Hi Shapies! I'm Ana, and I'm excited to be joining the team as the new Community Manager. I'm incredibly inspired by everything you guys are doing, and I can't wait to get to know you and be a part of this awesome community of makers.

A little bit about me: I grew up in New York City and was surrounded by artists for the first half of my life, and computer programmers for the second. I've worked as the community manager for the popular Manhattan-based coworking space New Work City, and then spent my time consulting with tech startups. I geek out over digital communities, innovation, and personalized manufacturing, which is why I'm here. I believe that if you give people the tools to create the world around them, more often than not, they'll surprise and inspire you.

My being a New York native is something I think will come in handy as we grow. I plan to help Shapeways make a big splash with my local geek friends, and in NY's many networks of designers. We already serve an amazing international community, and I'm looking forward to keeping us connected, and making us more than the sum of our parts.

When working with communities in the past, I found myself running lots of in-person events, and got see firsthand how valuable it is to make sure you connect with people face to face. That's something I'd like to take into my adventures with Shapeways. Wherever I travel to, if there are community members there, I want to hold a meetup, grab a beer, and bring us all together. 

Shapeways represents a revolution in product design, and a new frontier for using tech to make things that matter to us. I'm honored to be part of it. I believe the community is Shapeways' greatest asset, and we need to continue making this a place where daring, creative people are empowered to defy boundaries. I'm excited to make friends, listen, learn, and help keep you guys at the center of the equation. 

Luckily, Bart will be sticking around, helping me settle into my new role and continuing to support the community on the tech side of things. I'll see you on the forums, on this blog, during our screencasts, and in person at our meetups. I'll also be available directly through the contact form, so don't hesitate to shoot me an email.