The Manufacturing Technology Deployment Group, Inc. (MTDG) today announced the appointment of Jeannine Kunz, Chief Workforce Development Officer of SME, to its Board of Directors. The announcement comes after current board members voted unanimously to confirm Kunz, where she will serve as the first female member of the MTDG Board.
Since joining SME in 2000, Kunz has been instrumental in driving the organization’s commitment to education and workforce development. In 2010 she led the acquisition of Tooling-U, an online training organization, enhancing SME’s ability and reach in addressing the growing skills gap in manufacturing. Currently, as Chief Workforce Development Officer, Kunz is responsible for leveraging SME’s existing network to develop new partnerships and programs that will provide workforce and training solutions across the manufacturing community.
“We are thrilled to have someone of Jeannine’s caliber and expertise join the MTDG Board of Directors,” said MTDG CEO and President Dean Bartles, Ph.D. “Her dedication to building a foundation for the future of the advanced manufacturing workforce through innovation and transformation ties directly to the mission of our organization.”
Kunz has been an active leader in manufacturing and workforce development throughout her career, having served on the executive committee of America Makes and currently as Chair for the National Defense Industrial Association’s Manufacturing Division “Workforce Committee”, a member of the National Coalition of Career Development Board, Manufacturing USA’s Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing’s (ARM) Education & Workforce Advisory Committee, a founding member of the Skilled Trades Coalition, and as an industry advisory committee for Clemson University’s THINKER graduate program. She is also a regular contributor, appearing in CNBC news, IndustryWeek, Training Magazine, Chicago Tribune, and NPR Marketplace, among other media outlets. She also has testified before a Congressional House Subcommittee on the manufacturing workforce and apprenticeships and most recently testified for a House Committee focused on critical supply chains for the Department of Defense.
“I greatly appreciate the opportunity and vote of confidence to join this elite group of manufacturing professionals,” said Kunz, “who believe in the strategic and important value a trained and educated workforce has on local and national competitiveness, economic prosperity, and national security as well as the need for an accelerated, collaborative and innovative approach to meeting manufacturing’s workforce challenges. MTDG and its subsidiaries NCDMM, AMI, AMIIC, and America Makes have been strong partners to SME for some time, and I am excited to work towards furthering our organization’s like-minded actions in making a difference for this industry.”
The MTDG Board is charged with providing strategic guidance to the leadership of MTDG as well as providing oversight to ensure the organization is fulfilling its stated mission to transform advanced manufacturing by driving innovation and accelerating growth. The MTDG group of companies and programs includes Advanced Manufacturing International (AMI), the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM), whose entities include not-for-profits the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation and Integration Center (AMIIC), V4 Institute, and Advanced Manufacturing Applied Research and Innovation Institute (AMARII), and management of America Makes, the Department of Defense manufacturing innovation institute for additive manufacturing.
Kunz will assume her seat on the Board at the next Board of Directors meeting in June 2022.
About Manufacturing Technology Deployment Group, Inc.
The Manufacturing Technology Deployment Group (MTDG) is committed to transforming the advanced manufacturing industrial base throughout the world by driving innovation and accelerating growth. It is the 501(c)(3) not-for-profit holding company of both the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM) and Advanced Manufacturing International (AMI), a new subsidiary and sister company to NCDMM. Founded in 2020, MTDG is headquartered in Clearwater, Fla. For more information, visit MTDG at https://mtdg.org/.
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