AS220 is very excited to announce that our Founder, Umberto Crenca, will be one of ten individuals from around the country recognized by the White House today as “White House Champions of Change for Making.” The event will be live streamed at www.whitehouse.gov/live/ today at 1:00 PM ET. Follow the conversation at #WHChamps and #NationOfMakers.

These individuals were selected by the White House for their 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.

“At the heart of the nationally-known makerspace AS220 is Umberto Crenca. Umberto has focused his work on building a collaborative community committed to supporting exchange of knowledge between innovative makers and creative thinkers. He was recently awarded honorary doctorate degrees from Brown University and Roger Williams University for his commitment to community development, his work to help revitalize downtown Providence, and his success at creating opportunity for artists and makers.”

For those interested in the Maker movement and culture at AS220, we recommend checking out the AS220 Industries and the variety of affordable workshops that they have to offer! Also, mark your calendars for the 2016 Rhode Island Mini Maker Faire happening at Foo Fest on August 13th! Already a mker and want to showcase your work? The call for makers is now open!

This celebration comes on the anniversary of the first-ever White House Maker Faire in June 2014 where President Obama launched the Nation of Makers initiative, an all-hands-on-deck call to make sure more students, entrepreneurs, and Americans of all backgrounds have access to a new class of technologies—such as 3D printers, laser cutters, and desktop machine tools—that are enabling more Americans to design, build, and manufacture just about anything.  Last year, the President expanded the work and asked “all Americans to help unlock the potential of our Nation and ensure these opportunities reach all our young people, regardless of who they are or where they come from.”

The Champions of Change program was created as an opportunity for the White House to feature individuals doing extraordinary things to empower and inspire members of their communities. The event will feature remarks by U.S. Chief Technology Officer Megan Smith and Thomas Kalil, Deputy Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

AS220 is also featured in the lead chapter of the newly-launched “Maker City Playbook”, a project “designed to help cities understand the Maker movement and the impact it is having on economic opportunity” that’s being launched today in conjunction with the White House honor.

Congratulations to Bert!