Sam Jenkins is a community strategist, facilitator, and inclusive event design expert with over a decade of experience leading large-scale public programs, workforce initiatives, and cultural events. She currently serves as a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Coordinator in local government while also running Empowering Communities, a consulting practice focused on helping organizations move beyond performative efforts and into practical, people-centered action.

Sam’s work sits at the intersection of leadership, culture, and lived experience. She specializes in supporting front-line staff, building psychologically safe teams, and designing events and initiatives that actually reflect the communities they serve. Her background in parks and recreation, combined with her systems-level DEI work, gives her a rare perspective that resonates with both leadership and on-the-ground staff.

Known for her engaging, honest, and highly interactive style, Sam blends real-world scenarios, storytelling, and actionable tools participants can use immediately. She does not shy away from hard conversations, but she always grounds them in compassion, clarity, and practicality.

Sam has facilitated workshops, panels, and trainings for government agencies, nonprofits, and professional associations, and she consistently receives feedback for creating spaces that feel both challenging and supportive. Her sessions are especially impactful for audiences navigating burnout, change fatigue, and the pressure to “get it right” without enough guidance or support.

Sam Jenkins is a community strategist, facilitator, and inclusive event design expert with over a decade of experience leading large-scale public programs, workforce initiatives, and cultural events. She currently serves as a Diversity, Equity, and I... Show more

Steven David is a Principal Solutions Architect at Amazon Web Services (AWS). He has over 20 years of experience designing solutions for large enterprises. Through these engagements he has developed deep expertise in application development technologies and methodologies. In addition, As the focus on creating sustainable solutions has taken hold in organizations around the world, Steven has taken a leadership role in leading those initiatives in AWS.

Steven David is a Principal Solutions Architect at Amazon Web Services (AWS). He has over 20 years of experience designing solutions for large enterprises. Through these engagements he has developed deep expertise in application development technolog... Show more

Cass Cooper is a leadership strategist and keynote speaker specializing in executive sensemaking during restructures, rapid growth, AI integration, and operating model shifts—where clarity, trust, and execution all matter.

With more than two decades of experience across sales, organizational development, and leadership advisory work, Cass is known for translating complexity into decision-ready insight. Her work sits at the intersection of people systems, communication, and organizational performance, helping leaders move beyond symptoms to address the underlying dynamics that stall execution and erode trust.

Through insight-driven keynotes and leadership intensives, Cass challenges the idea of “soft skills” as secondary, reframing emotional intelligence, judgment, and accountability as core business capabilities. Her approach focuses on strengthening what already works, closing execution gaps, and building people-centered systems that scale without adding drag.

Cass holds a Bachelor of Arts in Women’s and Gender Studies from DePaul University and a Master of Human Relations from the University of Oklahoma. Known as The Chaos Whisperer, she brings a grounded, pragmatic perspective to global stages—equipping leaders to make better decisions under pressure in complex, fast-changing, and AI-driven environments.

Watch Cass’s keynote sizzle reel: https://youtu.be/v4qc7uooWmk

Cass Cooper is a leadership strategist and keynote speaker specializing in executive sensemaking during restructures, rapid growth, AI integration, and operating model shifts—where clarity, trust, and execution all matter. With more than two decad... Show more

Alexandria Reed is the Founder of The Elevate Collection, a curated professional ecosystem serving leaders across sports, entertainment, real estate, and business. Her work focuses on designing high-trust environments that convert connection into measurable opportunity.

She specializes in strategic proximity — helping high-performing professionals build reputation, influence, and long-term professional capital through intentional community design. Through moderated conversations, curated events, and structured relationship architecture, she has built multi-city networks that drive partnerships, referrals, and sustainable growth.

Alexandria speaks and moderates on ecosystem building, leadership in high-performance environments, and the systems behind meaningful professional advancement.

Alexandria Reed is the Founder of The Elevate Collection, a curated professional ecosystem serving leaders across sports, entertainment, real estate, and business. Her work focuses on designing high-trust environments that convert connection into mea... Show more

Ting Li
Sr. Solutions Architecture Specialist | Terraform Expert | Speaker | ex-Microsoft

Ting Li is a seasoned technology leader with over 19 years of experience in IT, specializing in infrastructure automation, project management, and cybersecurity. As a Sr. Solutions Architecture Specialist at HashiCorp, she helps organizations design and implement scalable, secure, and automated solutions.

Previously, Ting spent 11 years at Microsoft, where she worked across Sales, Marketing, and Product teams, collaborating with global enterprises to drive digital transformation. Her expertise spans both pre-sales and post-sales engagements, with a strong focus on customer enablement and solution delivery.

A passionate advocate for knowledge sharing, Ting has been a featured speaker at major industry events, including Microsoft TechEd (2006–2008, 2016), Microsoft product launches for Office and Windows, Seattle HUG, HashiCorp webinars, and various local meetups. She is committed to training and mentoring teams, partners, and customers, empowering them to maximize the value of HashiCorp’s products and solutions.

Ting is also a blogger and thought leader, sharing her insights on Terraform workflows, infrastructure automation, and best practices. Her posts, such as "Which Terraform Workflow Should I Use? VCS, CLI, or API?" and "Optimizing Your DevOps with Terraform", have been widely read by IT professionals looking to streamline their operations and improve collaboration.

Beyond her professional work, Ting enjoys traveling with her family, hitting the slopes, and writing books.

Ting Li Sr. Solutions Architecture Specialist | Terraform Expert | Speaker | ex-Microsoft Ting Li is a seasoned technology leader with over 19 years of experience in IT, specializing in infrastructure automation, project management, and cybersecu... Show more

Lover of all things that make working smarter, I've been working in Alltech for 7 years and am passionate about support, customer experience and automation

Lover of all things that make working smarter, I've been working in Alltech for 7 years and am passionate about support, customer experience and automation Show more

Yaswanth Reddy is a Lead DevOps Engineer at Arealis, where he works on making cloud infrastructure smarter and more reliable with AWS, Kubernetes, and modern CI/CD practices. He loves experimenting with how cloud and AI come together from building scalable pipelines to using embeddings and vector search in real-world systems. Outside of work, he enjoys mentoring engineers and sharing what he learns with the developer community.

Yaswanth Reddy is a Lead DevOps Engineer at Arealis, where he works on making cloud infrastructure smarter and more reliable with AWS, Kubernetes, and modern CI/CD practices. He loves experimenting with how cloud and AI come together from building sc... Show more

Lebogang Madise is an Account Technology Strategist at Microsoft, where she drives AI and security strategies for education organizations across Africa, empowering developers and institutions to modernize applications and streamline workflows. As the founder of Difela Hymns, she has digitized African hymns, enhancing accessibility and preserving cultural heritage for global audiences.
A passionate advocate for Women in STEM, Lebogang has been honoured with the Women in STEM Award and Inspiring50 South Africa Award. She is an active IEEE member and champions continuous learning, teamwork, and responsible AI adoption. Her work bridges cutting-edge technology with human impact, from mentoring developers to promoting innovation in education. Lebogang brings her expertise in AI tools like GitHub Copilot and insights on cognitive biases to inspire developers of all levels to code smarter and grow faster.

Lebogang Madise is an Account Technology Strategist at Microsoft, where she drives AI and security strategies for education organizations across Africa, empowering developers and institutions to modernize applications and streamline workflows. As the... Show more

Rachel Roumeliotis, Director, Open Source Strategy, Intel is led by the belief that open source is key to growth and innovation, Rachel is focused on partnering with fellow Intel colleagues to incorporate these tenets into its larger business strategy. She is also working with other companies, foundations, and voices in the open-source community to ensure a strong and sustainable open source ecosystem. Most recently she was Vice President, Content Strategy at O'Reilly Media.

Rachel Roumeliotis, Director, Open Source Strategy, Intel is led by the belief that open source is key to growth and innovation, Rachel is focused on partnering with fellow Intel colleagues to incorporate these tenets into its larger business strateg... Show more

Mark has been working with Microsoft Business Applications since 2003 and has run practices of various sizes in multiple countries. He is the creator of the 90 Day Mentoring Challenge. He is a Business Applications MVP, MCT, Mentor and Speaker.

Mark has been working with Microsoft Business Applications since 2003 and has run practices of various sizes in multiple countries. He is the creator of the 90 Day Mentoring Challenge. He is a Business Applications MVP, MCT, Mentor and Speaker. Show more

30 years writing business apps. In love with functional programming since learning LISP in college. Co-founder of Logic Studio, a software house with over a hundred friends in Quito, Ecuador. Ecuador Technology Chamber Board of Directors. Microsoft Regional Director. Aspiring trail runner and triathlete.

30 years writing business apps. In love with functional programming since learning LISP in college. Co-founder of Logic Studio, a software house with over a hundred friends in Quito, Ecuador. Ecuador Technology Chamber Board of Directors. Microsoft R... Show more

Paul has been in the IT industry since 1984. In that time he has successfully assisted hundreds of companies architect software applications to solve their toughest business problems. Paul has been a teacher and mentor through various mediums such as video courses, blogs, articles and speaking engagements at user groups and conferences around the world. Paul has multiple courses in the www.pluralsight.com library (https://bit.ly/3gvXgvj) and on his YouTube channel at (https://www.youtube.com/@pauldsheriff) on topics ranging from C#, LINQ, JavaScript, Angular, MVC, WPF, XML, jQuery and Bootstrap. Contact Paul at psheriff@pdsa.com.

Paul has been in the IT industry since 1984. In that time he has successfully assisted hundreds of companies architect software applications to solve their toughest business problems. Paul has been a teacher and mentor through various mediums such as... Show more

Being a Team Coach and a Facilitator gives me the opportunity to help teams discover new ways of working, introducing well-being, happiness, visual management, leadership at all levels, team self-organization, collaborative management, remote work and empowerment.

Being a Team Coach and a Facilitator gives me the opportunity to help teams discover new ways of working, introducing well-being, happiness, visual management, leadership at all levels, team self-organization, collaborative management, remote work an... 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

Kevin Evans is a Cloud Native Leader at Microsoft with over 25 years of experience helping organizations modernize how they build, ship, and operate software. He specializes in cloud-native architectures, AI-powered developer platforms, and the emerging agentic engineering practices that are reshaping how teams work in 2026.

A community leader with the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), Kevin actively contributes to advancing cloud-native adoption and best practices on a global scale. He is also the founder of Code to Cloud — a growing community and podcast where he shares practical insights on Microsoft cloud solutions, architecture, and modern engineering with developers, architects, and IT leaders worldwide.

Kevin is known for making complex platform and AI trends accessible to both technical teams and the business leaders who fund them — and for showing up to talks with live demos instead of slide decks.

Kevin Evans is a Cloud Native Leader at Microsoft with over 25 years of experience helping organizations modernize how they build, ship, and operate software. He specializes in cloud-native architectures, AI-powered developer platforms, and the emerg... Show more

Kelly Morrison is a native of Georgia with a BS in mathematics and a PhD in computer engineering. He has over 30 years of software experience in various industries, including the television, education, retail, and agriculture sectors. He also wrote a monthly column for "Digital Output" magazine under the pen name "Armand Tarantino". He is currently employed as a solutions architect at CGI.

Kelly Morrison is a native of Georgia with a BS in mathematics and a PhD in computer engineering. He has over 30 years of software experience in various industries, including the television, education, retail, and agriculture sectors. He also wrote a... Show more

Adharsh is a Java and AI engineer, currently Senior AI Engineer at vThink in Chennai, where he works on agentic AI for a US B2B SaaS BI platform. He has 13 years in Java and enterprise engineering behind him, 11 of them at IBM, which means most of what he knows about AI coding tools he learned by pointing them at codebases that were old, large, and unforgiving.

He recently won first place at the MLDS 2026 hackathon, and maintains an open-source toolkit of agent skills that runs across Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf and Gemini CLI. He came to engineering through design thinking and business model innovation, is a guest author of the published book "Design Thinking Toolkit", and still approaches tooling problems as design problems first.

He is an experienced speaker: a Toastmaster who served a term as president of IBM's internal club, and coordinator of vThink's internal talks programme, where he reviews and gives feedback on other engineers' slides and delivery before they take the stage.

He is mostly interested in the unglamorous discipline that decides whether AI tooling survives contact with a real codebase, and in the parts of the job that got harder, not easier, once code became cheap to generate.

Adharsh is a Java and AI engineer, currently Senior AI Engineer at vThink in Chennai, where he works on agentic AI for a US B2B SaaS BI platform. He has 13 years in Java and enterprise engineering behind him, 11 of them at IBM, which means most of wh... Show more

Pronnoy Goswami is a software engineer, systems architect, and tech speaker passionate about building highly distributed, scalable, and reliable systems that power the future of cloud and AI infrastructure.

At Workday, Pronnoy is part of the Data Platform, Observability, and Insights organization, where he leads initiatives on next-generation telemetry and logging platforms, shaping how global-scale systems are monitored and optimized. His work on Pharos and Solas platforms enables thousands of customers worldwide with unified, day-zero observability solutions.

Previously at Microsoft Azure, he helped pioneer a distributed, low-latency control plane architecture — often called the "Operating System of Azure" — to orchestrate container lifecycles at hyperscale. He has also held engineering roles at PayPal and McKinsey, combining deep technical expertise with a strategic, outcome-driven mindset.

With a Master’s in Computer Engineering from Virginia Tech, Pronnoy’s interests span distributed systems, cloud-native architectures, AI infrastructure, and large-scale optimization. As a technical reviewer for leading publishers like Manning and Packt, and an active contributor to IEEE peer-review activities, he stays at the forefront of innovation in the field.

On stage, Pronnoy brings a unique blend of engineering depth, real-world lessons, and human-centered insights. His talks often explore not just how systems are built, but how engineers can grow — covering topics across cloud infrastructure, distributed system design, AI operations, software engineering careers, and productivity strategies for builders.

He firmly believes that technology is one of the greatest democratizing forces of our time — and his mission is to help others build it thoughtfully and at scale.

Pronnoy Goswami is a software engineer, systems architect, and tech speaker passionate about building highly distributed, scalable, and reliable systems that power the future of cloud and AI infrastructure. At Workday, Pronnoy is part of the Data ... Show more

Brian Lockwood is a Senior Systems Software Engineer at NVIDIA on the NVIDIA Kubernetes Accelerator (NKX) team. He is the lead developer of the NodeWright operator, which runs on hundreds of NVIDIA's internal Kubernetes clusters spanning thousands of nodes, and one of the core developers on AICR. He previously worked on NVIDIA's Linux team, and before NVIDIA he worked at several ML and data-analytics startups in roles across data engineering, platform engineering, MLOps, and Big Data.

Brian Lockwood is a Senior Systems Software Engineer at NVIDIA on the NVIDIA Kubernetes Accelerator (NKX) team. He is the lead developer of the NodeWright operator, which runs on hundreds of NVIDIA's internal Kubernetes clusters spanning thousands of... Show more

Pradeep Kumar is Director of Engineering at Rakuten Viki, where he leads the Product-Services group, overseeing software architecture, platform strategy, and engineering execution for a global streaming service with a significant international audience. He specializes in scalable and resilient system design, aligning technology strategy closely with product vision and business objectives. Passionate about engineering leadership, Pradeep actively fosters developer effectiveness, encourages operational excellence, and champions sustainable architectural practices.

Pradeep Kumar is Director of Engineering at Rakuten Viki, where he leads the Product-Services group, overseeing software architecture, platform strategy, and engineering execution for a global streaming service with a significant international audien... Show more

Product Owner, Anaïs intervient sur des projets complexes où elle concilie besoins fonctionnels et enjeux techniques.

Conférencière passionnée, elle s'engage activement pour la place des femmes dans la tech. Elle utilise ses conférences pour partager ses convictions et son expertise. Globe-trotteuse dans l'âme, elle puise son inspiration dans ses voyages à travers le monde.

Product Owner, Anaïs intervient sur des projets complexes où elle concilie besoins fonctionnels et enjeux techniques. Conférencière passionnée, elle s'engage activement pour la place des femmes dans la tech. Elle utilise ses conférences pour parta... Show more

Tim Schmidt is an independent cloud consultant and founder of IT2Cloud GmbH. He helps organizations design and optimize cloud native platforms with a focus on Kubernetes, OpenShift, container platforms, and DevOps. With experience ranging from enterprise OpenShift consulting to HyperShift based platform architectures and air gapped environments, he brings a practical perspective on building scalable, secure, and developer friendly infrastructure in complex real world settings.

Tim Schmidt is an independent cloud consultant and founder of IT2Cloud GmbH. He helps organizations design and optimize cloud native platforms with a focus on Kubernetes, OpenShift, container platforms, and DevOps. With experience ranging from enterp... Show more

Mohamed Laghdaf is a 22-years old certified software engineer from BlueCrest College, where he obtained a diploma in software engineering. He also holds a diploma with distinction in Peace and Conflict Studies and a BSc (Hons) in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Sierra Leone. Currently, he is in the final stage of pursuing an LL.B alongside an LL.M (Master of Laws) simultaneously, with a particular interest in technology law.

Professionally, Mohamed Laghdaf is an academia, aspiring to become a global expert in AI accountability and liability frameworks. In 2024, he serves as the director of the FALAS Human Rights Student Wing at the Republic of Sierra Leone. In October 2025, he serves as a keynote speaker in Liberia and has also been invited to Kigali for a subsequent session in October 2026. Additionally, he is the president of the Njala Association of Law Mooters. He is fluent in English and Arabic and a beginner in Spanish.

Mohamed's professional memberships include being a Rotarian at the Rotary Club of Freetown Peninsula, a young student member at the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (England), and an honorary member of the Honours Society (USA).

His currently trying to obtain a license from the Chartered Institute of Professional Security Studies in AI governance and risk management. He is also a PhD applicant at the University of Canberra, Australia, focusing his research on "Assessing the Concept of Legal Personhood in the Age of Artificial Intelligence."

In summary, Mohamed Laghdaf is an emerging international legal scholar dedicated to integrate law, technology, and conflict resolution, with the aim of promoting a better global policy framework.

Mohamed Laghdaf is a 22-years old certified software engineer from BlueCrest College, where he obtained a diploma in software engineering. He also holds a diploma with distinction in Peace and Conflict Studies and a BSc (Hons) in Peace and Conflict S... Show more

I have diverse experience in application development within the banking and telecom sectors, along with a strong background in Quality Assurance Engineering for product development in the IMS area. With a master’s degree in data science and management, I combine technical expertise with business acumen to deliver innovative solutions. I have a keen eye for identifying gaps between technology and business needs, enabling me to optimize solutions and drive efficiency across industries.

I have diverse experience in application development within the banking and telecom sectors, along with a strong background in Quality Assurance Engineering for product development in the IMS area. With a master’s degree in data science and managemen... Show more

I am a young man born in 2000 and I am currently finishing my studies in computer science at the Ca' Foscari University of Venice, located in Mestre, in addition to being a full-time web developer.
In addition to studying, I love playing role-playing games, skateboarding and playing Magic the Gathering.

I am a young man born in 2000 and I am currently finishing my studies in computer science at the Ca' Foscari University of Venice, located in Mestre, in addition to being a full-time web developer. In addition to studying, I love playing role-playin... Show more

Uche Blessed is a Developer Relations Engineer, community builder, and technical communicator with over five years of experience helping developers learn, build, and grow within technology ecosystems. He has led and supported developer communities across Sub-Saharan Africa, organized technical events, mentored aspiring technologists, and created educational content focused on cloud, open source, AI, and Web3 technologies. Passionate about talent development and open-source adoption, Uche advocates for empowering African developers to contribute to global projects, build impactful careers, and strengthen local tech communities.

Uche Blessed is a Developer Relations Engineer, community builder, and technical communicator with over five years of experience helping developers learn, build, and grow within technology ecosystems. He has led and supported developer communities ac... Show more

As a highly motivated and passionate Quality Assurance (QA) Engineer, I am dedicated to ensuring the 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 in terms on bug free applications and user friendly websites. With a career spanning around 4 years in the field, I have sharpen my skills and accumulated a experience that empowers me to excel in delivering top-notch QA solutions.

Alongside professional experience, I have been proactively contributing in IEEE since last 5+ years. With the spirit of giving 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝟭𝟬𝟬+ 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀, 𝘄𝗲𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽𝘀. This is one of the hobby that I have gained through my Engineering Life. Got well versed with terms like Team Management, Leadership, Networking and most important role of technology impacting community. This has definitely helped me to grow as a better individual.

Looking forward to connect and impact society via your organization to help humanity directly and indirectly! Feel free to DM me for any opportunity at your end.

As a highly motivated and passionate Quality Assurance (QA) Engineer, I am dedicated to ensuring the 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 in terms on bug free applications and user friendly websites. With a career span... Show more

Aric serves as the Chief Technologist on Red Hat's Global FSI team, where he helps clients meet their strategic priorities through the use of open source technology. Prior to joining Red Hat, he led large, digital transformation projects at Goldman Sachs’ Investment Management Division and was co-founder/CTO of several FinTechs in equity and FX trading.

Aric serves as the Chief Technologist on Red Hat's Global FSI team, where he helps clients meet their strategic priorities through the use of open source technology. Prior to joining Red Hat, he led large, digital transformation projects at Goldman S... Show more

David Hayden is a Principal Engineer at TrueLayer. He works across the engineering organisation, contributing to areas such as architecture, observability, messaging, and customer-facing integrations. His focus is on cross-cutting concerns and close collaboration with product and commercial teams.

David Hayden is a Principal Engineer at TrueLayer. He works across the engineering organisation, contributing to areas such as architecture, observability, messaging, and customer-facing integrations. His focus is on cross-cutting concerns and close ... Show more

Hello all,

I am Rohit and I have been with Dynatrace as a Sr Platform Support Engineer for almost 4 years now. Most of my work involves translating technical challenges into solutions that actually make sense for enterprises. As a Tech Evangelist, I'm spending more time thinking about where technology is heading and how we can use it better to meet our ever expanding complex challenges. Honestly, I just enjoy learning about new technologies and figuring out how to use them in practice. If you're building something interesting in deep tech or working on real problems with innovative solutions, I'd be happy to chat and see if there's a way I can help.

Let's talk about anything tech related, I believe in learning from everyone.

Hello all, I am Rohit and I have been with Dynatrace as a Sr Platform Support Engineer for almost 4 years now. Most of my work involves translating technical challenges into solutions that actually make sense for enterprises. As a Tech Evangelist... Show more