I, Megan Murray, am submitting my Statement of Intent to run for the Board of Directors.

I am so grateful to have found Dallas Makerspace 3 years ago.  DMS is my happy place and it’s my goal to keep DMS a great place for makers to gather, work on projects, and share ideas.

I jump in wherever I can to volunteer at the Makerspace and I teach multiple classes per month. When I meet new members I tell them if they need anything to ask me because if I don’t know the answer, I probably know the person who does.

If elected, I believe there are 3 key areas I can work to make improvements to Dallas Makerspace as a whole: member retention, transparency and communication within the organization, and teacher experience improvement.

My husband, Mikael, and I had a Las Vegas wedding complete with Elvis giving our vows 4 years ago.  I love to travel and try to keep at least one trip in the works at all times.  We have a house full of animals with 2 dogs and 2 cats that seem to always keep us on our toes.  Mikael and I are at Dallas Makerspace typically 3-4 days a week.  I am most active in GlassWorks and PrintMaking but I have taken classes or dabbled in most of the areas at DMS.

While the warehouse full of tools and classes are what qualifies a Makerspace, I believe the most important part of DMS is the community, and it’s my goal to keep building this community.  Increasing membership is important, but member retention deserves more attention, and people are more likely to stay for a good community than for anything else.

I have a proven record of organizing community building events: I organized a “maker swap” in 2023 for members to exchange tools and projects.  In 2024, I planned and hosted the Holiday Party, which was attended by more than 70 members.  As Co-Chair of the Glassworks Committee, I created the monthly gathering “Glass Art After Dark”, which is not only building up the glass community, but other committees are now using the late night idea to gather.

Additionally, my focus would be to increase transparency and internal member communication.  It’s important to keep members informed and engaged with what is going on at DMS.  Although, I do not currently work in the field, I received my Bachelor’s Degree in Communications and Public Relations, and that background has given me some tools to help with ensuring information is being delivered to the full membership.  I attribute the success of some my events to my ability to communicate effectively.  In addition to creating clear and eye catching flyers, I am active on the current DMS communication channels and attend multiple meetings to spread information by word of mouth.

I teach several classes per month at Makerspace, and have coached and cultivated multiple people to become teachers here also.  This makes me uniquely aware of the challenges with teaching and engaging new teachers at DMS.  Teacher burnout also seems to be an issue we face frequently.  As a board member it will be my goal to find solutions to encourage new teachers, make sure current teachers feel more valued, and improve the class set-up and payment processes.

Outside of DMS, I have been in Mortgage Servicing for 19 years and currently work for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as a Loan Guarantee Specialist. I am a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, which teaches the core values of Integrity First, Service Before Self, and Excellence in All We Do.  If elected to the DMS board I will do my best to serve the Dallas Makerspace community with those same values.

I hope you will entrust me to represent Dallas Makerspace and its members in 2025!

I am very open and approachable so feel free to reach out to me if you want any further information or just to chat: MSMurray411 on both Talk and Discord, or look for the pink hair around DMS!

Signature  

Megan Murray

Member Support / Endorsements:  



Page History:

Version Date Author Comment
1 2025-03-17 Megan Murray

6 Comments

  1. kia khadem

    I endorse Megan Murray for the board of directors. She has been doing a lot to help bring back the sense of community here, and the winter party she held was a great event. Megan has been helping me out with facilities as she saw I was struggling with my workload and I believe she'd do the same with a leadership position. She is active in the community and has a vision for the future, which I want to see her realize. I think most importantly, she is approachable and humble. I have never seen her talk down to anyone and she has been willing to lend an ear to pretty much anyone. 

  2. James Henningson

    I endorse @megan Murray. She is an excellent candidate and will make a fantastic board member. She has done a fantastic job as a chair and I look forward to seeing her bring that energy to the board.

  3. Gena Terranova

    I’d like to endorse Megan for the 2025 BOD. I’ve known Megan since 2015. She and I have similar business backgrounds and have worked to push through “the boys club” in our industries to have a voice. Megan has a grounded sense of professionalism where she takes the “no nonsense”approach, sticking to facts and rules. She also has a strong creative side. Besides thriving in the glass department, Megan single-handed organized the Holiday party and had such attention to detail, and with her PR skills, went out of her ways to attended committee meetings to promote this event.

    I believe Megan’s professionalism, business experience, and that she is often at the space makes her a great candidate for our board of directors.

    She has played an active role in our PR committee meetings, logistic meetings and often learning and attending classes/events all around the space. 

    I believe Megan has the best interest in growing our space, learning what it is members would like to see and how we can grow our committees and memberships. 

    Gena Terranova 

  4. Julie Harris

    I endorse Megan - she is an active volunteer and teacher and a great candidate for the board.  I would love to see her on the next board!

  5. Thomas Fagan

    I am super glad to see Megan running for the board.  Her passion for the space and making it better is nothing short of amazing!   Her soft skills and genuinely caring about the individuals, that compose the space, and doing the right thing would make her a a great addition to the board.  Combining that with her going out of her way to organize events, drawing people into involvement in the space's culture, and creating a real community makes it impossible not to endorse her for the board.  I whole heartedly endorse Megan for the board.   

  6. Kevin Thompson

    I endorse Megan for the Board. One of the greatest mistakes that we've repeatedly made in the past when it comes to selecting leadership at both the committee and the board level has been that we tend to, because we are makers, prioritize raw technical competency in some kind of specific domain at the cost of the many equally valuable competencies that play a critical role in managing and cultivating the Makerspace. Megan is a technically skilled glassworker with business experience, but it's those other softer skills and her focus community organizing that really makes her a very clear choice for the board in my mind. I believe that she will be able to help set a precedent for future boards with regards to cultivating a rich DMS community experience.

    In my discussions with her, I found her incredibly sincere, direct, and compassionate. The next board will need someone who has the focus and personality to build-up the culture and community of the Makerspace, and I think she's the right person for that job.