


Meet Our Team
We’re teachers, students, parents, artists, programmers, game designers, activists, engineers, and tinkerers. We believe the future of learning is in hands-on creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving. We ask our young engineers to imagine, prototype, build, and improve their designs every day. And that’s our team approach too. Have an idea or a question about hands-on STEAM learning or MakerState? Connect with us below!

Stephen Gilman
Founder & Executive Director

Stephen Gilman
Founder & Executive Director
- Email:stephen@maker-state.com

Marie Valencia
Operations Coordinator

Marie Valencia
Operations Coordinator
- Email:marie@maker-state.com

Denise Hermano
Partner Coordinator

Denise Hermano
Partner Coordinator
- Email:denise@maker-state.com

Axel Perez
Curriculum Coordinator & Maker Fellow Coach

Axel Perez
Curriculum Coordinator & Maker Fellow Coach
Masteries: curriculum design, design thinking, industry, materials, ergonomy, aesthetic studies teaching mainly with STEAM design and PBL methods
- Email:axel@maker-state.com

Aqsa Syeda
Curriculum Coordinator & Maker Fellow Coach

Aqsa Syeda
Curriculum Coordinator & Maker Fellow Coach
Masteries: Instructional design, STEM trainer, project-based lesson planning, career counseling and development
- Email:aqsa@maker-state.com

Adam Ali
Partner Coordinator

Adam Ali
Partner Coordinator
- Email:adam@maker-state.com
Maker Fellow STEM Instructors

Judeine Carey

Nicholas Moore

Kristle Johnson

Dhymond Francis
Masteries: Adobe Suite, Tinkercad, Canva, Micro:Bit, CoSpaces VR & AR, Adobe Photoshop, Piskelapp.

Romie Zelaya

Jonathan Mirsky
BECOME A MAKER FELLOW
Interested in applying for the Maker Fellowship?