Fabbers Honored at White House Week of Making

The Fab Foundation is pleased to announce a number of special activities during the National Week of Making held in the United States from June 17 to 23, 2016.

White House Champions of Change

The White House recognized ten individuals as “Champions of Change” in the Making category. The White House says the selection process identified Americans who exhibited “personal passion and tireless efforts to make advances in technology and platforms, educational opportunities, or spaces that empower even more Americans to become tinkerers, inventors, and entrepreneurs”.

The Fab Foundation is thrilled that three of the ten Champions of Change are associated with Fab Labs:

• Umberto Crenca, co-founder and artistic director of AS220 in Providence, RI
• Renee Fredericks, director of Youth Education and Employment Services at Cook Inlet Tribal Council (CITC) Fab Lab in Anchorage, Alaska
• Sonya Pryor-Jones, Chief Implementation Officer at the Fab Foundation

The White House ceremony recognizing the Champions of Change took place on Friday June 17 at 1 p.m. The event featured remarks by U.S. Chief Technology Officer Megan Smith and Thomas Kalil, Deputy Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The program was live-streamed on the White House website at www.whitehouse.gov/live/ and is in the archives.

Capitol Hill Maker Faire

The Capitol Hill Maker Faire featured a day of panel discussions. Fab Foundation Director Sherry Lassiter explored The Future of Making with Dale Dougherty, founder of MAKE: Magazine and Kipp Bradford from the MIT Media Lab. In another panel Donald Martin, IU1 Assistant Executive Director and Fab Lab Coordinator in Grindstone, PA joined a group discussing Making and Education: K-12. For details, go to the Capitol Hill Maker Faire Web page.

Local Events

Many more events beyond Washington, D.C. happened in communities throughout the country. Thank you everyone for a FABulous National Week of Making!