Around this time last year, Oak Park and River Forest High School alum and architect Maya Bird-Murphy was attempting to raise funds to turn a retired USPS delivery van into a mobile maker space that would allow her to provide free and low-cost workshops in areas like architecture, construction and digital fabrication to area young people.
Now, roughly $21,000 and countless man hours later, Bird-Murphy, 27, is ready to take her 108-square-foot retrofitted van on the road.
In 2017, Bird-Murphy founded Chicago Mobile Makers, a nonprofit that creates programs designed to encourage young people “to become advocates and change-makers in their own communities through design-focused skill-building workshops,” according to a statement the organization recently released.
Since its founding, Chicago Mobile Makers has held more than 150 workshops for young people in 11 Chicago…
