Andres Sepulveda Morales is the founder of Red Mage, a technology consultancy for impact makers and barrier breakers. They are presently Treasurer of the Rocky Mountain AI Interest Group (RMAIIG), founder of Fort Collins AI for Everyone, Top 10 Puerto Rican Voices in IT & Tech (Favikon) and were named one of Contra’s Best Software Consultants to Hire in 2025-2026 for English and Spanish markets.

Andres Sepulveda Morales is the founder of Red Mage, a technology consultancy for impact makers and barrier breakers. They are presently Treasurer of the Rocky Mountain AI Interest Group (RMAIIG), founder of Fort Collins AI for Everyone, Top 10 Puert... Show more

Waskar Paulino is a software engineer who builds AI products, and a Technical.ly 2025 RealLIST Innovator. He is the founder of PhilaCon Valley, a Philadelphia tech community for people who build. Its PATCH series of hands-on labs puts designers, engineers, and artists in one room to make things, from NFC hardware to projection mapping.

He is a former startup CTO. Before that, he spent seven years at Apple as a Genius and trainer. He started his career teaching Spanish and music to young people in Philadelphia. He is a first-generation AfroLatinx technologist who explains technology the same way to a boardroom or a beginner.

He speaks on AI in production, AI-assisted building, creative coding, and community-led growth. At the AI Community Conference at Microsoft in New York, he presented "From Pixels to Meaning: Building an AI Content Pipeline That Actually Works." He has also spoken at Philly JS Club, OwlHacks at Temple University, FamCon, and The Moonlighters' Club Showcase. He has been a panelist at Technical.ly's Builders Conference during Philly Tech Week, at Per Scholas Philadelphia, and on AI infrastructure with Unisys in Allentown.

Coming up: he leads the PhilaCon Valley creative-tech activation at Founders Alley Philadelphia in October 2026. In December 2026 he co-hosts The AI Confessional at The AI Summit New York.

Waskar Paulino is a software engineer who builds AI products, and a Technical.ly 2025 RealLIST Innovator. He is the founder of PhilaCon Valley, a Philadelphia tech community for people who build. Its PATCH series of hands-on labs puts designers, engi... Show more

Elena is a data enthusiast with solid experience in analytics, data engineering and visualization using Microsoft Fabric, Power BI, Synapse and Databricks. She works in Barcelona, helping organizations turn raw data into valuable insights with a strategic and creative approach. She's also passionate about combining technology with social and community-driven projects, and is an active learner and collaborator in the data community.

Elena is a data enthusiast with solid experience in analytics, data engineering and visualization using Microsoft Fabric, Power BI, Synapse and Databricks. She works in Barcelona, helping organizations turn raw data into valuable insights with a stra... Show more

Engineer, manager, former startupper, broadcasting every Monday evening on Digitalia, one of the longest-lasting Podcast in Italy, speaking about technology and how this interacts with our lives. His last book is "Almanacco Digitaliano 2024" from Ledizioni Publishing. Musician and performer with more than 400 gigs.

Engineer, manager, former startupper, broadcasting every Monday evening on Digitalia, one of the longest-lasting Podcast in Italy, speaking about technology and how this interacts with our lives. His last book is "Almanacco Digitaliano 2024" from Led... Show more

Andy Cross has lead teams building the largest AI projects and deployments, hosted on Azure. He founded a consultancy in 2012 and grew it from 2 to 300 people. Along the way he has picked up quite a few interesting stories! He is co-founder of the UK London Azure User Group, formerly an Azure Most Valuable Professional and a Microsoft Regional Director.

Andy Cross has lead teams building the largest AI projects and deployments, hosted on Azure. He founded a consultancy in 2012 and grew it from 2 to 300 people. Along the way he has picked up quite a few interesting stories! He is co-founder of the UK... Show more

Michael is a Technical Content Creator at JetBrains focused on gamedev and .NET. He's worked with .NET for over a decade and Godot for over 3 years. In his spare time he loves to tinker, testing out game ideas on his personal website, https://mikeware.com/, as well as occasionally attempt a game jam (see some successes on itch.io: https://mikeware.itch.io). He's been making games for decades, his most popular an early free Windows Mobile game Suitor with over 175k downloads worldwide.

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Michael is a Technical Content Creator at JetBrains focused on gamedev and .NET. He's worked with .NET for over a decade and Godot for over 3 years. In his spare time he loves to tinker, testing out game ideas on his personal website, https://mikewar... Show more

“You’re not here to change people. You’re here to move them.”

Joel Silverstone helps leaders and teams have conversations that build trust, create buy-in, and move work forward, especially when the stakes are high or teams are working across silos.

For more than 25 years, Joel has trained and coached thousands of leaders across North America, Asia, Europe, and Africa. He has worked with organizations including QuidelOrtho, Kearney, RBC, TD, BMO, CIBC, Abbott, and Hyundai.

As founder of TFR: This Feels Right, Joel combines practical communication and leadership tools with skills drawn from acting and improvisation: reading the room, choosing your intention, and connecting with what matters to others.

A former professional actor and improviser, Joel brings energy, humour, and “Hollywood Tips” to every session. His approach is simple: “Learn, Laugh, Do.” Participants practise real workplace conversations and leave sounding like themselves, their voice now better matched to their intention.

Joel also hosts the 'TFR: This Feels Right' podcast about leadership, communication and influence.

“You’re not here to change people. You’re here to move them.” Joel Silverstone helps leaders and teams have conversations that build trust, create buy-in, and move work forward, especially when the stakes are high or teams are working across silos... Show more

It's never easy to describe oneself, especially when one is interested in so many different topics and fields and I guess that says something about who I am afterall. I find it fun and entertaining to teach difficult subjects through exotic methods and stories and people seem to also have fun while I do so.

I believe in the union between science and human values (read fun) and I often work and participate in non-profit organization and projects which aim to bring culture and scientific knowledge.

It's never easy to describe oneself, especially when one is interested in so many different topics and fields and I guess that says something about who I am afterall. I find it fun and entertaining to teach difficult subjects through exotic methods a... Show more

I am a professional with more than 10 years of experience in the IT world, specialized in Business Intelligence, analytics and information representation. Throughout my career, I have worked extensively in requirements analysis, relational and analytical database modeling, ETL process development as well as reporting and data visualization, using tools such as Power BI, Azure services or Microsoft SQL Server BI suite.
In addition to this, I have a master's degree in graphic design and illustration, which allows me to combine my technical skills with a creative perspective to generate attractive and effective visual solutions, using the Adobe suite and other tools.
Outside the professional field, I enjoy drawing, playing guitar, walking, cooking, watching series and movies. I am always looking to learn new things.
This mix of interests and skills allows me to approach projects with a broad and creative vision.

I am a professional with more than 10 years of experience in the IT world, specialized in Business Intelligence, analytics and information representation. Throughout my career, I have worked extensively in requirements analysis, relational and analyt... Show more

David is a family man, software developer, musician, illustrator, and Microsoft MVP living in North Georgia, USA. David runs on a high-octane mixture of caffeine and JavaScript, and is made entirely of bacon.

David is a family man, software developer, musician, illustrator, and Microsoft MVP living in North Georgia, USA. David runs on a high-octane mixture of caffeine and JavaScript, and is made entirely of bacon. Show more

Jerry Black is a seasoned IT program manager, stand-up comedian, and the founder of IT Misfits, a movement that helps technical professionals build confidence, communication skills, and leadership presence through comedy. With more than 20 years leading infrastructure and software initiatives across enterprise environments, Jerry understands the real-world friction between business and IT firsthand.

As a performer who has taken the stage in cities across the U.S., Jerry turns the everyday chaos of IT into humor, insight, and connection. Through IT Misfits, he has built a platform where engineers, analysts, and architects write and perform their own comedy, and in doing so, become sharper communicators and stronger collaborators.

His workshops blend public speaking, leadership communication, and comedy frameworks to help technical professionals become more compelling in the rooms that matter. Audiences leave laughing, thinking, and seeing the people behind the technology differently.

Jerry Black is a seasoned IT program manager, stand-up comedian, and the founder of IT Misfits, a movement that helps technical professionals build confidence, communication skills, and leadership presence through comedy. With more than 20 years lead... Show more

Marie Wiese is the CEO Marketing Copilot®, an AI-enabled sales and marketing firm. She is a best-selling author and host of the podcasts, Women Talk Tech and The Hot Seat for Microsoft Partners. Marie has worked in the technology sector for 30+ years and focuses on marketing automation/CRM and the digital transformation of the sales and marketing function. Marie helps Microsoft Partners, software developers and end customers build demand generation programs for their organizations with the right strategy and technology.

Marie Wiese is the CEO Marketing Copilot®, an AI-enabled sales and marketing firm. She is a best-selling author and host of the podcasts, Women Talk Tech and The Hot Seat for Microsoft Partners. Marie has worked in the technology sector for 30+ years... Show more

Rob LeGood has been building software, and the teams behind it, since 1996. He started as a developer and worked his way up to Director, Technology Solutions at OCAS, where he led a department of 30 developers and testers. Along the way he led teams at D2L and in financial services, and since 2021 he has taught web development and SQL as a part-time professor at Conestoga College.

Rob's leadership philosophy is simple: the work happens through people, or it doesn't happen. He writes about people-centric leadership at pcl.roblegood.ca. Lately he's also been writing code again, with an AI pair programmer that is very eager and occasionally wrong.

When he's not on a conference stage, he's on an actual one. He has acted and directed with Kitchener-Waterloo Little Theatre since 2000. He also plays a lot of board games.

Rob LeGood has been building software, and the teams behind it, since 1996. He started as a developer and worked his way up to Director, Technology Solutions at OCAS, where he led a department of 30 developers and testers. Along the way he led teams ... Show more

As a Walt Disney Imagineer, Brian helped create the stories and magic for some of the world’s most beloved attractions. Over the past 30+ years, he has produced work for a who’s-who list of corporations, as well as small entrepreneurial ventures. As an Instructor at the University of Central Florida, Brian taught a variety of classes related to immersive/thematic design, entertainment business, and emerging technologies. He is also a sought-after Futurist and Innovation Consultant through his practice known as The Brainstorm Institute where he works with both large and small companies to help them gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace through design thinking and adopting innovative practices. He has spoken at conferences around the world, is passionate about education, and is an advisory board member for several innovative tech start-ups.

As a Walt Disney Imagineer, Brian helped create the stories and magic for some of the world’s most beloved attractions. Over the past 30+ years, he has produced work for a who’s-who list of corporations, as well as small entrepreneurial ventures. As ... Show more

Amy is a graphic designer turned software developer currently building weird, cool, and unconventional stuff at Dimensional Innovations. On her off time she can be found volunteering with Kansas City Women in Tech, reading or playing Dungeons and Dragons.

Amy is a graphic designer turned software developer currently building weird, cool, and unconventional stuff at Dimensional Innovations. On her off time she can be found volunteering with Kansas City Women in Tech, reading or playing Dungeons and Dra... Show more

Luca holds a degree in Computer Engineering from the Faculty of Engineering of the University of L'Aquila and has more than fifteen years of experience working on the Microsoft Data Platform. He started his experience as a T-SQL developer on SQL Server 2000 and 2005. He then focused on the whole Microsoft Business Intelligence stack (SSIS, SSAS, SSRS), deepening data warehousing techniques. Recently, he has been focusing on the world of Advanced Analytics and Data Science. He contributes to the technical community as a speaker at data events and through his personal blog on Medium. He is the author of "Extending Power BI with Python and R 2nd Ed.", published by Packt Publishing. He holds the role of Data & AI Solution Hub Lead at Lodestar. He is currently a Microsoft AI & Data Platform Most Valuable Professional (MVP).

He also graduated with honors in classical piano from the "Alfredo Casella" Conservatory in L'Aquila.

Luca holds a degree in Computer Engineering from the Faculty of Engineering of the University of L'Aquila and has more than fifteen years of experience working on the Microsoft Data Platform. He started his experience as a T-SQL developer on SQL Serv... Show more

Eugene Willis Jr. is an Application Analyst, Red Hat Systems Administrator, and Helpdesk professional who built his career in tech from the ground up. Starting without a formal background, he worked his way from support roles into managing Red Hat systems and higher education applications. With degrees in Business and Marketing, Eugene blends technical expertise with creative strategy to solve real-world problems. Outside of tech, he’s a touring emcee and author who enjoys mentoring others and helping them carve out their own path forward.

Eugene Willis Jr. is an Application Analyst, Red Hat Systems Administrator, and Helpdesk professional who built his career in tech from the ground up. Starting without a formal background, he worked his way from support roles into managing Red Hat sy... Show more

Akansha is a Senior Software Engineer and Google Women Techmakers Ambassador with experience in building and shipping production-ready mobile applications. She has spoken at international conferences and community events across Europe and Asia, sharing practical lessons on mobile development, architecture, and real-world software engineering.

Beyond her day-to-day engineering work, Akansha actively contributes to developer communities as an organizer and speaker, helping developers learn through shared experiences and hands-on discussions. Her work focuses on writing maintainable code, making thoughtful architectural decisions, and mentoring developers as they grow in their careers.

She is particularly interested in how modern development practices and AI-assisted workflows are changing the way developers learn, collaborate, and build software.

Akansha is a Senior Software Engineer and Google Women Techmakers Ambassador with experience in building and shipping production-ready mobile applications. She has spoken at international conferences and community events across Europe and Asia, shari... Show more

Scott is an artist, engineer & dad, collaborating on a different kind of world. Into collective art, activism, therapy & open source nerdy stuff. Scott is a Cloud Native Ambassador, speaker, organizer of CNCF community events including the New York Kubernetes Meetup and New York KCD, and international conferences including GitOpsCon. He enjoys helping develop Free and Open Source Software that anyone can use, including co-maintaining CNCF projects Helm, Flux and OpenGitOps.

Scott is an artist, engineer & dad, collaborating on a different kind of world. Into collective art, activism, therapy & open source nerdy stuff. Scott is a Cloud Native Ambassador, speaker, organizer of CNCF community events including the New York K... Show more

Blake Beckemeyer is a technical lead of Power Platform and Fabric solutions at Applied Information Sciences, specializing in knitting low-code and analytics into simple, governed solutions — and in pushing nascent tooling into production ahead of his peers. A professional tenor based in Indiana, he brings an energetic, visceral style to the stage.

Blake Beckemeyer is a technical lead of Power Platform and Fabric solutions at Applied Information Sciences, specializing in knitting low-code and analytics into simple, governed solutions — and in pushing nascent tooling into production ahead of his... Show more

Architect and engineer with a passion for continuous learning and knowledge sharing. Focused on people, processes, and finding the right balance between quality and effectiveness. A firm believer in the transformative power of automation and AI.

Having worked across various industries, company sizes, and roles - from startups to large enterprises - he thrives on connecting a strategic perspective with practical execution. His main interests lie in Enterprise and Solution Architecture, where he applies a holistic view to make technology serve business goals effectively.

Outside of work, he’s passionate about music - singing, playing, and dancing - as well as sports ranging from martial arts to snowboarding.

Architect and engineer with a passion for continuous learning and knowledge sharing. Focused on people, processes, and finding the right balance between quality and effectiveness. A firm believer in the transformative power of automation and AI. ... Show more

I am a Solutions Architect at Online Partner AB and a Cloud GDE. I have worked on several projects involving Google Cloud services and Google Workspace along with multiple other technology stacks and platforms.

I am a Solutions Architect at Online Partner AB and a Cloud GDE. I have worked on several projects involving Google Cloud services and Google Workspace along with multiple other technology stacks and platforms. Show more

Gunnard Engebreth is a software engineering manager, architect, author, and conference speaker with more than 30 years of experience building software and leading engineering teams.

His career began during the early web and Dot Com era in Atlanta, where he moved from Perl into PHP and never really stopped building things. Since then, he has worked across application development, APIs, architecture, cloud infrastructure, DevOps, legacy modernization, and engineering leadership.

Gunnard's current interests are where software engineering is heading next: AI-assisted development, agentic software engineering, developer productivity, automation, and the challenges of applying these technologies to real-world production systems. He is particularly interested in how teams can use AI to move faster while maintaining the testing, architecture, security, and engineering discipline required to ship reliable software.

He is also passionate about legacy application modernization and the practical techniques required to bring aging systems into the modern development ecosystem without simply throwing them away and starting over.

A longtime advocate for Free and Open Source Software, Gunnard has contributed to projects including WordPress, Devilbox, and DischordPHP. He has written for php[architect] and is the author of two PHP 8 books published by Apress.

Gunnard has spoken at MadisonPHP, LonghornPHP, Techlahoma, Chaos Carnival, and other technology events. He currently works as an engineering manager and architect while continuing to build software products, experiment with emerging technologies, and write about what he learns.

He lives with his wife and two sons in the North Georgia mountains.

gunnard.org

Gunnard Engebreth is a software engineering manager, architect, author, and conference speaker with more than 30 years of experience building software and leading engineering teams. His career began during the early web and Dot Com era in Atlanta,... Show more

As a Microsoft MVP, Micha enjoys talking about all Azure & Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) topics and has already spoken at Microsoft conferences, International (User Group) events, Microsoft hosted webinars & Workshops and more.
He has over 15 years of experience as a Azure & DevOps engineer and has in depth knowledge of private, hybrid and public clouds.
Today Micha mainly focuses on Azure, DevOps, Windows 365 & AVD environments and is particularly knowledgeable about migrating those environments to Azure.
Micha is freelance Azure Architect @ Ahold Delhaize and works with Microsoft on Azure, Windows 365 & AVD

As a Microsoft MVP, Micha enjoys talking about all Azure & Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) topics and has already spoken at Microsoft conferences, International (User Group) events, Microsoft hosted webinars & Workshops and more. He has over 15 years of... Show more

I'm a Senior Product & Brand Designer with 7 years across fintech, B2B SaaS and health-tech; I design complex, high-stakes products end to end and then build many of them in code myself.

Most of my recent work lives at the intersection of design and AI-assisted development. I've been building and shipping live products with AI since mid-2025; and I've kept a steady cadence ever since, with new work going out most weeks. Full-stack apps with real users, dashboards, design systems and landing pages. That means what I hand over isn't a mockup waiting on a developer; it's often a finished, deployed product built with the same eye for craft I bring to every design decision.

My design foundation is deep. I've designed treasury and core banking systems for government and financial institutions, a compliance engine unifying multiple third-party APIs, clinical EMR dashboards validated with practising doctors, and a design system spanning an entire product suite. I care most about the hard, invisible parts; dense workflows, expert users, decisions where getting it wrong actually costs someone something.

I also lead design for FlutterBytes, recognised by Google as Africa's largest Flutter developer community; carrying brand, product and event design across every touchpoint.

Portfolio: design.headfavour.com

4 Products I've built with AI:
www.stampdx.com
www.wordmaths.com
www.moniematch.com
www.magznmaker.com

I'm a Senior Product & Brand Designer with 7 years across fintech, B2B SaaS and health-tech; I design complex, high-stakes products end to end and then build many of them in code myself. Most of my recent work lives at the intersection of design ... Show more

Philip Chidera is a Product Designer and entrepreneur building fintech, SaaS, and Web3 products for clients and companies across Nigeria and internationally. He is also the Co-founder of Termwise, a school management platform built for Nigerian schools. He serves as Design Lead (UI/UX) for Port Harcourt Talent Tribe under ATC Africa, where he mentors and supports emerging tech talent. He combines product design with AI and no-code tools to build and ship production-ready interfaces. His work and speaking focus on product design, AI, emerging tools, and the evolving ways modern digital products are designed and built.

Philip Chidera is a Product Designer and entrepreneur building fintech, SaaS, and Web3 products for clients and companies across Nigeria and internationally. He is also the Co-founder of Termwise, a school management platform built for Nigerian schoo... Show more

I have been writing code for about 25 years yet strive to learn something new every day. I’ll never let a technical issue get the best of me and will always find a solution to the problem. My specialties over the last 10 years have been NET C# and Office 365 development. I can make SharePoint look good!

I have been writing code for about 25 years yet strive to learn something new every day. I’ll never let a technical issue get the best of me and will always find a solution to the problem. My specialties over the last 10 years have been NET C# and ... Show more

Florin Bădiță is an independent builder and founder based in Arad, Romania. He is the creator of DomainScope, an AI-powered domain intelligence platform indexing 15M+ domains across 177 markets, and ServerClaw, an open-source infrastructure-as-code platform with 160+ Ansible roles. A Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe honoree and TEDx speaker, he served as Tech Director at the Davos House of Collaboration 2026 and is active in the MCP ecosystem via 0mcp.com. His engineering stack centers on Go, PostgreSQL/PostGIS, and AI-assisted development workflows — he shipped four production systems and logged over 1,000 Architecture Decision Records in a single month using AI-augmented engineering, and now teaches that methodology through his ADR-Driven Development masterclass. Beyond engineering, he founded Corupția Ucide, Romania's largest civic accountability movement, and has used 8,000+ FOIA requests as a data-journalism collaborator with RISE Project/OCCRP.

Florin Bădiță is an independent builder and founder based in Arad, Romania. He is the creator of DomainScope, an AI-powered domain intelligence platform indexing 15M+ domains across 177 markets, and ServerClaw, an open-source infrastructure-as-code p... Show more

Christian has over 20 years of international UX experience and currently leads the UX Center of Competence at Optimizer.pt in Porto, Portugal. He drives the development of award-winning, user-centered product solutions through UX research and Behavior informed design. He contributes to Harvard University DCE, Singularity University, Nomura Research Institute Japan, and many more. He is a published author on UX Design, AI Product Design and Behavior Design topics. He is teaching UX Leadership, Behavior Design and Human-Centered AI Experiences (HAX) at TheStarter.io. PortoAX/UX Activist. Jury Member of the UX Nordic Award 2026

Christian has over 20 years of international UX experience and currently leads the UX Center of Competence at Optimizer.pt in Porto, Portugal. He drives the development of award-winning, user-centered product solutions through UX research and Behavio... Show more

Phil Stafford is a cybersecurity expert and AI safety strategist working at the shifting boundary between human intention and machine autonomy. With over 20 years of experience across IT, cybersecurity, and AI, his work blends defensive security, cutting-edge research, and emerging policy, driven by a central question: how do we build intelligent systems that extend our humanity rather than replace it?

Phil holds a M.Sc. in Cybersecurity and Information Assurance, along with expert-level certifications including CloudNetX, Pentest+, and Cysa+. He collaborates with researchers and practitioners through the Simply Cyber community and the Multiverse School, working to shape the ethical scaffolding around next-generation AI.

Outside the realm of security, Phil is a classically trained musician and multidisciplinary artist exploring what it means to make human art in a post-AI world.

Phil Stafford is a cybersecurity expert and AI safety strategist working at the shifting boundary between human intention and machine autonomy. With over 20 years of experience across IT, cybersecurity, and AI, his work blends defensive security, cut... Show more