become a reality.
Dorothy Jones-Davis, Ph.D.
Executive Director – Nation of Makers
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. With a Ph.D. in Neuroscience, Dorothy has previously held roles at
the National Science Foundation, the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, and the University of California, San
Francisco.
Dr. Ron Williams
CIO – Institute for Business & Education Solutions
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.
Steve Heath
Executive Director – FabNewport
Steve Heath is the founder and executive director of FabNewport. He has 28 years of experience creating student-centered learning environments in public and independent schools in Boston, Chicago, and Rhode Island. He is an experienced journalist, community activists and a skilled connector with a passion for nurturing ideas. Steve is a certified League of American Bicycylist instructor, an accomplished athlete and coach. He is involved in multiple community efforts–Health Equity Zone, Working Cities, One Newport–to improve outcomes for all Rhode Islanders.
Ken Kaplan
Director – New England Motorcycle Museum
Die-hard motorcyclist Ken Kaplan had been in the computer industry for 25 years before purchasing the 205 year old Hockanum Mill; a former textile mill that had been neglected for decades, and transforming it into the New England Motorcycle Museum. The renovated space now holds one of the largest collection of vintage and custom motorcycles in the Northeast. With over 25 different brands of motorcycles, extensive motorcycling magazine archive, and memorabilia from the most iconic events and superstars in the industry’s history, there is something for every motorcycle enthusiast.
Renée Tribert
Project Manager – CT Trust for Historic Preservation
Renée has been project manager for the Making Places program of the Connecticut Trust, a statewide survey of historic industrial resources, since September 2014. The program, funded by the State Historic Preservation Office, also seeks to stimulate the reuse and revitalization of often underutilized mills and factories. A graduate of Brown University, Renée also holds an MS in historic preservation from the University of Pennsylvania, and is the author of Gervase Wheeler: A British Architect in America 1847-1860. Previous professional experience includes curator at the Harriet Beecher Stowe House in Hartford, collections manager at the New Britain Museum of American Art, and environmental analyst at Catalyst Environmental Consulting Inc.
Jamie Brätt
Engagement Manager –
Infosys
As head of economic development and planning in Trumbull (2012-16) and in Hartford (2016-18), Jamie Brätt was instrumental in facilitating commercial real estate developments and driving grand list growth. Despite complex obstructions, Bratt consistently inspired her teams to get to yes. Recognizing technology as a burgeoning driver of economic growth in her home state, Bratt made a bold career shift to join global technology firm Infosys, just before their Hartford Innovation Hub opened last December.
Luke Bronin
Mayor – City of Hartford
Luke Bronin is the 67th mayor of the City of Hartford. He was sworn in on January 1, 2016. Mayor Bronin is a husband, a father, a veteran, and an attorney, and he is committed to building a stronger Hartford for all of Hartford’s residents. He previously served in senior positions in federal and state government, including Senior Advisor to the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Treasury and General Council to Governor Dannel P. Malloy. Previously, he was deployed to Afganistan as an officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve. Bronin earned his B.A. and J.D. from Yale University and his M.A. from Oxford University, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar.
David Lehman
Commissioner – CT DECD
David Lehman is Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD), the state agency that oversees a wide range of programs promoting business retention and recruitment, brownfield redevelopment, the arts, historic preservation and tourism. Governor Ned Lamont nominated him for the position earlier this year. Mr. Lehman’s business development priorities include helping build our urban centers into engines of growth; further capitalizing on the state’s top-flight colleges and universities; strengthening the state’s workforce pipelines; and marketing Connecticut as a place that is open for business.
Jackie Mandyck
Managing Director –
iQuilt Partnership LLC
As Managing Director of the iQuilt Partnership, Jackie Gorsky Mandyck provides leadership and logistical support for iQuilt initiatives. The iQuilt Plan, formally imbedded in the City of Hartford’s 10-year master plan, lays out a strategy and design for linking Hartford cultural and physical assets and making the intersecting public spaces more walkable, engaging and vibrant.
Paul Tyler
CMO – Nassau Re
Paul leads the branding strategy and marketing efforts, as well as digital and Insurtech initiatives of Nassau Re. He has been responsible for building a lead generation program for agents and consumers and launched a direct-to-consumer channel for term life, final expense, and fixed annuities. In 2019, he spearheaded the creation of Nassau Re/Imagine, an insurtech incubator based in the company’s iconic Boat Building headquarters in Hartford. The incubator supports selected startups focused in the life insurance, annuity and reinsurance industries and provides complimentary office space and business development services.
Marty Guay
VP, Business Development –
Stanley Black & Decker
Marty Guay is the Vice President, Business Development, for Stanley Black & Decker. In this capacity, Marty looks to create value creation opportunities by working with startups, innovation eco-systems, and the entrepreneurial community. In 2018, Stanley launched the state-of-the-art Manufactory 4.0 in Hartford, Connecticut. It is the epicenter for the company’s global Industry 4.0 “smart factory” and workforce upskilling initiatives – making manufacturing more efficient, productive and adaptable. Manufactory 4.0 is the headquarters of the STANLEY+Techstars Accelerator for startup companies developing innovative solutions in additive manufacturing and eco-friendly sustainable packaging solutions.
Jeff Auker
Head of Innovation –
Infosys
Jeff leads tech giant Infosys’ emerging technology and innovation hub in Hartford. The company imagines a tech-driven renaissance in the region and is commited to adding 1,000 employees to the Goodwin Square location in downtown Hartford by 2023.Great Events need sponsorship from YOU…please help in any way you can to make this event a success…many sponsorship options:
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MakerspaceCT is a program of McEIVR, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit. Donations are fully tax deductible can be made to:
McEIVR Inc., 960 Main Street, Hartford, CT, 06103 –
or call our Executive Director at: 860-619-6257 for more details
The headquarters for the Maker Movement in Connecticut.
Our mission is to positively impact lives by enabling access, innovation, and education.
Location: 960 Main St, Hartford, CT
Main Entrance: 36 Talcott St, Hartford CT (Get Directions)
Operating Hours:
We are operating at reduced capacity for July – Aug 2022.
New Operating Hours (starting 7/22): Fri: 10am-9pm / Sat: 10am-6pm / Sun – Thurs: CLOSED
IN CASE OF INCLEMENT WEATHER: Check our website homepage or Facebook and Twitter for updates for possible changes to our hours of operation.
Holiday schedule:
Wed, Nov 23, 2022: Closing at 5:00 p.m.
Thu, Nov 24, 2022: CLOSED FOR THANKSGIVING
Sat, Dec 24, 2022: Closing at 5:00 p.m.
Sun, Dec 25, 2022: CLOSED FOR CHRISTMAS
Sat, Dec 31, 2022: Closing at 5:00 p.m.
Sun, Jan 1, 2023: CLOSED FOR NEW YEAR'S DAY
MakerspaceCT is a program of McEIVR, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit.