Dale Daugherty is a leading advocate of the maker movement. He founded Make: Magazine in 2005, the first to use the word “maker” to describe people who enjoy “hands-on” work and play. He started Maker Faire in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2006, an event that has spread to nearly 200 locations in 40 countries and attracts more than 1.5 million participants each year. He is president of Make:Community, which produces Make: and Maker Faire.
In 2011, Doherty was honored by the White House as a Champion of Change, an initiative that celebrates Americans who are “doing extraordinary things in their communities, doing more innovative, educational and constructive work than the rest of the world.” At the 2014 White House Maker Faire, Doherty was introduced by President Obama as an American innovator who is making significant contributions to the fields of education and business. He believes the maker movement has the potential to transform students’ educational experiences and introduce them to the practice of innovation through play and tinkering.
Dougherty is the co-author, with Adrienne Conrad, of “Free to Make: How the Maker Movement Is Changing our Jobs, Schools and Minds,” and, with Peter Hirschberg and Marcia Kadanoff, of “Maker City: A Practical Guide for Reinventing American Cities.”
