Humanities & Social Sciences

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

Yannis Martin

Yannis Martin

Yannis Martin is the founder and CEO of Nistin et OMK, a digital transformation consulting and training company.

With 16 years of experience in project management and transition management, he is a certified consultant and trainer in COBIT® 2019, ITIL® 4, and a PECB Certified Trainer in cybersecurity (ISO27001), and PRINCE2®. His expertise covers governance, IT security, and project management.

EiCnam engineer and sociologist by training, he has been a speaker since 2019. He has participated in numerous international events, including the Agile Tour, Devopsdays, and the IIBA and SMP conferences. He also teaches at the University of Avignon (2021) and EM Lyon (2025).

In 2024, he became a doctoral student at the Université de technologie de Compiègne, Alliance Sorbonne Université, and the COSTECH laboratory. His research focuses on how AI fits into the history of complexity and helps provide principles for approaching it in different domains.

Yannis Martin is the founder and CEO of Nistin et OMK, a digital transformation consulting and training company. With 16 years of experience in project management and transition management, he is a certified consultant and trainer in COBIT® 2019,... Show more

Rockford Lhotka

Rockford Lhotka

Rockford Lhotka is VP of Strategy at Xebia. He is the creator of the widely used CSLA .NET open-source software framework, the author of numerous books, and regularly speaks at major conferences around the world. Rockford is a member of the Microsoft Regional Director and MVP programs. For more information go to https://lhotka.net.

Rockford Lhotka is VP of Strategy at Xebia. He is the creator of the widely used CSLA .NET open-source software framework, the author of numerous books, and regularly speaks at major conferences around the world. Rockford is a member of the Microsoft... Show more

Ankur Roy

Ankur Roy

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

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

Hafedh Messaoudi

Hafedh Messaoudi

Hafedh is a professional coach, agile coach, and trainer with over 12 years of experience in guiding individuals and organizations toward resilience, adaptability, and improved performance. With a strong foundation in neuroscience, agility, and human sciences, Hafedh integrates these disciplines to offer a comprehensive approach to personal and organizational development. His work focuses on helping teams and leaders navigate change and foster growth in dynamic environments. Throughout his career, Hafedh has been committed to empowering his clients with practical, science-based strategies for achieving long-term success.

Hafedh is a professional coach, agile coach, and trainer with over 12 years of experience in guiding individuals and organizations toward resilience, adaptability, and improved performance. With a strong foundation in neuroscience, agility, and human... Show more

Traci Sewell

Traci Sewell

Traci joined the community to take the tech down a notch! She lives in Somerset with some (very cute) cats, some horses, some sheep, and her husband, Rob. When not looking after all of those, she also works to sooth people's minds as a psychotherapist. Being tech-adjacent she has been drawn into the tech event organising world and the wider community, where she brings her life long knowledge, expertise and fearsome determination to empower and protect those who are outside of the generic majority box. Over the past few years she has also found a voice as a speaker, sharing information and insights into all things mental health and wellbeing.

Traci joined the community to take the tech down a notch! She lives in Somerset with some (very cute) cats, some horses, some sheep, and her husband, Rob. When not looking after all of those, she also works to sooth people's minds as a psychotherapis... Show more

Kristyna Ferris

Kristyna Ferris

Kristyna Ferris is a solution architect at P3 Adaptive. Her experience includes implementing and managing enterprise-level Power BI instance, training teams on reporting best practices, and building templates for scalable analytics. Passionate about participating and growing the data community, she enjoys co-writing on Data on Wheels (dataonwheels.com) and speaking at various events. She also a co-organizer for Lexington Data Technology Group.

Kristyna Ferris is a solution architect at P3 Adaptive. Her experience includes implementing and managing enterprise-level Power BI instance, training teams on reporting best practices, and building templates for scalable analytics. Passionate about ... Show more

Divya Akula

Divya Akula

Hosting 16+ years with AI, Copilot,Azure, SharePoint & M365 technologies.

Hosting 16+ years with AI, Copilot,Azure, SharePoint & M365 technologies. Show more

Alyssa Nicoll

Alyssa Nicoll

Alyssa is an Senior Developer Advocate for Progress and a Google Developer Expert for Angular. She has spoken at over 50 conferences locally and internationally. She is the host of the Angular Air podcast and emcees ng-conf as well as Monorepo World. She enjoys gaming, scuba diving, and has a little one that fondly goes by "Mr. Milks".

Alyssa is an Senior Developer Advocate for Progress and a Google Developer Expert for Angular. She has spoken at over 50 conferences locally and internationally. She is the host of the Angular Air podcast and emcees ng-conf as well as Monorepo World.... Show more

Cecilia Geraldo

Cecilia Geraldo

Women TechMakers Ambassador from Chile. Building community and promoting visibiliby and women empowerment in tech industry. Cecy graduated form Laboratoria as Front End Developer, now she's a Software Developer Consultant and also Technical Lead at Thoughtworks. She strongly believes in the power of community and spreading knowledge, passionate about the code and connect with people, share her experience as she converted her path career and got into technology so more women can see this opportunities. She is an active promoter of learning continuosly and also share the knowledge and wisdom acquired, her favorites phrases are: "Knowledge is power, but only when it is shared. The more knowledge we share, the smarter we all become." and she advocates to accomplish them.

Women TechMakers Ambassador from Chile. Building community and promoting visibiliby and women empowerment in tech industry. Cecy graduated form Laboratoria as Front End Developer, now she's a Software Developer Consultant and also Technical Lead at T... Show more

Jérôme Urvoas

Jérôme Urvoas

Jérôme is a professional coach, agile coach, facilitator and trainer.
For 19 years, he has been one of the pioneers who have develop an agile culture within Lectra teams. He is now in charge of a team of internal coaches that he created and who support his company in its many changes.
Passionate about human dynamics, he has developed over the years an expertise in the fields of agility, change management and the management of teams and organizations.
Active member of the Agile community and of the European Mentoring and Coaching Council France, he likes to share his experience and his convictions through conferences and training.

Jérôme is a professional coach, agile coach, facilitator and trainer. For 19 years, he has been one of the pioneers who have develop an agile culture within Lectra teams. He is now in charge of a team of internal coaches that he created and who supp... Show more

Ragnar Heil

Ragnar Heil

Ragnar is a Most Valuable Professional (MVP) for Microsoft 365 Office Apps and Services. Together with MVP Alexander Egger, he hosts the “Alex & Ragnar Show,” a bi-weekly Video Live Stream about Microsoft 365 Hybrid Workplace and also "Guardians of M365 Governance" with Christian Buckley. Ragnar is a blogger and podcaster, headset geek, and core-member of Viva Explorers Community. He has an M.A. in Social Science and an Executive MBA, and has also published several books and articles about modern work.

Ragnar is a Most Valuable Professional (MVP) for Microsoft 365 Office Apps and Services. Together with MVP Alexander Egger, he hosts the “Alex & Ragnar Show,” a bi-weekly Video Live Stream about Microsoft 365 Hybrid Workplace and also "Guardians of ... Show more

Jo Franchetti

Jo Franchetti

Jo is a DevRel Engineer at Deno. She is passionate about improving developer experience, teaching good use of JS and TS and building sparkly, wearable, internet connected tech. She mentors junior developers, advocates for mental health awareness and is devoted to improving the diversity and inclusivity of the tech industry.

Jo is a DevRel Engineer at Deno. She is passionate about improving developer experience, teaching good use of JS and TS and building sparkly, wearable, internet connected tech. She mentors junior developers, advocates for mental health awareness and ... Show more

Josh Ether

Josh Ether

For the past 15 years, I have been an integral part of many successful organizations due to my experience and dedication. My coaching and consulting has allowed clients to achieve excellence as well as exceed their goals. It has been a privilege to be associated with such great achievements.

My Human Centered based methods have been proven to be successful, having been applied in a variety of projects with resounding results. My approach is comprehensive, taking into consideration all contributing factors to obtain the desired outcomes for clients that provide real value.

I'm passionate about empowering individuals and systems to identify and tackle the obstacles they face on their journey to success. Building trust within their systems through means of inspection, experimentation, and adaption we revise collaboration, & communication. I'm committed to helping my clients achieve long-term results. My ultimate goal is to support them in C.E.C. so that they can make lasting progress in life.

Collaboration is critical for the success of any solution. Working with a diverse group of people helps produce more effective results, and that's why I always strive to create an atmosphere where such collaboration can take place. By leveraging the skillsets of different individuals, we can develop high-quality solutions in a timely manner.

Experimentation is an invaluable tool in finding suitable solutions. To approach a problem in an effective manner, it's important to look beyond the traditional methods and explore something new. This might include using different techniques or tools to test out potential ideas and uncover the best solution. Experimentation gives us a chance to discover and try something that could potentially be groundbreaking, so it shouldn't be overlooked when dealing with complex problems.

Trust is essential for any team or organization to be successful. This confidence is established through effective communication and how information is shared. It's important to understand the power of these interactions, as they can create a feeling of reliability that allows everyone in the group to collaborate confidently.

The challenge organization’s face today is how to sustainably provide for the needs of growth while simultaneously protecting what has been built. A balanced approach is needed, one that combines sustainability with modern innovations. We must build a foundation for future prosperity that takes into account the needs of the organization, individual and the consumer.

For the past 15 years, I have been an integral part of many successful organizations due to my experience and dedication. My coaching and consulting has allowed clients to achieve excellence as well as exceed their goals. It has been a privilege to b... Show more

Damian Synadinos

Damian Synadinos

For over 30 years, Damian Synadinos helped “build better software and build software better” through testing. Now, through his company Ineffable Solutions (Ineffable-Solutions.com), he helps “build better people”. As a full-time, international public speaker, he delivers entertaining and educational keynotes, talks, and training that are focused on people, based on experience, and supplemented with research. His career and audiences include many diverse companies and industries including airline, retail, insurance, finance, e-commerce, and commercial realty. Damian also helped organize the "QA or the Highway" testing conference (QAortheHighway.com), performs & teaches improv, authored and illustrated a children’s book (HankAndStellaBooks.com), and draws strangers for fun (IDrawStrangers.com).

For over 30 years, Damian Synadinos helped “build better software and build software better” through testing. Now, through his company Ineffable Solutions (Ineffable-Solutions.com), he helps “build better people”. As a full-time, international public... Show more

Anja Schröder

Anja Schröder

Anja Schröder is a Microsoft MVP and Modern Workplace Architect at Skaylink. She designs and builds Microsoft 365 architectures and leads their technical implementation from initial concept to rollout. Her approach ensures that solutions are not only secure and reliable but also improve the day-to-day work experience. Her expertise lies in Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, and Copilot. In her sessions, she combines deep technical knowledge with practical examples to show how organizations can unlock the full potential of Microsoft 365.

Anja Schröder is a Microsoft MVP and Modern Workplace Architect at Skaylink. She designs and builds Microsoft 365 architectures and leads their technical implementation from initial concept to rollout. Her approach ensures that solutions are not only... Show more

Hanna Engel

Hanna Engel

Indiana Jones of the cloud technologies. Hanna takes her customer on an amazing journey across the world of Azure and they live their best life riding on the back of the best practices, deciphering networking, fighting wild acronyms and discovering the wonders of Azure administration!

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional, Microsoft Certified Trainer, Quantum computing - evangelist and a Belgian Quantum Circle Representative.
Frequent podcast guest and conference speaker Hanna's main focus is simplifying the complex in the technology world by democratizing access to IT expertise via her social platforms and public speaking.

Hanna is an AI Lead at Azelis, where she manages strategic AI projects and cloud migration initiatives. In addition to her role at Azelis, she freelances as an Azure trainer, delivering technical training sessions. Previously, she served as a Azure Trainer at Microsoft, where she provided live, tailored training for clients across Europe and South America and developed high-quality studio content for widespread educational use.

There is no business without technology. The goal is to bridge the gaps between the two worlds and democratize the knowledge by presenting tech topics in approachable way.

Hanna is based in Brussels, Belgium. Personally, fan of Dungeons&Dragons, couchsurfing and foreign languages.

Indiana Jones of the cloud technologies. Hanna takes her customer on an amazing journey across the world of Azure and they live their best life riding on the back of the best practices, deciphering networking, fighting wild acronyms and discovering t... Show more

Manuel Alejandro Ledezma Falcon

Manuel Alejandro Ledezma Falcon

Manuel Ledezma, known in the tech community as Tester Testarudo, is a software testing and automation specialist with a strong commitment to delivering high-quality and reliable software. Over the past years, he has focused on mastering QA practices and automation strategies, working in agile and fast-paced environments.
He has contributed to leading companies such as Mediktor, AXA, Telecom Argentina, Newfold, and Mojo Marketplace, where he implemented scalable testing solutions that improved product stability and user experience.
Manuel currently serves as the QA Automation Lead at Mediktor in Barcelona, Spain, where he leads automation initiatives to ensure robust and impactful digital products.
Beyond his professional work, Manuel empowers the QA community through Tester Testarudo, his educational project dedicated to helping newcomers learn testing in a clear, practical, and accessible way.

Manuel Ledezma, known in the tech community as Tester Testarudo, is a software testing and automation specialist with a strong commitment to delivering high-quality and reliable software. Over the past years, he has focused on mastering QA practices ... Show more

Andres Sepulveda Morales

Andres Sepulveda Morales

Andres Sepulveda Morales is the founder of Red Mage, a specialized technology agency focusing on the intersection of deep engineering and community impact. A former corporate software engineer with 8+ years of experience, Andres translates complex technical expertise into accessible, community-driven solutions.

His consulting proficiency has been widely recognized; in 2025, he was named one of Contra’s Best Software Consultants to Hire for English and Spanish markets. He is a trusted partner for platforms like Lovable and SureLink, and a recognized expert for cutting-edge development tools including Bolt.new and Framer.

Andres is highly dedicated to advancing AI literacy in the community. As Treasurer and Advisory Board Member for the Rocky Mountain AI Interest Group (a 501(c)(3) nonprofit), he founded the Fort Collins chapter and helped the organization serve over 6,400 participants at 200+ events across Colorado in 2025 alone.

Andres Sepulveda Morales is the founder of Red Mage, a specialized technology agency focusing on the intersection of deep engineering and community impact. A former corporate software engineer with 8+ years of experience, Andres translates complex te... Show more

Zita Pelok

Zita Pelok

Enthusiastic People Analytics professional and organizational sociologist with over 10 years of experience in HR and more than 5 years in Business Intelligence (BI). She is passionate about transforming HR data into actionable insights that support strategic decision-making and improve organizational performance. She holds a master’s degree in Economic and Organizational Sociology, giving her a unique perspective on the social and behavioral dimensions of workforce analytics.

Founder of ReadyHR.eu, a consultancy service that helps small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) build practical, data-driven HR reporting and People Analytics capabilities.

Based in Kecskemét, near Budapest, Hungary, proud parent of two boys. Outside of work, she loves dancing and is dedicated to continuous learning, always exploring new tools and ideas that elevate the HR analytics profession.

Enthusiastic People Analytics professional and organizational sociologist with over 10 years of experience in HR and more than 5 years in Business Intelligence (BI). She is passionate about transforming HR data into actionable insights that support s... Show more

Andreas Kollegger

Andreas Kollegger

Andreas is a technological humanist. Starting at NASA, Andreas designed systems from scratch to support science missions. Then in Zambia, he built medical informatics systems to apply technology for social good. Now with Neo4j, he is democratizing graph databases to validate and extend our intuitions about how the world works. Everything is connected.

Andreas is a technological humanist. Starting at NASA, Andreas designed systems from scratch to support science missions. Then in Zambia, he built medical informatics systems to apply technology for social good. Now with Neo4j, he is democratizing gr... Show more

Caroline Nicole Letaru

Caroline Nicole Letaru

Caroline Nicole Letaru is a globally recognized Career Coach and Talent Strategist at Kazini Consults, with over 6 years of experience empowering tech professionals across 12+ countries. She is known for helping developers and emerging tech leaders unlock international opportunities through strategic career planning, skill building, and high-impact coaching.

Nicole has led technical recruitment for global institutions such as the United Nations and UNHCR, and has coached over 500+ professionals including software engineers, PowerShell, UX designers, and AI specialists helping them transition into global careers and remote work ecosystems.

She is a seasoned international speaker who has graced renowned stages including the International AIDS Society Conference (Germany), Going Global Conference (UK), and the SCORE Conference (Tanzania). Her thought leadership earned her the Best Essay Award at the South American Business Forum (SABF) in Argentina, recognizing her voice on youth, development, and innovation.

Nicole’s work focuses on building future-proof careers for African professionals in tech. Through Kazini Consults, she leads a community-first approach that equips talents to scale their impact with confidence, clarity, and visibility.

Caroline Nicole Letaru is a globally recognized Career Coach and Talent Strategist at Kazini Consults, with over 6 years of experience empowering tech professionals across 12+ countries. She is known for helping developers and emerging tech leaders u... Show more

Grzegorz Sztandera

Grzegorz Sztandera

I’m an expert in project, product and IT team management, conference speaker, public speaking coach, book author and TEDx organiser.

I work in the financial sector, leading complex tech projects - including those related to digital identity. My role sits at the crossroads of IT, business and governance, where aligning perspectives is a daily challenge. In the past I’ve built DevOps team and entire competence area from scratch, always with a focus on communication, agility and a solid dose of common sense. I don’t believe in blindly following frameworks - I believe in people, collaboration and context-driven decisions.

I speak at conferences across Poland and Europe, running talks and workshops on leadership, agile, communication and teamwork. I also deliver my own trainings based on the LEGO® Serious Play® method. I’m preparing speakers for TEDx events and organising TEDxUniversity of Lodz / TEDxPabianice - events that gathers big audience and strong online engagement.

I hold degrees from the University of Łódź (International Relations and HR Management), MBA from Lodz University of Technology and Illinois State University, and a postgraduate diploma in IT Project Management. Outside of work, I’m a dad of two sons – which is great preparation for agile coaching. I write humorous, educational books for kids and collect the finest corporate memes life has to offer.

I love teaching, creating, connecting – and I always ask one question: “What if we did it differently?”

I’m an expert in project, product and IT team management, conference speaker, public speaking coach, book author and TEDx organiser. I work in the financial sector, leading complex tech projects - including those related to digital identity. My ro... Show more

Becca Hiller

Becca Hiller

Driven by courage, curiosity, and compassion, Becca "Bex" Hiller knows valued people deliver value. She helps humans reach agility potential, and her own agility shines through sharpened improv skills, a mighty pen, a hungry brain, and a passion for teaching and coaching.

Bex is currently based in Rochester, NY.

Driven by courage, curiosity, and compassion, Becca "Bex" Hiller knows valued people deliver value. She helps humans reach agility potential, and her own agility shines through sharpened improv skills, a mighty pen, a hungry brain, and a passion for ... Show more

Els van Vessem

Els van Vessem

Els van Vessem (they/them) works as a Data Engineer and Scrum Master for the House of Representatives in the Netherlands, after some years working as general data specialist and project lead for several healthcare organizations. They focus on topics of diversity, non-data skills needed for data jobs, compassion and mental health. Outside of work they hang out on bluesky (@geekingthething.bsky.social), help events with their code of conduct and harassment/abuse policies, read too many books, and watches political debates for fun.

Els van Vessem (they/them) works as a Data Engineer and Scrum Master for the House of Representatives in the Netherlands, after some years working as general data specialist and project lead for several healthcare organizations. They focus on topics ... Show more

Thijs Limmen

Thijs Limmen

Thijs is a DevOps engineer and front-end development enthusiast at Xebia. With a unique edge as an AI-powered developer, Thijs integrates cutting-edge AI tools into his development process. This allows him to improve code quality, boost productivity, and be any profession, ensuring that his projects stay ahead of the curve.

Thijs is a DevOps engineer and front-end development enthusiast at Xebia. With a unique edge as an AI-powered developer, Thijs integrates cutting-edge AI tools into his development process. This allows him to improve code quality, boost productivity,... Show more

Michela Bertaina

Michela Bertaina

Community lover and Ambassador of enthusiasm. In 2017 I began my journey within tech communities, becoming an active organizer of various communities such as Google Developers Group Turin and Trento, ngRome, Flutter EXP, Italian Community Managers Summmit and DInA Tech Hub. 

From a passion, community management has become my full-time job with GrUSP since 2020 in which I have organized around fifteen events a year on various programming languages ​​and coordinating the activities of 12 PUG communities at a national level.

I am currently Community Program Manager Europe in Codemotion and in my free time lead in GDG Bari, WTM Ambassador, lead of the TEDxCuneo partnership team and tourism councilor of the municipality of Cissone.

I love the world of conferences and public speaking, I always try to make everything I have learned in my journey available at the events in which I participate.

Diversity, community, growth and sharing are the values ​​on which I base my projects which I always carry forward with great enthusiasm and energy.

Here are more info about me: https://bit.ly/pantarei-mb

Community lover and Ambassador of enthusiasm. In 2017 I began my journey within tech communities, becoming an active organizer of various communities such as Google Developers Group Turin and Trento, ngRome, Flutter EXP, Italian Community Managers Su... Show more

Jodie Burchell

Jodie Burchell

Dr. Jodie Burchell is the Developer Advocate in Data Science at JetBrains, and was previously a Lead Data Scientist at Verve Group Europe. She completed a PhD in clinical psychology and a postdoc in biostatistics, before leaving academia for a data science career. She has worked for 9 years as a data scientist in both Australia and Germany, developing a range of products including recommendation systems, analysis platforms, search engine improvements and audience profiling. She has held a broad range of responsibilities in her career, doing everything from data analytics to maintaining machine learning solutions in production. She is a long time content creator in data science, across conference and user group presentations, books, webinars, and posts on both her own and JetBrain's blogs.

Dr. Jodie Burchell is the Developer Advocate in Data Science at JetBrains, and was previously a Lead Data Scientist at Verve Group Europe. She completed a PhD in clinical psychology and a postdoc in biostatistics, before leaving academia for a data s... Show more

Magali Milbergue

Magali Milbergue

After a decade in social work, Magali decided to change course and became a web developper. She tries to find a delicate balance between the technical aspects of the job (fun !), the creativity (fun too !) and trying to follow her ethics and change the culture of the industry (the less fun aspects of it anyway) by being an advocate and an activist. She recently chose to specialize in web accessibility by joining Access42.

She is co-founder and president of Compositech, an organization advocating for the inclusion of women and non-binary people in tech. She also is the founder and president of La Première Ligne, a feminist magazine created by tech women and non-binary people. She has a dog, Trufa and talks either way too much about her (according to people) or way not enough (according to herself).

After a decade in social work, Magali decided to change course and became a web developper. She tries to find a delicate balance between the technical aspects of the job (fun !), the creativity (fun too !) and trying to follow her ethics and change t... Show more

Mala Mahadevan

Mala Mahadevan

Mala Mahadevan is a senior database professional with over 20 years of experience working with data, primarily in SQL Server and related technologies. She has been volunteering with SQL Server community for the past 15 years and is also a recipient of the PASSion award for being an outstanding volunteer. She is a featured blogger on sqlservercentral.com and also blogs infrequently at curiousaboutdata.com.

Mala Mahadevan is a senior database professional with over 20 years of experience working with data, primarily in SQL Server and related technologies. She has been volunteering with SQL Server community for the past 15 years and is also a recipient o... Show more

Joanne Gouaillier

Joanne Gouaillier

Je suis tombée dans l'agilité il y a déjà pas mal d'années, sans en connaître le nom. Ce mindset, ainsi que ses valeurs et principes, sont pour moi cruciaux pour toute organisation, toute démarche, tout projet. Non pas que les méthodes liées à l'agilité soient toujours les + adaptées, mais ce mindset fondé sur l'humain, l'écoute, la co-construction, l'adaptation et la création de valeur est transposable à toutes les échelles. Je suis aujourd'hui coach pour les équipes agiles, et j'accompagne aussi l'individu et les organisations à se transformer.

Je suis tombée dans l'agilité il y a déjà pas mal d'années, sans en connaître le nom. Ce mindset, ainsi que ses valeurs et principes, sont pour moi cruciaux pour toute organisation, toute démarche, tout projet. Non pas que les méthodes liées à l'agil... Show more

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