Adrianne Ferree

Adrianne Ferree is the Founder and Executive Director of The Makers Hub, a nonprofit organization.  While working at the Pitchess Detention Center, Adrianne oversaw inmate vocational programs for seven years and sustainability for five. During that time, Adrianne became keenly aware of the revolving door nature of the prison system, the lack of support for inmates to successfully transition back into society, and the need for environmental advocacy.

That's when she had a moment of epiphany when she saw an inmate creating a beautiful piece of furniture in the woodshop and realized the potential for inmates to use their skills and talents to start small businesses upon release. This experience led her to investigate ways to provide access to tools for inmates, which ultimately led to the creation of a nonprofit, The Makers Hub. Despite initial challenges, she formed a partnership with Compton Veterans and began working on community renovation projects and helping residents improve their homes and neighborhoods while seeking out a permanent site for Makerspace. She has found an ideal space and signed a lease.

Also as a part of the Polk Institute’s first cohort, Adrianne is now in Phase 3 of the 66-week Virtual Master Practitioner-driven training, the phase where the entrepreneur is actively raising capital to fund their business.