Humanities & Social Sciences

Esteemed speakers contributing their insights into human culture, behavior, and societal development

Jake Truemper

Jake Truemper

Jake is an innovation-minded leader, teacher, and visual thinker whose passion is to make humans more human. He is a regular speaker at colleges, meetups and conferences. Jake has led Experience Design initiatives for more than 60 businesses across a variety of industries, including everything from fortune 500 companies to startups. Jake has built human-centered design practices for multiple prominent agencies and is currently Co-Founder of his own Human-Centered Design consultancy.

Jake is an innovation-minded leader, teacher, and visual thinker whose passion is to make humans more human. He is a regular speaker at colleges, meetups and conferences. Jake has led Experience Design initiatives for more than 60 businesses across a... Show more

Francisca Márcia Gomes Sampaio

Francisca Márcia Gomes Sampaio

Apaixonada por pessoas, agilidade, gestão e conhecimento. Com mais de 20 anos de experiência em tecnologia e transformação organizacional, atuo no SERPRO — a maior empresa pública de TI do mundo — onde já contribuí em diversas frentes: transformação ágil, gestão ágil, experiência do usuário (UX), LGPD, técnicas de facilitação e, atualmente, como gestora do time Sinergia, apoiando o desenvolvimento de lideranças inspiradoras e a construção de times de alto desempenho.

Doutoranda em Engenharia de Software pela UFPE, sou também especialista em Gerência Estratégica da Informação (UNIFOR - 2004), mestre em Informática Aplicada (UNIFOR - 2008), MBA em Gerência de Projetos (FGV - 2012), pós-graduada em Psicologia Positiva, Ciência do Bem-Estar e Autorrealização (PUCRS - 2021), MBA em Liderança, Inovação e Gestão 4.0 (PUCRS - 2022) e pós-graduada em Psicologia Organizacional e Gestão de Pessoas (PUCRS - 2024).

Certificada PMP desde 2005 e Personal Coach pela SLAC, atuo também como professora em cursos de pós-graduação e palestrante em grandes eventos de agilidade, como Agile Trends, Agile Trends Gov, TDC, Agile Brazil, entre outros. Sou ainda partner do Coletivo Ação no Workshop Team Facilitator.

Movida por propósito, sigo em constante evolução pessoal e profissional, acreditando que ambientes de trabalho felizes, colaborativos e humanos geram, naturalmente, os melhores resultados.

Apaixonada por pessoas, agilidade, gestão e conhecimento. Com mais de 20 anos de experiência em tecnologia e transformação organizacional, atuo no SERPRO — a maior empresa pública de TI do mundo — onde já contribuí em diversas frentes: transformação ... Show more

Mija Rabemananjara

Mija Rabemananjara

Née à Madagascar, Mija Rabemananjara a grandi à la Réunion, à Bordeaux, en
région parisienne et décide de tenter l’expérience de l’Amérique du Nord en Septembre 2019 en
s’installant au Québec. Avec une forte expérience dans l’IT, elle devient coach agile en 2015 et
construit 2 cursus de formations :
 Devenir coach agile Agilopathe®
 Devenir un manager/gestionnaire agile avec Montessori Extended®

Son ambition est d’accompagner les organisations vers plus d’auto-organisation et au-delà pour
plus d’engagement, plus de performance, plus d’innovation, pour une société plus saine.

Sur son site http://lesagilopathes.com vous retrouverez ses publications, des vidéos de ses
conférences précédentes, la description de ses offres et les événements à venir !

Née à Madagascar, Mija Rabemananjara a grandi à la Réunion, à Bordeaux, en région parisienne et décide de tenter l’expérience de l’Amérique du Nord en Septembre 2019 en s’installant au Québec. Avec une forte expérience dans l’IT, elle devient coa... Show more

Rachidi Djibo Issa

Rachidi Djibo Issa

Rachidi Djibo Issa est titulaire d’un Master en droit privé et possède des certificats en éducation en situation d’urgence et en prévention des violences basées sur le genre (VBG). Il cumule une expérience pratique significative dans le domaine de l’éducation et de la protection de l’enfance, ayant exercé en tant que superviseur éducation dans des contextes de crise.

Parallèlement, il s’engage activement dans le secteur associatif en tant que responsable d’association, et contribue à des initiatives internationales en ligne comme volontaire pour les Nations Unies, mettant ses compétences au service de projets de sensibilisation, de plaidoyer et de mobilisation communautaire.

Son parcours allie expertise juridique, gestion de programmes éducatifs et humanitaires, et engagement citoyen, avec un accent particulier sur l’inclusion, la protection des enfants et l’utilisation du numérique pour renforcer l’éducation en contexte difficile.

Rachidi Djibo Issa est titulaire d’un Master en droit privé et possède des certificats en éducation en situation d’urgence et en prévention des violences basées sur le genre (VBG). Il cumule une expérience pratique significative dans le domaine de l’... Show more

Hala Anwar

Hala Anwar

Hala Anwar is a Principal Product Manager at Microsoft, where she leads the Consulting Product Management practice. She partners with Microsoft’s most strategic enterprise customers to design and scale multi-agentic AI products while advancing their Responsible AI, Product, and Design practices. With experience across industries from mining and biodiversity to finance and public transit, Hala is passionate about creating products and experiences where people truly matter.
She also mentors within Microsoft’s Agile, Design Thinking, Accessibility, and Women in Product communities, as well as the MENA, Disability, and Women at Microsoft networks. Known for her energetic, practical approach, Hala brings agentic insights from diverse global industries - offering audiences thought-provoking stories, actionable takeaways, and a few playful provocations about the future of AI-driven human-centered innovation.

Hala Anwar is a Principal Product Manager at Microsoft, where she leads the Consulting Product Management practice. She partners with Microsoft’s most strategic enterprise customers to design and scale multi-agentic AI products while advancing their ... Show more

Georgiana Bigea

Georgiana Bigea

Georgiana Bigea is the founder of StorytellingArchitect.Com, where she delivers creative works, workshops, and consulting for public and private purposes. She has a degree in Journalism and is currently completing her PhD research on workplace conflict. Her experience includes being a social trends analyst at an international think tank, a storytelling architect in international IT start ups, and a teaching assistant at Babes Bolyai University (Romania) and University of Fribourg (Switzerland).

Georgiana Bigea is the founder of StorytellingArchitect.Com, where she delivers creative works, workshops, and consulting for public and private purposes. She has a degree in Journalism and is currently completing her PhD research on workplace confli... Show more

Karl Wester-Ebbinghaus

Karl Wester-Ebbinghaus

Currently being most passionate about Azure Local and Azure Arc. Coming down a long way with Microsoft tech only, since the 90s

Currently being most passionate about Azure Local and Azure Arc. Coming down a long way with Microsoft tech only, since the 90s Show more

Stephan Swart

Stephan Swart

Stephan is a consultant, advisor, and Fractional CTO. He has held a range of titles including: developer, architect, agile coach, and CTO. He is passionate to help organisations and their leaders to get the best out of their dev teams. He is passionate about creating work-environments where software teams and individuals can flourish. He has seen the insides of small, medium, and large organisations. In all teams he has been part of, he has grown a reputation of bringing clarity, trust, and courage.

Stephan is a consultant, advisor, and Fractional CTO. He has held a range of titles including: developer, architect, agile coach, and CTO. He is passionate to help organisations and their leaders to get the best out of their dev teams. He is passiona... Show more

Kamal Rawat

Kamal Rawat

With expertise spanning SEO, content marketing, PPC, and social media, I help brands elevate their visibility, skyrocket organic traffic, and drive measurable engagement. Whether it’s optimizing site structure, crafting high-impact content, or building performance-driven campaigns, I believe in strategies rooted in data and designed for results.

With expertise spanning SEO, content marketing, PPC, and social media, I help brands elevate their visibility, skyrocket organic traffic, and drive measurable engagement. Whether it’s optimizing site structure, crafting high-impact content, or buildi... Show more

Vered Robinzon

Vered Robinzon

Agile Organiziational leader and manager, Certified board facilitator with TAB (The Alternative Board) and a graduate of the StratPro leadership and strategy program, bringing over 20 years of experience in establishing and leading corporate training and education centers. Skilled in managing cross-cultural educational initiatives across Eastern Europe and North America, with a strong background in organizational development and leadership.

Currently serves as Deputy Head of the pioneering Education Authority and Director of Business Development at Sheba Medical Center, consistently ranked among the world’s Top 10 hospitals. Leads innovation processes, organizational learning and strategic growth initiatives and played a central role in establishing the Education Authority as a trailblazing organizational unit within the medical center.

Dedicated sports enthusiast with a particular passion for the English Premier League and an Executive Board Member of The Association of Independent Sport Organizations,
contributing energy, curiosity and a people-centered approach to every professional role.

Agile Organiziational leader and manager, Certified board facilitator with TAB (The Alternative Board) and a graduate of the StratPro leadership and strategy program, bringing over 20 years of experience in establishing and leading corporate training... Show more

Dan Rochon

Dan Rochon

Dan Rochon, founder of the Consistent and Predictable Income (CPI) Community, believes that with the right tools, mentorship, and training, you can learn to influence human behavior and achieve your fullest potential—and you can inspire others to do the same.

By teaching his clients and students how to “Teach to Sell,” Dan helps professionals - just like you - create a continuous flow of leads and transactions so you have No Broke Months, transform yourself into an all-star seller, and scale your businesses to the point where you have the freedom to step back and have real control over your future without ever missing a beat.

One of Dan's proudest accomplishments is his own track record of having “No Broke Months” in real estate sales since 2008, with an average of ten monthly sales.

He is also a certified NLP practitioner and the author of

Real Estate Evolution:

The Ten-Step Guide to CPI - Consistent and Predictable Income and

Think and Grow Rich: Increase Your Influence,

Avoid the #1 Sales Mistake and Get What You Want.

And as you might imagine,

Dan is a constant student of human experience and potential.

Dan Rochon, founder of the Consistent and Predictable Income (CPI) Community, believes that with the right tools, mentorship, and training, you can learn to influence human behavior and achieve your fullest potential—and you can inspire others to do ... Show more

Ashley Stallings

Ashley Stallings

Hey there—I’m Ashley, the voice behind Audibly Ashley. I’ve spent over a decade in the nonprofit world, building things from scratch, standing up for kids and families, and cheering on the helpers who make it all happen.

In addition to founding and running Upper Valley Child Advocacy Center, I speak, consult, and create space for people to rediscover their why—especially when the work gets heavy. I’m all about heart-led leadership, honest conversations, and reminding folks they don’t have to lose themselves to make a difference.

If you’re into purpose-driven work and real talk—let’s connect.

Hey there—I’m Ashley, the voice behind Audibly Ashley. I’ve spent over a decade in the nonprofit world, building things from scratch, standing up for kids and families, and cheering on the helpers who make it all happen. In addition to founding an... Show more

Rebecca Grier

Rebecca Grier

Rebecca Grier, Ph.D. is a behavioural scientist with 20 years experience in product development across various business sectors. Most recently she was the lead for Customer-Driven: EMEA at Microsoft, with the goal to change product making culture to be more customer obsessed. Previously she moved Ford to consider people with disabilities in the design of their autonomous vehicles and the US DoD to include user experience in testing of systems. She currently lives in Dublin with her husband and son.

Rebecca Grier, Ph.D. is a behavioural scientist with 20 years experience in product development across various business sectors. Most recently she was the lead for Customer-Driven: EMEA at Microsoft, with the goal to change product making culture to ... Show more

Selam Moges

Selam Moges

I'm Selam and I'm currently a software engineer at Apella. I've always been fascinated by technology and its potential to make our lives better and more equitable. As an advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), I'm committed to making tech a come inclusive place for everyone.

I'm passionate about computer ethics and ensuring that technology is developed and used in ethical and responsible ways. I believe that technology can be a powerful force for good, but only if we approach it with a thoughtful and ethical mindset.

When I'm not working, you can usually find me reading, out for a run, or at a museum. I also love to connect with other tech professionals who share my passion for DEI, accessibility, and computer ethics.

I'm Selam and I'm currently a software engineer at Apella. I've always been fascinated by technology and its potential to make our lives better and more equitable. As an advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), I'm committed to making tec... Show more

Sami Diaf

Sami Diaf

Sami is an experienced, polyvalent data scientist with a strong background in statistics, computer science and economics. He has held various positions at the intersection of industry and academia. He worked as a research associate on an interdisciplinary project at the University of Hamburg. His expertise ranges from applied statistics to advanced AI applications. He holds several degrees and has published in top journals.

Sami is an experienced, polyvalent data scientist with a strong background in statistics, computer science and economics. He has held various positions at the intersection of industry and academia. He worked as a research associate on an interdiscipl... Show more

Massimiliano Luca

Massimiliano Luca

I am a Senior Researcher at Bruno Kessler Foundation and Chief Scientific Officer at Pulse.io. I obtained my PhD in November 2023 from the Faculty of Computer Science at the Free University of Bolzano. During my PhD, I was a Visitor Researcher at MIT Connection Science and a Visiting Ph.D. Student at CSIC-IFISC. I am currently working on socially aware foundation models, human-intelligent agents cooperation and spatially-aware deep learning for urban, transportation and mobility.

I am a Senior Researcher at Bruno Kessler Foundation and Chief Scientific Officer at Pulse.io. I obtained my PhD in November 2023 from the Faculty of Computer Science at the Free University of Bolzano. During my PhD, I was a Visitor Researcher at MI... Show more

Chris Brousseau

Chris Brousseau

Chris is the Founder and Data Scientist at Surface Owl, where he focuses on machine learning and data science to develop a transformative decision support platform and implement digital transformation programs for clients. As an active contributor to the Bay Area's technical communities and Conference Chair of PyBay, Chris helps support the development of tech skills and our local Python and ML community.

Chris is the Founder and Data Scientist at Surface Owl, where he focuses on machine learning and data science to develop a transformative decision support platform and implement digital transformation programs for clients. As an active contributor to... Show more

Morten Rand-Hendriksen

Morten Rand-Hendriksen

Morten is a developer, designer, educator, and philosopher specializing in web standards, interaction design, and technology ethics. He has made hundreds of courses for Lynda.com and LinkedIn Learning covering design, web standards, bleeding edge technologies, and ethics, and is a popular speaker at major conferences around the globe. You may have learned WordPress, or JavaScript, or CSS grid from him, or seen him talking about surveillance capitalism and AI on TikTok. In his spare time he builds Lego space ships with his 6 year old son and dances ballroom with his wife.

Morten is a developer, designer, educator, and philosopher specializing in web standards, interaction design, and technology ethics. He has made hundreds of courses for Lynda.com and LinkedIn Learning covering design, web standards, bleeding edge te... Show more

Alex Wolf

Alex Wolf

Alex is a Systemic Engineer from Cologne, Germany in their 30s.

They have extensive experience designing complex distributed systems, complex team topologies, and care deeply about the human component in tech. They are always looking for ways to create a more inclusive, psychological safe, and productive work environment, all to enable engineers to become the best versions of themselves. In the past decade they successfully worked as a colleague to, manager of, and mentor for many engineers and stakeholders.

Alex is a Systemic Engineer from Cologne, Germany in their 30s. They have extensive experience designing complex distributed systems, complex team topologies, and care deeply about the human component in tech. They are always looking for ways to c... Show more

Randy Gonzales

Randy Gonzales

A native New Orleanian of Filipino descent, Randy Gonzales is a poet, writer, and community historian who researches and shares the stories of Filipino Louisiana. He is an associate professor of English at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, where he holds the Dr. James Wilson/BORSF Eminent Scholar Endowed Professorship in Southern Studies. His book Settling St. Malo (UL Press, 2023) is a history of Filipino Louisiana in verse. You can find out more about Filipinos in Louisiana at www.filipinola.com and more about Randy at www.randygonzales.com.

A native New Orleanian of Filipino descent, Randy Gonzales is a poet, writer, and community historian who researches and shares the stories of Filipino Louisiana. He is an associate professor of English at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, wh... Show more

Joanne Enders

Joanne Enders

Joanne's journey, shaped by her mother's and grandmother's wisdom, exemplifies the transformative power of art. As an internationally acclaimed multimedia artist, she embodies resilience, authenticity, and personal growth. Her emotionally charged work resonates with global audiences, while her trailblazing multimedia creations captivate through digital art, AI, and photography. Joanne has two #1 internationally best-selling books, "The Creative Lifebook: Reflections On The Art Of Living A Fully Expressed Life" and “Radical Self Love: How To Ignite Your Light Through Creativity”. Showcasing her narrative talent and promoting community building and collaboration among artists, authors, and other creatives. Besides being an artist, photographer, and all-around nerd, she is a high-level Enterprise Risk Management and Compliance Director and accountant, who always looks for solutions to issues that create risks of derailing projects, movements, and cultures. Being of the viewpoint to consider, communicate, and collaborate but most importantly take action, Joanne is a doer. Her business savvy, combined with her artistic prowess, positions her as a driving force for change and inspiration. From her modest beginnings to her worldwide success, Joanne's life and creativity are testaments to growth, resilience, and authenticity.

Joanne's journey, shaped by her mother's and grandmother's wisdom, exemplifies the transformative power of art. As an internationally acclaimed multimedia artist, she embodies resilience, authenticity, and personal growth. Her emotionally charged wor... Show more

Dr. Amanda Fernandez

Dr. Amanda Fernandez

Dr. Amanda Fernandez is a seasoned education leader with a dynamic career spanning traditional district and county office roles, charter schools, and higher education. She brings extensive experience in designing and leading programs that elevate student achievement, educator development, and organizational effectiveness.

Dr. Fernandez has successfully led cross-functional departments, developed teacher mentoring programs, and collaborated with the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) as part of a multi-industry task force to design innovative credentialing pathways. Her work reflects a deep commitment to building sustainable systems that support both teaching and leadership pipelines.

Currently serving as Chief Fiscal Officer for a network of charter schools, Dr. Fernandez oversees financial operations, strategic budgeting, and alignment of fiscal resources with educational priorities. She also leads the Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) process and facilitates the Parent Advisory Committee, ensuring inclusive engagement and data-driven decision-making.

A Board Certified Coach (BCC) and ACSA Leadership Coach, Dr. Fernandez is passionate about empowering education leaders to create cultures of trust, learning, and impact, where feedback is valued, teams are developed, and every dollar advances student success.

Dr. Amanda Fernandez is a seasoned education leader with a dynamic career spanning traditional district and county office roles, charter schools, and higher education. She brings extensive experience in designing and leading programs that elevate stu... Show more

Simon Juma

Simon Juma

I'm an renowned author in biology mainly specializing in botany. Additionally I'm also a cyber security authentic mainly specializing in penetration testing and nertwork security.

I'm an renowned author in biology mainly specializing in botany. Additionally I'm also a cyber security authentic mainly specializing in penetration testing and nertwork security. Show more

Falene McKenna

Falene McKenna

Falene McKenna is a product manager with a strong background in software development, conversational experience design, and data analysis. Specializing in Robot VUIs, she is passionate about using technology, particularly social robots and Conversational AI, to improve people's lives.

Coming from a background Linguistics, Falene began her Social Robotics career at Intuition Robotics, working on their flagship project ElliQ—an AI-powered social companion robot for older adults—and developing in-car voice experiences. She later collaborated on a proof-of-concept for Fur Hat Robotics and Microsoft PVA before serving as the Head of Product for Aico, an AI-driven early childhood learning robot by Curiosity Robotics.

In October of 2023, Falene started her own company, Lingua Robotica, with the hopes of bringing ethical and holistic design into multimodal development.

A voice in the conversational AI space, Falene has presented at various events, including the Conversation Design Festival 2022, emphasizing the importance of bot building standards, language expertise in AI experiences, and persona building. She is also an active member of Women in Voice, promoting gender diversity in the voice technology industry.

Falene McKenna is a product manager with a strong background in software development, conversational experience design, and data analysis. Specializing in Robot VUIs, she is passionate about using technology, particularly social robots and Conversati... Show more

Raj Singh Rajawat

Raj Singh Rajawat

A systemic design thinker working for a better world.

A systemic design thinker working for a better world. Show more

Omid Motamedisedeh

Omid Motamedisedeh

Phd student in QUT, Australia and author of book : The Ultimate Guide to Functions in Power Query: Turn Raw Data into Actionable Insights

Phd student in QUT, Australia and author of book : The Ultimate Guide to Functions in Power Query: Turn Raw Data into Actionable Insights Show more

Ewelina Kurasz

Ewelina Kurasz

Senior Business-Systems Analyst & Product Owner. In love with IT. Fascinated by the process of coding. Speaker at international conferences. I truly believe that communication matters.
When I'm not at work, you can find me at IT conferences, meetup’s, volunteering somewhere, or spot me when enjoying nature in the middle of mountains or forests.
I'm usually the one, who will challenge your idea to make it bulletproof!

Senior Business-Systems Analyst & Product Owner. In love with IT. Fascinated by the process of coding. Speaker at international conferences. I truly believe that communication matters. When I'm not at work, you can find me at IT conferences, meetup... Show more

Giovanni Valli

Giovanni Valli

Giovanni is Head of Agile Transformation at Entain Italy. He spent the last 6 years as an Agile Coach consultant, after leading for 7 years digital products development in a multinational company. His focus is on building autonomy, aligning culture and execution, and enabling sustainable change.

Giovanni is Head of Agile Transformation at Entain Italy. He spent the last 6 years as an Agile Coach consultant, after leading for 7 years digital products development in a multinational company. His focus is on building autonomy, aligning culture a... Show more

Mercy Makinde

Mercy Makinde

Mercy is an accomplished technical writer with over a year of professional experience in the field. Throughout her career, she has collaborated with various companies, specializing in enhancing and revitalizing their blogs and technical documentation. By focusing on clarity and user engagement, she transforms complex information into easily understandable content, ensuring that readers can effectively grasp the subject matter. Mercy's meticulous attention to detail and her ability to organize information logically make her a valuable asset to any team seeking to improve their communication materials.

Mercy is an accomplished technical writer with over a year of professional experience in the field. Throughout her career, she has collaborated with various companies, specializing in enhancing and revitalizing their blogs and technical documentation... Show more

Kris Manché

Kris Manché

Kris Manche (Dr BC) is a seasoned BC expert with 25 years of continuous experience. Starting in tech support at Navision HQ, Kris became a leading authority in recovering failed implementations at AU’s largest partners. He later founded, grew, and sold a top-performing VAR to a leading European distributor.

Kris has re-engineered hundreds of organizations and has developed & implemented many addons for many industries. Kris has deep technical and functional knowledge of complex business processes, ERP delivery and organizational transformation. Kris founded DIY-ERP to build the ultimate Business Central Implementation Toolkit for partners and customers. The toolkit distils 300+ implementations worth of expertise into configuration templates, quoting tools, data migration processes, scope controls, client training assets, and assisted go-live automation — all designed to remove risk, increase outcomes and value, and make implementations a repeatable, scalable, and value added service for partners.

Our approach empowers partners to focus on value-added outcomes instead of rework, and clients to take ownership of their ERP journey. The result? Better adoption, stronger Microsoft stack utilization (Teams, Power Platform, Power BI, Shopify), and increased partner services in Modern Work and beyond.

Kris Focus is to enable new partners and customers to be instantly successful with Business Central, drastically transforming outcomes and Time to Value, filling the disconnect between vendor and partner support. DIY-ERP aim is to help Microsoft, Partners and Customers globally to change the way BC is implemented for the better. It's time for Change from ERP Implementations designed in the 70's

Kris Manche (Dr BC) is a seasoned BC expert with 25 years of continuous experience. Starting in tech support at Navision HQ, Kris became a leading authority in recovering failed implementations at AU’s largest partners. He later founded, grew, and so... Show more

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