The Association of Manufacturers Bay Area (AMBayArea) hosted the AMBayArea Summit 2023 at Chabot Space & Science Center in Oakland on Tuesday, April 25. Approximately 200 people, which included Bay Area manufacturing company owners and executives, supply chain members, subject matter experts, as well as valued partners from education and government, attended the annual event.
The event began with an hour of networking and exhibits followed by the keynote presentation Winning the War for Talent presented by nationally recognized keynote speaker Chris Czarnik. Czarnik, an author, coach, trainer, and subject matter expert on talent recruiting, engagement, and retention, shared his experience and advice for manufacturers to transform the hiring process and positively impact employee engagement and retention.
Attendees chose from a variety of breakout sessions led by subject matter experts, including:
- The ABCs of ESGs presented by Jennifer Harrity-Cantero, Director of Sustainability at Sensiba San Filippo LLP
- Apprenticeships: Building a Pipeline of Talent presented by Mark Martin, Ph.D., Regional Director for Advanced Manufacturing Workforce Development – Bay Area with Greg King, Engineering Manager for Benchmark; Dan Sunia, Instructor for CTMAA; and Julio Para, Machinist at Unico.
- Emerging Technologies in Manufacturing presented by Eric Duoss, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Engineered Materials and Manufacturing at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory with Andra Keay, Managing Director of Silicon Valley Robotics, and Karl Braun, Operations Strategist for ZAG Technical Services
- Exploration of the Food Safety Universe presented by Kimberly Anderson, MPH, Environmental Scientist with California Department of Public Health
- Stay Competitive and Take Control of Your Operating Costs presented by Diana Chou, Customer Programs Manager at MCE and Martin Bond, Senior Business Development Manager at MCE
- Hiring the Justice Impacted presented by Michael Katz, Regional Organizer for EASTBAYWorks with Matt Kreutz, CEO and Founder of Firebrand Artisan Breads; Charles Turner, Reentry Coordinator for Alameda County Workforce Development Board; George Colón, Director of Workforce & Youth Programs for SFMade; and Masala James, Production Associate for Tesla
- Insider Tips About Tax Credits For Manufacturers presented by Chris Clark, CTO & Co-Founder of Subcity, Inc.
The Summit concluded with an extended hosted happy hour allowing attendees to enjoy food and drinks while re-connecting with peers and making new connections, as well as visit exhibitor booths hosted by local manufacturers, community partners, and service providers.
The Presenting Sponsor of the AMBayArea Summit 2023 was Manex Consulting.
The Summit was also supported by Gold Sponsor Bank of America. Silver Sponsors included ALOM, Bay Area Community Colleges, Bastion EHS, Bay Area LEEDS, Bodycote, CMTA, Corporate EWaste Solutions, CTMAA, East Bay EDA, Employment Training Panel (ETP), First Citizens Bank, Label Innovators, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Narish International LLC, Newfront Insurance, Sensiba San Filippo, Synqmine, TMC Financing, Workforce Development Boards, and ZAG Technical Services Inc.

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