AM Green Trade Association appoints Sherry Handel its Executive Director
March 3, 2020
The Additive Manufacturer Green Trade Association (AMGTA), a Florida, USA-based green trade group created to promote Additive Manufacturing, has appointed Sherry Handel its first Executive Director. The AMGTA was launched in November 2019 to promote the environmental benefits of AM over traditional methods of manufacturing. It is a non-commercial, unaffiliated organisation and is open to any AM user or industry stakeholder that meets certain criteria relating to sustainability of its production or process.
“We are exceptionally pleased that Sherry is on-board and look forward to working closely with her and our industry founding members to build the foundation of the AMGTA,” stated Brian Neff, Chairman of the AMGTA Board of Directors and CEO of AM service provider Sintavia, which launched the group. “Sherry’s self-starter drive and non-profit management knowledge – coupled with years of experience building and growing start-up organisations—make her well-positioned to lead our trade association going forward.”
“We founded the AMGTA because too often in Additive Manufacturing we focus on the cost and time benefits of the technology, and do not equally consider the very real environmental benefits of AM over traditional manufacturing,” he continued. “These benefits include improved end-use design utility and improved industrial ecology of the fabrication process itself. The AMGTA’s purpose is to raise awareness of these benefits within end market segments, in order to accelerate the adoption rate of the technology.”
Handel has board-level experience scaling nonprofits in the sustainability and tech startup education and training sectors. She is the co-founder and previous Chief Operating Officer of Energy Harvesters LLC, a clean-tech start-up developing the Walking Charger™, a patented device that charges smartphones and other mobile device batteries as the user walks. She earned a BS in Business Administration from Northeastern University and has studied sustainability at the University of Vermont and Boston Architectural College.
As Executive Director of the AMGTA, Handel is expected to focus on educating the public and industry about the positive environmental benefits of Additive Manufacturing, promote the adoption of AM as an alternative to traditional manufacturing, develop best practices for AM, and help the organisation’s members grow their businesses and acquire new customers. Under Handel’s leadership, the AMGTA will engage in marketing and advertising campaigns, sponsor and conduct research and publish the results, and grow the organisation’s membership.
Handel’s first public appearance as AMGTA’s Executive Director will be at AM trade fair and conference RAPID + TCT, Anaheim, California, USA, on April 21, 2020, where she will serve as moderator of a Thought Leadership Panel on sustainability: ‘Additive Manufacturing and Green Manufacturing: A Crucial Partnership.’
