Election 2026

Voting has begun. Please contact the Secretary with any questions.

This Election

We have to fill 3 board seats, each carrying a 2 year term. The following board members are at the end of their 2 year term: Paul Askins, Jeff Burdick, and Tim Clayson.

Key Dates/Timeline

Nomination Period: Until 8/18/2026 at 7:30pm. Please note: nominees will need to confirm their nomination before the voting period begins on August 19th.
Voting Period: 8/19/2026 at 12:01am until 9/1/2026 at 11:59pm
"Official" Election Date: 9/1/2026 at 7:30pm (during member's meeting). Voting will be allowed until 11:59pm that day.

How to nominate someone

Fill out the Google form, if that fails email the secretary.
This is the link to the form

Nominees for Board of Directors

Running list of confirmed nominees can be found here

Board nominee survey

All members are welcome to add any question they feel are relevant. Once nominees have confirmed their nomination, they are encouraged to answer the questions below. Nominees: if you log into your wiki account and press the "edit" next to "Board nominee survey," you will find a template and instructions in the comments.

How long have you been a member of i3?

Jeremy Glogower: I joined i3 Detroit in January 2023

Paul Askins: I have been a member since 2019.

Roger S: Since Dec 2010 (?).

Tim Clayson: I joined in 2020

Thomas B: I joined in 2024

Tell us about yourself and what qualities you have to be a board member

Jeremy Glogower: I came to i3 as a maker, but over the last few years I have become increasingly involved in the organization itself. I have served as Vice President and President, which has given me experience with both the day-to-day realities of running i3 and the larger questions about where we want the organization to go.

My background is a somewhat unusual mix of business, finance, law, technology, and hands-on-making. I have a bachelor's degree in finance, an MBA, and a JD, but I am also the person who likes taking things apart, repairing equipment, working on electronics and vehicles, programming, and figuring out how things work.

I think one of my strongest qualities as a board member is that I am willing to get involved and do the work. I also try to approach problems practically: understand what is actually happening, listen to the people involved, figure out what needs to change, and then make it happen. I care a great deal about i3 and about making decisions that make leave the organization stronger than we found it.

Paul Askins: I have been an active member for 7 years. In that time I've become familiar with many of the zones at our space, I've taken and hosted classes, I've lead tours and welcomed guests, I've contributed to the expansion other infrastructure projects. I helped paint the mural on our front wall! I live quite close so I can always be reached and on site when needed. In my job I have cultivated skills of organization and working in groups to build efficient structures.

Roger S: I've used just about every zone at i3 over the past 16 years. I've seen i3D evolve from about 60-ish members in the old 8,000 sq ft space to our current 12,000 or 13,000 sq ft with almost 4x the number of members. I've avoided running for the Board because I like to contribute wherever help is needed, rather than commit to regular meetings in a fixed format. For example, I do the reimbursements as part fo the Treasurer team, and I do most of the first-round laser trainings. I've been nominated several times, but declined for that reason and other commitments, but it seems like some current Board members might be getting to the point of burn-out, and we need more people to step in.; My previous job in a large corporate environment gives me experience in how an organization functions. I've been the chair of the Supervisory Committee of a small credit union for many years, so I also understand some of the financial, regulatory, and fiduciary duties of the leadership of an organization. I'm also known for asking the questions that many people wanted to, but nobody else was willing to, so I'm sometimes seen as a contrarian.

Tim Clayson: I've been a Board member for the past 2 years. Also currently Treasurer and Woodshop Coordinator. In all 3 roles, I understand how the organization needs to function, how members use the space, and what is needed to keep the organization viable into the future

Thomas B: I have been part of the community for years, I've been the VP of Events and Classes (I took the position when someone rage quit and dropped it), I think I have not missed any board meeting for years. I try to be highly movated to help with anything I can at i3.

What is i3 and what makes it great?

Jeremy Glogower: i3 is much more than a building full of tools, and more than a community workshop. It's a community where people with wildly different backgrounds, skills, and interests come together to make things, teach each other, experiment, and learn.

The tools are great, and definitely a huge part of what attracts people here, but the real value of i3 is our members. It's in the knowledge and experience of the people standing next to those tools. You can walk into the space knowing almost nothing about something and find someone willing to show you how it works. At the same time, someone who is an expert in one area can walk twenty feet into another zone and become a beginner again.

That exchange of knowledge, combined with the freedom to experiment and create, is what makes i3 special.

Paul Askins: I greatly appreciate the community of i3. It's a welcoming place full of people dedicated not only to their own craft but helping and assisting others. I always appreciate when people talk about their projects and when I can learn something from their work. I want to encourage that spirit of community by making sure everyone feels comfortable with contributing to the space. I also greatly appreciate the concept of Do-ocracy. This proactive philosophy encourages everyone to contribute where they think needs help. Everything from updating a wiki page to building out the space, i3 encourages people to not be afraid to make a change.

Roger S: i3 is a community of diverse people, working together to have a place where we can all satisfy our craving to learn, make, and remake things. It's also a resource for the maker community and the Detroit Metro community. I joke that we're a bunch of socialists because everyone contributes what they can and gains what they need from the contributions of others who donate their time and money to make the space work. It's great because we draw on the diversity of ideas and personalities and, mostly, work together.

Tim Clayson: i3 is a community as much as anything else. A community of individuals with shared interest in creating and sharing knowledge. We have existed now for 17 years based on a culture of community and volunteering while other spaces have folded. Despite challenges, we're doing something right!

Thomas B: The motivation of the members to accomplish things, help new people and to grow as a group. The fact that i3 is not static- it flows and changes over time which helps keep things fresh.

What projects have you worked on to improve i3?

Jeremy Glogower: A significant amount of my work has been organizational rather than one single physical project. As Vice President and President, I have worked on improving our operations, safety, governance, facilities, and member experience.

Some examples include working through fire and safety issues, inspections and code compliance, improving our fire extinguisher program, working on insurance and organizational risk issues, fundraising for the purchase of the automotive tire machine and balancer, working on revisions to our bylaws and governance structure, improving tours, improving the new-member experience, and working on plans to make membership more engaging to encourage members to explore more of the space.

I have also spent considerable time thinking about and discussing i3's long-term financial and physical future, including fundraising and what it would take for us to eventually own our building rather than remain dependent on leased space.

Paul Askins: I have hosted art classes to encourage people to try working with physical media such as paints and markers. I have helped paint the mural on the front wall. I have worked to refurbish the craft zone as well as the expansion projects of the sowing and new eLab.

Roger S: I've worked on more projects than I can recall, from helping fetch things like the injection molders from a pole barn in central MI, to painting the new eLab. I do less in the form of projects and more in the way of helping around the edges.

Tim Clayson: In the past year or so, implemented our new CRM, stabilized and strengthened our financial position, ran the investment budget process for 2026, all other Treasurer responsibilities, acquired and installed new Woodshop equipment including AVID CNC, jointer, resaw bandsaw. In prior years, many other projects.

Thomas B: 1. Supplied computer hardware for- Commons, Laser, Wood Shop, etc- where hardware was needed. 2. Supplied the new core network and Rack for both A side and B Side to hold the hardware and helped install where I could. 3. Moved the switch in the purple bathroom to its own rack and mounted it, the switching infrastrcture. 4. Commons, I have provide and install the PC for use by members and provided the mic set so people remote could be able to better hear the metting. 5. If cooking is a "Project" then I've improved people's empty stomch for many fridays, potlucks and Robot combat.

Why are you interested in being a board member?

Jeremy Glogower: Because I care about what happens to i3.

I have seen how much this organization can do for people when it is functioning well, and I also know how much work happens behind the scenes to keep a volunteer-run organization like this alive.

I want to continue helping i3 become a stronger, more sustainable organization while preserving the weird, creative, member-driven culture that makes it what it is in the first place. I don't want i3 to become a polished organization that has forgotten how to be a makerspace. I want us to become better at running the organization so that we have even more freedom to be one.

Paul Askins: I have the goal of updating our space's bylaws and standing rules to be more streamline, easier to understand and better protect the space and the members. As a board member I can contribute to making sure these decisions are properly implemented.

Roger S: Ummm, I'm not? I'm only doing this because I think we need some relief for long-time Board members and I've got the experience for it. LoL

Tim Clayson: As Treasurer, there is value in also being on the board to guide our financial direction. There is interest, for example, in purchasing our own building rather than renting and we need to make sound decisions to position us should we decide to do that. Also, I enjoy working closely with other board members to create a better space.

Thomas B: As VP of Events and Classroom ZC I have observed how things run, having attended many board meetings I have seen how the board operates and feel I have expirece at i3 that would be of service to the membership by serving on the board. I have also assisted with onboarding of many new members and have communicated with the about i3, the community, and the space.

What is the biggest issue at i3 that you hope to address in the next year, whether you serve on the board or not?

Jeremy Glogower: Member engagement.

We have an incredible space, an enormous amount of collective knowledge, and a lot of members, but joining i3 and truly becoming a part of i3 are not necessarily the same thing. I want us to do a better job of helping new members to join and to make that transition.

This means making it easier to onboard, making it easier to discover different zones and activities, creating more opportunities for members to teach and learn from one another, and giving people reasons to participate beyond simply having access to equipment.

My goal is for someone to who joins i3 to quickly feel like they know the space, know some people, have something they are excited to work on, and understand how they can contribute to the community themselves.

Roger S: There are several issues, and there's not single one that outshines the others. Some important ones: Engaging people in the internal and external community; Addressing bad behavior in a way that doesn't harm the member and guest community as a whole; Increasing the level of participation by members in the operation of the space.

Tim Clayson: Our membership has been increasing and, as a result, our usage has been increasing. Some of the things we need to finish include a new set of bylaws, increase the usage of our CRM for things such as events and booking equipment, establish longer term goals. Another issue is participation. Like many volunteer organizations, a relatively small set of members are very involved in the space, however, we still have unfilled positions and new and fresh perspectives are valuable.

Thomas B: Community- Reminding members that we are a community- not a click that we build and support the space together.

What are your long-term (5+ years) goals for i3?

Jeremy Glogower: My biggest long-term goal is sustainability and permanence.

I want i3 to eventually own its home. Owning our building would give future generations of members far more control over the space and reduce the existential risk that comes with depending indefinitely on a landlord and a lease.

But owning a building is only worthwhile if the organization inside it is healthy. Over the next five years and beyond, I want i3 to develop stronger financial reserves, better institutional knowledge, more consistent processes, stronger fundraising capabilities, and a larger group of members who are actively involved in keeping the organization running.

At the same time, I want us to continue expanding what members can do here. More tools, more classes, more collaboration between zones, more ambitious projects, and more opportunities for people to discover things they never knew they were interested in.

The long term goal is not simply a bigger i3. It is an i3 that is financially secure, member-driven, resilient, and still just as strange, experimental, welcoming, and fun decades from now.

Paul Askins: Update our existing bylaws and standing rules to reflect how i3 is actually run and to better protect the space and it's members. Owning the building is another big goal that would greatly enhance the security of the space. Improve coordination and transparency between Zone coordinators, members and the board.

Roger S: Maintain financial stability. Understand the limits of the facility and the organization and improve our systems (social and digital) to support what we think are a reasonable limits. Reduce the workload on the small number of people who do certain key roles.

Tim Clayson: Frankly, we need to think about our facility. Even though we significantly expanded space with the addition of Bside, we have equipment with no place to put it. Secondly, we need to think about how i3 is promoted and marketed to continue to expand membership.

Are you comfortable committing to a 2-year term?

Jeremy Glogower: Yes.

Paul Askins: Yes. Also, I live quite close and I am at the space regularly for personal business and all meetings.

Roger S: I would prefer 1 year, but I also understand that it takes time for a Board to adsorb new members and operate effectively. I don't have other commitments that would prevent me from serving for two years.

Tim Clayson: Yes

Thomas B: Yes. "I have served. And I will be of service"- J. Wick