Humanities & Social Sciences

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

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 - which has lead to providing Team Dynamics training and Project Management.

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

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

Gustavo Andrés Montalvo Espinosa

Gustavo Andrés Montalvo Espinosa

Ayudo a personas y organizaciones a desarrollar pensamiento analítico para tomar mejores decisiones mediante el uso inteligente de los datos.

Durante más de 20 años he liderado proyectos estratégicos en los sectores de banca, telecomunicaciones, medicina prepagada y educación superior, transformando datos en información útil para optimizar procesos, diseñar indicadores de gestión y apoyar la toma de decisiones.

Mi experiencia combina la consultoría empresarial con la docencia universitaria, donde enseño Business Intelligence, Microsoft Power BI, Microsoft Excel y análisis de datos mediante casos reales. Mi objetivo no es únicamente enseñar herramientas, sino ayudar a desarrollar la capacidad de interpretar la información, formular mejores preguntas y convertir los datos en decisiones que generen valor.

Soy fundador de BI Datos en Acción, una iniciativa desde la cual comparto artículos, análisis, conferencias y contenido educativo para promover una cultura basada en datos. Además, participo activamente en LinkedIn y YouTube difundiendo conocimientos sobre Business Intelligence, indicadores de gestión y pensamiento analítico.

Creo firmemente que los datos, por sí solos, no transforman las organizaciones; son las personas, mediante el pensamiento analítico, quienes convierten la información en mejores decisiones.

Ayudo a personas y organizaciones a desarrollar pensamiento analítico para tomar mejores decisiones mediante el uso inteligente de los datos. Durante más de 20 años he liderado proyectos estratégicos en los sectores de banca, telecomunicaciones, m... 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

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

Ixchel Ruiz

Ixchel Ruiz

Ixchel Ruiz has been developing software applications and tools since 2000. Her research interests include Java, dynamic languages, client-side technologies, and testing. As a member of the JCP Executive Committee, Java Champion, Oracle ACE Pro, Testcontainers Community Champion, CDF Ambassador, Hackergarten enthusiast, Open Source advocate, public speaker, and mentor, Ixchel is deeply committed to fostering inclusive and collaborative tech communities. She actively mentors aspiring developers and champions initiatives aimed at increasing diversity and accessibility in the technology sector.

Ixchel’s work is characterised by a relentless pursuit of innovation, a deep understanding of user needs, and an unwavering commitment to ethical technology development.

Ixchel Ruiz has been developing software applications and tools since 2000. Her research interests include Java, dynamic languages, client-side technologies, and testing. As a member of the JCP Executive Committee, Java Champion, Oracle ACE Pro, Test... Show more

Ashwin Hariharan

Ashwin Hariharan

Ashwin Hariharan is a Developer Advocate at Redis, with over eight years of experience as a full-stack software engineer. He's passionate about making complex ideas simple, helping developers build faster, more reliable systems, and understand the "why" behind the tools they use. His current work focuses on applied AI, and exploring how intelligent, real-time applications can be built using retrieval-augmented generation, vector search, agentic AI, and other emerging technologies.

Outside of tech, he spends time learning piano and basic music production, hitting the gym, and exploring big questions about how the world works. He's also fascinated by how people think and learn, often channeling that curiosity into talks, writing, and conversations about science and critical thinking.

Ashwin Hariharan is a Developer Advocate at Redis, with over eight years of experience as a full-stack software engineer. He's passionate about making complex ideas simple, helping developers build faster, more reliable systems, and understand the "w... Show more

Jon Jarvis

Jon Jarvis

Jon Jarvis is a Microsoft MVP and Endpoint Management Specialist at Advania UK, specialising in Microsoft Intune and Windows 365. His work centres on the security side of modern endpoint management, with a particular focus on Microsoft Defender and Intune integration, Intune Premium features, and the design and operation of Cloud PCs.

An active member of the global Microsoft community, Jon is a regular speaker at events across the UK, Europe, and the US, including Workplace Ninjas, Experts Live, MEM Summit, and M365Conf. He shares practical, real-world guidance through his community presence at CloudEndpoint.ai, where he writes about getting the most out of Intune, Windows 365, and Defender in production environments.

Jon is passionate about cutting through the noise and giving IT professionals content they can actually use. When he's not working with endpoints, he coaches youth football, runs a Brazilian jiu-jitsu club in Kent, and follows Arsenal.

Jon Jarvis is a Microsoft MVP and Endpoint Management Specialist at Advania UK, specialising in Microsoft Intune and Windows 365. His work centres on the security side of modern endpoint management, with a particular focus on Microsoft Defender and I... 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

Amanda Chestnut

Amanda Chestnut

Amanda Chestnut, JD, founded Money Mastery LLC to help small-business owners understand how their books, taxes, and decisions fit together. Based in southeastern North Carolina, she helps owners uncover problems, anticipate tax consequences, and make informed choices while there is still time to act. She understands that behind those decisions are families, livelihoods, and people carrying more responsibility than others often see.

An Accredited Business Accountant through the National Society of Accountants and an elite-level Advanced QuickBooks ProAdvisor, Amanda brings more than 20 years of experience. Her bachelor’s degree in social psychology informs her approach: useful advice starts with understanding the person who needs to use it.

Amanda is rethinking how an accounting firm operates, using her own practice as a testing ground for AI. She is building systems that take on reviews, track documents, and support communication, while questioning which processes and software still earn their place. She generously shares what she learns with fellow accountants. Her purpose is to create space for the work that requires human attention: sound judgment, difficult conversations, and helping someone feel understood enough to ask the next question.

A Brunswick County Chamber of Commerce Emerging Entrepreneur Award recipient and NC Project LEAD Entrepreneur Innovator Award nominee, Amanda is a Reframe Society Leader and certified in Exactly What to Say for Accountants.

Amanda Chestnut, JD, founded Money Mastery LLC to help small-business owners understand how their books, taxes, and decisions fit together. Based in southeastern North Carolina, she helps owners uncover problems, anticipate tax consequences, and make... 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

Hanna Engel

Hanna Engel

Indiana Jones of cloud technologies, Hanna Engel takes customers on exciting expeditions through the world of Azure, helping them navigate complex architectures, decode networking challenges, tame wild acronyms, and uncover the hidden treasures of modern cloud and AI solutions.

As a Cloud Solution Architect at Microsoft, Hanna helps organizations realize their cloud and AI ambitions through strategic guidance, technical expertise, and hands-on implementation experience. She is a former Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP), Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT), quantum computing evangelist, and representative of the Belgian Quantum Circle.

A frequent conference speaker and podcast guest, Hanna is passionate about making complex technology accessible to everyone. Through public speaking, community engagement, and social media, she focuses on democratizing access to IT knowledge and empowering professionals to embrace cloud and AI with confidence.
Combining experience from both the customer side and the Microsoft ecosystem, Hanna brings a pragmatic, real-world perspective to every challenge. Her approach is simple: focus on business outcomes, keep technology approachable, and ensure customer success remains at the heart of every journey.

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

Indiana Jones of cloud technologies, Hanna Engel takes customers on exciting expeditions through the world of Azure, helping them navigate complex architectures, decode networking challenges, tame wild acronyms, and uncover the hidden treasures of mo... 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

Osita Ifezue

Osita Ifezue

Osita Ifezue is a researcher, international keynote speaker, and storytelling strategist. He is the founder of Njiko Storytelling, with over 25 years of experience training individuals and developing storytelling strategies. He has created the Storyboard Backcasting and Origin Story-Loop Strategic Frameworks, strategic storytelling tools designed to enhance learning in the storytelling process. Beyond entrepreneurship, Osita founded Entergrate, an NGO in Finland that focuses on social inclusion, and he hosts the podcast Think About It! With Osita Ifezue.

Osita Ifezue is a researcher, international keynote speaker, and storytelling strategist. He is the founder of Njiko Storytelling, with over 25 years of experience training individuals and developing storytelling strategies. He has created the Storyb... 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

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

Caroline Nicole Letaru

Caroline Nicole Letaru

**Caroline Nicole Letaru** is a Career Coach, Talent Strategist, and Founder of Kazini Consults, with **7 years of experience** helping professionals navigate career growth, employability, and international opportunities. Her work focuses on helping African professionals build future-ready careers through strategic career planning, skills development, and practical positioning in an evolving world of work.

Nicole has led technical recruitment for global institutions, including the United Nations and UNHCR, and has coached over 500 professionals across technical and non-technical fields, including software engineering, UX design, PowerShell, and AI. She brings a talent-market perspective to conversations about how people develop relevant skills, navigate changing industry expectations, and translate their capabilities into meaningful opportunities.

Her international speaking experience includes the International AIDS Society Conference in Germany, the Going Global Conference in the United Kingdom, and the SCORE Conference in Tanzania. She also received the Best Essay Award at the South American Business Forum in Argentina for her contribution to conversations on youth, development, and innovation.

Through Kazini Consults, Nicole champions practical, people-centred approaches to career development and the future of work, helping African talent navigate change, recognise emerging opportunities, and build sustainable professional pathways.

**Caroline Nicole Letaru** is a Career Coach, Talent Strategist, and Founder of Kazini Consults, with **7 years of experience** helping professionals navigate career growth, employability, and international opportunities. Her work focuses on helping ... Show more

Emily Harden

Emily Harden

Emily Harden is a knowledgeable consultant, skillful speaker, and community builder dedicated to fostering growth and impact. As the Founder and Owner of Harden Consulting, she provides tailored coaching to help people clarify what they want, navigate pivots, and thrive at work; so your passion becomes a sustainable path.
Emily draws on her deep roots in the tech ecosystem, where she previously served as Techlahoma's Executive Director, to connect challenges with creative solutions.

When she’s not working, you can probably find her playing board games, trying out new video games, or off on an adventure with her husband and their dog, Patches!

Emily Harden is a knowledgeable consultant, skillful speaker, and community builder dedicated to fostering growth and impact. As the Founder and Owner of Harden Consulting, she provides tailored coaching to help people clarify what they want, navigat... 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

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

Dennis Nerush

Dennis Nerush

Dennis Nerush is the VP of AI at Elementor, where he leads the company's AI strategy and guides teams through the integration of GenAI technologies that enhance productivity while preserving human creativity and accountability.

With over 15 years of experience as a developer, manager, director, and adviser across multiple tech companies and startups, Dennis has dedicated his career to building people-first cultures rooted in continuous learning, curiosity, and growth. He believes that when individuals thrive, teams and businesses flourish, a philosophy that has guided him in founding dozens of teams and mentoring over 100 managers.

Dennis is a seasoned public speaker and writer who shares his insights on AI integration, leadership, and team performance at international conferences. He's passionate about helping leaders develop the skills and confidence to excel in a world where human leadership and AI collaboration go hand in hand.

In his free time, Dennis loves cooking and spending time with his kids. His main goal is to help people reach the next level.

Dennis Nerush is the VP of AI at Elementor, where he leads the company's AI strategy and guides teams through the integration of GenAI technologies that enhance productivity while preserving human creativity and accountability. With over 15 years ... Show more

Vidhya Krishnamoorthy

Vidhya Krishnamoorthy

Vidya Krishnamoorthy is a Software Engineering Manager and Design System Tech Lead at Morgan Stanley with 18 years of experience building enterprise-grade UI systems across global teams. She specialises in front-end architecture, performance, accessibility, and future-ready UI foundations. A co-chair of the Women in Technology and UX/UI communities, Vidya champions women’s empowerment in tech, mentors engineers, and regularly speaks on software craftsmanship, UI engineering, and how modern tooling including AI is reshaping day-to-day engineering practice.
Vidhya's other interests include exploring places and cultures, travelling solo as an Indian female, psychology/mental heath, mentoring and Neurodivergence/ADHD.

Vidya Krishnamoorthy is a Software Engineering Manager and Design System Tech Lead at Morgan Stanley with 18 years of experience building enterprise-grade UI systems across global teams. She specialises in front-end architecture, performance, accessi... 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

Suzana Melo

Suzana Melo

Suzana Melo is a full-stack engineer and AWS Community Builder who moved into tech in her 40s, after 20+ years in journalism and media leadership in Brazil. She founded The Mentor Gap (thementorgap.org), a free initiative that creates resources for people growing without a mentor, and for new mentors getting started. She also founded the AWS Women’s User Group Sweden, co-organizes the AWS User Groups Skåne and Manaus and AWS Community Day Baltic, and mentors career changers and women in tech through Women Innovating in Cloud Africa (WIICA) and Escola da Nuvem. Her talks, workshops, and mentoring reach tech communities across Europe, West Asia, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and the Americas, in English and Portuguese. Suzana spoke at AWS re:Invent 2024, is studying for a postgraduate specialization in AI and Machine Learning at PUC Minas, and writes about cloud, AWS, and AI for developers and career changers at suzanamelo.com.

Suzana Melo is a full-stack engineer and AWS Community Builder who moved into tech in her 40s, after 20+ years in journalism and media leadership in Brazil. She founded The Mentor Gap (thementorgap.org), a free initiative that creates resources for p... Show more

Joel Silverstone

Joel Silverstone

“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

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

Eriol Fox

Eriol Fox

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

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

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