Welcome Bronwen Densmore, Public Lab's new Open Hardware Community Manager!

[Jeffrey Warren]

We’re excited to introduce Bronwen Densmore, who’ll be joining the Public Lab staff on Monday!

We’re working hard to plan out the next steps for the Kits Initiative, from the basic Kits experience (unboxing, documentation) to communication (a clear upgrade schedule, for example) to partnerships with those who have kits of their own. The Kits Initiative has long been a special and unique part of the work we do, and we’re working to ensure that Kits helps to support and amplify the work happening around Public Lab.

Here’s Bronwen’s bio:

Bronwen is a librarian and fabrication specialist, with a special interest in evolving forms of research and open access scholarship. She has experience in digital and analog design and construction, having most recently worked as a manager at SVA’s Visible Futures Lab, where she taught classes in mechanical toy design. Her interest in communal learning and hands-on making as social practice inform her research, design and building strategies. She first encountered Public Lab at a kite-building workshop in 2012, and became an organizer in 2013.

Bronwen has a BA in Interdisciplinary Studies from Oberlin College, an MFA in writing from NYU and an MLIS in Information Studies from Drexel University. She likes to explore the urban waste streams of New York City and surrounding regions, and can often be found tracking landfill erosion along Dead Horse Bay.

Among other things, we’ll be working with her on:

• A refresh to the Kits online store
• Refreshing existing kits and exploring new ones through partnerships
• Planning ahead for an expanded lending library program

As many of you know, Bronwen has been an organizer with Public Lab for years, and has published under the username @bronwen on PublicLab.org. Starting now, you can reach her at bro...@publiclab.org or at ki...@publiclab.org.

We’ll be back with more soon – stay tuned!