James Fallows, National Correspondent for “The Atlantic,” and Dr. Ellen Williams from the U.S. Department of Energy are Keynote Speakers
San Francisco, Calif. – MakerCon, the only conference by and for leaders of the Maker Movement, announced its official program this morning. The daylong conference takes place at the New York Hall of Science in Queens on September 24, 2015, and is a featured event during Maker Faire Week, September 21-27.
James Fallows, national correspondent for “The Atlantic,”and Dr. Ellen Williams, director at Advanced Research Projects Agency of the Department of Energy, join the growinglist of prominent speakers who will set the narrative for the day. Attendees will also hear from such Maker Movement leaders as Eric Klein, Partner, Lemnos Labs; Jose Gomez Marquez, Co-founder, Pop Up Labs; Matthew Burnett, CEO and founder of Maker’s Row in Brooklyn; Mo Kinberg, Advocacy and Organizing Manager, Freelancers Union in Brooklyn; Amanda Parkes, CTO of Manufacture NY in Brooklyn; and Genevieve Bell, Intel Vice President and Fellow.
“MakerCon really highlights the dynamism of the Maker Movement. In particular, the evolving Maker ecosystem is having a significant impact on entrepreneurism workforce development, civic initiatives, and makerspaces in public places like libraries,” says Dale Dougherty, founder and executive chairman of Maker Media. “What’s more, as Maker Pros increasingly launch small businesses, they are creating opportunities—for themselves, for those they employ, for the services that support them, and for the investors who fund them. When you bring all the members of the Maker ecosystem together, you can really see the power of what we’re creating together.”
Other featured MakerCon speakers include:
Monserrate Román, Program Manager, NASA Centennial Challenges
Matthew Burnett, CEO and Co-Founder, Maker’s Row
Kevin Nolan, CTO of GE Appliances
Harbrinder Kang, Vice President of Corporate Affairs, Cisco
Paul Roehrig, VP and Global Managing Director, Center for the Future of Work, Cognizant
Allan Chochinov, Chair, SVA MFA Products of Design
Nick Pinkston, Founder and CEO, Plethora
Dave Rauchwerk, Founder and CEO, Next Thing Co.
Matt Johnson, Founder and CEO, Bare Conductive
The diverse group of participating speakers from disparate fields will focus on manufacturing, entrepreneurism, the Maker economy, design, fashion, government, and health, with a look at how the New York metro area is experiencing its own Maker Pro revolution.
The day-long event offers attendees the opportunity for engagement with some of the leaders of the Maker Movement whose focus espouses such current trends and themes as, “The Gig Economy,” “The Business of Making,” “The Resurgence of Making in America,” “Growing the Maker Ecosystem,” “Workforce Development,” and “Makers and the Opportunity Economy.”
Joining Dougherty are program committee members and co-chairs Peter Hirshberg, chairman of the Re:Imagine Group; and Travis Good, writer, educator, and Maker. The event is presented by returning sponsors Intel and Cisco; MakeBlock and FLIR systems join as first time participating sponsors; and, special support for the “Evening of Innovation” is provided by Sprout by HP.
Tickets are available in advance for $295 until Friday, September 18. For more information about attending MakerCon New York, the speaker lineup, session descriptions, and to register, visit makercon.com. The schedule of events for Maker Faire Week and World Maker Faire can be found at makerfaire.com.
About MAKER MEDIA
Maker Media is a global platform for connecting makers with each other, with products and services, and with our partners. Through media, events and ecommerce, Maker Media serves a growing community of makers who bring a DIY mindset to technology. Whether as hobbyists or professionals, makers are creative, resourceful and curious, developing projects that demonstrate how they can interact with the world around them. The launch of Make: magazine in 2005, followed by Maker Faire in 2006, jumpstarted a worldwide Maker Movement, which is transforming innovation, culture and education. Headquartered in San Francisco, Maker Media is the publisher of Make: magazine and the producer of Maker Faire. It also develops “getting started” kits and books that are sold in its Maker Shed store as well as in retail channels. The Make: brand caters to a universe of more than 25 million makers collectively across its Make: magazine, makezine.com, Maker Faires, and Maker Shed properties.
About Maker Faire Week New York
Maker Faire Week is a week-long celebration for Makers with activities, events, meetups, parties and more, all focused around the Maker Movement. With reach across all sectors, including tech, design, education, city planning and artistry, Makers will enjoy meeting and collaborating with their peers at events around the greater New York area from September 21-27, culminating with World Maker Faire. Maker Faire Week New York also hosts signature events presented by Maker Media including MakerCon, the professional conference by Makers for Makers on September 24 and World Maker Faire on September 26 and 27. With over 150 Maker Faires worldwide, Maker Faire Week New York is just one of the ways that the Maker Movement reaches over 1 million people, including families, educators, inventors, artists, corporate professionals and investors each year. Learn more about Maker Faire Week New York here.
