Georgia Guthrie is stepping down as executive director at The Hacktory

After eight years at the helm of West Philly makerspace The Hacktory, executive director Georgia Guthrie is stepping down.

Guthrie, who’s also a UX designer, said she still plans to be involved with the organization but wanted to make way for different leadership at the organization, which is coming up on its 10-year anniversary.

The exec will leave her post at the end of the month. No replacement is immediately on tap to assume her position, and it will be up to the organization’s board to lead the org.

“There’s still a lot of work to be done to get the organization to where I want it to be, but to get to where we are now has taken a lot of sacrifice on my end,” Guthrie said. “I just got married this spring, and frankly I don’t want to keep making that kind of sacrifice. I firmly believe that moving through a leadership transition will help spread out responsibility within the organization and strengthen it in the long run.”

Running some @3dxtech CarbonX Carbon Fiber filament in our upgraded @Ultimaker! pic.twitter.com/i3YEib0am7

— The Hacktory (@The_Hacktory) July 29, 2017

“It’s time for this kind of change and new energy,” Guthrie said. “I didn’t realize when I started as a volunteer at The Hacktory that creating a space for people of all ages and backgrounds to learn about all kinds of technology together was actually pretty radical. Seeing how the organization has grown and how fun and valuable people find our programs has been incredibly gratifying.”

The latest we heard from the makerspace, formerly based out of the now defunct Department of Making + Doing, was a $24,000 StartUp PHL grant to put together a lineup of summer classes for adult education.

Earlier last year, the makerspace opened up its current location at Lancaster Ave, where it offers access to 3D printers, sewing machines and other equipment for a monthly fee.