Our Mission
Benicia Makerspace is a place where people come together to learn, collaborate, invent, prototype, and test new ideas using state-of-the-art equipment. We are an IRS tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization, incorporated in California as a Non-Profit Corporation. Our space is a community shop where students, hobbyists, and entrepreneurs can make things, use shared equipment, learn new skills, and incubate new business ideas. Areas of interest include but are not limited to, 3D printing, IoT (Internet Of Things) electric vehicles, alternative energy, sustainability, resource conservation, robotics, Arduino, Raspberry Pi, woodworking, and metalworking.
We host regular public lectures at our facility and Maker events at area schools. We are enthusiastic supporters of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) and view it as an essential part of education. We also maintain a small computer lab with a wide variety of art, design, and technology-related software.
Location
If you would like to meet the Benicia Makerspace team, sign up for our Meetup group and come to one of our open house times that occur the first Monday of every month from 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm.
Our workshop is located at:
4592 East 2nd St., Suite O&P
Benicia, CA 94510
Board Members
Ben Parsons
Treasurer
Ben has founded multiple technology start-ups and is currently Founder and Owner of FiberOpticCableShop.com. He has served on many boards of directors of profit and non-profit organizations as well as city and county commissions. He was involved in the start-up of MasterCard and electronic banking and has interests in electronics, photography, and wine making. He thinks that Benicia Makerspace is a great opportunity for Benicia and nearby residents and an outstanding vehicle to interest our youth in hands-on skills.
Treasurer
Jim Kennon
President
I have over 40 years of experience in high tech manufacturing, R&D, and management in the Particle accelerator, precision optics and semiconductor industries. I am currently a consultant and partner of Akumen Engineering LLC. I have been a director of the Benicia Makerspace since 2014 and enjoy sharing knowledge with our members as well as supporting STEAM education in our community.
President
Lee Standen
Board Member
I'm a programmer by profession but I thoroughly enjoy the process of creating things in all media. I'm always willing to learn about new things, and to share my knowledge with others curious like myself.
Board Member
Past Board Members
These are past members of our board, listed here as a thank you for their hard work and service to help make Benicia Makerspace a better place.
Aaron Newcomb
Past Board Member
Aaron has been tearing things apart to see how they work since he was old enough to hold a screwdriver. He works at AppDynamics in San Francisco, CA and hosts online technology videos on the TWiT TV network. He has also written a book called Linux For Makers to help answer some of the basic questions about Linux that new users of the operating system might have.
Treasurer
Bill Elliott
Board Member
Maker, inventor, mechanical engineer, car geek, consultant, teacher and lifetime student. I have a degree in mechanical engineering from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and enjoyed a career in engineering spanning US Navy torpedos, Peterbilt trucks, robotic swimming pool cleaners, oxygen compressor systems, fiberoptic fabrication machinery and NASA earth science satellites. I retired in 2012. My current interests include electric-powered radio-controlled model airplanes, Arduino micro controller projects, motorhome travel, a tropical fish aquarium and a collection of “good stuff” for nebulous future projects. My motto is: “Be Prepared” (Eagle Scout, 1968). My description of the Benicia Makerspace is: “like a 24 hour gym except with machine tools instead of workout machines”.
