NCC Staff
The core group that founded the National Center for Craftsmanship is a collaboration of highly-skilled craftspeople and dynamic educators from Fort Collins, Colorado. As with most great ideas this one was born from pure enthusiasm—we went out and did something about the loss of crafts skills and trades. Using our DeConstruct™ projects, educational seminars, and trade shows we got kids excited about getting their hands dirty and making things. And it works.
Our Founders
Robb Sommerfeld, M.Ed.
Assistant Director
Robb has been teaching in the Thompson School District in Colorado for over seven years. Building upon a career in manufacturing and construction, he attended Colorado State University and was awarded his Masters and Teaching Credential in 2003. Robb works hard to promote trades skills so students realize that there are other options for career paths outside of the college track. Robb has been instrumental in diffusing the National Center for Craftsmanships’s goals throughout northern Colorado.
Dan Wilkewitz, M.Ed.
DeConstruct™ Development Manager
Dan received his bachelors degree in Sociology from Colorado State University cum laude in 1992. His areas of focus were social symbolic interaction and deviance mitigation. His graduate teaching certification in secondary social studies was earned at the University of Northern Colorado in 1998. He holds professional licenses in Colorado both as employing real estate broker and senior mortgage broker. His work with NCC is focused on promoting and implementing the DeConstruct™ program to the benefit of property owners, students, and communities.
Dottie Bentley, M.Ed.
Board Member & Education Liaison
NCC is a perfect opportunity for Dottie to combine a passion for teaching, architecture, construction and green building. Recently retired from ten years of teaching, she remains involved with Colorado MESA as a volunteer and mentors students through afterschool programs. Dottie is a licensed technology teacher in the state of Colorado. Drawing from her own experiences in the minerals exploration and mining industry, she mentors underrepresented students in math, science and engineering fields. Dottie holds a Masters Degree from the Construction Management Department at Colorado State University and also holds a degree in Geology from University of Wyoming.
Neil A. Kaufman, Ph.D.
Board Director
Born in New Jersey, Neil is a third generation craftsman of the building trades. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Ceramic Engineering from Alfred University in New York and a Masters degree in Construction Management from Colorado State University with an emphasis in sustainable design, materials, and practices
After years of work and study Neil came to appreciate that the majority of problems and challenges in our industrial and post-industrial society revolve less around technology and more around issues of education, training, and professional and personal development. This fundamental change in perspective, from technology to people-centered, led Neil to earn his Doctorate in Education from CSU in 2005, with an emphasis in human capital development and sustainable team building strategies in applied settings.
Neil continues to engage the community on issues of workforce and economic development through teaching, public speaking, and consulting. He currently lives with his family in Fort Collins, Colorado.