Meet Our Team
We’re teachers, artists, scientists, technologists, activists, tinkerers, parents…makers. We believe the future of learning is in creativity, problem-solving, and teamwork
Stephen Gilman
Stephen is the founder and executive director of MakerState. Stephen and his son Ben started MakerState to bring fun STEAM building and learning projects in robotics, coding, game design and more to all kids, schools and communities (STEAM: science, tech, engineering, arts, math). Stephen’s mission is to help transform K-12 education from lecture-based memorization to student-centered, inquiry-based, experiential learning, empowering our kids with life-transforming passions and creative masteries in 21st skills and 21st century technology. Stephen is a founding board member of the Urban Assembly Maker Academy, a founder of the Carnegie Learning Center, a founding teacher and dean of Bronx Collegiate, a public school based in Outward Bound experiential learning, and a founding board member of the volunteer network, UlsterCorps. A veteran 82nd Airborne paratrooper, Stephen is focused on bringing our warriors back into civilian life with a youth-empowering purpose equal to their former missions of national defense. Stephen enjoys historical fiction writing, game design, geocaching, hiking, biking around NYC, and creativity of all kinds, especially if it’s with Ben.
AJ Gena
AJ is Psychology graduate serving as a human resources professional with a penchant for efficiency and team collaboration. With a background in prominent organizations boasting 200-1000 employees, AJ brings extensive expertise in areas such as recruitment, employee relations, timekeeping, and benefits administration. Beyond the professional realm, AJ actively participates in an outreach program for an orphanage catering to children with special needs. Outside of work, AJ finds joy in traveling, exploring cafes, engaging in craft projects, and cherishing the company of her dogs, Kimba & Rain. AJ loves to watch TikTok videos and share work-related memes for fun.
Axel Perez
Axel is a STEAM – Maker Education enthusiast. An Industrial Designer graduated from The National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Axel decided to dedicate his life to shape the future of our world by sharing what he knows and loves with everyone. Axel has served as a Maker – STEAM Educator, and enjoyed doing design-based and PBL projects in schools all over the world. Axel has also a LEADERSHIP ROLE as Makerspace teacher and manager in Mexican-based schools such as Olami ORT which is part of the Global network ORT and Tomás Moro Maguey school. Axel really enjoys teaching all kinds of things to anyone curious enough to pursue knowledge to make this world a better place to live, playing football since high school, biking every time he has a chance, acting and doing cosplay and kids shows at some parties as a superhero, prince, or any kind of character, also tried to share a couple of things on social media as “Morzapiens”, tried to learn as much as he can to restore the car that his inner kid always dreames to have, sharing and celebrating the diversity of humanity.
Aqsa Syeda
Aqsa Syeda is a STEM instructional designer and Career counseling enthusiast graduated as a Psychologist and Master’s in Career Counseling and Education at National university of sciences and technology, Islamabad. Aqsa enjoys being productive and creating something meaningful. Aqsa used to love helping people as a kid which is why she chose a helping profession (Instructional designing and Counseling). Aqsa has served as a Psychologist, and currently serving as a career counselor at an esteemed school in Pakistan. Aqsa has also expertise in Career counseling and she offers career counseling to school students to help them identify their career interests. Masteries: Instructional design, STEM trainer, Lesson planning, Career counseling.
Khawaja Awais
Khawaja Awais is a IT Coordinator at Maker-state, bringing a wealth of expertise and a dynamic skill set. A distinguished graduate with a degree in computer sciences, Khawaja boasts an impressive professional journey spanning over 7 years, marked by continuous growth and notable achievements. His proficiency extends across a spectrum of programming languages, including React, C#, and PHP. Khawaja is a certified expert in WordPress web development, underscoring his commitment to mastering cutting-edge technologies and delivering top-notch solutions. Having held key roles as a senior software engineer in multiple esteemed companies, Khawaja has consistently demonstrated exceptional problem-solving skills, a keen eye for detail, and a commitment to excellence in every project undertaken. Khawaja Awais is not merely a Web Master; he is a visionary in the realm of web development.
Shehla Irfan
Shehla Irfan
Shehla, a dedicated professional with a Master’s degree in Computer Science, embarked on her career journey as a committed teacher and professor at a prestigious university. It was during this tenure that she discovered her innate talent and passion for technical and proposal writing, which propelled her towards excelling in crafting compelling documents. Leveraging her expertise, Shehla actively participated in bid submissions and attended pivotal meetings internationally, further honing her skills and solidifying her reputation as a proficient writer in the field of technical documentation and proposal writing., Shehla embarked on her professional journey as a dedicated teacher and professor at a prestigious university. It was during this time that she discovered her passion for technical and proposal writing, leveraging her expertise to excel in crafting compelling documents. As her career progressed, Shehla seized opportunities to expand her horizons internationally, actively participating in bid submissions and attending pivotal meetings. This exposure not only honed her skills but also solidified her reputation as a proficient writer in the field of technical documentation and proposal writing. With over a decade of proven experience in proposal writing, Shehla takes pride in delivering more than 100 bid-winning proposals, showcasing a meticulous approach in the domain of proposal writing. Her focus centers on developing impactful and successful proposals tailored to the requirements of government, state, and federal bids. By creating compelling and intricately detailed proposals, Shehla leverages a proven track record of success, ensuring her clients stand out in the competitive bidding landscape.
Interested in joining our team ?
Maker Fellow STEAM Coaches & Instructors
Precious Alao
Precious Alao is a programming enthusiast currently pursuing a computer science degree at New York City College of Technology. Precious started programming in high school, which combined her love of math and science. Precious enjoys exploring, whether it’s on the streets of NYC or finding innovative code solutions on Stack Overflow. Precious has served as an IT intern at Brooklyn Navy Yard STEAM Center and is currently combining her love of computer science and learning as a Maker Fellow STEM Coach. Precious enjoys crafting, from bead making to crocheting, and is currently working on new projects in MakerState’s Mysteries of Math project series. Passions: Python, C++, Sims 4, Minecraft, Adobe Premiere Pro, HTML.
Simona Sutka
Maker Fellow Simona Sutka is a lifelong-learner and dedicated STEAM educator. Simona studied Health Science at Pace University’s College of Health Professions in New York City and is currently doing field work in STEAM education with MakerState. Simona enjoys conducting and applying research in new K-12 learning modalities as well as developing new curriculum in hands-on STEAM learning. Simona has served as a camp counselor and director where she managed diverse learning activities such hands-on STEAM crafts, sports, zip lining, arts, and music creation. Passions: learning new things, holistic health and wellness, Scratch coding and animation.
Cenaya
Cenaya is a K-12 STEAM learning specialist, currently pursuing a degree in legal studies at St. John’s University. Cenaya’s classroom teaching experience with Council for Unity allowed her opportunities to work with at-risk students, providing post-educational aid to high school students, leading discussions on current social issues with students, as well as creating team building projects for students. Cenaya’s experience with MakerState has allowed her to teach students in grades K-6 skills in coding, robotics, 3D designing and printing, and much more. Cenaya has enjoyed reading, writing, cooking, crafts, sketching and building since she was a child.. Passions: STEAM Crafts, Roblox Game Studio, prototype building, Sketchbook, TinkerCad, Minecraft, Scratch Coding.
Jisun Zaman
Jisun Zaman is a technology and engineering enthusiast who is currently pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering at New York City College of Technology. Jisun enthusiastically explores many different STEM fields and his passion is plants and animals. He grows and experiments with botany at home and is an environmental activist who is always interested in learning about technology and improving our future on this planet. Jisun is certified in Autodesk Inventor Professional and has great experience in teaching and childcare. Jisun attended Brooklyn Technical High School. Passions: Autodesk Inventor, 3D design, robotics, botany.
Daniel Wahed
Maker Fellow STEAM Coach Daniel Wahed is a 3D printing and game-based learning enthusiast currently pursuing his Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science at Queens College and minoring in Applied Physics at Hunter College. Daniel is great at creating, printing and assembling 3D designs and prototyping new ideas for virtual reality. Daniel got his first 3D printer at 16 and has been teaching people how to create their own inventions and mechanical parts ever since. Daniel was the electronics expert for his Holy Cross High School Cross Knights Robotics team and knows how to build positive and relishes the challenge of building positive reinforcing learning environments. Passions: Robotics, TinkerCAD, AutoCAD, Python, C++.
David Gonzalez
David Lebron
David Wong
Derek Cordero
Dibba Roy
Jacquelyn Chetram
Nicholas A Sadnytzky
