Hall of Fame Honors Women Manufacturing Leaders

The American Manufacturing Hall of Fame is shining a light on women in manufacturing with its 2024 class of inductees.

The group will hold its annual induction ceremony April 3 at The Jackson Laboratory in Farmington. 

Four companies will be inducted: Collins Aerospace, Horst Engineering, Otis Elevator, and Arburg.

The hall will also honor sector leaders Marcia LaFemina and Mary Fitzgerald with the 2024 Leadership Award.

Leadership

LaFemina [pictured above] is the president and CEO of Penn Globe and chairs the board of directors for MATCH, the Manufacturing and Technical Community Hub in New Haven. 

MATCH is a public-private nonprofit manufacturing facility that provides hands-on training, mentorship, and jobs. 

Fitzgerald is the president of Acme Wire Products in Mystic. 

She is also a board member of the Eastern Advanced Manufacturing Alliance and coordinates a program to spread manufacturing career awareness to high school students. 

Women of Distinction

The hall will also recognize a group of women of distinction who are instrumental to Connecticut’s manufacturing industry:

• Cindi Bigelow, Bigelow Tea
• ‍Stephanie Blackwell, ‍Aurora Products
• ‍Jessica Chavez, ‍TRUMPF
• ‍Kate Donahue, ‍Hampford Research
• Shelley Fasano, Dymotek Corporation
• ‍Mary Fitzgerald, ‍Acme Wire Products Co.,Inc
• Dr. Jackie Garofano, CCAT
• Laura Grondin, Hartford Technologies
• Beatriz Gutierrez, CONNSTEP
• ‍Brittany Isherwood, ‍Burke Aerospace
• ‍Marcia LaFemina, Penn Globe
• Marietta Lee, Lee Company
• Janet Link, ‍Stanley Black & Decker
• ‍Judy Marks, Otis Elevator
• ‍Jill Mayer, ‍Bead Industries
• ‍Claude-Helene McIntyre, Arburg, Inc.
• ‍Martha Prou, Phoenix Manufacturing
• Nicole Russo, Microboard
• Kathy Saint, Schwerdtle
• Dr Kelli-Marie Vallieres, Office of Workforce Strategy

This is the American Manufacturing Hall of Fame’s second statewide induction ceremony. 

General Dynamics Electric Boat, ASML, and RBC Bearings were among the 2023 inductees and Marion Manufacturing’s Doug Johnson was presented with the Innovator/Leadership award.