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America Makes Honors YBI’s Barb Ewing with the Its Distinguished Collaborator Award

June 27, 2016 | Categories: America Makes News

Award Presented at the Institute’s Annual Program Review and Members Meeting (PRMM) and Technical Review and Exchange (TRX)

Youngstown, Ohio — September 27, 2016. America Makes, the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute, is pleased to announce that it honored Barb Ewing, Chief Operating Officer of the Youngstown Business Incubator (YBI) with the America Makes Distinguished Collaborator Award for her dedication and contributions to the mission of America Makes and the promotion of entrepreneurialism within additive manufacturing (AM) sector to accelerate these technologies into the mainstream manufacturing industry. This announcement came during the annual America Makes Program Review and Member Meeting (PRMM) held September 27-29, 2016, at Stambaugh Auditorium in Youngstown, Ohio.

Driven by the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM), America Makes is the national accelerator for additive manufacturing and the first Institute within the Manufacturing USA (the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation). Founded in 2012, America Makes is structured as a public-private partnership with member organizations from industry, academia, government, non-government agencies, and workforce and economic development resources, sharing a common goal to innovate and accelerate AM to increase our nation’s global manufacturing competitiveness.

“On behalf of all of us at America Makes & NCDMM, it is my honor to present the Distinguished Collaborator Award to Barb Ewing of the Youngstown Business Incubator,” said America Makes Operations Director Rob Gorham. “Barb over the last several years has not been just a friend, but also someone who strongly believes and supports what we are trying to do here at America Makes and relates it back to the mission and processes of the Youngstown Business Incubator. Over and over again, Barb has come to me, conferring on important areas or initiatives that America Makes needs to be involved in and often, in many cases represents the Institute on my behalf. I personally am so happy that Barb is receiving the America Makes Distinguished Collaborator Award because she is so deserving of this recognition. We appreciate all that you do for America Makes. Congratulations.”

Established in 2014, the America Makes Distinguished Collaborator Award recognizes an individual or a group of individuals with exceptional commitment and dedication to the advancement of AM technology, practices, and innovation in the manufacturing industry. The Institute honors the recognized individual(s) for cultivating effective collaborative relationships with academia, government, and industry, and contributing to the mission of America Makes. America Makes Distinguished Collaborator Award recipients are presented with an award of an artistic rendering of an American Badger and a Coyote, a symbolic representation of the collaborative association these two animal foes have forged. This year’s award was designed and produced in collaboration with America Makes, Bally Design, and ExOne.

“Barb is an extraordinary collaborator,” said Ed Morris, America Makes Director. “From the very beginning, Barb has been instrumental in so many aspects of the ongoing success of America Makes. She is a trusted advisor. Barb’s vision and entrepreneurial spirit, her instincts and insight, and her determination and dedication to the revitalization of not just Youngstown, but the overall manufacturing industry, are simply unmatched.”

 

In her acceptance speech, Ms. Ewing said, “I am so honored. I certainly have to say this is an award that also goes to my YBI team, as all of you know, they step up to the plate time and time again. I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention Youngstown State University (YSU), as they are another great partner. Andrew Carnegie said that ‘teamwork is the fuel that allows common people to achieve uncommon things.’ America Makes is truly doing ‘uncommon things,’ and I am very honored to be a part of it. Thank you very much.”

As the COO of the YBI, a non-profit, social enterprise organization with a primary mission to accelerate the start-up and development of scalable, technology-based companies in northeast Ohio, Ms. Ewing works to secure funding to expand both the physical campus and operations of the organization, oversees daily operations, and continues to build on the collaborative relationships YBI currently enjoys. YBI was one of the original members in the Institute and today, remains a trusted and valued member within the America Makes membership community, due in large part to the work of Ms. Ewing.

Before joining YBI, Ms. Ewing worked in U.S. Representative Tim Ryan’s (D-13 Ohio) office as his Economic Development Director—a position she held for eight years. Prior to that, she served for eight years as the VP of Public Policy for the Youngstown Warren Regional Chamber, where Ms. Ewing lobbied to bring state and federal funding back to the Mahoning Valley for community development projects. Ms. Ewing began her career at the Better Business Bureau of the Mahoning Valley. A Valley native, Ms. Ewing holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in American Studies from Kent State University and a Master’s degree from Capella University.

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About America Makes

America Makes is the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute. As the national accelerator for additive manufacturing (AM), America Makes is the nation’s leading and collaborative partner in AM and 3DP technology research, discovery, creation, and innovation. Structured as a public-private partnership with member organizations from industry, academia, government, non-government agencies, and workforce and economic development resources, we are working together to innovate and accelerate AM to increase our nation’s global manufacturing competitiveness. Based in Youngstown, Ohio, America Makes is the first Institute within the Manufacturing USA (formerly the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation) infrastructure and is driven by the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM). For more information about America Makes, visit http://americamakes.us.

About NCDMM

The NCDMM delivers optimized manufacturing solutions that enhance the quality, affordability, maintainability, and rapid deployment of existing and yet-to-be developed defense systems. This is accomplished through collaboration with government, industry, and academic organizations to promote the implementation of best practices to key stakeholders through the development and delivery of disciplined training, advanced technologies, and methodologies. For additional information, visit the NCDMM at ncdmm.org.

About YBI

The Youngstown Edison Incubator Corporation, operating as the Youngstown Business Incubator (YBI), is a 501(c) 3 charitable, non-profit corporation. With a physical presence in downtown Youngstown, it is an active collaborator and resource provider in a 21-county region of northeast Ohio, but most specifically in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties. YBI focuses its marketing, portfolio company recruiting, networking and resource acquisition efforts on a larger geographic market comprised of the Cleveland to Pittsburgh corridor seeking to attract those technology entrepreneurs to the Mahoning Valley. For more information about YBI, visit www.ybi.org.

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