America Makes Awards Recipients During 2025 MMX

America Makes handed out its 2025 Ambassador Awards and Distinguished Collaborator Award during the annual Members Meeting and Exchange (MMX) event, August 5-6 in Youngstown, OH.

The Ambassador Award Program, started in 2017, honors people who show passion for advancing America Makes' mission. The 2025 class is a cross-section of the industry whose work impacts additive technology and showcases the strength of the AM community. The recipients represent progress achieved in AM technology, industrial base expansion, and workforce development, America Makes says.

“We are honored to have a passionate and powerful membership base that proactively leads efforts across their industries and beyond that boosts our efforts as an Institute,” says John Wilczynski, executive director of America Makes. “By reinforcing and expanding our effective collaboration model, the dedicated efforts of our supporters are essential to strengthening the U.S. industrial base and igniting the next wave of technological breakthroughs in additive manufacturing.”

Congratulations to the following ambassadors:

• David Beck, Former Branch Chief, Space Industrial Base & Supply Chain, U.S. Space Force
• Stacey Eeman, Director, Industry Strategy, SME
• Thomas Pomorski, Director of Additive Manufacturing, Ursa Major
• Mark Shaw, Chief Engineer, National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR)
• Samantha Snabes, Co-Founder & Catalyst, re:3D
• Andrew Thompson, Manager & Deputy Chief Engineer of Additive Manufacturing, Northrop Grumman
• Rich Wetzel, President, The Lanterman Group

2025 Ambassador Award recipients from left: Thomas Pomorski, Ursa Major; Stacey Eeman, SME; Mark Shaw, National Institute for Aviation Research; Samantha Snabes, re:3D; Andrew Thompson, Northrop Grumman; and Rich Wetzel, The Lanterman Group. Not pictured is David Beck, U.S. Space Force.

Also at the event, Adele Ratcliff, director (retired), Innovation Capability and Modernization Office, was presented with the 2025 Distinguished Collaborator Award. Launched in 2014, recipients of this award are celebrated for cultivating collaborative relationships with academia, government, and industry. In her career, Ratcliff, who recently announced her retirement after nearly 30 years of service, has helped boost the agility of the U.S. Defense Industrial Base to respond to national security challenges. Via authority of the Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment Program, she has strengthened traditional technical capacity and fostered emerging industrial sectors.

“While additive manufacturing has become ubiquitous, we still face the challenge of qualifying parts at pace; the adversaries do not pause their efforts, neither can we," Ratliff said during her acceptance remarks. "We must think strategically, how to enable manufacturing in austere environments with unstable infrastructure while maintaining quality and reliability for critical national defense applications.”

“It has been an honor to serve alongside you all, to be inspired daily by people who choose to show up and make a difference in manufacturing, a commitment that underpins our national security," she continued. "As I transition from government service, I carry the lessons and connections forged here forward, confident in the rising tide of disruptors and young innovators eager to push the boundaries of what’s possible. Thank you to America Makes, the flagship Manufacturing USA Institute.”

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.