Melissa has worked in the tech industry for over 25 years in roles ranging from Junior Software Engineer to her current role as the Chief Operations Officer at Benson Consulting, Inc.
At Benson Consulting Inc., her focus as COO is on driving operational excellence through strategic leadership and leveraging her expertise in software development and business strategy.
She holds a Bachelor’s in Computer Science from the University of New Hampshire and an executive certificate in Management and Leadership from MIT.
She has volunteered with organizations globally including ChickTech, Everwise, WITI, NH Tech Alliance, Microsoft DigiGirlz, wiseHer, Girl Scouts and AnitaB.org.
Concurrently, as a co-founder of Diversify Thinking, she advocates for diversity and inclusion, channeling her passion into initiatives that create community and real change. Her work is dedicated to creating environments where a diversity of great minds can thrive and make impactful contributions to technology and society.

Melissa has worked in the tech industry for over 25 years in roles ranging from Junior Software Engineer to her current role as the Chief Operations Officer at Benson Consulting, Inc. At Benson Consulting Inc., her focus as COO is on driving operati... Show more

I'm a IT professional with many hats 🎩, so if I had to list them I would say I consider myself:

👨‍💻 * Student and practitioner of some movements, such as DevOps, Lean, Platform Engineering.
🎖️ * DevOps Institute Ambassador.
🎖️ * Platform Engineering Ambassador.
☁️ * Cloud-native tech experienced user.
🔥 * Open-source lover.
🤓 * Developer at heart.
👨🏽‍🏫 * Mentor by vocation.
💡 * Thought-leader.

Last but not least, I am a beloved husband and proud doggy dad ❤️.

I'm a IT professional with many hats 🎩, so if I had to list them I would say I consider myself: 👨‍💻 * Student and practitioner of some movements, such as DevOps, Lean, Platform Engineering. 🎖️ * DevOps Institute Ambassador. 🎖️ * Platform En... Show more

Julie Yack is a seasoned technology expert, dynamic speaker, and passionate advocate for empowering individuals and organizations through innovation. With over two decades of experience in the technology industry, Julie brings a wealth of knowledge and practical insights to her speaking engagements.

As a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) for Business Applications, Julie is recognized for her exceptional expertise in Microsoft Dynamics 365 and the Power Platform. Her deep technical understanding, coupled with her ability to communicate complex concepts in a clear and engaging manner, makes her a sought-after speaker at conferences, user groups, and industry events worldwide.

Julie is known for her engaging and interactive presentations, where she shares practical tips, real-world examples, and best practices to help attendees unlock the full potential of their technology investments. Whether discussing the latest trends in cloud computing, demonstrating innovative solutions using low-code/no-code platforms, or sharing insights on digital transformation strategies, Julie's sessions are always informative, inspiring, and thought-provoking.

In addition to her speaking engagements, Julie is also a prolific writer, blogger, and community leader. She shares her expertise and experiences through her blog, social media channels, and contributions to industry publications. Her dedication to empowering others and fostering a culture of collaboration and continuous learning has earned her the respect and admiration of colleagues and peers alike.

When she's not immersed in the world of technology, Julie enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, and exploring new culinary adventures. She is a firm believer in the power of technology to drive positive change and is committed to helping individuals and organizations harness its full potential.

Julie Yack is a seasoned technology expert, dynamic speaker, and passionate advocate for empowering individuals and organizations through innovation. With over two decades of experience in the technology industry, Julie brings a wealth of knowledge a... Show more

Martyn Coupland is not just a Platform Solution Architect at Kainos; he's a catalyst for innovation and digital transformation. As a five-time Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP), Martyn uses his deep expertise to bring cutting-edge digital and app solutions to clients worldwide, particularly within the Azure ecosystem.

Passionate about community engagement, Martyn consistently shares his insights on Microsoft Azure, innovation, and cloud transformation. He does this through speaking engagements at conferences, contributions to user groups, and posts on his personal blog. This commitment has elevated him to be a sought-after speaker at industry-leading events like Microsoft TechEd, Future Decoded, and Microsoft Build.

His influence doesn't stop there. Martyn has also served as a judge for the prestigious Imagine Cup, and Junior Imagine Cup and mentored a team to the world finals. With a track record of professional accomplishments and community contributions, Martyn Coupland is an invaluable asset to tech community.

Martyn Coupland is not just a Platform Solution Architect at Kainos; he's a catalyst for innovation and digital transformation. As a five-time Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP), Martyn uses his deep expertise to bring cutting-edge digital an... Show more

Vivek Yadav is an Enterprise Solutions Architect at FlutterFlow and a Google Developer Expert (GDE) for Flutter & Dart, with 8+ years of experience building and scaling production-grade mobile applications.

He has worked across startups, mid-size companies, and large enterprises, leading architecture and delivery of real-world apps. One of his published applications has surpassed 20+ million downloads on the App Store and Play Store, reflecting his strong focus on scalability, performance, and maintainable front-end architecture.

Vivek is deeply involved in the Flutter ecosystem as a speaker, mentor, and educator. He regularly helps teams and developers move from framework knowledge to product-ready engineering, covering topics such as Flutter architecture, FlutterFlow, front-end best practices, and building apps at scale.

As a speaker, Vivek is known for practical, experience-driven talks that bridge the gap between development and product thinking—helping audiences ship better apps with confidence.

Vivek Yadav is an Enterprise Solutions Architect at FlutterFlow and a Google Developer Expert (GDE) for Flutter & Dart, with 8+ years of experience building and scaling production-grade mobile applications. He has worked across startups, mid-size ... Show more

I am a Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) in Developer Technologies & Azure | Azure Cloud Solutions & DevOps Architect | Technical Blogger & Speaker Focused on Cloud Adoption, Architecture, Automation, Build and Run in Azure.

I am a Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) in Developer Technologies & Azure | Azure Cloud Solutions & DevOps Architect | Technical Blogger & Speaker Focused on Cloud Adoption, Architecture, Automation, Build and Run in Azure. Show more

Kay Sauter has been working with SQL Server since 2013. His expertise covers SQL Server, Azure, Data Visualization, and Power BI. He is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP.

Kay blogs on kayondata.com and is actively involved in various community projects like Data TGIF, databash.live, data-conference.ch, and Data Platform Data Platform DEI Virtual Group. Being deaf himself, he is an advocate for people with handicaps and accessibility for any conference.

He is based in Zurich, Switzerland and in his free time, together with his wife, he loves to travel to learn from other cultures and perspectives.

Kay Sauter has been working with SQL Server since 2013. His expertise covers SQL Server, Azure, Data Visualization, and Power BI. He is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP. Kay blogs on kayondata.com and is actively involved in various community project... Show more

Chief Technical Architect, Founder, Author of Essential C# series, Microsoft Regional Director and MVP

Mark Michaelis (itl.tc/Mark) founded IntelliTect, a high-end software development company based in Spokane, Washington. When not leading his company, he teaches at Eastern Washington University, presents conference sessions on technology and leadership, or delivers updates for the next edition of his book.

A world-class C# expert who honed his engineering skills by serving on several Microsoft software design review teams, including C#, Azure, and Azure DevOps, Mark is the author of Essential C# (itl.tc/EssentialCSharp). As a direct result of his work with C# and Azure DevOps, Mark has been a distinguished Microsoft MVP for over 25 years and a Microsoft Regional Director since 2007. A firm believer in autonomy, mastery and purpose, Mark’s management and leadership style enables him to successfully handle a day with only 24 hours in it.

Mark and his wife, Elisabeth, have invested a significant amount of the profit generated by IntelliTect into fighting debilitating poverty around the world. They have done this by thoughtfully partnering with charity organizations to increase access to basic food and water infrastructure, improve educational opportunities, and fight injustices like human trafficking and the systematic oppression of women.

When not bonding with his computer, Mark enjoys Frisbee, soccer, biking, and showing his kids real life in other countries. Mark lives in Spokane, Washington. He is looking forward to finding his next adventure following his return from traversing the length of Africa.

Chief Technical Architect, Founder, Author of Essential C# series, Microsoft Regional Director and MVP Mark Michaelis (itl.tc/Mark) founded IntelliTect, a high-end software development company based in Spokane, Washington. When not leading his com... Show more

An MVP, solutions architect , Microsoft Certified Trainer with a passion for the Power Platform, M365 Copilot, GenAI, Azure technology.

Empowering enterprises to thrive with Microsoft Copilot & Modern Workplace AI solution frameworks to solve challenges and to drive impactful change across Health & Public Sector. I have an intense enthusiasm for technology and innovation along with its governance and security aspects. An advocate of women empowerment through Information Technology.

An MVP, solutions architect , Microsoft Certified Trainer with a passion for the Power Platform, M365 Copilot, GenAI, Azure technology. Empowering enterprises to thrive with Microsoft Copilot & Modern Workplace AI solution frameworks to solve chal... Show more

Sharon is the founder and CEO of Smarter Consulting, a business and technology consulting company. She founded her business to grow and diversify the technology resource pool. She has created a business based on diversity, inclusion, and opportunity.

As a Microsoft RD, MVP, MCT, and Productivity Expert, Sharon's background in Software Development, Business and Systems Analysis, Project Management, and Agile combined with her Developmental Psychology degree and Six Sigma Black Belt blend perfectly with her love of helping and training people to make her a well-rounded leader, consultant, and coach.

Solving both process and technical problems, Sharon has the unique ability to listen and uncover client pain points to develop a plan that will not only build the needed solutions but also drive change, adoption, and education in a way not typically seen from technical consultants.

Being part of the community is extremely important and she is an active leader, participant, and mentor. Sharon speaks professionally globally on subjects such as Microsoft 365, Business Analysis, Leadership, Teamwork, and Women in Technology. She is the founder and lead organizer of the Kansas City M365 User Group, CollabCon, and the Founding President of the Kansas City IIBA chapter.

When she's not working, Sharon watches tv and movies, reads, hangs out with her family, or is traveling somewhere interesting, most likely on a cruise ship out of the country with limited access to communication.

Sharon is the founder and CEO of Smarter Consulting, a business and technology consulting company. She founded her business to grow and diversify the technology resource pool. She has created a business based on diversity, inclusion, and opportunity.... Show more

Jackie Gleason is an experienced AI Principal Engineer for a private airline. Mr. Gleason has almost 20 years of experience in the Columbus area including Chase, PUCO, OCLC and the Columbus Foundation. Jackie has presented previously at CodeMash, M3, and other local user groups on topics such as Java, Javascript, mobile development, testing and more. In addition to development Jackie enjoys 3D printing, billiards, and traveling. For more information or to reach out go to https://THEjackiegleason.com.

Jackie Gleason is an experienced AI Principal Engineer for a private airline. Mr. Gleason has almost 20 years of experience in the Columbus area including Chase, PUCO, OCLC and the Columbus Foundation. Jackie has presented previously at CodeMash, M3... Show more

Ashish is a creative technologist and Solutions Engineer at DevRev, where he drives revenue growth and fosters customer partnerships by tackling intricate challenges that lie at the intersection of Customer Experience and Conversational AI-powered developer interactions. Previously at Okta, he deepened his expertise in identity and access management, and he is a leading community voice in Conversational AI, having built over 800 voice applications, won multiple Amazon Alexa Hackathons, and created in-depth training courses. Ashish brings a unique blend of technical depth and user-centric, secure design to everything he builds.

Ashish is a creative technologist and Solutions Engineer at DevRev, where he drives revenue growth and fosters customer partnerships by tackling intricate challenges that lie at the intersection of Customer Experience and Conversational AI-powered de... Show more

Eric is Chronosphere's Director Community & Developer. He's renowned in the development community as a speaker, lecturer, author, baseball expert, and CNCF Ambassador. His current role allows him to help the world understand the challenges they are facing with observability. He brings a unique perspective to the stage with a professional life dedicated to sharing his deep expertise of open source technologies and organizations. More on https://speakerhub.com/speaker/eric-d-schabell.

Eric is Chronosphere's Director Community & Developer. He's renowned in the development community as a speaker, lecturer, author, baseball expert, and CNCF Ambassador. His current role allows him to help the world understand the challenges they are f... Show more

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

As a Strategic UX Consultant and international speaker, Vicky Pirker helps companies achieve sustainable business success through user-centered solutions. With a sharp eye for both empathy and strategy, she uncovers the real problems behind digital products and processes. As Technovation Women Techmakers Ambassador and Austria's first Hacker School Inspirer, she's passionate about making UX accessible and championing diversity in tech.

As a Strategic UX Consultant and international speaker, Vicky Pirker helps companies achieve sustainable business success through user-centered solutions. With a sharp eye for both empathy and strategy, she uncovers the real problems behind digital p... Show more

Trupti Parkar is a Product Manager at Microsoft Azure AI/ML Platform. She holds Masters in Management Information Systems from University of Arizona & worked as a Software Engineer at Siemens in India.

Trupti Parkar is a Product Manager at Microsoft Azure AI/ML Platform. She holds Masters in Management Information Systems from University of Arizona & worked as a Software Engineer at Siemens in India. Show more

Desarrollador que paso al mundo del dato, por eso intento aprovechar mi experiencia en desarrollo para automatizar procesos

Desarrollador que paso al mundo del dato, por eso intento aprovechar mi experiencia en desarrollo para automatizar procesos Show more

Roberto Luna Rojas is a Sr Developer Advocate for Valkey based in the USA, originally from Mexico. He tries to get the most out of in-memory databases one bit at the time, been around developing software since the mid 90s focused on performance and scalability. When not in front of the computer, he loves spending time with his family, listening to music, and watching movies, TV shows, and sports.

Roberto Luna Rojas is a Sr Developer Advocate for Valkey based in the USA, originally from Mexico. He tries to get the most out of in-memory databases one bit at the time, been around developing software since the mid 90s focused on performance and s... Show more

Más de 20 años en la industria de IT, trabajando en diversas posiciones de presales y de manager, especialista o colaborador en offerings Cloud en partners cercanos a Microsoft como SoftwareONE, Seidor o Insight Technologies. MCT y experto Azure certificado en varias especializaciones. Multicloud con conocimientos de Azure AWS, Finops, Vmware o Linux y plataformas de IA como ChatGPT, Perplexity&Comet, Copilot, Claude Cowork y un máster digital en FOUNDERZ que me dio mucha visibilidad en el mercado de IA.

Más de 20 años en la industria de IT, trabajando en diversas posiciones de presales y de manager, especialista o colaborador en offerings Cloud en partners cercanos a Microsoft como SoftwareONE, Seidor o Insight Technologies. MCT y experto Azure cert... Show more

Heather Wilde is known as the "Unicorn Whisperer" for her work guiding startups through critical growth phases. As a former CTO, founding team member of Evernote, and co-author of the bestselling "Birth of a Unicorn", she brings 20+ years of technology leadership to the emerging AI-agent economy.
In 2026, Heather helps leaders navigate the transition to agentic organizations at FireworksAI— where AI agents handle execution while humans master governance, judgment, and ethical oversight. Her keynotes on human-AI collaboration, agentic product design, and startup scaling in the AI era have been featured at CodeMash, The Lead Developer, and corporate leadership programs worldwide.
Heather's work spans startup coaching, executive development, and thought leadership on the future of work. She regularly contributes to Inc.com on leadership and remote work, and her award-winning writing has appeared in Mashable, BBC News, the Wall Street Journal, and Forbes. She lives in Las Vegas and works with clients across North America, Asia, Australia, and the Middle East.

Heather Wilde is known as the "Unicorn Whisperer" for her work guiding startups through critical growth phases. As a former CTO, founding team member of Evernote, and co-author of the bestselling "Birth of a Unicorn", she brings 20+ years of technolo... Show more

Tiffany is senior developer advocate at Grafana Labs and a CNCF Ambassador. She also formerly worked as a software developer and developer advocate at VMware, Amazon, Docker, and Intel. Prior to that, she graduated from Georgia Tech with a degree in electrical engineering. In her free time, she likes to travel and dabble in photography. You can find her at tiffanyfay.dev (and for Bluesky) and elsewhere on linktr.ee/tiffanyfay.

Tiffany is senior developer advocate at Grafana Labs and a CNCF Ambassador. She also formerly worked as a software developer and developer advocate at VMware, Amazon, Docker, and Intel. Prior to that, she graduated from Georgia Tech with a degree in ... Show more

Joel Oleson is a visionary technology leader with over 20 years of experience working with industry giants like Microsoft, Blizzard, and Sony. He has been pivotal in shaping enterprise collaboration solutions and authoring best practices.

Recognized as a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) and Regional Director, Joel has received multiple accolades for his contributions to Microsoft products and the tech community. Currently, he serves as the Architect for Enterprise Productivity at Sony Interactive Entertainment, PlayStation Studios, overseeing productivity, collaboration and Gen AI solutions across all enterprise platforms.

An avid world traveler, Joel has visited every United Nation country including over 250 countries and territories. He shares his global adventures to inspire others to explore and embrace diverse cultures.

As a global speaker and organizer, Joel has delivered sessions in around 100 countries on Information technology and collaboration solutions at top events delivered to hundreds of thousands of information technology professionals.

Joel Oleson is a visionary technology leader with over 20 years of experience working with industry giants like Microsoft, Blizzard, and Sony. He has been pivotal in shaping enterprise collaboration solutions and authoring best practices. Recogniz... Show more

Christopher has been working in project management for the last 25+ years and in agile coaching for the past 10 years. His passion is transformation; in the past he helped his clients as a consultant in digital and agile transformations. His view is always product and people centric. He loves agility, and teaches agility and project management as well as design-thinking for the past 8 years.
He loves to share his knowledge, teach others and engage with audiences.
He takes on new and interesting challenges and goes a step beyond.
Besides his professional passion in Transformation / consultancy, he is also very passionate about stand-up comedy, which he started 2 years ago, and he is very active in the German and international stand up scene in Berlin.

Christopher has been working in project management for the last 25+ years and in agile coaching for the past 10 years. His passion is transformation; in the past he helped his clients as a consultant in digital and agile transformations. His view is ... Show more

Becky Gandillon is the Data Solutions Architect for Qventus, and she specializes in data storytelling, data strategy and visualization. She is a big Disney nerd that spends some of her free time analyzing and predicting crowd patterns at Disney World. She and her husband love travelling with their two daughters, and typically have three or four vacations planned in advance at any time.

Becky Gandillon is the Data Solutions Architect for Qventus, and she specializes in data storytelling, data strategy and visualization. She is a big Disney nerd that spends some of her free time analyzing and predicting crowd patterns at Disney World... Show more

Alex Dunn is the founder of Cephable - the platform that empowers people to control their digital world in ways that work best for them. He's also an inductee of The Game Awards Future Class, Forbes 30u30 in Boston, Microsoft MVP, and PubConf Champion. His background in accessibility, application development, and applied AI has leaned into enabling applications to do more for people and businesses using scalable architectures and design, distributed services, cloud infrastructure, and innovative edge technologies. Alex does his best to remain platform agnostic in his practices and development with specialties in C#, Kotlin, and TypeScript while building for cross-platform compatibility. You might find him speaking at all sorts of conferences and events around the world, streaming on Twitch, and on Pluralsight.

Outside technology, you can find him playing guitar, working with animal rescue, or exploring the great outdoors.

Alex Dunn is the founder of Cephable - the platform that empowers people to control their digital world in ways that work best for them. He's also an inductee of The Game Awards Future Class, Forbes 30u30 in Boston, Microsoft MVP, and PubConf Champio... Show more

Jessica Randall is a Master's graduate in Mathematics, an Android developer Co-lead at Mentorlst, and a Zindi Ambassador. Deeply immersed in the world of Android development, she is passionate about Kotlin and Jetpack Compose, thriving in the collaborative environment of Android Studio.

She applies her background in data science and Topological Data Analysis to address complex societal issues. As a Zindi Ambassador, she advocates for data science and machine learning, empowering others to solve real-world problems through technology.

As an organizer for GDG Cape Town, she fosters local developer communities and shapes impactful tech events in South Africa. Her journey as a Google Crowdsource Influencer sparked her interest in AI and Machine Learning, fueling her continuous learning. A forward-thinker, she is an inspiring figure in the ever-evolving tech landscape.

Jessica Randall is a Master's graduate in Mathematics, an Android developer Co-lead at Mentorlst, and a Zindi Ambassador. Deeply immersed in the world of Android development, she is passionate about Kotlin and Jetpack Compose, thriving in the collabo... Show more

Harshad Sadashiv Kadam is a Senior Security Infrastructure Engineer at Indeed with over a decade of experience driving Zero Trust, SASE, and multi-cloud security for global enterprises. He thrives at the intersection of strategy and hands-on engineering, designing next-generation defenses against AI-driven threats while mentoring emerging security talent.
Previously a Cloud Infrastructure Engineering Manager, Harshad led global cloud migrations and large-scale reliability initiatives, delivering multimillion-dollar efficiencies and strengthening operational resilience. As a mentor and AI-Champions Guild leader, he is passionate about fostering inclusion and inspiring the next generation of security innovators.

Harshad Sadashiv Kadam is a Senior Security Infrastructure Engineer at Indeed with over a decade of experience driving Zero Trust, SASE, and multi-cloud security for global enterprises. He thrives at the intersection of strategy and hands-on engineer... Show more

Licenciada en Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales, después de más de 21 años trabajando con responsable de la contabilidad y los impuestos de una pequeña PYME, en el 2022 da un giro a su trayectoria profesional para sumergirse en el mundo de los datos de la mano de Power BI. En el 2023 se certifica en el PL300 de Microsoft .
Posteriormente participa durante el 2024-2025 en un proyecto, financiado con fondos europeos, para la construcción de Gemelos Digitales para el Turismo. Este nuevo camino le hace adquirir Skills en Python y Machine Learning.

Licenciada en Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales, después de más de 21 años trabajando con responsable de la contabilidad y los impuestos de una pequeña PYME, en el 2022 da un giro a su trayectoria profesional para sumergirse en el mundo de los dato... Show more

Alexander is a Solutions Architect at Amazon Web Services. His focus areas include .NET on AWS, Application and Database Modernization, and Next Gen Developer Experience, with a passion for using AI and AI Agents to accelerate legacy modernization journeys. Alexander is based in Stockholm and in his spare time enjoys spending time with his family and traveling around the world with his camera.

Alexander is a Solutions Architect at Amazon Web Services. His focus areas include .NET on AWS, Application and Database Modernization, and Next Gen Developer Experience, with a passion for using AI and AI Agents to accelerate legacy modernization jo... Show more

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

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

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

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

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