Josh Sanchez has been recognized as one of the Top Emerging Entrepreneurs by Forbes; The Culture. A Serial Entrepreneur Josh Sold his first company at 24. He has consulted for some of the biggest companies in the Silicon Slopes. His current entrepreneurial endeavor is DFRNT Media - that has garnered over +1,000,000,000 Views across all platforms for his clients' brands. He has produced 5 Podcasts in the Top 10% of Podcasts Globally with one peaking at Top 1% Globally.

Josh builds influence engines. Using video podcasting, media infrastructure, and storytelling systems, he helps founders, executives, and brands turn conversations into capital, authority, and long term leverage.
He is widely recognized for reframing media not as marketing—but as business infrastructure. Josh teaches leaders how to stop chasing attention and instead build owned media systems that compound trust, deal flow, and dominance.
Over the next era of creator and founder-led media, Josh is positioning as the definitive authority on video podcasting and clip-first media as a business acquisition engine.

Josh Sanchez has been recognized as one of the Top Emerging Entrepreneurs by Forbes; The Culture. A Serial Entrepreneur Josh Sold his first company at 24. He has consulted for some of the biggest companies in the Silicon Slopes. His current entrepren... Show more

Morten Rand-Hendriksen is a technology educator, keynote speaker, and developer specializing in AI, bleeding edge web standards, tech- and design ethics, and the intersections between technology and humanity.

When Morten talks about technology, people listen (as evidenced by his 90,000 followers on LinkedIn and 150,000 followers on TikTok).

For more than 15 years, Morten has helped millions of people around the world empower themselves by helping them understand and use emerging technologies. If you work on or with the web, there's a good chance you've seen one of his online courses or viral videos, read his articles and tutorials, or attended one of his live presentations. In his work he uses his neurodivergent understanding of the world to translate complex technical concepts into practical knowledge people can apply in their work and lives.

Morten uses his background in philosophy, politics, and design to explore how technology shapes human experience, communication, communities, and power structures. He centres his work around helping people build a healthy disrespect for the sanctity of technology so they can develop the functionings and capabilities to do and be what they have reason to value, and the agency and autonomy to build their own futures in a rapidly changing technological landscape

Every keynote, conference talk, panel discussion, and workshop Morten delivers is filled to the brim with relatable stories, deep technical insight, and practical takeaways, giving audiences the tools they need to engage with technology on their own terms.

Morten Rand-Hendriksen is a technology educator, keynote speaker, and developer specializing in AI, bleeding edge web standards, tech- and design ethics, and the intersections between technology and humanity. When Morten talks about technology, pe... Show more

Geoffrey Klein works with organizations to leverage AI for efficiency as well as effectiveness. Geoffrey’s aim is to help develop effective communication to increase engagement. He is a dynamic keynote speaker, TEDx presenter, MIT AI-certified consultant, and best-selling author of THE CONTENT BEAST and is working on his latest project, an AI reference book explaining common terms with analogies.

He teaches business communication at Wharton School of Business and social media marketing at Temple University, and produces visual content.

In addition to his AI Certification from MIT, Geoffrey has certifications from SmarterX, CAIO.com, LinkedIn Learning. With the speed that AI evolves, Geoffrey continues to ensure he is staying ahead with continued AI education.

Geoffrey loves sushi and has an extensive Pez-Candy dispenser collection.

Geoffrey Klein works with organizations to leverage AI for efficiency as well as effectiveness. Geoffrey’s aim is to help develop effective communication to increase engagement. He is a dynamic keynote speaker, TEDx presenter, MIT AI-certified consul... Show more

Dylan Gamez is the Marketing and Public Relations Director for The Hacienda in New Port Richey and Lakeside Inn in Mount Dora- built in 1927 and 1883 respectively. Dylan started her career in hospitality at Walt Disney World while finishing her degree in Broadcast Journalism at UCF. Dylan splits her time between Mount Dora and New Port Richey, but reside in Fruitland Park with her husband, Barrett and their three dogs and two cats. Dylan is currently on the Marketing Committee for VISITFLORIDA, Vice President of New Port Richey Main Street and deeply involved with Florida’s Sports Coast- Pasco’s Tourism Board, Mount Dora Area Chamber of Commerce and other local organizations and nonprofits. Dylan was recently named one of the 50 Most Dynamic Women in the Tampa Bay Area by the Laker-Lutz News and won an award from the Secretary of State for a marketing video she produced for New Port Richey Main Street. She most recently was a speaker at the VISIT FLORIDA Conference on Tourism.

Dylan Gamez is the Marketing and Public Relations Director for The Hacienda in New Port Richey and Lakeside Inn in Mount Dora- built in 1927 and 1883 respectively. Dylan started her career in hospitality at Walt Disney World while finishing her degre... Show more

Chad Crawford is a third-generation Floridian and a seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV host and outdoor adventurer with a unique perspective on Florida unlike anyone else in the world. Over his 25-year career, he has dedicated himself to telling the story of the state he loves. Chad has collaborated with major government agencies, conservation groups, and tourism organizations, giving him a rare perspective into the tourism industry. In his current role as Director of Strategic Partnerships with Conservation Florida, he continues to build valuable relationships to help protect the state's natural resources. Chad is a father of four and resides in Lake Mary. He enjoys fishing, camping, open water swimming, and taking on whatever adventures Florida can serve up.

Chad Crawford is a third-generation Floridian and a seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV host and outdoor adventurer with a unique perspective on Florida unlike anyone else in the world. Over his 25-year career, he has dedicated himself to telling the st... Show more

Jim Grisanzio works at Oracle on the Java Developer Relations Team. He hosts the Duke’s Corner Java Podcast, where he interviews Java developers around the world to capture their stories about the technology and the community. Jim also publishes the Inside Java Newsletter, produces video and photography, delivers community sessions at events, facilitates the Java User Group and Java Champions programs, and contributes to the team’s community development efforts. Jim has been building and contributing to FOSS communities for decades at Sun and Oracle.

https://grisanzio.com/

Jim Grisanzio works at Oracle on the Java Developer Relations Team. He hosts the Duke’s Corner Java Podcast, where he interviews Java developers around the world to capture their stories about the technology and the community. Jim also publishes the ... Show more

10 years in product. 6 years in AI, starting on AI drone ships for the military. Dozens of shipped products still used today. Tech work spanning Sony, Walmart, the U.S. Department of Defense, and high-growth startups.

Most of my career has been spent inside fast-moving teams where everything needed to be done yesterday. So I have often been product manager, designer, prototype builder, sales team, and marketer all in the same week.

That gave me a very practical view of AI and how to make people care about it, which led me to start making AI explainers on YouTube.

My work has now reached 7M+ people and 41K+ subscribers. I have also worked with AI companies, research labs, and YC startups to help tell their stories clearly, including Higgsfield AI, Emergent AI, Brilliant, Stanford Human-Centered AI Lab, the Center for AI Safety, SerpAPI, and Abacus AI.

10 years in product. 6 years in AI, starting on AI drone ships for the military. Dozens of shipped products still used today. Tech work spanning Sony, Walmart, the U.S. Department of Defense, and high-growth startups. Most of my career has been sp... Show more

Dan Tudor is the Founder and President of Tudor Collegiate Strategies (TCS), a nationally respected athletic recruiting advisory firm that specializes in training college admissions and coaching staffs to communicate and recruit their prospects more effectively. Since 2005, Tudor has been called “America’s recruiting coordinator” thanks to his company’s cutting-edge strategies, research and advice to the college coaching community.

TCS publishes the popular Monday Morning Admissions newsletter and podcast, as well as the College Recruiting Weekly newsletter and podcast the country every week, boasting over 50,000 readers and listeners. Dan and his team speak regularly at college coach and admissions conventions around the country.

Dan Tudor is based in North Carolina, and can be reached by email at dan@dantudor.com.

Dan Tudor is the Founder and President of Tudor Collegiate Strategies (TCS), a nationally respected athletic recruiting advisory firm that specializes in training college admissions and coaching staffs to communicate and recruit their prospects more ... Show more

Layshi Curbelo is a user experience designer specializing in digital accessibility, with a focus on creating inclusive solutions with high return on investment (ROI). She holds a Bachelor's degree in Advertising, a Master's degree in Education with a specialization in Instructional Design, and certifications in User Experience.

She is the CEO of Command Z Studio and the Command Z podcast, where she explores trends and challenges in design. Additionally, she produces other design-focused podcasts, including Design Tracks from Design Matters and If U Seek from the company Useberry. She is also the CTO and Co-Founder of Yestoday, an innovative software that blends creativity and functionality for entrepreneurs and creatives, ensuring that technology transforms ideas into tangible realities.

With over a decade of experience, Layshi has worked on international projects and has been a speaker at prestigious events such as Design Matters, South by Southwest, Interaction Foundation, and the 2020 Ibero-American Biennial, where she was a finalist. She has created educational materials used in more than 16 countries and has spoken at over 30 international conferences. Her commitment is to make every digital experience accessible and effective, changing the world one pixel at a time.

Layshi Curbelo is a user experience designer specializing in digital accessibility, with a focus on creating inclusive solutions with high return on investment (ROI). She holds a Bachelor's degree in Advertising, a Master's degree in Education with a... Show more

Christopher Kemper is a retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel with 23 years of distinguished military service, a decorated combat leader, and a non-traditional problem solver who now helps businesses win on digital ground.

Chris began his career at the Virginia Military Institute, earning a B.A. in International Studies and Modern Languages. Over two decades of service, he held command and leadership roles at every level, including Deputy Commander of Camp Marmal Garrison Command in Afghanistan and Commander of the 1st Squadron, 108th Cavalry. His work in reconnaissance, intelligence, and operational strategy sharpened his analytical mindset and built his reputation for solving complex challenges by viewing them through an unconventional lens.

After retiring from the Army, Chris transitioned into civilian business leadership, managing global software development teams and leading multi-million dollar government contracts. This blend of military precision and civilian innovation laid the groundwork for co-founding EMILY Revolutionary Marketing Group®, where he now leads strategic growth for clients across industries.

At EMILY, Chris merges his strengths in analytics, systems thinking, and team leadership with cutting-edge digital marketing — offering SEO-first, AI-integrated strategies that help businesses grow their online visibility, attract qualified leads, and scale effectively. EMILY’s clients include national franchises, local nonprofits, manufacturers, and fast-growing service brands seeking a competitive edge.

Chris holds an MBA from Brenau University and a Graduate Certificate in Financial Management from the University of Maryland Global Campus. His certifications include Google Digital Marketing, Google Generative AI Leader, SERanking, Google Search & Display Ads, Surfer AI Search and Meta Marketing Analytics.

A proud father, husband, and dog dad, Chris lives in Newberry, South Carolina with his wife Molly and daughters Ellis and Madeline. Whether deploying troops or building brands, he leads with clarity, data, and purpose.

Christopher Kemper is a retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel with 23 years of distinguished military service, a decorated combat leader, and a non-traditional problem solver who now helps businesses win on digital ground. Chris began his career at... Show more

Collette helps businesses translate how people strategy directly underpins business strategy. Crucially how to engage the potential 90% of your team who, according to Gallop, are disengaged and increasingly unhappy. Collette she's a neuroscience informed practitioner, fixing engagement is not easy - but it is not as hard that you'd imagine.

Employee engagement is at a crisis low and it is probably silently killing your businesses - if your average employee paid to work 37.5 hours a week - an average you might be getting less than 4 hours a week from them.

We can cut through the noise and talk openly and honestly about human operating systems that help build high-performing teams and joyous workplaces (remote or other) based upon the combined strengths your people are today, not continuing being suffocated by environments and ways of working that were built for a imaginary human being that doesn't even exist!

Collette combines 25 years in digital marketing space, 15 in leadership including an CEO role; with her accredited Leadership coaching qualification (AC) + qualified neuroscience for change practitioner (APMG), making her uniquely qualified to help your teams, help themselves and your businesses thrive again.

Collette helps businesses translate how people strategy directly underpins business strategy. Crucially how to engage the potential 90% of your team who, according to Gallop, are disengaged and increasingly unhappy. Collette she's a neuroscience info... Show more

Anuradha Tibile is a powerhouse of creativity and passion, with a voice that can captivate any audience. She has not just mastered the art of storytelling with a degree in Journalism & Mass Communication, but has also been an amazing keynote speaker at various GDG events.

She's a skilled orator who has held audiences spellbound with her speeches, and her knack for crafting visually compelling communication materials shines through in everything she does.

Anuradha is a true changemaker, driven by a desire to use her skills to make a positive impact on the world. Whether it's through her oratory, her leadership, or her creative communication skills, she's constantly pushing boundaries and inspiring others.

Sparked by a passion for technology, she embarked on her professional journey by joining Google Women Techmakers on April 24, 2023. Since then, she has blossomed within the industry, actively contributing to the prestigious Tensor Flow group & Google Developer Groups.

Anuradha Tibile is a powerhouse of creativity and passion, with a voice that can captivate any audience. She has not just mastered the art of storytelling with a degree in Journalism & Mass Communication, but has also been an amazing keynote speaker ... Show more

Riz Vazir has a deep background in tech and healthcare consulting, most recently as Director of Business Strategy at Microsoft. He founded Scroll By Choice to address a health crisis caused as collateral damage from the unrestricted monetization of human attention using sophisticated technology. His mission is to equip kids & adults to thrive with technology. Without this, employers face diminished human capital, schools will see declining academic performance, and society will experience increased loneliness. Riz is a certified change management professional with an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management.

Riz Vazir has a deep background in tech and healthcare consulting, most recently as Director of Business Strategy at Microsoft. He founded Scroll By Choice to address a health crisis caused as collateral damage from the unrestricted monetization of h... Show more

Rahul Bhattacharya is a design educator, writer and curator working across visual culture, pedagogy, and technology. His practice spans design, writing, and curation, with a sustained engagement in art history, semiotics, and the politics of form. He writes across academic research, editorial platforms, and long-form reflections on visual culture, performance, and emerging technologies, while his curatorial work extends into public space through exhibitions, workshops, and performance platforms. He is a co-founder of the Kolkata International Performance Art Festival and Nine Schools of Art, both grounded in collective learning and co-creation.

As Assistant Dean, Communication Design, at UID Gandhinagar, he leads curriculum design and academic strategy, building transdisciplinary frameworks that connect design, culture, and critical thinking. His work with AI through dotai develops systems that act as analytical and ethical companions, foregrounding interpretation, memory, and cultural specificity. Through teaching, tool-building, and collaborative labs, his practice focuses on how designers think, decide, and work within evolving technological conditions

Rahul Bhattacharya is a design educator, writer and curator working across visual culture, pedagogy, and technology. His practice spans design, writing, and curation, with a sustained engagement in art history, semiotics, and the politics of form. He... Show more

Anastasiia Shabalina is an Executive Communication & Pitch Advisor and the founder of makemeHEARD, a high-stakes advisory firm.

Anastasiia has coached TEDx speakers and worked with Forbes 30 Under 30 founders. She specializes in pitches and keynotes, having coached more than 200 leaders and reviewed over 2,000 minutes of stage performance.

Her “From Nervous to Natural in 6 Weeks” accelerator has helped 95% of participants increase their confidence and deliver ideas with greater clarity and impact.

Anastasiia Shabalina is an Executive Communication & Pitch Advisor and the founder of makemeHEARD, a high-stakes advisory firm. Anastasiia has coached TEDx speakers and worked with Forbes 30 Under 30 founders. She specializes in pitches and keynot... Show more

Andrew Schiffman, Head of Artist Relations at LGND Music, an NFT music platform. He was previously the Vice President of Business Development at YellowHeart, a NFT Ticketing and Marketplace platform and Music partnership Ambassador at Rally.io.
He has over 20 years in the music industry working at various global companies like MTV, VEVO and UMG. His passion for music and tech allowed Andrew to become a master programming strategist and curator across platforms from broadcast to digital. He has worked on many groundbreaking campaigns, events, series and album releases from the MTV Video Music Awards, MTV2 120 Minutes and artists like Muse, Linkin Park, J. Cole and The Black Keys.

Andrew Schiffman, Head of Artist Relations at LGND Music, an NFT music platform. He was previously the Vice President of Business Development at YellowHeart, a NFT Ticketing and Marketplace platform and Music partnership Ambassador at Rally.io. He ... Show more

Lead UX/Digital Product Designer with over 20 years of experience and certification in design strategy. My career spans major tech hubs, including New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and London, where I've delivered impactful digital solutions across diverse industries.

Beyond client work, I'm committed to advancing the design community through thought leadership and mentorship. I regularly publish insights on UX and product design, speak at industry conferences and events, and mentor emerging designers. My work has built an engaged audience of 10,000+ followers across Medium, LinkedIn, and X.

Lead UX/Digital Product Designer with over 20 years of experience and certification in design strategy. My career spans major tech hubs, including New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and London, where I've delivered impactful digital solutions acro... Show more

Born in Colombia and forged in the media hubs of Miami and Washington, D.C., I am a Senior Strategist operating at the intersection of cultural identity and global operations. For 12 years, I’ve built digital ecosystems for giants like Disney, NBCUniversal, and National Geographic. I was the mind behind the award-winning Nat Geo en Español YouTube channel—pioneering a strategy that earned a Gold Creator Award and surpassed 1 million subscribers in less than a year. From Executive Producing documentaries like Puerto Rico: Surviving María to co-founding the National Geographic Hispanic Employee Inclusion Group (EIG), my mission is to use technology as a megaphone for authentic representation. Currently, I am merging a decade of high-level strategy with AI certifications from NVIDIA and Google, ensuring that as the industry redesigns itself, inclusion is baked into the foundation, not added as a footnote.

Born in Colombia and forged in the media hubs of Miami and Washington, D.C., I am a Senior Strategist operating at the intersection of cultural identity and global operations. For 12 years, I’ve built digital ecosystems for giants like Disney, NBCUni... Show more

Brendan Keefe serves as Chief Investigator for Atlanta News First Investigates. He’s one of the most-decorated investigative reporters in the nation.

Brendan’s investigations have earned two National Emmys, the George Foster Peabody Award, the DuPont-Columbia Silver Baton, nine National Edward R. Murrow Awards, and more than 145 regional Emmys.

His biggest motivation is uncovering systemic and institutional failures with the goal of making our communities better and safer places in which to live. Brendan’s stories have changed laws, led to multiple patents, fixed the nation’s 911 system, and stopped DEA agents from searching innocent air travelers nationwide.

Brendan has worked as an investigative reporter in Atlanta for over a decade. He began his career 35 years ago as a news photographer. Brendan never really put the camera down as a reporter and anchor in cities across the nation, including Houston and New York City.

He was embedded with the US Army during the Iraq war. Brendan has also taught generations of journalists as a member of the visiting faculty of the Poynter Institute. Brendan graduated from Kenyon College with a degree in English Literature.

Today, Brendan is a one-man-band by choice, serving as his own photographer, producer and video editor on complex investigations for Atlanta News First, and Gray Media’s national program, InvestigateTV+.

Brendan Keefe serves as Chief Investigator for Atlanta News First Investigates. He’s one of the most-decorated investigative reporters in the nation. Brendan’s investigations have earned two National Emmys, the George Foster Peabody Award, the DuP... Show more

Dmytro is a Senior Cloud Operations Engineer at Sage Austria and an AWS Community Builder based in Vienna, Austria. He co-leads AWS User Group Vienna alongside AWS Hero Linda Mohamed, helping grow one of Central Europe's most active cloud communities.
Before Sage, Dima built his cloud foundation at APA-IT — the technology arm of the Austrian Press Agency — where he architected cloud infrastructure for Austria's national broadcaster ORF and developed media workflow systems where latency and reliability are not negotiable. That background in broadcast-grade infrastructure shaped how he thinks about every system he touches today.
By day, Dima manages complex enterprise infrastructure — AWS migrations, Cloudflare security at scale, Progress OpenEdge systems, and production environments where a wrong config means a very bad morning for a lot of people. He's the engineer who gets paged at 2 AM when 1.6 million requests hit in a single day, and who turns those incidents into architecture lessons worth sharing.
His talks bridge the gap between deep technical depth and real-world pragmatism: no theoretical slides, no happy-path demos. If he's on stage, there's a production story behind it, numbers to back it up, and something the audience can implement on Monday.
Outside of infrastructure fires, Dima is a photographer who built a serverless AWS pipeline to process over 8,000 community event photos in a single conference season — because if you're going to automate something, it might as well be something you love.
Dima speaks at AWS Community Days across Europe — Vienna, Prague, Budapest — and has presented at events as far as Abu Dhabi. He's been recognized as Rookie of the Year at Sage and brings the same energy to the community that he brings to an incident bridge call: calm, direct, and focused on what actually works.

Dmytro is a Senior Cloud Operations Engineer at Sage Austria and an AWS Community Builder based in Vienna, Austria. He co-leads AWS User Group Vienna alongside AWS Hero Linda Mohamed, helping grow one of Central Europe's most active cloud communities... Show more

Pionero de UX en Argentina. Fundador de Kambrica, consultora de UX estratégico. Desde 1996 ha trabajado en más de 1000 proyectos para más de 40 industrias. Fue docente en 11 universidades y orador en más de 30 conferencias en 24 países. Creador de Experience Decisión Making, sistema que integra teoría de la decisión a los procesos de UX. Mentor de profesionales que quieren dar el salto de ejecutores a líderes.

Pionero de UX en Argentina. Fundador de Kambrica, consultora de UX estratégico. Desde 1996 ha trabajado en más de 1000 proyectos para más de 40 industrias. Fue docente en 11 universidades y orador en más de 30 conferencias en 24 países. Creador de Ex... Show more

Lorena Carthy-Wilmot's work focuses on mobile threats: mercenary spyware, targeted intrusions, watering-hole attacks in the wild, and the detection gaps MDM and EDR stacks were never built to close.

She works directly with CISOs and security leaders across European markets while keeping an active hand in the technical work. Her background spans protecting high-value targets such as journalists in the Nordics and advanced digital forensics investigations with the Norwegian Police. Her research at iVerify treats the phone as what it actually is: a sensor-rich physical asset that crosses trust boundaries on the body, where security culture tends to fail at the human layer.

Lorena is based in Oslo, Norway.

Lorena Carthy-Wilmot's work focuses on mobile threats: mercenary spyware, targeted intrusions, watering-hole attacks in the wild, and the detection gaps MDM and EDR stacks were never built to close. She works directly with CISOs and security leade... Show more

Depuis plus de 20 ans, j’interviens dans des contextes où il faut faire avancer des projets impliquant plusieurs métiers, plusieurs temporalités et souvent plusieurs niveaux de décision.
J’ai évolué dans des environnements liés au design, au print, à la fabrication, à l’événementiel, au marketing B2B, à la communication ou encore aux appels d’offres complexes.
Ces expériences m’ont appris à développer une vision globale des projets tout en restant attentive aux détails qui peuvent créer des blocages ou fragiliser la relation client.

Depuis plus de 20 ans, j’interviens dans des contextes où il faut faire avancer des projets impliquant plusieurs métiers, plusieurs temporalités et souvent plusieurs niveaux de décision. J’ai évolué dans des environnements liés au design, au print, ... Show more

Tearyne Almendariz is the founder and principal consultant at NLBC Works, LLC, a strategy and implementation firm focused on web accessibility, digital event production, and equity-centered practices. With over a decade of experience in digital communications and content operations, Tearyne specializes in designing inclusive digital experiences that prioritize usability, belonging, and access.

As Co-Lead of the Drupal Diversity & Inclusion (DDI) initiative, Tearyne works to improve representation and foster safer, more inclusive environments within the open source community. She also serves as Vice President of the Midwest Open Source Alliance (MOSA), supporting regional efforts to broaden participation in open source through mentorship, education, and community-led governance.

At the intersection of tech and equity, Tearyne brings deep expertise in event management, leading digital conferences, hybrid gatherings, and live streams that reflect diverse voices and accessible design standards. Her background in instructional design and program strategy enables her to guide teams through thoughtful, impact-driven delivery across platforms and audiences.

Tearyne Almendariz is the founder and principal consultant at NLBC Works, LLC, a strategy and implementation firm focused on web accessibility, digital event production, and equity-centered practices. With over a decade of experience in digital commu... Show more

Ana Sarmiento is a senior media executive and an expert in navigating the complexities of the post-AI media landscape. Her focus extends beyond content creation to the critical mechanics of performance: using AI to unlock deeper audience insights and solving the real-world challenges facing modern media companies. From combating the traffic implications of liquid content to standing out in increasingly saturated creator marketplaces, Ana provides real world data-backed tactics. She draws on her deep experience in revenue operations to help organizations identify hidden costs and implement the emerging business models required to thrive in a synthetic media world.

She is the Director of AI Revenue at Advance Local and has an extensive background at industry giants including Disney, Paramount, and HBO. She has an EMBA from UCLA Anderson and a BBA from The University of Georgia. She brings a rare trifecta to the stage: creative media intuition, technical product rigor, and the high-stakes financial strategy of management consulting. Ana provides an action-oriented blueprint for turning Generative AI innovation into commercial success.

Ana Sarmiento is a senior media executive and an expert in navigating the complexities of the post-AI media landscape. Her focus extends beyond content creation to the critical mechanics of performance: using AI to unlock deeper audience insights and... Show more

Elliott is the CEO of Current, a full-stack digital agency that builds, optimizes, and markets digital products in a continuous cycle — ensuring the work never stops performing after launch.

Since joining Mediacurrent in 2021, Elliott has moved quickly through the organization — from Creative Strategy Director to Head of Product to CEO — before building Current through the strategic combination of Mediacurrent and Rhythm. That journey reflects a through-line he's carried across his career: the belief that great digital products and smart marketing shouldn't live in separate worlds.

It's a conviction he's put into practice across education, financial services, and media and entertainment — and one he developed long before Current. At EY Design Studio and Doberman NY, Elliott's work ranged from reimagining the grocery store of the future for the world's largest retailer, to building an accessible technology ecosystem for a New York City arts institution, to crafting an award-winning digital platform for a national fast-casual brand. Different problems, same instinct: making complex systems feel invisible for the people who use them.

Elliott is the CEO of Current, a full-stack digital agency that builds, optimizes, and markets digital products in a continuous cycle — ensuring the work never stops performing after launch. Since joining Mediacurrent in 2021, Elliott has moved qu... Show more

My goal is to help people develop media literacy in an environment where culture is accelerating faster than most people can interpret.

My work focuses on the systems underneath contemporary digital life: how memes encode cultural behavior, how algorithms reorganize attention, how advertising collapses spatial boundaries, and how the underlying protocols of media shape what we believe, share, and understand.

I’m a digital culture analyst and media theorist and I’ve spent my life moving through every major shift in digital culture. I began on a Commodore Vic20 writing BASIC programs on loose-leaf paper. I discovered the early web through Netscape in art school, studying Intermedia when digital experimentation was still a fringe idea. I worked through the rise of social platforms, the marketing era of Web2, the speculative creativity of Web3 and I’ve now arrived in the AI era as an educator and media theorist trying to explain what all of this means.

My work explains the systems behind contemporary digital life: meme dynamics, protocol aesthetics, algorithmic influence and the collapse of traditional media logic. Rather than focusing on tools, I work to uncover the deeper structures that shape how people think, communicate and create.

I’ve spent my life moving through every major shift in digital culture. I began on a Commodore Vic20 writing BASIC programs on loose-leaf paper. I discovered the early web through Netscape in art school, studying Intermedia when digital experimentation was still a fringe idea. I worked through the rise of social platforms, the marketing era of Web2, the speculative creativity of Web3, and I’ve now arrived in the AI era as an educator and media theorist trying to explain what all of this means.

I’m not teaching people how to use tools. I’m trying to map the deeper structures.

I believe in what I’m talking about because I’ve been there to see it form:

A student in Web1.
A practitioner in Web2.
An educator in Web3.
A theorist in the AI era.

Everything I publish - talks, videos, essays, posts and digital projects is an attempt to make digital culture legible.

My goal is to help people develop media literacy in an environment where culture is accelerating faster than most people can interpret. My work focuses on the systems underneath contemporary digital life: how memes encode cultural behavior, how al... Show more

Marcia is a Principal Developer Advocate at AWS with over 20 years of experience building and scaling software. She specializes in Serverless, cloud architecture, and AI agents — and is known for making complex technical concepts approachable and practical.

She is also the founder of Desplegando.cloud, a YouTube channel, newsletter, and community focused on AWS Serverless in Spanish, where she helps thousands of developers across Latin America and Spain build real projects in the cloud.

Marcia is a Principal Developer Advocate at AWS with over 20 years of experience building and scaling software. She specializes in Serverless, cloud architecture, and AI agents — and is known for making complex technical concepts approachable and pra... Show more

Andreas Sexauer ist Mitarbeiter am Zentrum für Mediales Lernen (ZML) des Karlsruher Instituts für Technologie (KIT). Neben Themen der Medienproduktion und Digitalen Lehre entwickelt er dort im Rahmen des Projekts GenAI@KIT den kompetenten Einsatz generativer KI am KIT mit. Dazu zählen unter anderem die Herstellung der Möglichkeit zur Arbeit mit individuell angepassten KI-Chatbots in allen Lehrveranstaltungen des KIT. Diese sogenannten Custom Chatbots können spezifisch in einer Lehrveranstaltung eingesetzt werden. Dabei können die Lehrpersonen selbst bestimmen, mit welchem Wissenskorpus, z.B. dem eigenen Skript, und mit welchem Verhalten diese Custom Chatbots mit den Studierenden interagieren. In einer Kooperation mit dem KI-Campus ist Andreas einer der Autoren des Prompt-Labor 2: Generative KI in der Hochschullehre – Anwendungen. Dort hat er das Kapitel „Informationsvisualisierung mit KI" beigetragen. Darüber hinaus setzt er sich intensiv mit der Thematik Agentic AI auseinander und wirkt dabei im Hochschulforum Digitalisierung in einer Arbeitsgruppe dazu mit. Im Hochschulnetzwerk Digitalisierung der Lehre in Baden-Württemberg ist er Mitglied der Special Interest Group Learning Analytics und Künstliche Intelligenz (LAKI).

Andreas Sexauer ist Mitarbeiter am Zentrum für Mediales Lernen (ZML) des Karlsruher Instituts für Technologie (KIT). Neben Themen der Medienproduktion und Digitalen Lehre entwickelt er dort im Rahmen des Projekts GenAI@KIT den kompetenten Einsatz gen... Show more

Jo Hasenau is an open source veteran who has been building, maintaining, and scaling community-driven software ecosystems for more than two decades.

He started out in the early days of the internet, moved from a late-80s designer background to digital media production in the 90s, and then shifted his focus to large-scale platforms and integration problems - from corporate environments such as T-Systems and Deutsche Telekom to long-running open source projects such as TYPO3, maintained in the open.

He is known for shipping pragmatic tools and growing communities, as a maintainer of widely used extensions, a trainer and coach, a speaker at conferences, developer days, and camps, and an organizer of formats such as the User Experience Week. He has also contributed through publications, including the O’Reilly TYPO3 Cookbook.

After serving as CTO at InnoCoding, he now works at the next layer beyond websites as a Big Picture Brainiac at Cybercraft, focusing on AI-enabled content infrastructure, interoperability, and digital sovereignty.

Jo Hasenau is an open source veteran who has been building, maintaining, and scaling community-driven software ecosystems for more than two decades. He started out in the early days of the internet, moved from a late-80s designer background to dig... Show more