Government, Social Sector & Education

Valued individuals involved in shaping public policies, providing essential services, and promoting education, tirelessly looking to improve society and empower citizens

Tarek Hussein

Tarek Hussein

Dr. Tarek Hussein is a pharmacist-entrepreneur and clinical leader dedicated to building healthcare systems that are faster, safer, and measurably more impactful. With a career spanning acute hospital care, community pharmacy, and digital health, Tarek speaks at the intersection of operational excellence and social health equity.

Speaking & Consulting Expertise:
• Operational Excellence (Lean & Agile): As a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt and ICP-ACC Agile Coach, Tarek helps healthcare organizations move beyond traditional silos. He shares frameworks for designing evidence-based systems that reduce waste, improve safety, and empower interprofessional teams.
• Sustainability & Climate Resilience: As a Climate Health Fellow (Harvard Medical School/CHA) and Co-Chair of the Sustainable Prescribing Working Group, Tarek is a leading voice on greening the healthcare supply chain. He provides actionable insights on sustainable prescribing and climate-resilient practice.
• Leadership & Innovation: A Chartered Manager and 2x digital health founder, Tarek speaks on the "builder’s mindset" required to scale innovation. He shares lessons from founding SociaLink Rx (Canada’s first precision social prescribing platform) and MedaKi (e-commerce infrastructure for the pharmacy industry).
• Social Prescribing: Tarek is a published researcher and pioneer in shifting the clinical focus from the "prescription as end-point" to the "prescription as starting point," integrating social determinants of health into standard primary care.
Professional Background:
Tarek is currently a Clinical Pharmacist at Brockville General Hospital and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Medicine. He previously spent 13 years building Weller Pharmacy into Ontario’s first sustainability-certified independent practice and a Living Wage Champion.

Education & Credentials: Tarek holds a BPharm, a PharmD, and an MBA from IE Business School. He is currently pursuing an MSc in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Toronto. His leadership credentials include being a Chartered Manager (C.Mgr), a Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM), and a former President of the Board for KEYS Employment & Newcomer Services.

Engagement Style: Tarek combines the rigour of a clinician with the agility of a tech founder. He is known for translating complex systemic challenges—whether they be "leadership debt" or "environmental footprint"—into practical, high-performance strategies for health system leaders, policymakers, and frontline practitioners.**

Dr. Tarek Hussein is a pharmacist-entrepreneur and clinical leader dedicated to building healthcare systems that are faster, safer, and measurably more impactful. With a career spanning acute hospital care, community pharmacy, and digital health, Tar... Show more

Elsa Iguedjtal

Elsa Iguedjtal

Agiliste convaincue, motivée par les petites victoires quotidiennes, émerveillée par la vie, et habitée par les valeurs du manifeste agile centrées sur l'humain, le respect, la bienveillance et l'amélioration continue. Je mets mes compétences et mon expérience au service de ceux qui partagent mon quotidien, mais j'essaye avant tout de leur faire révéler leur propre potentiel, parfois des pépites qu'ils ignorent d'eux-mêmes...

Maman de 3 enfants, neuroatypique, féministe et fresqueuse du climat.

Agiliste convaincue, motivée par les petites victoires quotidiennes, émerveillée par la vie, et habitée par les valeurs du manifeste agile centrées sur l'humain, le respect, la bienveillance et l'amélioration continue. Je mets mes compétences et mon ... Show more

Prof. Edson Rosa Gomes da Silva

Prof. Edson Rosa Gomes da Silva

Graduação em Ciências Econômicas e em Direito. Especialista em Segurança Pública e Especialista em Direito Público. Mestre em Engenharia e Gestão do Conhecimento (UFSC). Doutor em Engenharia e Gestão do Conhecimento (UFSC). Foi Coordenador do Escritório de Gestão de Processos na Secretaria de Estado do Planejamento. Trabalhou na Controladoria-Geral do Estado atuando na função de Coordenador de Informações Estratégicas, foi Gestor do Portfólio de Projetos, Presidente da Comissão de Implementação da LGPD, Presidente da Comissão de Inovação e membro do Comitê Estratégico de Governança e Integridade. Gerente de Apoio Operacional na Diretoria Administrativa e Financeira da Secretaria de Estado da Segurança Pública; Gerente do Complexo Administrativo na Diretoria Administrativa e Financeira da Secretaria de Estado da Segurança Pública; Gestor de Sistemas de Conhecimento na Coordenação-Geral de Inteligência da SENASP/MJ; Chefe da Divisão de Informática e Tecnologia da Diretoria de Informação e Inteligência - Secretaria de Estado da Segurança Pública de Santa Catarina, conduzindo a Gestão Técnica do Projeto de Criação e Institucionalização do Sistema Integrado de Segurança Pública (SISP-SC).

Graduação em Ciências Econômicas e em Direito. Especialista em Segurança Pública e Especialista em Direito Público. Mestre em Engenharia e Gestão do Conhecimento (UFSC). Doutor em Engenharia e Gestão do Conhecimento (UFSC). Foi Coordenador do Escritó... Show more

Boomie Odumade

Boomie Odumade

Boomie Odumade is a senior engineering leader and career coach with 20+ years of experience building and scaling engineering teams and systems. Through TechBees, she works with companies as a fractional or interim CTO/VPE, bringing clarity to ambiguous situations and building foundations that scale.

Boomie has led engineering organizations at companies including Accenture, NPR, and Capital One, startups, and scale-ups. She also serves as a board trustee for organizations advancing leadership development and STEM education.

Her talks are grounded in real experience and bring an energetic, practical perspective to engineering leadership, technical strategy, security and DevSecOps, and building healthy, inclusive engineering cultures.

Boomie Odumade is a senior engineering leader and career coach with 20+ years of experience building and scaling engineering teams and systems. Through TechBees, she works with companies as a fractional or interim CTO/VPE, bringing clarity to ambiguo... Show more

Letícia Barbosa

Letícia Barbosa

Atuo com TI há 25 anos e já trabalhei nas mais diversas áreas.
Estou há mais de 14 anos na Prodesp e trabalho articulando as áreas da empresa, buscando: comunicação entre as áreas, troca de experiência com outras empresas, estudo de novas tecnologias e assuntos para ampliar o repertório, apoio a líderes e liderados com práticas/treinamentos usando o ágil, o Design Thinking e principalmente, a comunicação.
Também atuo na comissão de inovação da Prodesp e na 1a comunidade dse Design Sprint no Brasil!
Atuei como redatora voluntária pelo IBEGESP - Instituto Brasileiro de Educação em Gestão Pública em 2022, com quatro artigos publicados no https://radar.ibegesp.org.br/
Sou uma mulher guerreira, alegre, a filha mais velha de três irmãos, aquela que tinha que dar o exemplo em casa. Tenho 2 filhas e o meu negócio é gente, é promover desenvolvimento humano. Compartilhar conhecimento e sempre ajudar quem eu puder, como puder.
Que sejamos agentes de mudança!

Atuo com TI há 25 anos e já trabalhei nas mais diversas áreas. Estou há mais de 14 anos na Prodesp e trabalho articulando as áreas da empresa, buscando: comunicação entre as áreas, troca de experiência com outras empresas, estudo de novas tecnologia... Show more

Shenandoah Chefalo

Shenandoah Chefalo

Shenandoah Chefalo is a speaker, author, and trauma-informed workplace consultant who helps organizations build more human-centered systems of care, leadership, and accountability.

As the author of Garbage Bag Suitcase and creator of the Best Bunny children’s book series, Shenandoah brings both lived experience and professional expertise to conversations about foster care, trauma, resilience, organizational culture, workforce burnout, and meaningful systems change. Her work bridges personal story, neuroscience, leadership practice, and implementation strategy to help audiences move beyond awareness and into action.

Through Chefalo Consulting, Shenandoah works with public agencies, courts, schools, healthcare systems, nonprofits, CASA/GAL programs, child welfare organizations, treatment court professionals, and human-service agencies to move trauma-informed principles from concept to daily practice. She has provided speaking, training, and implementation support for state and county CASA organizations, child welfare and foster care audiences, healthcare and human-service systems, education leaders, public-sector teams, and organizations seeking to strengthen workplace culture and workforce wellbeing.

Her sessions are especially relevant for audiences focused on trauma-informed leadership, human-centered workplace culture, burnout prevention, secondary trauma, psychological safety, staff retention, foster care, child welfare, treatment courts, systems change, and implementation.

Learn more about Shenandoah’s speaking and training work through Chefalo Consulting at chefaloconsulting.com, or contact shen@chefaloconsulting.com.

Shenandoah Chefalo is a speaker, author, and trauma-informed workplace consultant who helps organizations build more human-centered systems of care, leadership, and accountability. As the author of Garbage Bag Suitcase and creator of the Best Bunn... Show more

Leslie Martinich

Leslie Martinich

Leslie Martinich is an IEEE Distinguished Lecturer, former computer scientist, leadership researcher, and trusted advisor to technical leaders worldwide. After helping pioneer networking software and foundational technologies such as remote procedure calls, she spent more than two decades studying a question that affects every organization: Why do some teams thrive while others struggle despite having equally talented people?

As founder of Competitive Focus, Leslie helps engineers, technical professionals, and executives develop the leadership capabilities needed to navigate increasing organizational complexity. Her work combines research, real-world leadership experience, and practical methods for building trust, improving communication, and creating high-performing teams.

Leslie has worked with organizations on six continents, including NASA, 3M, Samsung, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, and the U.S. State Department. In 2012, she was selected as the IEEE-USA Science and Technology Policy Fellow, serving in the U.S. Congress. Through her Executive Simulation Leadership Lab and keynote presentations, she helps organizations strengthen leadership capability, improve retention, and accelerate performance.

Known for her engaging storytelling, humor, and practical insights, Leslie shows leaders how trustworthiness improves information flow, performance, and innovation in an increasingly complex world.

Leslie Martinich is an IEEE Distinguished Lecturer, former computer scientist, leadership researcher, and trusted advisor to technical leaders worldwide. After helping pioneer networking software and foundational technologies such as remote procedure... Show more

Wilson Guenther

Wilson Guenther

Press: Featured in National Law Review and Atlanta Today, with syndication across the EIN Presswire network of 800+ outlets, and praised by industry analyst Jeff Kagan as "a clear example of how quickly the AI landscape is evolving and new opportunities are emerging" (March 2026).

Wilson Guenther is the Founder, CEO and CTO of Drivia — what Wilson calls "the personalization infrastructure of the AI era." Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, adopted at age 10 by an American family, Wilson arrived in the United States on New Year's Eve 2013. He taught himself to code in college and shipped 1,891+ commits across six live software products from his dorm room — no funding, no co-founders.

Drivia is the Canvas-class adaptive AI platform powering enterprise learning, higher ed, and public-sector workforce training. JAX, Drivia's adaptive AI tutor, runs Q-learning + Bayesian Knowledge Tracing on top of a UCB1 router across six AI models (Claude, Gemini, OpenAI, Grok, DeepSeek, Groq) with circuit breakers — co-architected with Frank Morales, a Boeing Fellow. Drivia is currently in active multi-million-dollar contract negotiation with TechServ Corporation as channel partner across healthcare, public safety, workforce, and city/county program markets. Accelerators: NVIDIA Inception, AMD Instinct, AWS Activate.

Wilson is also the author of the Drift Thesis — original IP on context decay and adaptive intelligence — and the System Architect newsletter on LinkedIn (16,100% growth in seven days). He has 2.2M+ combined social following (TikTok 1.1M, Instagram 633K, Facebook 471K) with one video at 44 million views, has appeared on Family Feud (Steve Harvey), Rich House Poor House (UK), and KVUE Austin News, and has consulted for Linktree and Beacons.

Wilson speaks on adaptive AI engineering, multi-model routing and inference cost engineering, the Drift Thesis (context decay, hallucination root cause), distribution as a moat for AI builders, and immigrant founder origin.

Press: Featured in National Law Review and Atlanta Today, with syndication across the EIN Presswire network of 800+ outlets, and praised by industry analyst Jeff Kagan as "a clear example of how quickly the AI landscape is evolving and new opportunit... Show more

Paul Kilgore

Paul Kilgore

Most health and longevity speakers offer one of three things: a personal transformation story, a single-discipline expertise, or a wellness philosophy. Dr. Paul Kilgore brings something almost no one else on a stage can: the full vertical stack — from outbreak investigation in the field, to the bench science of clinical trials, to the bedside of 36 years of patient care, to the laptop of every audience member who walks away with working tools they can use that night.

His authority is built on a career at the front lines of public health science — much of it conducted on the ground, internationally. Dr. Kilgore lived overseas for 12 years and has conducted clinical work and research across approximately 30 countries, giving him a globally grounded perspective on infectious disease, travel medicine, vaccine policy, and the practical realities of staying healthy across cultures and borders. He is a board-certified internist, physician-epidemiologist, longevity medicine physician, Wayne State University professor, and former CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer — the elite federal corps trained to investigate disease outbreaks in real time, known as the "Disease Detectives." He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians (FACP) and the author of more than 150 peer-reviewed publications across vaccine science, infectious disease epidemiology, environmental health, travel and global health, and longevity medicine. He has served as a principal investigator on COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials, conducted research on the Flint Water Crisis, and advised on global immunization strategy. National media — including CBS News' The Takeout with Major Garrett and WDET's Detroit Today — turn to him when complex health science needs to be made clear, accurate, and actionable for the public.

What makes Dr. Kilgore singular among health and wellness speakers is what he has built outside the lecture hall. At drpaulkilgore.com, he has created one of the most comprehensive evidence-based longevity and wellness ecosystems available directly to the public — a working library of more than 50 physician-designed, trademarked health tools and risk calculators. These tools span the full architecture of personal health: biological age (Phenotypic Age Calculator), cardiovascular risk (CardioGuard HF™, AHA PREVENT CVD Risk), cancer (CancerClarity™), bone health (BoneWise™), cognitive and mental health (MindScreen™), nutrition and supplements (NutriGuard Rx™, SuppleSafe 360™), medication safety (MedCheck Rx™, MedList Pro™), vaccine planning (VaxLife™), travel and global health (TravelGuard™), women's health (OvarySpan™), endurance and athletic readiness (EnduranceReady™, IronReady™), and a full suite of biomarker analyzers covering metabolic, inflammatory, autoimmune, lipid, thyroid, iron, and kidney function. Alongside the tools, he has authored two structured courses — the Health Breakthrough Blueprint and the Personal Health Strategy program — a seven-volume checklist library with 860+ actionable items, 28 printable health-tracking templates, the "Ask Dr. Paul" podcast, and a tiered consultation practice that runs from focused four-session coaching to concierge-level longevity medicine. His content library is also licensed to employers as a turnkey corporate wellness solution covering up to 100 employees.

At the center of it all is the DETECTIVE Method™ — Dr. Kilgore's signature 9-step framework that translates the same evidence-based reasoning he was trained to apply to outbreaks into a personal health strategy anyone can use to live longer and healthier. It is the connective tissue between the science he has produced for three decades and the decisions a listener will make tomorrow morning.

What audiences get: a speaker who has done the science, written the papers, run the trials, sat at the bedside, built the tools, and worked across cultures and continents — and can hand attendees a working library, not a slide deck, the moment the talk ends. Conferences book Dr. Kilgore when they want a health keynote that delivers credibility, clarity, and immediate action — not just inspiration.

His message: you don't need a medical degree to make world-class decisions about your own health. You need the right framework, the right tools, and a physician who has spent 36 years — across more than 30 countries — figuring out how to put both in your hands.

Most health and longevity speakers offer one of three things: a personal transformation story, a single-discipline expertise, or a wellness philosophy. Dr. Paul Kilgore brings something almost no one else on a stage can: the full vertical stack — fro... Show more

Kenya Tyson

Kenya Tyson

Kenya Tyson, JD is a higher education executive, legal and policy strategist, and founder of The Black Massacre Project. She has held senior leadership roles at major universities including Dartmouth College, where she advised on institutional governance, compliance, innovation, and strategic initiatives. A former criminal justice professor and nationally recognized speaker, her work focuses on justice systems, race, institutional power, historical accountability, and public policy.

Kenya Tyson, JD is a higher education executive, legal and policy strategist, and founder of The Black Massacre Project. She has held senior leadership roles at major universities including Dartmouth College, where she advised on institutional govern... Show more

Laura Wissiak

Laura Wissiak

Interviewing persons with low vision for her day job at an Assistive Tech Development company, Laura is learning more about barriers every day. And enthusiastic about sharing it! With a special interest in all things accessibility (both online and offline) she's enthusiastic to talk about braille keyboards, trashcans and bad urban planning, how blindness is a spectum, and most importandly: That web accessibility is a tool to build an inclusive society.

Interviewing persons with low vision for her day job at an Assistive Tech Development company, Laura is learning more about barriers every day. And enthusiastic about sharing it! With a special interest in all things accessibility (both online and of... Show more

Isabella Johnston

Isabella Johnston

Isabella Johnston is an AI Workforce Architect and Founder redefining hiring through measurable alignment, ethical AI, and accelerated learning. As Founder & CEO of Employers 4 Change (E4C), she has built an AI-enabled platform that aligns talent to mission, values, and cognitive skill requirements—shifting hiring from subjective decisions to validated, data-driven outcomes.

With over 20 years of experience across education, workforce development, and leadership, Isabella focuses on solving one of the most persistent challenges in business: how to identify and develop the right talent in an AI-driven economy. Her work introduces alignment scoring models that measure what actually drives success, helping organizations reduce bias, improve quality of hire, and accelerate workforce readiness.

A sought-after speaker on ethical AI and the future of work, Isabella is known for translating complex systems into practical, actionable strategies for leaders, technologists, and educators.

Isabella Johnston is an AI Workforce Architect and Founder redefining hiring through measurable alignment, ethical AI, and accelerated learning. As Founder & CEO of Employers 4 Change (E4C), she has built an AI-enabled platform that aligns talent to ... Show more

Udokaku Ugochukwu Technology Adoption Lead

Udokaku Ugochukwu Technology Adoption Lead

Udokaku Ugochukwu pronounced as uh-duo-kah-kuh , is a Technology Adoption and Value Lead spearheading Technology Adoption for M365,SAP,EC and workplace technologies. She is a conscientious lady with a career in Digital transformation and currently venturing into cybersecurity.

A public speaker, child health Advocate, who has served in various leadership roles.

She is a passionate about creating enriching and inclusive experiences that enables the growth and success of individuals and groups.

Udokaku Ugochukwu pronounced as uh-duo-kah-kuh , is a Technology Adoption and Value Lead spearheading Technology Adoption for M365,SAP,EC and workplace technologies. She is a conscientious lady with a career in Digital transformation and currently ve... Show more

Përparim Mjeku

Përparim Mjeku

Përparim Mjeku is Head of Curriculum and Learning Programs at Cyber Academy in Kosovo, where he leads the design and delivery of cybersecurity training programs spanning offensive security, defensive operations, and threat intelligence. His work focuses on building high fidelity lab environments that translate real world attack techniques, from web and enterprise exploitation to mobile and cloud threats into structured, reproducible learning experiences.

Over the past four years, Përparim has developed 15+ cybersecurity courses and trained 50+ students through intensive long term programs, alongside hundreds of participants across bootcamps and workshops delivered to governmental organizations and U.S. and EU based companies.

In addition to teaching, he develops hands on labs and demonstrations built around newly disclosed vulnerabilities, modern attack chains, and software supply chain risks helping practitioners understand not just how real world compromises happen, but how to detect and stop them.

Përparim Mjeku is Head of Curriculum and Learning Programs at Cyber Academy in Kosovo, where he leads the design and delivery of cybersecurity training programs spanning offensive security, defensive operations, and threat intelligence. His work focu... Show more

David Agbolade

David Agbolade

David is a Senior Data Scientist working in UK Government, where he applies AI and machine learning to real-world public sector challenges. He holds an MSc in AI & Data Science (Distinction) and BSc in Software Engineering.

His research on deploying deep learning for automated radiology reports was published in the Journal of Informatics and Web Engineering (JIWE) and earned Best Presenter Award at NexSymp 2025 in Malaysia. Beyond government work, he founded SheerFit, an AI-powered wellness platform serving users across communities.

David's work focuses on building production AI systems that actually work in resource-constrained environments, not just in labs. He's passionate about honest conversations about what it really takes to deploy AI in the real world: the failures, the compromises, and the unglamorous solutions that actually ship.

David is a Senior Data Scientist working in UK Government, where he applies AI and machine learning to real-world public sector challenges. He holds an MSc in AI & Data Science (Distinction) and BSc in Software Engineering. His research on deployi... Show more

Kazuki Imamura

Kazuki Imamura

Born in 1974. Leads Japan's open-source promotions. I started my current job in March 2024. Prior to that, I worked in web development for 13 years. I started activities as a civic tech contributor in 2018.

Born in 1974. Leads Japan's open-source promotions. I started my current job in March 2024. Prior to that, I worked in web development for 13 years. I started activities as a civic tech contributor in 2018. Show more

Kourtney Bonzo

Kourtney Bonzo

Kourtney Bonzo began her career in marketing with Texas Roadhouse before transitioning into volunteer management during the COVID-19 pandemic. She successfully increased volunteer engagement by 50%, helping her organization earn recognition as Northern Utah’s best place to volunteer. In 2021, she joined the City of Baytown, where she launched Baytown Serves, a citywide initiative featuring 30 days of volunteer opportunities. Kourtney now manages volunteer and docent programs at the McFaddin-Ward House Museum, continuing to grow community engagement through service and education.

Kourtney Bonzo began her career in marketing with Texas Roadhouse before transitioning into volunteer management during the COVID-19 pandemic. She successfully increased volunteer engagement by 50%, helping her organization earn recognition as Northe... Show more

Ken Fogel

Ken Fogel

Ken is a Java Champion who retired from the classroom after 31 years teaching software development at Dawson College, 25 of those years as the chair and program coordinator of the Computer Science Technology Program. He is currently a Research Scholar in Residence at the college. He is the lead organizer of the annual JChampions Conference, held online each January. He is the author of two books, Transitioning to Java and the soon to be published Programming with Java. He has spoken at numerous conferences where his presentations have focused on simplicity. Currently he is examining how AI can be used in introductory courses in programming.

Ken is a Java Champion who retired from the classroom after 31 years teaching software development at Dawson College, 25 of those years as the chair and program coordinator of the Computer Science Technology Program. He is currently a Research Schola... Show more

Katelyn Jones

Katelyn Jones

Katelyn Jones, PhD, is the founder of Noetic, a decision strategy and AI advisory practice for C-suite and senior leaders. She works with executives who are making significant investments in strategic initiatives and AI but can't clearly connect those investments to outcomes their boards, investors, or funders care about — helping them build the decision infrastructure that closes that gap.

Her background spans academic research, executive leadership, and teaching. Trained as a political scientist, her doctoral work examined how decisions are made in international organizations and how those choices play out on the ground. A growing focus of her work is on supporting leaders in navigating AI adoption beyond efficiency and compliance, helping them deploy AI in ways that have meaningful outcomes, specific impact goals, and ultimately do more good than harm.

She teaches Decision Strategy to MBA students at Loyola University Chicago's Quinlan School of Business, serves as Board Chair of Joel Hall Dancers & Center, and has keynoted events including the PMI Chicagoland Leadership Forum and Compass Connect. Her work has been featured in the Chicago Tribune and Crain's Chicago Business.

Katelyn speaks on decision strategy and leveraging AI for maximum impact. Her recent talks include the keynote "Measuring What Matters: AI's Social Impact" and the workshop "Decision Strategy: Building a Toolkit for Your Leadership Team and Board."

Katelyn Jones, PhD, is the founder of Noetic, a decision strategy and AI advisory practice for C-suite and senior leaders. She works with executives who are making significant investments in strategic initiatives and AI but can't clearly connect thos... Show more

Ashley Aitken

Ashley Aitken

Ashley is an IT consultant, system and software architect, business analyst, as well as a disruptive startup and AI specialist and coach. He helps organisations with enterprise software systems, applications, innovation, and AI use by staff and systems.

His software consulting company is Running Code Productions: https://www.runningcode.com.au

His startup and innovation consulting company is Innovately: https://www.innovately.com.au

He has a PhD in Computer Science & Software Engineering from UNSW and expertise in CQRS/ES, backend and frontend development, cloud deployment, and Artificial Intelligence. His PhD was on how the understanding how the brain works may help us to build more intelligent software systems.

He is an evangelist for the Lean Startup (Eric Ries) with Customer Development (Steve Blank) approaches to startup and corporate innovation and runs the Lean Startup Perth meetup. He has completed the Founder Institute, Curtin Accelerate, Edutech startup accelerators.

Ashley has co-founded three tech startups (sadly unsuccessful so far) and two consulting and professional training businesses (see above or on the web) His latest startup is the Lean Explorers Club, which you can check out at https://leanexplorers.club

Ashley is an IT consultant, system and software architect, business analyst, as well as a disruptive startup and AI specialist and coach. He helps organisations with enterprise software systems, applications, innovation, and AI use by staff and syst... Show more

Valeria Burdi

Valeria Burdi

✨ Chi sono in poche righe (ma piene di senso)

Docente d’inglese in una vita precedente (ma siamo sicuri???), con la testa tra le nuvole e i piedi ben piantati nelle Roadmap, oggi sono una Scrum Master che ama sperimentare, innovare e prendersi cura delle persone nei momenti di cambiamento.

La mia bussola? L’agilità come mindset, la visione di prodotto al posto della logica di progetto, e una fiducia incrollabile nel potere della giocosità come leva di trasformazione.

Amo tutto ciò che è didattica innovativa, inclusione, collaborazione e quel meraviglioso caos creativo che si accende quando i team trovano il proprio ritmo.

Mi definiscono sognatrice, io dico che sono semplicemente un’eterna bambina con la passione per le retrospettive ben fatte, le user story ben scritte, e i momenti in cui si ride insieme tra un daily e una review.

Non porto soluzioni, porto domande che aprono strade.

✨ Chi sono in poche righe (ma piene di senso) Docente d’inglese in una vita precedente (ma siamo sicuri???), con la testa tra le nuvole e i piedi ben piantati nelle Roadmap, oggi sono una Scrum Master che ama sperimentare, innovare e prendersi cur... Show more

Juan Jose Ciarlante

Juan Jose Ciarlante

JuanJo Ciarlante is a Principal Engineer at GrafanaLabs and Assistant Professor at Mendoza Uni. His industry experience includes working for Google as SRE TL, as well as other SRE roles at Canonical Ltd, and Bitnami.
His OSS journey started in 1998 when he contributed IP Aliasing support to Linux, and since then to several other OSS projects. He's particularly passionate about Cloud-y OSS projects like Kubernetes, Prometheus, Grafana, etc which made cloud computing accessible for the rest of us.

JuanJo Ciarlante is a Principal Engineer at GrafanaLabs and Assistant Professor at Mendoza Uni. His industry experience includes working for Google as SRE TL, as well as other SRE roles at Canonical Ltd, and Bitnami. His OSS journey started in 1998 ... Show more

Nahuel Lema

Nahuel Lema

Argentine entrepreneur and software developer. Ex-co-founder of a Y Combinator-backed edtech platform, where he led technology and later partnerships. He builds software with AI, mentors entrepreneurs and speaks about entrepreneurship, leadership, technology and careers, often as a guest on podcasts, panels and conferences.

Argentine entrepreneur and software developer. Ex-co-founder of a Y Combinator-backed edtech platform, where he led technology and later partnerships. He builds software with AI, mentors entrepreneurs and speaks about entrepreneurship, leadership, te... Show more

Meena Chand

Meena Chand

Meena Chand, MBCS, is a Mainframe Performance & Capacity Graduate Analyst at SMT Data, IBM Champion 2026, and TechChannel Rising Star 2025. Her journey into mainframe began through the GS UK WAVEZ Student Scholarship, which gave her her first introduction to the world of enterprise computing and set her on the path she walks today.

Growing up in Nepal, she earned full scholarships from school through to her undergraduate degree, won the National Debate Championship, and eventually made her way to the UK to build a career at the heart of enterprise technology.

She holds a Postgraduate degree in Computer Science from the University of Wolverhampton and completed the Open Mainframe Project LFX Mentorship Programme (2025) with the Linux Foundation, contributing to the COBOL Crisis initiative and working to bridge the skills gap in legacy systems vital to global enterprises.

At the IBM GS UK Conference 2024, Meena and her team won the prestigious Capture the Flag (CTF) competition, solving real z/OS security and performance challenges. She also holds the IBM Z Xplore All-Star badge, demonstrating advanced proficiency in mainframe technologies.

Prior to joining SMT Data, Meena gained over a year of hands-on experience working across IBM i and Power Systems environments, software development, and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) solutions. She worked on a range of real-world projects including Smart Hydroponics Control Systems built using Node-RED and MicroPython, AI-powered plant health detection systems, and scalable modules across data analytics and education technology. This breadth of enterprise and emerging technology experience gave her a strong foundation in how critical systems are designed, integrated, and optimised across different platforms.

Now specialising in mainframe performance and capacity management at SMT Data, a global leader in this field, her focus is on analysing enterprise-level performance data, supporting capacity planning, and optimising resource utilisation to help organisations make smarter, data-driven decisions.

Beyond her technical work, Meena serves as Education Co-Lead at Women in AI UK and is a regular tech speaker, having presented at BCS Hertfordshire, the University of Wolverhampton, Ravensbourne University, Kathmandu University, and Broadway Infosys. She was awarded a fully funded scholarship by Black Talent & Leadership in STEM to complete the DEI Leadership Programme at Homerton College, University of Cambridge, and received the Oxford GEE Award for Technology Leadership and Community Building.

She founded the Kisori Scholarship Programme, providing free education and mentorship to underprivileged girls in Nepal, the work closest to her heart.

Her motto: Lead with strength. Serve with heart.

Meena Chand, MBCS, is a Mainframe Performance & Capacity Graduate Analyst at SMT Data, IBM Champion 2026, and TechChannel Rising Star 2025. Her journey into mainframe began through the GS UK WAVEZ Student Scholarship, which gave her her first introdu... Show more

Evan Kirstein

Evan Kirstein

Evan Kirstein works in financial-sector information security, running a day-to-day security program under federal examination: governance, risk and compliance, identity, data protection, and the AI-assessment work that now comes attached to all of it. They research passive RF systems alongside that. Their MARVIN project uses receive-only Wi-Fi and Bluetooth observation to study networked license-plate-reader infrastructure, with no probing, no association, and no credential capture by design.

At Wild West Hackin' Fest Deadwood 2026 they are scheduled to teach a two-hour MARVIN workshop and co-host the RF Village. Evan also teaches access governance for SaaS, guest and AI-agent identities, affordable cybersecurity practice, and emergency communications built on drones and LoRa mesh networks, most recently in a July 2026 Antisyphon Anti-Cast with Luke Canfield. They have briefed state legislators at the Colorado State Capitol on AI risk, data privacy and cybercrime.

Evan holds an M.S. in Cybersecurity and Information Assurance from Western Governors University, writes for The Cybersleuth Chronicles, and co-founded Study GRC, a nonprofit offering free governance, risk and compliance training, where they serve as security lead and a board member. They are an FCC-licensed amateur radio operator, KJ5MCN, and an ARES emergency communications volunteer. Outside all of that: homelabs, tabletop and video games, cars, motorcycles, and karaoke.

Evan Kirstein works in financial-sector information security, running a day-to-day security program under federal examination: governance, risk and compliance, identity, data protection, and the AI-assessment work that now comes attached to all of it... Show more

Dr Martin Koyabe

Dr Martin Koyabe

Dr Martin Koyabe is an ICT expert, Cybersecurity and AI leader, and emerging technology strategy & policy expert with more than 30 years of international experience spanning digital infrastructure, innovation, research, regulation, legislation, and emerging technologies. He serves as Senior Advisor for Africa at the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise (GFCE), founding partner of Africa Cyber Expertise (ACE), a pan-African consortium of senior cybersecurity and digital governance specialists, and founded DataConnect (Kenya), AI Lab (Kenya) and MWK Consult (UK), which focus on Data Governance, Open Data, AI and other emerging technologies.

He has led major continental initiatives including the Africa Agenda on Cyber Capacity Building with AUDA NEPAD, AI capacity building for 33 African LDCs through the UN Technology Bank and GFCE, cybersecurity resilience programmes for Togo with KPMG and the World Bank, the AU CSIRT CERT project funded by LuxDev, the GFCE AUDA NEPAD Cyber Capacity Building Coordination Committee, and the AU-GFCE Cyber Capacity Building collaboration project supported by the Gates Foundation to strengthen cyber resilience across all 55 African Union member states.

Previously, Martin headed the Technical Support and Consultancy Division at the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (UK) for seven years, delivering ICT assistance across the Commonwealth. Earlier, he spent ten years at BT as Senior Researcher and Technical Lead, contributing to the 21st Century Network, cybersecurity strategy, Future Internet Architecture research, and a global best practice framework for mitigating DDoS attacks.

He holds a PhD in Communications Engineering, several technology patents, and degrees and executive qualifications from Egerton University, The University of Nairobi, University of Bristol, University of Aberdeen, University of Cambridge Judge Business School, and Harvard Kennedy School.

Dr Martin Koyabe is an ICT expert, Cybersecurity and AI leader, and emerging technology strategy & policy expert with more than 30 years of international experience spanning digital infrastructure, innovation, research, regulation, legislation, and e... Show more

Aisha Nancoo

Aisha Nancoo

I’m a strategist and systems thinker who helps organizations rethink how they build and live with technology, bridging the gap between innovation and execution with clarity, purpose, and just enough rebellion. My work focuses less on tools and more on how people and organizations think, especially as AI reshapes how work gets done.

I’ve led digital transformation and AI initiatives across government, healthcare, education, and enterprise environments, often in moments of ambiguity, constraint, and rapid change. I specialize in untangling complexity, surfacing hidden assumptions, and helping organizations design systems that can adapt, rather than break, the moment priorities shift.

In my talks, I blend systems strategy, organizational insight, and storytelling to challenge how we define “future-ready” technology. Because the real challenge with AI isn’t capability, it’s whether the systems we build can move with change, and whether humans are still allowed room for judgment, context, and evolution inside them.

I’m a strategist and systems thinker who helps organizations rethink how they build and live with technology, bridging the gap between innovation and execution with clarity, purpose, and just enough rebellion. My work focuses less on tools and more o... Show more

Emanuel Gawrieh

Emanuel Gawrieh

Emanuel Gawrieh is a Senior Chaos Containment Engineer on the Advanced Threat Protection team at Google, where he specializes in architecting and proving out threat models for complex workloads in highly regulated environments. As a core member of Google's Secure AI Framework (SAIF) team, he works closely with Google AI Red Team, Google DeepMind, and the Cloud CISO's office to establish AI security standards - contributing to the early development and specialized fine-tuning of dual-use models like SecGemini to mitigate emerging AI-specific risks. Outside of his work at Google, he is a leading voice in the AI Security community and AI Security policy - having presented at DEFCON, RSA and is an active member of the [un]prompted CFP board. Additionally, he has architected the infrastructure for several Generative AI Red Team events and actively advises congressional leaders on AI and cybersecurity policy.

Emanuel Gawrieh is a Senior Chaos Containment Engineer on the Advanced Threat Protection team at Google, where he specializes in architecting and proving out threat models for complex workloads in highly regulated environments. As a core member of Go... Show more

Andrew Bolster

Andrew Bolster

Bolster is a technologist and an occasional public speaker.

As Head of Data Science at Black Duck Software, he uses advanced data mining and machine learning techniques to provide adaptive cybersecurity for global brands at scale, and is building a community of practice around Data Science in Belfast.

Bolster’s academic works focused on the applications of Autonomous and Intelligent systems in defence and marine contexts, as well as emergent behaviours in distributed and decentralised systems, particularly focused on the application of social contagion theories of trust to make autonomous marine communication networks resilient to state-level interference.

He is a member of multiple AI Ethics groups and has taught on related subjects, including recent talks on AI explainability and the responsible use of machine learning in industry.

Bolster is a technologist and an occasional public speaker. As Head of Data Science at Black Duck Software, he uses advanced data mining and machine learning techniques to provide adaptive cybersecurity for global brands at scale, and is building ... Show more

Norah Schrum

Norah Schrum

Meet a seasoned professional known in the digital realm as @tekNorah. With over 15+ years of experience in software development and continuous process improvement, they are a strategic technical leader in the digital agency space. Hailing from Mokena, IL, @tekNorah brings a wealth of expertise primarily serving the education, government, and legal industries.

As a seasoned community leader, @tekNorah is deeply ingrained in the tech community, contributing to Drupal and Open Source Software, and serving on the leadership team for MidCamp. Their knack for organic collaboration and ideation has led to significant organizational performance improvements, making them a sought-after figure in the industry.

With a passion for innovation and a commitment to best practices, @tekNorah’s approach to systems design and change management is both meticulous and forward-thinking. Whether it's crafting tailor-designed solutions from concept to launch or coordinating intern and onboarding programs, their dedication to excellence shines through in every endeavor.

Connect with @tekNorah to tap into their expertise and collaborate on your next project. Driving innovation and efficiency gains, @tekNorah is your go-to partner for transformative solutions in the digital landscape.

Meet a seasoned professional known in the digital realm as @tekNorah. With over 15+ years of experience in software development and continuous process improvement, they are a strategic technical leader in the digital agency space. Hailing from Mokena... Show more

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