Using 3D Printing To Give The World A "Helping Hand," A Special talk by Joel Leonard & Maria Esquela.
Long time friends of Red Mountain Makers, Joel Leonard and Maria Esquela, will be passing through Birmingham this week on their way to present at the Shreveport-Bossier Maker Faire. They have graciously offered to stop by Red Mountain Makers to give a special talk about their work using 3D printing to make prosthetic ands and other humanitarian projects. Please join us for this talk on Tuesday April 8th from 6 to 8 pm.
This event is open to the public with a suggested donation of $10. All proceeds will go directly to offset travel costs for Maria and Joel as well as support their ongoing projects. Donations can be provided by registering for this event online, or in cash at the event. If you can't make it to the event but would still like to support these makers, you can also do so using the "make a donation" ticket type in the registration page. Please read below for more information about our presenters and their work:
Maria Esquela is a founding member of the e-NABLE Alliance (www.enablealliance.org) and the e-NABLE Community, a global ecosystem with multiple communities of practice. Its members include need knowers, visionary designers of all ages, and professionals in volunteer roles. It is committed project based learning and creating affordable solutions for people around the world. It donates training and access to technology. It is known for creating and sharing the design for a 3D printable, body powered robotic hand, designated by the FDA as a “Class One Medical Device with Exceptions” and maintaining a collection of 3d printable prosthetics at the NIH 3D Print Exchange. Our community makes and gives away arms, hands, myoelectic upper limb devices and exoskeletons, lower limb devices for the lower legs and feet, over 200 designs for tools, tactile learning manipulatives helpful for people with vision impairments or on the autism spectrum. It also has curriculum, and guidelines for 3D printing Braille, raised black line, ethical use of blockchain for humanitarian and medical programs and manufacturing of ethical filament from waste plastic. In 2020 we included pandemic and disaster response in our mission and activities, horrified by the failure of support systems and supply chains around the world. We continue to promote Open Source Medical Supplies, most recently addressing the need for tourniquets and oxygen concentrators in the Ukraine.
Joel Leonard is a recognized leader at building pipelines of skilled technicians, and helping grow respect and appreciation of the maintenance profession. With over 30 years of professional experience, Joel has helped all types of people, from ex-offenders looking for jobs, to C-Suite executives looking for talent, as well as top government and educational leaders looking to grow talent pools to retain and attract employers. For over 20 years Joel has adopted the skills and maintenance crises as his life's mission. From speaking at international conferences, speaking before US Congress, on CNBC, NPR, creating an online TV Show, writing hundreds of columns about solutions to skills gap and working in the trenches of building pipelines of skilled technicians in aviation, machining and maintenance sectors. In 2014 Joel helped set up a makerspace in Greensboro where 16 companies were formed, 9 patents filed and over 50 job seekers got employment. Joel has counseled college presidents, executives, governmental leaders on how to build a stronger workforce and prepare for future talent needs.
Joel won numerous American Business Publication Editors awards for his columns, awarded the VFW Americanism Award for helping place veterans into employment, was given Greensboro Community Foundation Game-Changer Award and January 4th 2016 received the Conover Citizenship Award. In 2022 Joel was included into the NC Order of Long Leaf Pine, the most prestigious honor for a citizen of North Carolina for his efforts build future generations of skilled technicians.
