Katie has been a member of Ace Makerspace since May 2023, and she stepped into the role of Secretary on the board in October 2024. She brings a wealth of experience in operations from her career as a corporate executive assistant, supporting volunteer coordination and ensuring smooth day-to-day functions at Ace.
An artist at heart, Katie is a musician, shadow puppeteer, and most recently, an installation artist. Her recent large-scale installation, Adventures in Shadowland, utilized Ace’s laser and CNC lab, was a Center Camp feature at Burning Man 2024. Passionate about fostering creativity, she looks forward to contributing her organizational skills to the growing Ace community.
Sylvia joined the interim Ace Board to help with the transition following the sudden passing of Ace’s executive director, Rachel “Crafty” Sadd. Sylvia looks forward to contributing to Ace’s continuing mission of building community for curious and friendly creators and makers.
Sylvia first took woodworking classes at Ace during the pandemic and was pleased to find a supportive and accepting community for shared learning. She still proudly uses her solid wood cutting board on a daily basis. Sylvia has been an Ace Member since 2021, was an integral part of the Program Development Team for the CNC Router, and has volunteered with Team Textiles since early 2023.
Matti first joined Ace in 2019 as part of the Monster Corps volunteer program where they supported Python development on the Fob All The Things Project which enables members to access the space 24/7. Several months later they joined the leadership team where they served as Vice President and Tech Director until 2022. As Tech Director they facilitated volunteers for tech projects and used their expertise in web development functions to implement the occupancy tracking and contact tracing system that enabled Ace to remain open through pandemic.
After the passing of long-time Executive Director, Rachel “Crafty” Sadd in 2024, they joined the Board of Directors to help the organization move forward with a focus on creating an even more welcoming, accessible space and to ensure that their perspective as a trans, immigrant, neurodivergent, person is represented at the leadership level. For them, Ace Makerspace offers a refreshing alternative to traditional male dominated hacker/makerspaces and they are excited to help move the mission forward.
In their own life, being a part of the creative Ace Community has played a key supporting their mental health. They use the space to co-work, make art projects, and laser-cut custom gifts for friends. When they aren’t at Ace they love playing guitar and keyboard, writing songs, biking, and hanging out with their adorable cats, Neptune and Buzz.
Steven joined in September 2018 Ace specifically to help with our “financial things” and support the community. He brings professional experience working with schools across the country. He enjoys helping non-profits worry less about the finances and more about the programming. After moving across the country three times (!) he looks forward to learning the laser and enjoying all the Bay Area has to offer.
David has been an Ace member since 2019, and is thrilled to serve on the board because Ace has provided him with a piece of his life he didn’t think he needed and wants to give back. He loves how Ace enables people from all walks of life to make amazing things (like sushi robots) and is excited to help Ace reach folks everywhere, especially those with less access to creative and technical resources.
Though David initially joined Ace for the Workshop, he ended up falling in love with the laser cutter. He now teaches Laser Basics classes and always looks forward to the look of awe and wonder on student’s faces when they burn their first project, a nametag. Leveraging his professional experience, David also helps to manage the IT needs of the organization. Over the years he’s participated in Ace’s mutual aid collaboration with Lead to Life, taken classes in each of Ace’s Program Areas, and has provided mentorship and support to countless laser cutting novices. As a board member, he’s stoked to be a part of big decisions that will help Ace thrive, become more accessible, and even more Ace!
