Episode 48: Celebrating American Manufacturing at 250 with MEP Leaders of the Mid-Atlantic

Happy Fourth of July week! This is part two of our three-episode special edition of Manufacturing an American Century, marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. As in each episode, I sit down with manufacturing leaders from the original states of 1776 to talk about manufacturing’s place in their state’s history and its importance today.

Once again, our guests are the state leaders of the NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP); the federally-supported program operating since 1988, that helps small and mid-sized manufacturers in every state stay competitive. Please join us for four insightful conversations on how the original states in the Mid-Atlantic region, to include Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey, developed from humble beginnings to power America’s rise as an industrial nation. You’ll hear from each state’s MEP leader on a bit of that heritage and on what their state produces today:

• Mike Kelleher — CEO & Executive Director, Maryland MEP (MD)
• Chris Scafario — President & CEO, Delaware Valley Industrial Resource Center (PA)
• Amy Erickson — Executive Director, Long Island MEP Program (NY)
• Peter Connolly — Chief Executive Officer, New Jersey MEP (NJ)

Our thanks to Mike, Chris, Amy, and Peter for sharing their time and their stories, and to North Carolina’s KeAnne Hoeg for suggesting this idea and arranging the interviews. Enjoy!

AMCC’s podcast is made possible in part by the expertise of Mike McAllen, founder of Podcasting4Associations. Are you part of an association also looking to produce a podcast? Let us get you in touch with Mike.

Thank you to the Economic Development Administration for their partnership in producing this podcast. This podcast was prepared in part using Federal funds under award 3070145 from the Economic Development Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Economic Development Administration or the U.S. Department of Commerce.