This page contains the final list of nominees with submitted bios and pictures for the 2026 Quelab Board of Directors' election.

The Election will run Wednesday March 11, 2026, through 8:00 p.m. on Sunday the 15th.

Here are your nominees:

• Adam Ivie
• Bella Kesler-Hoyt
• Bill Kriegh
• Darrel Knutson
• Ed Shestak
• Maria Dalton
• Mitchell Newberry
• Sherie Pennebaker
• Anthony "Tetris" Gonzales
• Craig "Zoot" Goldsmith

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I have been on the board for a few years now. During the last cycle I was the main “Cat Herder” to accomplish the selection and purchase of our new home. I was then also the overall manager of the move to the new location and the complete renovation of the building. The work is nearing completion, and I would like to finish it out. Plans for the future include seeking city funds to finish painting the building, obtaining the funds we were awarded for a new mural on the Central Avenue wall and working toward a city award for capital improvements to help the 1511 Central LLC replace the leaking roof. It has been an honor and pleasure to see Quelab 3.0 transition from a derelict old building to its new home. I would just like to finish the job.

I’m Ed Shestak, a retired mechanical engineer. My wife, Chris, and I bought our house in ABQ February 2017 and moved into it May 2019. (Our son and daughter-in-law lived there during the interim.) I had read a little about makerspaces as the concept evolved, and after our move-in turmoil had largely subsided, started looking into options. I joined Quelab December 2019, being largely drawn to the 24/7 access to equipment I can’t justify owning, and to the member responsibility aspects of the organization.

Now that my consulting work with my former employer has completely and officially ended, I look forward to spending more time at Quelab. I very much enjoyed my engineering career, and I’m more drawn to using and hopefully helping to improve the areas like the woodshop and the CNC router. However, my 16 years as a member of the Wells County Public Library, https://wellscolibrary.org/library-history/, board of trustees has given me some exposure to policy/administrative roles. Some major events during my tenure on that board:

• Early during my tenure, I supported the efforts of the senior board members to replace an under-performing Director with one of the senior staff members who had management talent and aspirations, but not the state-mandated credentials of a Library Director (Master of Library Science Degree). We petitioned the state and received limited term approval of a non-traditional organization structure, with co-directors consisting of an Administrative Director (the candidate while she completed her MLS degree) and a Technology Director (the staff information systems specialist, who had an MLS degree).
• Later during my tenure, I was heavily involved in a library building expansion project. This spanned several years, starting with community needs and desires surveys, and then proceeding with feasibility studies, concept proposals, architect firm selection, general contractor selection, and finally construction. During the final two years of the project, another board member and I swapped places in the roles of Board President and Building Committee Chairman.

I’m excited about the new location, even though it is a little bit longer drive from my house than the old location (10 minutes vs. 3 minutes). I’ve read the profiles submitted by Mitchell and Tetris; I am in 100% agreement with the thrust of their objectives for improved functionality, accessibility and organization, and would contribute what I can to realize these objectives.

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Many members met me at orientation as I am one of the registration stewards. I have been a Quelab member for four years and a steward for two. I wrote a grant to PNM that funded the aviation area and served on committees for new building and finance during the move. I have volunteered over a hundred hours and have had lots of interaction with the board. I am certified in wood, welding, machine shop, laser, CNC, bike shop and fiber arts (though I could use a refresher). I have taught classes at universities and three different makerspaces. I have been involved in makerspaces since 2009 in five cities. I was a member of The Hacktory (Philadelphia), an advisory board member of The Department of Making and Doing (Philadelphia), member and laser steward at All Hands Active! (Ann Arbor) and member of Makerspace Leipzig (Germany).

The last several Quelab boards have done fantastic jobs of difficult situations and ambitious projects and I would be honored to join. Now in the new building, we still have a long road to being fully operational and financially sustainable. As a board member, I would contribute to accounting, transparency, scalability, IT infrastructure design and systems integration. I would support decentralizing Quelab's authority and initiative from “the board” to the stewards and members. I think the biggest issues facing Quelab in the next two years are getting building systems complete and online, scaling to increased usage and more members, and improving functionality and usability while preserving what we love about our unique culture and community.

Hello, I’m Sherie Pennebaker and I’ve been a Quelab member for about 15 years. I’m proud to be a part of the creative, enriching place that Quelab has grown into.

I’m currently the stained glass and game room steward and was instrumental in the creation and implementation of our new member orientation process. I’ve trained and worked in most of the Quelab areas and have served on both of the new move committees when we needed to find a new space. I love creating new spaces for people to work and am currently working on a future jewelry area for basic metal work and casting. This involves classes on metalsmithing, small metal constructing, and jewelry casting so I understand what’s involved in the jewelry process.

I’m encouraged with the current board’s dedication to diversity in membership, commitment to funding work areas, and openness to member ideas and initiatives. I love the way the board, LLC, stewards, and members worked together to remake our MakerSpace at our new location.

This is the first time that I've accepted a board nomination, but after 20 years teaching middle school (and some high school) science, I have retired and can contribute to Quelab in a different capacity. My experience teaching includes many hours attending and leading meetings, implementing action items, listening to others, and facilitating discussion with members who had dissenting opinions. I love getting things done! I believe I would be a happy asset to the Quelab board. If elected, I would like to work on clarifying policies to assure understanding and implementation and collaborate with the board to support our members.

Hello, my name is Tetris, and I’ve been a member of Quelab for over two years. During that time, I served on the committee that secured our new building, helped coordinate the move, and led the transformation of the Fiber Arts area into a growing, multifunctional creative space.

I run multiple businesses and a nonprofit, and I bring over six years of managerial and board experience. My background in the film industry as a costume designer has taught me how to balance creativity with organization and resourcefulness.

If elected, I will focus on reducing clutter and waste, improve organization and accessibility, and expand workshops and events that engage both members and the wider Albuquerque community. I believe Quelab should be an active makerspace that supports those who create, collaborate, and contribute.

I would be honored to earn your vote and help guide Quelab into a more sustainable and productive future.

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