Humanities & Social Sciences

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

Erissa Duvall

Erissa Duvall

Everyone has their niche in the world where they find the most joy and fulfillment. For me that has become Accessibility. Some of my experience comes from my personal ordeals I have gone through as I have steadily learned more about what makes my brain tick and what makes my joints throw a temper tantrum. My professional experience has helped me along the way because it is where I learned just how diverse the options were for accommodations, treatment, and more.

I was initially thrown into the deep end during my amazing journey with the American Printing House for the Blind's Internal IT department. I gained insight to some of the struggles caused when environments, processes, technology, and attitudes are not accessible. However, I also experienced great joy every time I managed to help make someone's day easier by helping them be more independent and confident in themselves. Since then, I have held many other Accessibility related roles and made it my mission to spread Accessibility awareness. I've done so through by improving Code Louisville's Accessibility policies and coursework as a mentor, speaking at domestic & international events, providing support online, and so much more. I plan to continue to do what I can for as long as I am able.

Everyone has their niche in the world where they find the most joy and fulfillment. For me that has become Accessibility. Some of my experience comes from my personal ordeals I have gone through as I have steadily learned more about what makes my bra... 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

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

Jigyasa Grover

Jigyasa Grover

12-time award-winning AI visionary and 'Sculpting Data For ML' author Jigyasa Grover drives rider personalization innovation at Uber after transforming Twitter/X, Facebook/Meta, Faire, and Bordo AI with large-scale ML systems. Handpicked by Google for their I/O keynote, she serves on Google's Developer Advisory Board while advising social search engine Diem and other Silicon Valley startups.

As a sought-after LinkedIn Learning instructor, Jigyasa educates thousands of professionals worldwide on cutting-edge AI-powered applications and agentic AI systems, solidifying her status as a thought leader in artificial intelligence education. As a Google Developer Expert, Women Techmaker Ambassador, and World Economic Forum Global Shaper, Jigyasa has also been featured in Business Insider, VentureBeat, and International Business Times, and has elevated panels with Harvard University, Preston-Werner Ventures, Norwegian Business School, Humanitarian Frontier in AI, Women in Data, and more to her name.

The UC San Diego alumna has secured funding from the Canadian and Norwegian governments, the Linux Foundation, and multiple tech giants, enabling work that transcends geographical boundaries. With 200+ media features and contributions to open source recognized by Apache and Python Software Foundations, she mentors next-generation talent while shaping AI's future through advisory roles at Bezoku AI, Las Positas College, and various AI forums.

12-time award-winning AI visionary and 'Sculpting Data For ML' author Jigyasa Grover drives rider personalization innovation at Uber after transforming Twitter/X, Facebook/Meta, Faire, and Bordo AI with large-scale ML systems. Handpicked by Google fo... Show more

Alexia Georghiou

Alexia Georghiou

Alexia Georghiou is the founder of the Knoxville Happiness Coalition and the World Happiness Fellowship, a global platform advancing human centered leadership, workplace wellbeing, and the future of work. She is an internationally recognized keynote speaker, leadership educator, author of The Future of Work Is Human, and editor of Happiness Driven Leadership. She also teaches leadership at the University of Tennessee.

Alexia has delivered keynotes and executive education for leading professional and leadership audiences, including SHRM, SHRM Talent, the University for Peace Executive Education in Costa Rica, SIOPSA in South Africa, and the University of Tennessee System. Her work has been featured by SHRM, HR Dive, ASHHRA, and the Knoxville News Sentinel.

Alexia brings executives into the conversation. Her sessions are designed to be experienced, not simply heard, combining evidence based insights, executive reflection, audience interaction, and practical takeaways participants can apply immediately. She challenges leaders to think differently about wellbeing, not as a perk or program, but as a leadership practice and a critical part of designing the future of work.

Her work explores the intersection of happiness, leadership, human connection, organizational culture, and AI, helping leaders understand how the human experience of work directly influences engagement, performance, and sustainable organizational success.

Alexia Georghiou is the founder of the Knoxville Happiness Coalition and the World Happiness Fellowship, a global platform advancing human centered leadership, workplace wellbeing, and the future of work. She is an internationally recognized keynote ... Show more

Valarie Regas

Valarie Regas

Valarie Regas is a DevOps fanatic, a Georgia Tech coding bootcamp graduate, and a veteran mommy. She holds a BA in Psychology and currently works in Computer Science education. After years being a stay-at-home mom, she decided to change her life by entering tech, and has learned a lot along the way. Outside of work, she enjoys mixed martial arts fighting, table-top role playing games, public speaking, creating tiny humans, and activism of all sorts.

Valarie Regas is a DevOps fanatic, a Georgia Tech coding bootcamp graduate, and a veteran mommy. She holds a BA in Psychology and currently works in Computer Science education. After years being a stay-at-home mom, she decided to change her life by e... Show more

Mario Esposito

Mario Esposito

Artiste plasticien, Architecte, UX Designer et enfin Coach Agile.
Un parcours atypique, plusieurs pivotages dans ma vie m'ont porté à comprendre que c'est la valorisation de l'humain la plus grande des réalisations.

Artiste plasticien, Architecte, UX Designer et enfin Coach Agile. Un parcours atypique, plusieurs pivotages dans ma vie m'ont porté à comprendre que c'est la valorisation de l'humain la plus grande des réalisations. Show more

Jo Franchetti

Jo Franchetti

Jo is a Developer Advocate with a passion for the web and the people who build it. She champions great developer experience and loves teaching good use of JS, TS, and AI by making complex concepts feel approachable and fun. When she's not on a conference stage or mentoring the next generation of developers, you'll find her crafting sparkly, wearable, internet-connected tech. Jo is also a vocal advocate for mental health awareness and is deeply committed to building a more diverse and inclusive tech industry.

Jo is a Developer Advocate with a passion for the web and the people who build it. She champions great developer experience and loves teaching good use of JS, TS, and AI by making complex concepts feel approachable and fun. When she's not on a confer... Show more

Giulia Scalaberni

Giulia Scalaberni

Giulia began her journey as a web dev, moved to data analyst and today she’s a product manager of a BI tool in an IT healthcare company, leading remote Scrum teams with members from 8 different cultures, starting from India. She’s relentlessly people‐centric, fascinated by how diverse cultures interact and always reading and exploring differences to make teamwork more “human”. When she’s not shaping product strategy or pondering team dynamics, you’ll find her at concerts imagining the tour management behind the scenes, or with a plane ticket already booked - Osaka and Lisbon are her places of the heart. She’s hopelessly obsessed with bubble tea, loves kangaroos and shares honest storytelling and practical insights that anyone can steal and use tomorrow.

Giulia began her journey as a web dev, moved to data analyst and today she’s a product manager of a BI tool in an IT healthcare company, leading remote Scrum teams with members from 8 different cultures, starting from India. She’s relentlessly people... 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

Amy Barthelemy

Amy Barthelemy

Amy Barthelemy is the solo founder of GovParti (govparti.org), a free civic intelligence platform covering all 3,127 US counties. The platform stores data from almost 50 federal sources locally, functioning as a living civic archive resilient to federal data removal. She is a published researcher (SSRN: 10928268), Latina first-generation American, military spouse, and mom.

Amy Barthelemy is the solo founder of GovParti (govparti.org), a free civic intelligence platform covering all 3,127 US counties. The platform stores data from almost 50 federal sources locally, functioning as a living civic archive resilient to fede... Show more

Cynthia Lockrey

Cynthia Lockrey

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

Sarah Kundla

Sarah Kundla

As a facilitator, speaker, and instructional designer, I explore human behavior, the science of how people learn, and the modern trends shaping the way we connect in today's culture. That curiosity drives everything I do, helping leaders and teams understand the people they work with, so they can work more effectively together.

My approach is shaped by research, experience, and a deep interest in how communication styles, cultural norms, and human dynamics influence the way people lead, relate, and grow in today's modern landscape.

I've delivered training for 1,900+ professionals across the U.S. and internationally, and spoken at conferences including Worthington Steel's LEARN & LEAD Conferences (2020, 2023, 2025), WitCon (2025), and CodeMash (2026). My facilitation style is practical, relatable, and focused on driving lasting behavior change, the kind that shows up long after the session ends.

As a facilitator, speaker, and instructional designer, I explore human behavior, the science of how people learn, and the modern trends shaping the way we connect in today's culture. That curiosity drives everything I do, helping leaders and teams un... Show more

Elena Briones

Elena Briones

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

Vittorio Polizzi

Vittorio Polizzi

I help people, teams, and organizations take a step forward.
My work involves creating the conditions for actionable directions, intentional choices, and small, concrete steps to emerge. I believe change becomes possible when attention is focused on what can be done, here and now, leveraging existing resources and skills.
I help leaders, professionals, and teams clarify objectives, recognize often underutilized capabilities, and build tangible signals of progress. I use essential and targeted questions that help them think more clearly and act consistently, even in complex contexts.
My coaching work is guided by the ICF and EMCC codes of ethics: respect for the individual, responsibility, confidentiality, and attention to the impact of decisions are integral to every journey.
My experience as an Enterprise Agile Coach and in the IT world allows me to move naturally in real organizational contexts, where decisions matter and time is precious.

I help people, teams, and organizations take a step forward. My work involves creating the conditions for actionable directions, intentional choices, and small, concrete steps to emerge. I believe change becomes possible when attention is focused on... Show more

Abiodun Alabi

Abiodun Alabi

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

Roberta Coppola

Roberta Coppola

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

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

Ville Gullstrand

Ville Gullstrand

I inspire people to embrace the potential of today!

This is what it means to me, broken down word by word.

Inspire - This is the method I trust and believe in. By inspire first (the why), I'm confident people will find instructions after (the how).
People - I don't work with organizations. I work with people! We should listen to hear, not to be able to respond.
To embrace - For you to be fully motivated, I want you to drive your practice from within. For your own reasons. That's why it's important that you embrace.
The potential - This could be so many things! Productive ways of work, applications, methods and much more. I want you to reach your highest potential and be the best you.
Of today - Whatever potential is available, I want you to be inspired to embrace it. In an evergreen world, everything constantly changes. This keeps me on my toes and keeps you informed on the latest and greatest.

Blog: https://villezekeviking.com

I inspire people to embrace the potential of today! This is what it means to me, broken down word by word. Inspire - This is the method I trust and believe in. By inspire first (the why), I'm confident people will find instructions after (the h... Show more

Makan Sepehrifar

Makan Sepehrifar

Makan Sepehrifar is a software architect whose fascination with the intricacies of organizational behavior and cognitive psychology has led him to redefine the way technology interfaces with human understanding. Looking at software architecture as a craftsmanship process, he realized that the more abstract you look at it, the more complexities arises. His career has been a testament to his commitment to bridging the gap between technology and human behaviour, resulting in innovative software solutions that not only work efficiently but also self-adaptive teams that embrace the mindset of agile.

Makan Sepehrifar is a software architect whose fascination with the intricacies of organizational behavior and cognitive psychology has led him to redefine the way technology interfaces with human understanding. Looking at software architecture as a ... Show more

Trond Hjorteland

Trond Hjorteland

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

Moises Jauregui-Sanchez

Moises Jauregui-Sanchez

Moisés Jauregui-Sanchez is an AI & EdTech leader, futures/foresight strategist, and strategic designer helping universities, governments, and companies build education’s future with AI, games, and evidence. He is Director of the School of Video Game Programming Engineering at Universidad Xochicalco and a PhD researcher in Human-Computer Interaction at UABC, where his doctoral work focuses on a serious games design model for cognitive stimulation in older adults. Ranked Mexico’s #1 Futurist Keynote Speaker by Favikon, he engages 160K+ followers across platforms and writes LongeviPlay LATAM, a newsletter on AI, serious games, and cognitive sovereignty. A Perplexity AI Business Fellow, he has delivered keynotes and masterclasses across LATAM. His talks explore AI in education, futures thinking, game-based learning, and human-centric innovation.

Moisés Jauregui-Sanchez is an AI & EdTech leader, futures/foresight strategist, and strategic designer helping universities, governments, and companies build education’s future with AI, games, and evidence. He is Director of the School of Video Game ... Show more

Isadora Martin-Dye

Isadora Martin-Dye

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

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

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

Amanda Lentz

Amanda Lentz

Amanda Lentz is a speaker, podcast host, and Human Resources Business Partner whose work explores identity, change, and the human experience at work. Drawing from lived experience and a foundation in organizational psychology, she helps audiences navigate the moments when life or career disrupts the story they thought they were living.

She is the creator and host of Who We Become — Life Beyond Change, a podcast featuring honest conversations about reinvention and the in‑between spaces of transformation. Her graduate training in I/O Psychology, Leadership Development, and Business Administration shapes her practical, human‑centered approach to growth, resilience, and leadership.

Amanda speaks across industries — from healthcare and HR to women’s leadership, technology, and organizational development — offering language and frameworks for navigating uncertainty, rebuilding identity, and leading with humanity. Her signature talks help audiences name experiences they’ve been living but haven’t yet articulated.

Change is inevitable. Becoming is intentional.

Amanda Lentz is a speaker, podcast host, and Human Resources Business Partner whose work explores identity, change, and the human experience at work. Drawing from lived experience and a foundation in organizational psychology, she helps audiences nav... Show more

Stefan Koehler

Stefan Koehler

Stefan’s work has touched fields that at first sight have little in common: music, large-scale open-source migrations, enterprise architecture, fine cuisine, organizational development, and AI. On closer inspection, they share recurring questions about structure, interaction, complexity, adaptation, and how individual parts form a functioning whole.
Across these contexts, his focus is less on individual technologies than on the relationships between components, people, processes, and institutions. His approach is shaped by systems thinking and Kanban: making work and dependencies visible, reducing unnecessary complexity, and enabling deliberate change. He is interested in how complex systems can remain understandable, maintainable, observable, and adaptable — and how technical architecture can support autonomy without losing sight of organizational reality.
He has contributed to initiatives including LiMux and the architectural groundwork for what later became openDesk. His technical work spans AI system architecture, corrective RAG, hybrid retrieval and reranking, observability and provenance, security, reproducible infrastructure, Infrastructure as Code, and deployment across environments from personal computers to data centers and cloud infrastructure. Today he brings these strands together in praivate, a privacy-focused AI platform built around free software, modularity, high engineering standards, reproducibility, and operational control.
Previous speaking engagements include LinuxCon Europe, FOSSASIA, SFSCon, CeBIT, and AI Tech Summit Belgrade. Forthcoming appearances include Big Data Week Bucharest, Kiss the Future Sarajevo, DeAI Summit Malta, and Commons AI Paris.

Stefan’s work has touched fields that at first sight have little in common: music, large-scale open-source migrations, enterprise architecture, fine cuisine, organizational development, and AI. On closer inspection, they share recurring questions abo... Show more

Mauro Bennici

Mauro Bennici

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

Sergès Goma

Sergès Goma

Sergès Goma is a Paris-based software developer specialized in Java and JavaScript. When she's not fixing codebases, she gives motivational speeches mostly aimed at junior and would-be developers as well as participating in the tech women's empowerment association Motiv'Her.

Sergès Goma is a Paris-based software developer specialized in Java and JavaScript. When she's not fixing codebases, she gives motivational speeches mostly aimed at junior and would-be developers as well as participating in the tech women's empowerme... Show more

Suzana Melo

Suzana Melo

Suzana Melo is a full-stack developer and AWS Cloud Practitioner who transitioned into software development in her 40s without a tech background. She holds a bachelor's degree in Communications and has over 20 years of experience. As a strong advocate for diversity and inclusion, she actively works on initiatives that empower women and underrepresented groups in tech, mentors juniors and graduates, and drives tech community enablement across Europe, West Asia, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and the Americas. Suzana is an AWS Community Builder, founder of the AWS Women's User Group Sweden, and co-organizer of AWS Community Day Baltic. She is enrolled in a postgraduate specialization in AI and Machine Learning at PUC Minas, is a featured speaker at AWS re:Invent 2024, and writes articles and posts reaching 14,000+ impressions on LinkedIn and suzanamelo.com

Suzana Melo is a full-stack developer and AWS Cloud Practitioner who transitioned into software development in her 40s without a tech background. She holds a bachelor's degree in Communications and has over 20 years of experience. As a strong advocat... Show more

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