top of page
Columbus Ohio.png

SPESA Advancements in Manufacturing Technologies Conference

April 13-14, 2026 | Columbus, Ohio

Welcome to the 2026 SPESA
Advancements Conference!

Attendees

Mariano Amezcua, President, KARL MAYER North America

Apurba Banerjee, Textile Research Scientist 

Daniel Berzack, President, SPEC

Aditi Bhatiya, Founder, Passport 2 Fashion

Carrie Bovender, CEO, Grand Forest Inc.

Joe Brim, Columbus Fashion Alliance 

Janae Brown, Operations Manager, Columbus Fashion Alliance 

Mitch Cahn, President, Unionwear

Ambar Campos, Director of Industry and Member Relations, SPESA

Ricardo Carranca, R&D Director, Mind SA

David Castillo, Manufacturing Engineer, National Safety Apparel

Alex Clemetson, Head of Development, Columbus Fashion Alliance

Todd Corley, Chief People and Impact Officer, Carhartt

Cathie Coyle, SR. Technical Associate Engineer, Beaufort

Marie D'Avignon, VP of Operations, SPESA

Alyson Demirdjian, International Trade Specialist, U.S. Department of Commerce

Martin DiBattista, President, Better Team USA Corp

James Doherty, Automation Consultant, Autometrix

Denise Falter-Conklin, Founder & CEO, Columbus Apparel Studio

Valentina Filote, Director of Manufacturing, National Safety Apparel

Betsy Franjola, CEO & Founder, Hocking Hills Garment Center 

Kelsey Gambrell, Senior Operations Manager, Goodwill Easter Seals Miami Valley

Lisa Goldsand, Founder, Circular Thrift LLC

Brian Grabowski, VP of Manufacturing, National Safety Apparel

Bo Graham, Brand Accounts Regional Manager, American & Efird Thread

David Handal, General Manager, AGENCIA JE HANDAL SA DE CV

Tyler Harris, Columbus Fashion Alliance 

Mark Hatton, President Threads Americas, American & Efird

Frank Henderson, Owner & President, Henderson Sewing Machine Company

Xochil Herrera, President/Founder, The Chicago Pattern Maker

Justin Hershoran, Senior Solutions Architect, Aptean

Aimee Heuschkel, Marketing Director, Lectra

Jonathan Hussing, Manufacturing Engineer, Beaufort

Jackie Hutson, Co-Founder, The Sourcing Gals

Diane Hyams, Director Of Operations, Columbus Apparel Studio

George Indelli, Senior Manager, Source America

Carlos Jimenez, Sales Specialist, Lectra

Ruoming Jin, CEO, iLambda, Inc

Greg Jira, Group Show Director, Messe Frankfurt Inc

Jan Kellogg, President, Columbus Canvas Products

Amanda Kruk, Vice President of Business Services, Goodwill Easter Seals Miami Valley

Roberto Mangual, CEO & Co-Founder, Avantex

Glenn Mattison, Senior Account Executive, Aptean 

Shailah Maynard, Co-Founder & CEO, Sew Valley

Michael Mayr, Founder & COO, silana GmbH

Shannon McCarthy, Head of Business Development, Datatex

Maggie McDonald, VP of Communications, SPESA

Michael McDonald, President, SPESA

Timothy McMorris, President, Community Manufacturing Solutions

Sasianna Meadows, Columbus Fashion Alliance 

Jo Miller, Apprenticeship Coordinator, South Central Ohio Workforce Partnership

Glenn Moore, Business Development Manager, Nordson Corporation

Audrey Myers, Executive Advisor, CreateMe Technologies, Inc.

Cam Myers, Founder/CEO, CreateMe Technologies, Inc.

Jen Patterson, Principal, Co-Founder, Mango Consulting, LLC 

Truy Pham, VP of Sales and Strategy, Autometrix

TIffany Piko, Community Outreach Partner, Future Plans 

Rachael Pinckney, Columbus Fashion Alliance 

Rita Rammohan, Brand Manager, Avery Dennison 

John Randa, RSM, Zund

James Ryan, Business Development Manager, H. B. Fuller Company

Bryan Schreiber, Manager, Business Development | Air Cargo & Foreign-Trade Zone, Columbus Regional Airport Authority, Rickenbacker International Airport Authority

Rojika Sharma, Columbus Fashion Alliance 

Erin Souder, Co-Fouder, The Sourcing Gals

Danielle Sullivan, Columbus Fashion Alliance 

Madeleine Tepe Misleh, Co-Director of Operations, Sew Valley

Yohannan Terrell, Executive Director, Columbus Fashion Alliance

Casmir Usiatynski, Director Productivity Engineering, SourceAmerica

Lionel Vargas Cruz, VP Advanced Manufacturing & Innovation, ISAIC

Sarah-Maria Vischer-James, Technical Sewing Manager, Community Manufacturing Solutions

​

​Return to main event page.

SPESA Logo Clear.png

3434 Edwards Mill Road | Suite 112-158

Raleigh, NC 27612

+1-919-‪867-7578‬

  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
Copy of Behind the Seams Email Header - English (2).png

Thanks for submitting!

Get in Touch

bottom of page