Burlington, Vt: Generator announced Meg Hammond has been named executive director of the nonprofit makerspace devoted to providing tools, expertise, education, and opportunities enabling members of its community to create, collaborate, and to make their ideas reality.
Hammond has been a college development director and leader in community arts and education in Vermont for the last 15 years. She was co-founder and CEO of the Langdon Street Café, the collectively run art and music venue in Montpelier that that Seven Days named “the crown jewel of the Montpelier arts community.” She succeeds Chris Thompson, who held the post starting in 2016 and transformed Generator from a two-year-old boot-strapping non-profit to an institutional leader in the entrepreneurship, STEM education, and arts communities. Thompson is returning to his original post on Generator’s board of directors.
“The Generator board of directors and I are very pleased that Meg Hammond will be joining us as our next Executive Director,” said Generator’s board president, Dan Harvey, “Meg’s background and experience are a great fit for us as we enter our sixth year of providing a unique space for our members and students.”
Hammond’s hiring comes as Generator plans for strategic growth in membership, educational opportunities, development, and community outreach, building on the successes of a groundbreaking period that included winning the Mayor’s Prize for Entrepreneurship, launching new programming including AMP (the Advanced Manufacturing Program) for high school students, and witnessing the successes of Generator members, including those involved with industry-leading companies Beta Technologies and OVR Technology, and several artists winning local and national accolades.
“It is a great honor to join the Generator team and extended community of makers, artists, and entrepreneurs,” said Hammond, “I have watched Generator grow extensively over the last five years and I look forward to building on its current successes while collaboratively imaging the next strategic steps to continue empowering the Burlington community to design, innovate, and actualize solutions for tomorrow.”
Hammond comes to Generator from Goddard College where she was Director of Development. At Goddard she led a successful campaign for a multi-phase renovation of the historic Haybarn Theatre in 2014 and produced the Haybarn Theatre Concert Series featuring world-class performers including Suzanne Vega and Jonathan Richman. Hammond was costume designer and stage manager for the original Vermont productions of Hadestown which went on to win 8 Tony awards in 2019. Hammond is working towards her Masters of Arts in Psychology from Goddard College and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Studio Arts from Bloomsburg University. She is a sculptor, painter, and self-described “maker, board-gamer, escape room enthusiast, and ‘trashion’ designer.” Hammond is based in Montpelier.
For Immediate Release: December 11th, 2019
Press Contact: Christine Hill, Communications Director, (802) 540-0761
