Ray Kim is an advocate for documentation and technical communication. He is a co-founder of the Albany, NY SQL group (CASSUG) and has previously been a member of PASS and the Society for Technical Communication (STC). He has spoken at PASS Summit and STC Summit, as well as numerous other events. He has worked various positions in technology, including as a developer, webmaster, analyst, technical writer, and instructor. He holds an MS in technical communication from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a BS in computer science from Syracuse University. He currently works as a technical writer and trainer for The Professional Development Program at The Research Foundation for SUNY.

A musician in his spare time, Ray plays four different instruments (piano, clarinet, mallet percussion, saxophone). He also enjoys going to ball games and doing CrossFit, and is a two-time SQLServerCentral.com fantasy football champion. He, his wife Lianne, and their two cats Dwayne and Marko, live in Troy, NY.

Ray Kim is an advocate for documentation and technical communication. He is a co-founder of the Albany, NY SQL group (CASSUG) and has previously been a member of PASS and the Society for Technical Communication (STC). He has spoken at PASS Summit an... Show more

Eriol has been working as a designer for 15+ years working in for-profits and then NGO’s and open-source software organisations, working on complex problems like sustainable food systems, peace-building, censorship circumvention OSS, Human Rights OSS tools and crisis response technology. Eriol now works at The Open Home Foundation on OSS first smart home technology.

Eriol is part of the maintainer teams at Open Source Design (http://opensourcedesign.net/) Sustain UX & Design working group (https://sustainoss.org/working-groups/design-and-ux/) and helps hosts podcast about open source and design (https://sosdesign.sustainoss.org/)

Eriol is a non-binary, queer person who uses they/them pronouns.

Eriol has been working as a designer for 15+ years working in for-profits and then NGO’s and open-source software organisations, working on complex problems like sustainable food systems, peace-building, censorship circumvention OSS, Human Rights OSS... Show more

En 2022 creé Emplea Habilidad para facilitar el encuentro entre personas y organizaciones.
Estoy convencida de que enseñar sobre empleabilidad es una tarea fundamental para avanzar en pos de lograr varios de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible: en Argentina solo 3 de cada 10 personas en edad laboral recibió información sobre empleabilidad durante la educación formal. Algunos de los temas que desarrollo:
➡️ Empleabilidad
➡️ Networking
➡️ Armado de CV
➡️ Uso de LinkedIn
➡️ Marca personal y redes sociales

Ya confían en mi: escuelas secundarias, universidades, centros de formación para el trabajo, edtech, organizaciones del tercer sector, comunidades profesionales, eventos, gobierno, consultoras y medios de comunicación.

Participé en:
🚀 33º Jornada de orientación vocacional organizada por la Junta Regional de Educación Católica de San Isidro
⚙️ Expo Laboral del Centro Argentino de Ingenieros
💻 DevOps Days Argentina
🧪 LABURAtorio (evento presencial organizado por Fundación Banco Nación)
🚀 CoderCamp by Coderhouse 3era y 4ta Temporada.
☁️ AWS Community Day Argentina 2024 (evento presencial realizado en UADE).
▶️ Work Festival 2024 (evento presencial organizado por Takenos)

📊 El recorrido hasta HOY:
Career Coach Nº1 Argentina y LATAM
Top Career Coach a nivel mundial
+35000 personas en LATAM participaron en clases, charlas o talleres accediendo a conocimientos clave para el mundo laboral.
+500 jóvenes participaron en la charla “Onboarding al mundo laboral”.
+400 profesionales de habla hispana me eligieron como asesora de empleabilidad para acompañarlos en su reinserción, transición o ascenso laboral
+46 charlas en diferentes formatos.
Emplea Habilidad es community partner de los principales eventos enfocados en el mundo laboral.
Participación en espacios vinculados al área desde el rol de jurado, moderadora o creadora de contenidos.

En 2022 creé Emplea Habilidad para facilitar el encuentro entre personas y organizaciones. Estoy convencida de que enseñar sobre empleabilidad es una tarea fundamental para avanzar en pos de lograr varios de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible: e... Show more

Abiodun Emiola Alabi is a workforce digital transformation leader, AI Governance, and AI product manager of CareerLens AI, an AI-powered workforce intelligence and employability platform. She helps organisations and professionals navigate the changing world of work by turning emerging AI trends into practical strategies for workforce transformation.

She speaks on AI Product building and management, AI in HR, Workforce Intelligence, Responsible AI, AI Governance, Future of Work, Modern Workplace transformation, Data Privacy in the Workplace, People Analytics, and career readiness in the AI era.

Her work focuses on helping organisations become AI-ready by building the governance, skills, and workforce capabilities needed to adopt AI responsibly. She equips leaders with practical frameworks to transform workplaces, strengthen workforce decision-making, and prepare people for the future of work.

Abiodun is passionate about making AI practical, ethical, and accessible for businesses, HR professionals, educators, and emerging leaders. Her sessions are practical, engaging, and action-oriented, providing audiences with clear strategies they can implement immediately. She's a Women Techmakers Ambassador (Google).

Abiodun Emiola Alabi is a workforce digital transformation leader, AI Governance, and AI product manager of CareerLens AI, an AI-powered workforce intelligence and employability platform. She helps organisations and professionals navigate the changin... Show more

Master’s graduate with skills in digital communication, artificial intelligence, and data management. I have experience in public administration, focusing on document management and process automation, as well as in social media and content creation.
I am currently developing a thesis project involving AI, OCR, and digitization, combining analytical skills, precision, and creativity. I am proactive, well-organized, and results-oriented.

Master’s graduate with skills in digital communication, artificial intelligence, and data management. I have experience in public administration, focusing on document management and process automation, as well as in social media and content creation.... Show more

Since 1999 in IT – Practical – Simplifier – #BulletPointFree Public Speaker - Microsoft Certified Trainer - Likes sharing knowledge – Projects and changes only – Has also a technical focus – Acts as bridge between business and technology – Founded DerkIT in 2017 - Guides complex decisions and reduces them to the essence – Believes that humor, clarity, and simplicity are most important.

Since 1999 in IT – Practical – Simplifier – #BulletPointFree Public Speaker - Microsoft Certified Trainer - Likes sharing knowledge – Projects and changes only – Has also a technical focus – Acts as bridge between business and technology – Founded ... Show more

Mauro Bennici is active in the R&D area of Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Natural Language Generation (NLG). He is a Data Scientist, Professional Scrum Master (PSM), Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT), and .NET foundation member. Member of the SME Focus Group on Ethics and Artificial Intelligence, European Community.

Mauro Bennici is active in the R&D area of Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Natural Language Generation (NLG). He is a Data Scientist, Professional Scrum Master (PSM), Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT), and .NET foundation member. Member of the ... 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

“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

Akshat Sharma is a Open Source Advocate and Mentor and currently serves as Developer Advocate at Deskree, dedicated to building meaningful connections between technology and community.
In 2024, he was selected as one of 1,220 contributors from over thousands of applicants in Google Summer of Code. In 2025,2026 he returned as a mentor guiding contributors in Google Summer of Code 2025, Mifos Summer of Code, and Code for GovTech. His research journey has taken him to the University of California and IIT Indore, and he has authored ten research papers in recent advancements and technology. He has presented his work at prestigious conferences including ICACIS 2023, ICNSBT 2024, C3IT 2024, Interledger Summit 2024,Grpconf 2025, OpenSearchCon Japan 2025, Google Tokyo GSOC Meetup 2025, Fossasia 2026 and so on. Additionally, he regularly attended key industry-leading gatherings such as Open SSF, Open Source Summit India, and KubeCon + CloudNativeCon India, Pycon India.

Akshat Sharma is a Open Source Advocate and Mentor and currently serves as Developer Advocate at Deskree, dedicated to building meaningful connections between technology and community. In 2024, he was selected as one of 1,220 contributors from over... Show more

Sharon Steed is a keynote speaker, author and person who stutters. Drawing on her own experience as a stutterer, Sharon brings a uniquely personal lens to the practice of empathetic leadership. She shows that vulnerability isn't a weakness to overcome but a skill that builds trust, loyalty, and stronger teams.

Sharon has spoken on stages in 20 countries spanning five continents. She’s helped organizations like Google, Microsoft, Booking.com, Northwestern Mutual and dozens of others improve performance, retain top talent and be better communicators by teaching them how to be actively empathetic.

She is the author of "Leading with Empathy For Dummies" as well as several courses on LinkedIn Learning. Her most popular course, "Communicating with Empathy" has been translated into a dozen languages and has surpassed one million views. She has given a TEDx talk on empowering insecurities, and she’s the author of the O’Reilly Media, Inc. eBook "Empathy at Work."

Sharon Steed is a keynote speaker, author and person who stutters. Drawing on her own experience as a stutterer, Sharon brings a uniquely personal lens to the practice of empathetic leadership. She shows that vulnerability isn't a weakness to overcom... Show more

Mya Tyler is a speaker, executive coach, and strategic advisor who helps leaders and organizations align work, vision, and values so they can achieve more, struggle less, and build impact that multiplies. With more than 25 years of experience leading large-scale transformation, she brings executive depth, practical insight, and a human-centered approach to leadership, growth, and change.

As the founder of Tapestry AG and Hustle to Wholeness™, Mya works with high-performing leaders and organizations who are delivering results but feel the strain of doing it unsustainably.

Known for her calm, direct, and deeply relatable style, Mya creates space for honest reflection while offering practical tools people can apply right away. She believes success and well-being do not have to compete, and that the strongest leadership is rooted in alignment, clarity, and integrity.

Mya Tyler is a speaker, executive coach, and strategic advisor who helps leaders and organizations align work, vision, and values so they can achieve more, struggle less, and build impact that multiplies. With more than 25 years of experience leading... Show more

I’m a Research Ireland funded PhD candidate at Trinity College Dublin researching AI accountability standards and semantic web technology. An SPDX core contributor, I co-lead its AI working group, review specification, and maintain the NTIA Conformance Checker, spdx-python-model, and SPDX online tools.

I also created Pitloom, an AI SBOM generator creating SPDX 3 SBOM from Python projects and various AI model formats. Alongside my regulatory technology research, I volunteer with the Thai Netizen Network, a Bangkok-based digital rights group.

I’m a Research Ireland funded PhD candidate at Trinity College Dublin researching AI accountability standards and semantic web technology. An SPDX core contributor, I co-lead its AI working group, review specification, and maintain the NTIA Conforman... Show more

Abdul Aleem Khan is a UK-based software engineer and technical co-founder who has been building production AI systems since 2018. His work ranges from computer vision running on edge devices in retail stores to real-time news pipelines that detect and rewrite biased and toxic content. As co-founder and CTO of two AI startups, he built and led engineering and AI teams, designed microservice and edge architectures, and created proprietary datasets where public ones did not exist. Products he built have been recognised by national and Asia-Pacific technology awards, and he was selected for Google for Startups' first AI Academy APAC. He speaks about practical, production-grade AI: what works, what breaks, and how to keep humans in the loop.

Abdul Aleem Khan is a UK-based software engineer and technical co-founder who has been building production AI systems since 2018. His work ranges from computer vision running on edge devices in retail stores to real-time news pipelines that detect an... Show more

Tim Rayburn is a Vice President of Consulting with Improving Enterprises, a software and project management consulting company in Dallas, TX. He is a passionate advocate of apprenticeship and mentorship in corporate environments. He has been awarded the Microsoft MVP in recognition of his expertise and community leadership 11 times. He is also a conference organizer, an author, and can be found speaking across the nation on agile processes, software design, and career management. He lives in the North Dallas area with his amazing wife Kate and their loyal dogs Dresden and Radagast.

Tim Rayburn is a Vice President of Consulting with Improving Enterprises, a software and project management consulting company in Dallas, TX. He is a passionate advocate of apprenticeship and mentorship in corporate environments. He has been awarded ... Show more

AI PM na Amazon. PhD Candidate em IA na USP. Mestre em Engenharia e Gestão da Inovação pela UFABC. Formado pela PUC-SP em Comunicação em Multimeios, pós-graduado em Gestão Estratégica em TI, MBA em Gestão de Projetos e mestrando em Inovação na UFABC. Certificado PMP, Scrum, Green Belt Six Sigma, ITIL e Microsoft Project.

Especialista em gestão de projetos, escritório de projetos, metodologias ágeis nos segmentos de varejo, TI, e-commerce, indústria, bancos, startups, educação e terceiro setor.

AI PM na Amazon. PhD Candidate em IA na USP. Mestre em Engenharia e Gestão da Inovação pela UFABC. Formado pela PUC-SP em Comunicação em Multimeios, pós-graduado em Gestão Estratégica em TI, MBA em Gestão de Projetos e mestrando em Inovação na UFABC.... Show more

Alex is a Senior Solutions Architect at AWS with 20 years of IT experience in expert and leadership roles. He is a strong advocate of agile and DevOps practices, and he enjoys seeing serverless, cloud-native and event-driven architectures deployed at scale. He has delivered large transformation projects and successfully developed own and customers’ businesses. As an international speaker, he has held advanced technology sessions at a wide range of events.

Alex is a Senior Solutions Architect at AWS with 20 years of IT experience in expert and leadership roles. He is a strong advocate of agile and DevOps practices, and he enjoys seeing serverless, cloud-native and event-driven architectures deployed at... Show more

Dr. Tricia Diamond is a portfolio and program management executive, aerospace engineer, and organizational strategist with more than two decades of leadership across the public sector, technology, and consulting in the United States and the Netherlands. She holds a PhD in Aerospace Engineering and professional aviation experience, alongside advanced credentials including the PfMP®, PMP®, PMI-ACP®, PMO-CP®, CPMAI, GPM-b®, CAL®, ITIL®, AWS-CCP, AWS-AIP, MCASE. As Director of ARPA Implementation for a major U.S. city, she built and led a PMO governing a $386M federal recovery portfolio with 100% regulatory compliance. She has spoken at ASPA and PMI conferences, previously served as VP of Professional Development for PMI Puget Sound, and is a Seattle Parks and Recreation Commissioner. She is the founder of Diamond PMO Solutions, an MWBE owned management consultancy specializing in portfolio governance, PMO design, and organizational strategy as well as PMI certification trainings. Her book, Second Line Leadership: How New Orleans Solved Coordination Without Controls, was published in September 2026.

Dr. Tricia Diamond is a portfolio and program management executive, aerospace engineer, and organizational strategist with more than two decades of leadership across the public sector, technology, and consulting in the United States and the Netherlan... Show more

Chris Honda stumbled into security after trying a dozen different career paths. He specializes in building Security/GRC programs from scratch, strives to give back as much and as often as he can, and is your biggest fan & cheerleader.

Chris Honda stumbled into security after trying a dozen different career paths. He specializes in building Security/GRC programs from scratch, strives to give back as much and as often as he can, and is your biggest fan & cheerleader. Show more

Results - driven Cybersecurity Engineer with diverse experience across Healthcare, Banking, Public, and Telecom sectors, cross-functional project guidance and stakeholder support, security architecture strategy, application/ agentic AI security, predictive analytics, and enterprise risk management. Adept at designing and implementing scalable solutions, driving automation, and delivering quantifiable value and innovation.

Results - driven Cybersecurity Engineer with diverse experience across Healthcare, Banking, Public, and Telecom sectors, cross-functional project guidance and stakeholder support, security architecture strategy, application/ agentic AI security, pred... 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

Inge Amdal Halvorsen is a developer, historian, philosopher, teacher, and storyteller. With a genuine interest in quirky and esoteric knowledge, and a penchant for diving into rabbit holes, he is a fountain of footnotes and fun facts. With a blend of mythology, code, and curious observations, his talks are certain to make audiences laugh, think, and occasionally question reality.

Inge Amdal Halvorsen is a developer, historian, philosopher, teacher, and storyteller. With a genuine interest in quirky and esoteric knowledge, and a penchant for diving into rabbit holes, he is a fountain of footnotes and fun facts. With a blend of... Show more

Isadora Martin-Dye is the founder of Bloom, a venue intelligence platform for the wedding industry, and the owner-operator of Rixey Manor, a Knot Hall of Fame wedding venue in Rixeyville, Virginia. She runs both - a working venue and a software company - from the same desk.
A non-engineer by training, she ships production AI through 2,700+ lines of living architecture doctrine, versioned prompts with dual-provider fallback, and a cross-tier audit framework she designed to stress-test her own work. British-born and Virginia-based, she builds for industries where the transaction is irreplaceable, the customer is emotional, and "the model hallucinated" isn't an acceptable answer.

Isadora Martin-Dye is the founder of Bloom, a venue intelligence platform for the wedding industry, and the owner-operator of Rixey Manor, a Knot Hall of Fame wedding venue in Rixeyville, Virginia. She runs both - a working venue and a software compa... Show more

Trond is an IT architect and sociotechnical systems practitioner at Capra Consulting, where he helps organisations design themselves for a turbulent world. Drawing on decades of research in open systems theory, he bridges domain-driven design, event-driven architecture, and human-centred organisation design. His mantra: great solutions emerge from collaborative sensemaking and design.

Trond is an IT architect and sociotechnical systems practitioner at Capra Consulting, where he helps organisations design themselves for a turbulent world. Drawing on decades of research in open systems theory, he bridges domain-driven design, event-... Show more

Chad Gerber is a 10x platinum and gold-selling artist, inventor, and founder of ShadowGen and Meloscene.

As an artist, producer, and composer, Gerber has worked on projects across music, film, television, and interactive media. His background in sound and technology has also played a major role in the systems he builds today.

Gerber is the founder of ShadowGen, where he is developing communication technology designed to keep voice working in extremely low-bandwidth and unreliable network environments. The technology has been tested outside the lab in real-world field conditions, including environments where conventional voice communication becomes impractical.

He is also the founder of Meloscene, an immersive collaboration platform that gives artists and creators a shared virtual space to work together remotely.

Gerber continues to work across music, immersive technology, AI, and communication systems. His talks focus on what he has actually built and learned along the way, from creative technology and immersive environments to the challenges of building communication systems that have to work when networks don't.

He has presented his work in Washington, D.C. and internationally, and has appeared on the BBC and other media.

Chad Gerber is a 10x platinum and gold-selling artist, inventor, and founder of ShadowGen and Meloscene. As an artist, producer, and composer, Gerber has worked on projects across music, film, television, and interactive media. His background in s... Show more

Marcus Udokang is a Senior Business Analyst, Consultant, Writer, and Speaker with 20 years of experience leading enterprise transformation, digital delivery, and process optimization across the energy, fintech, SaaS, and enterprise technology sectors. He is Managing Partner at BA Blocks, and helps clients drive enterprise transformation across ERP, SaaS, CRM, and integration projects. His work spans SAP transformations, large-scale CRM modernization, global fintech payment operations, and enterprise workforce onboarding redesign, consistently translating business strategy into practical solutions that reduce risk, cut support costs, and improve operational efficiency.

Marcus also hosts The Inquisitive Analyst podcast where he explores the changing role of business analysis and industry leadership, exploring trends, challenges, and best practices through conversations with global practitioners.

Marcus is co-compiler and co-author of The Evolving Analyst, a collection of 45 articles from BA professionals across 19 countries exploring how business analysts are fueling transformation with practical insights and proven strategies. He co-organized BA Unplugged 2025 Virtual Conference, for the global business analysis community. Marcus holds an MBA in Information Technology.

Marcus Udokang is a Senior Business Analyst, Consultant, Writer, and Speaker with 20 years of experience leading enterprise transformation, digital delivery, and process optimization across the energy, fintech, SaaS, and enterprise technology sectors... Show more

Cynthia Lockrey helps leaders and organizations communicate with clarity, confidence and purpose. A former reporter and newspaper editor with more than 29 years of experience in public relations, crisis communications and leadership communications, she specializes in turning complex ideas into compelling stories that build trust, inspire action and create meaningful change. An engaging keynote speaker and corporate trainer, Cynthia has worked with organizations across North America and is consistently rated as a top conference speaker for her practical, story-driven presentations. Audiences appreciate her ability to simplify complex communication challenges into strategies they can immediately put into practice. Cynthia brings authenticity, empathy and humour to every presentation. Whether speaking about storytelling, leadership, advocacy or communication, she equips audiences with the tools and confidence to use their voice, strengthen relationships and create lasting impact.

Cynthia Lockrey helps leaders and organizations communicate with clarity, confidence and purpose. A former reporter and newspaper editor with more than 29 years of experience in public relations, crisis communications and leadership communications, s... Show more

Dr. E Veal builds employee, customer, and external community infrastructure at the intersection of AI and human connection. She designed a community maturity model, The Augmented Community Model, that shows organizations how to build scalable community-building programs while leveraging AI to strengthen human connection at work — not replace it.

Her doctoral research examines how small and medium-sized enterprises strategically navigate institutional pressures as they adopt responsible AI, revealing the practitioner-level judgment calls that formal governance frameworks often overlook. She brings that same practitioner lens to her own work, growing an employee resource group program while testing how AI can absorb the operational grind of community work without hollowing out its human core.

Dr. Veal speaks and writes on building scalable community infrastructure, protecting authentic connections in AI-accelerated workplaces, and demonstrating the business value of community work.

Dr. E Veal builds employee, customer, and external community infrastructure at the intersection of AI and human connection. She designed a community maturity model, The Augmented Community Model, that shows organizations how to build scalable communi... Show more

Nicole N. Kaufman, MA, LCMHC, is a licensed mental health counselor, entrepreneur, author, and speaker specializing in resilience, high performance, relationships, and meaningful change. Founder of High Performance Counseling, Nicole translates psychology into practical strategies that help ambitious people navigate change, challenge old patterns, and build healthier, more sustainable success.

Nicole N. Kaufman, MA, LCMHC, is a licensed mental health counselor, entrepreneur, author, and speaker specializing in resilience, high performance, relationships, and meaningful change. Founder of High Performance Counseling, Nicole translates psych... Show more

With 11 years' experience managing complex collaborative projects, including 6 as Product Manager, I know that any project can turn into a Tower of Babel...
I also know that I don't know anything, even though I can forget this fact from time to time :)

So let's hear each other out, let's communicate and together we just might end up creating a cool product!

I enjoy giving talks inspired directly from my experiences. I hope you will enjoy hearing about my successes, and failures!

With 11 years' experience managing complex collaborative projects, including 6 as Product Manager, I know that any project can turn into a Tower of Babel... I also know that I don't know anything, even though I can forget this fact from time to tim... Show more