America Makes Elects 11 Leaders to 2026-28 Executive Committee

America Makes, the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute, has announced 11 new members of its Executive Committee for the 2026-2028 term. Eight were elected from the institute's industry, nonprofit, and academic membership. Three government representatives were appointed.

Who Is on the Committee

The elected members are Brett Connor, chief manufacturing officer at SME; Sandra DeVincent Wolf, executive director of the Carnegie Mellon University Manufacturing Futures Institute; Brian Fisher, technical fellow for additive manufacturing at RTX; Jonaaron Jones, president and general manager of the additive manufacturing division at Beehive Industries; Mark Norfolk, director of government programs at Edison Welding Institute (EWI); Hector Sandoval, technical fellow for additive manufacturing at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control; Mark Shaw, chief engineer of defense industrial base strategy at the National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR); and Mike Vasquez, founder and CEO of 3Degrees.

The three appointed government representatives are Paul Gradl, principal engineer at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center; Laura Macht, an engineer at the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command's Aviation and Missile Center; and Paul Witherell, associate program manager for the Measurement Science for Additive Manufacturing Program at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

What the Committee Does

Each member serves a two-year term. The Executive Committee meets regularly to advise America Makes on strategy, policy, and advocacy priorities. That includes intellectual property policy, technical scope, membership value, workforce education, and partnership strategy. The committee's recommendations shape how the institute allocates funding and selects new projects.

The committee's first tasks will include electing a chairperson and a secretary. Those roles set the agenda and represent the committee between meetings.

Why This Timing Matters

The new term begins as additive manufacturing is receiving sustained attention from the U.S. Department of Defense. America Makes recently announced six winners of a $15 million Organic Industrial Base Modernization Challenge, distributing funds across companies working on defense-relevant AM processes. The incoming Executive Committee will oversee how that money moves into production-ready technology.

Lockheed Martin, RTX, Beehive Industries, and NIAR all have a seat at the table this term, which signals continued defense-sector influence over the institute's roadmap. NASA's presence through Paul Gradl keeps space-based additive manufacturing on the agenda. NIST's involvement ties the committee's work to measurement standards that affect the entire industry.