copy paste from my email…just if you’re interested
Join us for NOMCON 2021!
June 23-26, 2021
From Local to Global: Supporting Local Makers to Create a Resilient Movement for Positive Global Change
We’re less than 50 days away from this year’s NOMCON, and we’re excited to release the names and bios of two of our incredible keynotes!
Jean-Claude Brizard is President and CEO of Digital Promise, a global, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization focused on accelerating innovation in education. He is the former Senior Advisor and Deputy Director in US Programs at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation where he focused on PK-16 education across five communities in four states. He also led several strategies to help close the racial and economic achievement gaps in Washington State’s educational system as well as support the growth and sustainability of the state’s public charter school sector.
Mr. Brizard is the former Chief Executive of Chicago Public Schools. Prior to his appointment in Chicago, he was Superintendent of Schools for the Rochester, NY School District. Under Mr. Brizard’s leadership, both the Chicago Public Schools and the Rochester City School District saw substantial improvements in student performance. Mr. Brizard’s experience also includes a 21-year career as an educator and administrator with the NYC Department of Education. He served as a Regional Superintendent, supervising more than 100 schools in the Borough of Brooklyn and he also served as the system’s Executive Director for its 400 secondary schools. He is a Fellow of the Broad Center, a Fellow of the Pahara-Aspen Institute, and a member of the Aspen Institute Global Leadership Network.
Ilana Preuss is the Founder of Recast City LLC, a consulting firm that works with local leaders, real estate developers, city and other civic leaders to integrate space for small-scale producers into redevelopment projects and place-based economic development. She is passionate about making great places and sees that small-scale manufacturers are a missing piece in today’s real estate and economic development efforts. With over 20 years of experience in community development, Ms. Preuss projects at Recast City span the country – from Washington, D.C. to Honolulu, HI. Through work with small-scale manufacturing business owners, real estate developers, foundations, city planning and economic development offices, improvement districts, and mayors, the projects go from idea to action to build great places with vibrant economies.
Ms. Preuss’ forthcoming book, Recast Your City: How to Save your Downtown with Small-Scale Manufacturing, will be released by Island Press in 2021. In 2017, Ms. Preuss co-authored, Made in PLACE: Small-scale manufacturing and placemaking, in partnership with Smart Growth America and funded by a grant from U.S. EDA, and she co-authored, Discovering Your City’s Maker Economy, for National League of Cities, in partnership with Etsy and Urban Manufacturing Alliance. Ms. Preuss is an experienced speaker, see her TEDx presentation, “The Economic Power of Great Places,” and keynote speeches such as at the Northeast Maker Summit and the North Carolina Main Street conference. Previously, Ilana was Vice President & Chief of Staff at Smart Growth America and worked in the US EPA Smart Growth Division, and she currently serves on the Board of Directors for the national non-profit, Incremental Development Alliance.
This year’s NOMCON theme, “From Local to Global: Supporting Local Makers to Create a Resilient Movement for Positive Global Changes”, focuses on how we can magnify the local activism and impact of local communities of makers. This impact was evidenced not only by the tremendous amount of personal protective equipment and medical supplies (over 47 million units) produced by makers during the COVID-19 pandemic, but also in the impact that local makers have in sectors as varied as education, workforce and economic development, entrepreneurship, job creation, defense, innovation, and beyond.
We’re thrilled to host this year’s conference on the virtual platform, Gather.Town,* and we’re thrilled to have Glimpse as our Network Sponsor, providing us with a dynamic networking experience. We h ope to see you there, June 23-26, 2021!
Learn more about NOMCON at: www.NOMCON.org
Please Note: NOMCON 2021 is only possible with the generous support and partnership of the following organizations: