Andrew Crowe

Founder, New American Manufacturing Renaissance

Often referred to as the leader of The New American Manufacturing Renaissance, Andrew Crowe is one of the most influential people in manufacturing today. Andrew, or Drew as he prefers, strives to ignite and energize American manufacturing by exposing youth, community, political leaders, and underserved communities to this industry. His mission is to ensure that we put our best innovators, creators, and thinkers in spaces where they can thrive and grow.

From teenage father and two-time felon to college graduate, Drew realized the potential of a career path in the manufacturing industry. To support this vital work has taken a multi-faceted approach. In 2022, he embarked on the American Manufacturing Renaissance Tour across the country. He is the former lead professor at Ranken Technical College in St. Louis, Missouri, where he taught Advanced Manufacturing Technology, and is now developing a digital curriculum to spread these skills to a global audience.

He is also the co-host of TV’s “Project MFG” an exciting program for students and schools across the United States to advance skilled trades through world-class competitions.

Drew’s impressive resume includes addressing the White House and Pentagon on industrial policy, a feature in Forbes Magazine in April 2022, and was voted Aerospace & Aviation Man of the Year twice. Above all, he is well-positioned to lead minds and movers on the front lines in the critical battle to close the workforce and skills gap in manufacturing, making him a highly sought-after speaker and consultant in the field by teaching industry leaders how to reach, hire, and retain the next generation of the manufacturing!

Augustine Faucher

Chief Economist, The PNC Financial Services Group
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Augustine (Gus) Faucher is senior vice president and chief economist of The PNC Financial Services Group, serving as the principal spokesperson on all economic issues for PNC.

Prior to joining PNC as senior macroeconomist in December 2011, Faucher worked for 10 years at Moody’s Analytics (formerly Economy.com), where he was a director and senior economist. He was responsible for running the firm’s computer model of the U.S. economy, edited a monthly publication on the U.S. economic outlook, covered fiscal and monetary policy, and analyzed various regional economies. Previously, he worked for six years at the U.S. Treasury Department and taught at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He was named senior vice president in March 2015, deputy chief economist in February 2016, and to his current role in April 2017.

Faucher is frequently cited in international, national, and regional media outlets including The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. He has appeared on ABC World News, CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News and Nightly Business Report, and is regularly featured on CNBC and CNN. In addition, he appears regularly on CBS Radio, NPR and Marketplace.

He serves on the board of directors of The Economic Club of Pittsburgh - the local chapter of National Association of Business Economics (NABE), the of Veterans Place of Washington Boulevard and is on the Tocqueville Committee of the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania.

Faucher earned a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Pennsylvania, with concentrations in labor economics and public economics. He also has a B. A. in economics from Cornell University.

Arthur L. Herman

Senior Fellow, The Hudson Institute
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Arthur Herman is a senior fellow and director of the Quantum Alliance Initiative at Hudson Institute. His research programs analyze defense, energy, and technology issues.

Dr. Herman is the author of nine books, including the New York Times Best Seller How the Scots Invented the Modern World, the Pulitzer Prize Finalist Gandhi and Churchill: The Epic Rivalry that Destroyed an Empire and Forged Our Age, Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II (which the Economist named one of its Best Books of 2012), To Rule the Waves, Douglas MacArthur: American Warrior, and 1917: Lenin, Wilson, and the Birth of the New World Disorder.

Dr. Herman is a frequent contributor to Commentary, Mosaic, National Review, the New York Post, and the Wall Street Journal. He was also the first non-British citizen to be named to the Scottish Arts Council from 2007 to 2009. He received his BA from the University of Minnesota and PhD from Johns Hopkins University in history and classics.

David Marquet

Bestselling Author & Retired United States Navy Captain
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A United States Naval Academy graduate, L. David Marquet served in the U.S. Submarine Force and commanded the nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine USS Santa Fe, stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Captain Marquet completely turned around the Santa Fe, where the crew went from being “worst to first.” After his departure, the ship continued to win awards and a disproportionate number of its officers and enlisted men received promotions to positions of increased responsibility, including nine subsequent submarine captains.

Captain Marquet retired from the Navy in 2009 and is now the author of Turn the Ship Around! A True Story of Turning Followers Into Leaders. Fortune magazine called the book the “best how-to manual anywhere for managers on delegating, training, and driving flawless execution.” Captain Marquet’s Intent-Based Leadership model is turning around all types of organizations—from big manufacturers to start-ups and sport teams to government.He helps leaders build environments where people contribute and feel valued —where everyone is a leader.

Chris Scafario

President & CEO, Delaware Valley Industrial Resource Center
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Chris Scafario is the President and CEO of DVIRC, where he leads initiatives to advance small to mid-sized manufacturers (SMMs) and their supply chain through consulting services in operational excellence, top-line growth, and business management. Chris spearheaded the Pennsylvania Talent Pipeline Program and #PhillyBuildsGiants, a collaborative effort with Blue Forge Alliance to develop skilled workers and empower regional manufacturers to support the Submarine Industrial Base.

Chris has been working vigorously to educate and advocate for MEP Centers throughout the national network to introduce urgency to their clients around pursuing strategies for innovation, technology integration, and top-line growth. His contagious energy when sharing best practices for growing SMMs has made him a nationally recognized speaker, subject matter expert, and trusted advisor to organizations and economic development groups alike.

Joelle Anne Schmitz

Senior Fellow Emeritus, Harvard University Center for Business and Government
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Joelle Schmitz (Washington, DC and Mystic, CT): Joelle Schmitz is a Senior Fellow Emeritus of Harvard University's Mossavar Rhamani Center for Business and Government. Her expertise integrates her lifelong commitment to the innovative interdependence of public and private sectors.

Prior to joining MRCBG, Schmitz served as a Fulbright Scholar and policy advisor to the Canadian Prime Minister’s office on issues of interprovincial and international integration, a consultant to the lead negotiator for the United States in European Union trade agreements and a board member of nonprofit organizations. Schmitz has published and lectured on tools to strengthen global democracy within the private and public sectors of Europe, Asia, and across North America and has appeared as a guest commentator at conferences and productions throughout the world. She has contributed recommendations to executive leadership within a variety of strategic positions at Fortune 200 companies and within federal agencies. She’s previously organized, co-hosted and moderated much-needed international dialogues on democracy-strengthening policy among government, academic, and business thought-leaders.

Schmitz earned a master’s in Public Policy with a focus on Business and Government Affairs on merit scholarship from the Harvard Kennedy School. She's completed studies on fellowship at Johns Hopkins SAIS in Bologna and McGill University in Montreal, at the Harvard Law and Business Schools in Cambridge , and L'Ecole Nationale d'Administration in Paris.