HOLLYWOOD, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Additive Manufacturer Green Trade Association (AMGTA), a new green trade group created to promote additive manufacturing, announced today that it had hired Sherry Handel as its first Executive Director. The AMGTA was launched in November 2019 to promote the environmental benefits of additive manufacturing (AM) over traditional methods of manufacturing. The AMGTA is a non-commercial, unaffiliated organization open to any additive manufacturer or industry stakeholder that meets certain criteria relating to sustainability of production or process.
After an extensive search through a recruiting firm, Ms. Handel was hired in late February 2020 to lead the new nonprofit trade association. “We are exceptionally pleased that Sherry is onboard and look forward to working closely with her and our industry founding members to build the foundation of the AMGTA,” said Brian Neff, Chairman of the AMGTA Board of Directors. “Sherry’s self-starter drive and nonprofit management knowledge—coupled with years of experience building and growing startup organizations—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. 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. Sherry brings the talent, passion for sustainability, as well as the background and experience required, to execute on the AMGTA’s mission and grow the organization. In her short time here, she has really hit the ground running.”
Ms. Handel is an award-winning leader focused on making a meaningful impact through nonprofit management, entrepreneurship, and volunteering. She has board-level experience scaling nonprofits in the sustainability and tech startup education and training sectors. Ms. Handel is the Co-founder and previous Chief Operating Officer of Energy Harvesters LLC, a clean-tech startup developing the Walking Charger™, a patented device that charges smartphones and other mobile device batteries as the user walks. She earned a B.S. 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, Ms. Handel will focus on educating the public and industry about the positive environmental benefits of additive manufacturing, promote the adoption of additive manufacturing as an alternative to traditional manufacturing, develop best practices for additive manufacturing, and help the organization’s members grow their businesses and acquire new customers. Through Ms. Handel’s leadership, the AMGTA will engage in marketing and advertising campaigns, sponsor and conduct research and publish the results, and grow the organization’s membership.
Ms. Handel’s first public appearance as AMGTA’s Executive Director will be at RAPID + TCT, North America’s largest additive manufacturing event, to be held at the Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, California on April 21, 2020, where she will serve as moderator of the Thought Leadership Panel on sustainability entitled, “Additive Manufacturing and Green Manufacturing a Crucial Partnership.”
About AMGTA. The AMGTA is a non-commercial, unaffiliated organization that is open to any manufacturer or industry stakeholder that meets the following basic criteria:
- Has made a significant investment in the growth and ultimate success of the AM industry.
- Has adopted proactive internal policies relating to waste reduction and operational sustainability.
- Is a member of the Green Business Bureau or another similar certifying agency.
- Is willing to actively participate in the advancement and non-commercial promotion of the environmental benefits of AM within end markets and with the general public as a whole.
