Ben Vickery is Group Manager of Network Knowledge Management for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). He previously served at NIST MEP as Group Manager for Marketing & Communications, where he managed a portfolio of products and services, including the NIST MEP website, MEP Connect, social media, blogs, reports, newsletters, infographics, videos, branding, the MEP National NetworkTM national awareness initiative, meetings and events. Ben has also served as Senior Technical Advisor and Team Lead for Applied Development within NIST MEP’s Programs and Partnerships Division, where he led numerous initiatives, including regional technology ecosystem development, sustainability, Technology Scouting and Technology Driven Market Intelligence. Prior to this, he served as Senior Analyst with the NIST Manufacturing Futures Group, where he focused on challenges facing U.S. manufacturers in the global economy, and was Product Line Manager for lean manufacturing/lean enterprise at NIST MEP. Ben received an M.S. in Public Policy, focused on Science & Technology Policy, as well as a B.S. in History, Technology & Society, from the Georgia Institute of Technology.