Category: Meet a Maker

  • Reflections from Maker Ed Staff

    Reflections from Maker Ed Staff

    Some of our current team members have written a reflection about their work at Maker Ed that they would like to share with the community.  From Dora Medrano Ramos: While I am deeply saddened by the news of Maker Ed’s closure, I am also proud of the incredible work our team has been able to…

  • Making as Healing: Reflecting On An In-Person Workshop for Oakland Educators

    Making as Healing: Reflecting On An In-Person Workshop for Oakland Educators

    The last several years have been incredibly difficult for educators. On June 4th, we celebrated a milestone by having our first in-person event since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. For this event, we collaborated, co-designed, and co-facilitated with Agency by Design Oakland (AbDO), their Director Paula Mitchell and phenomenal Oakland Educator, Abdul-Haqq Khalifah. During…

  • Meet Zahra Syed – Weaving Light into Making

    Meet Zahra Syed – Weaving Light into Making

    In this post, we meet Zahra Syed, She/Her, and she is Maker Ed’s Operations Manager. Tell us a little more about you. Hi! I am Zahra. Telling stories, relationships and scrappy making are my positive obsessions. I love sharing food with family and community (my people) and indulging in joyful, fun, leisurely conversations. I love…

  • Calling All Oakland Educators: Making As Healing Workshop

    Calling All Oakland Educators: Making As Healing Workshop

    Are you looking for ways to revive, restore, and reset as you move into summer? Join Maker Ed and Agency by Design Oakland in this day-long, in-person workshop where we will create a space for educators to come together, practice individual and collective healing practices through making, and center community, care, and connection. We will…

  • Meet Donaldo Almazan – Artist and Engineer Designing Maker Ed’s Online Community

    Meet Donaldo Almazan – Artist and Engineer Designing Maker Ed’s Online Community

    In this post, we meet Donaldo Almazan (he/him), an artist and engineer helping to create Maker Ed’s online community for makers and educators, which is launching this summer! Tell us a little more about you. Hello! I’m Donaldo, a Community Engagement Co-lead at Maker Ed. I’m originally from South Texas (Rio Grande Valley ☀️ )…

  • Meet Isabel Emmons — Designing for Human Happiness

    In this post, we meet Isabel, (she/her/hers) a positive and cognitive psychologist focused on bridging joy and play with community engagement and facilitation to build a fun, diverse, robust Maker Ed network.  Tell us a little more about you. I studied human happiness and brain science because I’m interested in the ways we understand, cultivate,…

  • A Reflection from Aaron Vanderwerff

    As I transition into a new role at a different organization, I am reflecting on what I am grateful for and proud of from my time with this remarkable community. During my four years at Maker Ed, I have been grateful to increasingly center equity and liberatory practice. Offering professional development centered in making &…

  • Meet a Maker: Sharon Lee

    This profile is part of a blog series called Meet a Maker, where we’re highlighting the experiences and insights of maker educators in Maker Ed’s programs. The Basics Full Name: Sharon Lee Maker Ed Program, Site Name & Site Location: Maker Corps, Stony Point Elementary – Albemarle County, Keswick, VA Hometown: Annandale, VA Background: Current student at the University of Virginia studying…

  • Meet a Maker: James Oplinger

    This profile is part of a blog series called Meet a Maker, where we’re highlighting the experiences and insights of maker educators in Maker Ed’s programs. The Basics Full Name: James Logan Oplinger Maker Ed Program, Site Name & Site Location: Maker Corps, Making & Tinkering @ ASU Camps, located at the ASU Chandler Innovation Center (within TechShop) Hometown: Apache…

  • Meet a Maker: Bobby Raggazino

    This profile is part of a blog series called Meet a Maker, where we’re highlighting the experiences and insights of maker educators in Maker Ed’s programs. The Basics Full Name: Robert Thomas Raggazino, but most people call me Bobby or Ragz Maker Ed Program, Site Name & Site Location: Maker Corps, The Maker Jawn Initiative at The Free…