June Newsletter
Acceler8 is proud to announce our newest advisor member Dr Karen Salvaggio.
She brings a wealth of motorsports, education, and leadership experience to our program. A military veteran and master mechanic, Karen served in the US Air Force as a crew chief on B-52 and KC-135 aircraft. After nine successful years, she left the military and secured her advanced education. Karen holds bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees, and has extensive experience in finance, operations and organizational leadership. Her distinguished career in public education spanned more than 25 years, serving in every role from classroom teacher to her final role as superintendent of schools.
Karen recognized her passion for motorsports at an early age and built her first racecar at 22. When Karen wasn’t working in schools, she was racing and instructing drivers. She holds multiple track records, earning seven championships, and secured more than 200 victories.
Karen now builds racecars full time, is active in the automotive aftermarket industry, serving as a SEMA council member, and was recently featured on the Detroit Muscle Car show airing on the NBC and CBS networks.
Now retired from her career in education, Karen is a life coach with expertise in organizational development at the corporate level, as well as health and wellness coaching. Karen is a public speaker and shares her life experience in the areas of motorsports, educational equity, and building strong, student-focused school programs. We look forward to mentorship and assistance from Dr Salvaggio.
HAAS Foundation Support
The Acceler8 education program works with some amazing brands, foundations and donors, which have helped us achieve tremendous success in the automotive education field. And we’re excited to announce a new partner!
We were chosen to receive a $25,000 grant from the Haas foundation, for which everybody at Acceler8 is extremely grateful. The grant will be used to purchase tools for each of our students in the summer and fall 2023 semesters. It will also help us to offer CNC machine training to our students and staff.
2023 Experiences
As we approach the midway point of the year, we’re able to reflect on our experiences, which has included presentations to more than 200 students. This included amazing events at the NASCAR “Clash” as well as Formula DRIFT in Long Beach and Atlanta. Our students were treated to track walks plus meet ’n greet opportunities with drivers and crew chiefs. Students received a unique look behind the scenes at the racing and automotive industry.
Behind the Scenes Tour of Wilwood
Did you miss it?
Our Wilwood Brakes tour was another behind the scenes look on how this specialist manufacturer produces this high-performance braking systems from start to finish. We learned a great deal about braking components, giving students a remarkable insight into the advanced technology.
We’ll have more information from our next adventure soon. Follow Acceler8 on Instagram and YouTube for regular updates.
2023 Summer Workshop at the Petersen Museum
Do you know a student aged 14-24 who is interested in the automotive industry? Acceler8 is offering classes this summer and will be teaming up with the Petersen Automotive Museum once again for our summer workshop.
We will have classes on each Tuesday and Thursday during July. Space is limited, so please contact us now at info@acceler8education.org for enrollment details.
