Suzana Melo
Software Developer | Developer Relations | Women in Tech advocate | AWS Community Builder | AWS User Group leader | Communicator
Pessoa desenvolvedora full-stack | Women in Tech advocate | AWS Community Builder | AWS User Group líder| Comunicadora
Manaus, Brazil
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Suzana Melo is a full-stack developer and AWS Cloud Practitioner who transitioned into software development in her 40s without a tech background. She holds a bachelor's degree in Communications and has over 20 years of experience. As a strong advocate for diversity and inclusion, she actively works on initiatives that empower women and underrepresented groups in tech, mentors juniors and graduates, and drives tech community enablement across Europe, West Asia, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and the Americas. Suzana is an AWS Community Builder, founder of the AWS Women's User Group Sweden, and co-organizer of AWS Community Day Baltic. She is enrolled in a postgraduate specialization in AI and Machine Learning at PUC Minas, is a featured speaker at AWS re:Invent 2024, and writes articles and posts reaching 14,000+ impressions on LinkedIn and suzanamelo.com
Suzana Melo é desenvolvedora full-stack e AWS Cloud Practitioner certificada, que migrou para a área de tecnologia após os 40 anos, sem experiência prévia. É bacharel em Comunicação e tem mais de 20 anos de experiência e cursa pós-graduação em Inteligência Artificial e Machine Learning na PUC Minas. Defensora ativa da diversidade e da inclusão, desenvolve iniciativas para empoderar mulheres e grupos sub-representados na tecnologia, mentora de profissionais em início de carreira e impulsiona o crescimento de comunidades técnicas na África, no Oriente Médio, na Ásia, no Pacífico, na Europa e nas Américas. Suzana é AWS Community Builder, fundadora do AWS Women's User Group Sweden e co-organizadora do AWS Community Day Baltic. Foi palestrante no AWS re:Invent 2024 e escreve artigos que alcançam mais de 14.000 leitores no LinkedIn e suzanamelo.com
Area of Expertise
Topics
From Procrastination to Publishing: How AWS Amplify Helped Me Finally Start Blogging en pt
As software developers, we’re all guilty of having at least a few unfinished side projects collecting dust on our GitHub repositories. For me, blogging was one of those ideas that stayed on my to-do list for ages until AWS Amplify changed the game.
In this session, I’ll share how I used AWS Amplify to stop procrastinating and finally build a platform to share content focused on helping women and tech beginners navigate their tech journeys. We’ll explore how Amplify makes it easy to deploy frontend apps, add storage, connect to real-time data sources, and scale seamlessly. The best part? All of that without needing deep cloud expertise.
Join me as I walk through my journey from idea to execution with AWS Amplify and learn how you can do the same to bring your projects to life, breaking free from procrastination.
Key Takeaways:
- How AWS Amplify removes barriers to launching web apps
- Practical steps to go from an idea to a deployed project
- Insights on content creation and sharing knowledge in tech
- Why done is better than perfect. Just ship it!
Level: Foundational to intermediate (200)
Da Procrastinação à Publicação: Como o AWS Amplify Me Ajudou a Finalmente Começar a Blogar en pt
Como pessoas desenvolvedoras de software, todos nós temos projetos paralelos inacabados acumulando poeira nos nossos repositórios do GitHub. Para mim, o blog era uma dessas ideias que ficaram na minha lista de tarefas por anos, até que o AWS Amplify mudou o jogo.
Nesta sessão, vou compartilhar como usei o AWS Amplify para parar de procrastinar e finalmente criar uma plataforma para compartilhar conteúdo voltado a ajudar mulheres e iniciantes em tecnologia. Vamos explorar como o Amplify facilita a implantação de aplicações frontend, conectar a fontes de dados em tempo real e escalar de forma simples. E o melhor? Tudo isso sem precisar de um conhecimento profundo em nuvem.
Vem comigo conhecer como foi a minha jornada da ideia à execução com o AWS Amplify e descubra como você também pode tirar seus projetos do papel, superando a procrastinação.
Pontos chaves:
- Como o AWS Amplify remove barreiras para lançar aplicações web
- Passos práticos para ir de uma ideia a um projeto publicado
- Dicas sobre criação de conteúdo e compartilhamento de conhecimento em tecnologia
- Por que “feito” é melhor que “perfeito”.
AWS Amplify: Tire seus projetos do papel em poucos cliques sem ser Cloud especialista pt
Como pessoas desenvolvedoras de software, todos nós temos projetos inacabados que ficam acumulando poeira nos nossos repositórios no GitHub. Para mim, o blog era uma dessas ideias que ficaram na minha lista de tarefas por anos, até que o AWS Amplify mudou o jogo.
Nesta sessão, vou compartilhar como usei o AWS Amplify Hosting para parar de procrastinar e, finalmente, criar uma plataforma para compartilhar conteúdo voltado a ajudar mulheres e iniciantes em tecnologia. Vamos explorar como o Amplify facilita a implantação de aplicações front-end, a conexão a fontes de dados em tempo real e a escalação de forma simples. E o melhor? Tudo isso sem precisar de conhecimento profundo em nuvem.
Vem comigo conhecer como foi a minha jornada da ideia à execução com o AWS Amplify e descobrir como você também pode tirar seus projetos do papel, em poucos cliques e sem precisar ser especialista em nuvem.
Setting Up an AI Mentor: Use AI Safely and Efficiently for Ongoing Career Growth en pt
Many people use AI tools like Claude, Gemini, or ChatGPT casually: one question, one generic answer, then they move on. That works, sort of, but it's like asking a stranger for career advice with zero context about who you are or what you're trying to achieve.
This talk shows you why that happens (how these tools actually work, their limitations, including where they sound confident and are still wrong) and how to fix it: learning how to use this tool effectively to set up a free, personalized AI project that remembers your background, your goals, and how you want to be coached, so every answer is specific instead of generic.
Key takeaways:
- How AI tools actually work, including where they can sound confident and still be wrong
- How to set up a free, personalized AI project using Claude that remembers your background, your goals, and how you want to be coached
- Practical habits for using AI safely: what never to share, where AI is least reliable, what to verify before trusting, and how to keep your work saved
- A working AI project built live during the session, ready to keep using afterward
Level: Foundational (100)
First delivered at Women Innovating in Cloud Africa (WIICA)/CloudHER Program (Cohort 1) on September 12, 2026.
Format: presentation with a live screen-share demo, no audience hands-on required. Preferred duration: 45 to 60 minutes.
Target audience: tech beginners through early-career professionals, community and bootcamp audiences, anyone who currently uses AI tools casually and wants a more deliberate setup.
Technical requirements: stable internet connection for the live demo; standard screen-share or projector setup.
Crie seu Mentor Virtual: como usar a IA de maneira segura e eficiente para crescer profissionalmente en pt
Muita gente usa ferramentas de IA, como Claude, Gemini ou ChatGPT, de forma casual: faz uma pergunta, recebe uma resposta genérica e segue em frente. Até funciona, mais ou menos, mas é como pedir conselho de carreira a um desconhecido, sem nenhum contexto sobre quem você é ou aonde quer chegar.
Nesta palestra, você vai entender por que isso acontece (como a IA generativa realmente funciona, suas limitações, inclusive os momentos em que soa confiante mesmo estando errada) e como resolver isso: aprendendo a usar essa ferramenta de forma eficiente para configurar um projeto de IA gratuito e personalizado, que lembra seu histórico, seus objetivos e como você quer ser orientado(a), para que cada resposta seja direcionada ao que você busca.
O que você levará desta sessão:
- Como ferramentas de IA realmente funcionam, inclusive os momentos em que soam confiantes mesmo estando erradas
- Como configurar um projeto de IA gratuito e personalizado, usando o Claude, que lembra seu histórico, seus objetivos e como você quer ser orientado(a)
- Hábitos práticos para usar a IA com segurança: o que nunca compartilhar, onde a IA é menos confiável, o que verificar antes de usar o que foi gerado e como garantir o acesso ao conteúdo sempre que precisar
- Um projeto de IA funcional, montado ao vivo durante a sessão, pronto para você continuar usando depois
Formato: apresentação com demonstração ao vivo no projetor, compartilhando a tela, sem prática do público durante a sessão. Duração recomendada: 45 a 60 minutos (o conteúdo pode ser adaptado se avisado com antecedência). Público-alvo: desde iniciantes em tecnologia até profissionais no começo de carreira, comunidades e bootcamps, qualquer pessoa que já usa IA no dia a dia e quer aprender a usá-la com mais intenção. Requisitos técnicos: conexão de internet estável para a demonstração ao vivo e um projetor.
What Community taught me about Tech that no course could en
I moved to New Zealand in 2014 without speaking English and started a career in tech with no previous technical background, after 20 solid years in Communications. Almost everything that happened after the first meetup I went to shaped my life: mentors I found because I asked, a community I helped build because none existed yet where I was, and connections that filled the gap when a stalled job search could easily have made me quit.
In this session, I'll walk through how tech communities (AWS User Groups, internal company meetups, open source, and everything in between) actually develop skills and accelerate a career, not as a concept, but through specific people and specific moments that shaped mine both technically and personally. I'll cover how I went from attending to organizing, how that opened real mentoring opportunities on both sides, and what I'd tell anyone still deciding whether showing up is worth it.
Technical requirements: standard screen-share or projector setup
A beginner's journey into Cloud and AWS: Why You Should Learn Cloud Computing and How to Get Started en
Why You Should Learn Cloud Computing and How to Get Started with AWS.
Cloud computing is inevitable. It's everywhere, even if we don't always notice it, but we should.
Research shows that 94% of all companies worldwide use cloud computing at some level, and this number continues to grow. So, whether you're looking to launch a career in cloud technology or expand your skills, you're on the right track.
While the many paths to the Cloud could look overwhelming, they don't have to be. If you're in the same boat, an absolute beginner like I was when I first started to learn about Cloud Computing, this talk is for you. Let's explore where you can begin to be part of this inevitable future and build your skills with AWS. Take a seat, fasten your seat belts, and let's fly to the Cloud.
Level: Foundational (100)
Workshop: Empowering Women in Tech en
An inspiring and hands-on session designed to empower women in the cloud industry!
We'll dive into practical strategies for fostering diversity, creating inclusive spaces, and closing the gender gap in tech. Together, we'll explore ways to break barriers, amplify voices, and drive meaningful change.
Expect insights on public speaking, content creation, organizing user groups, and building strong professional networks. Whether you're just starting or a seasoned pro, this workshop is packed with actionable takeaways to help you grow, connect, and make an impact.
Let's learn, share, and uplift each other because the cloud needs all of us!
The session can be adjusted to fit between 40 minutes and 2 hours.
Why Junior Devs Should Know About Cloud Computing and How to Get Started with AWS en
Once you step into the world of tech, the cloud is inevitable!
As a software developer, chances are you'll need to deal with cloud technologies at some point in your journey. In this session, we'll break down the key concepts of Cloud and Cloud Computing, explore why understanding this field is essential, and discuss how to get started with AWS (or any other cloud provider).
We'll cover must-know services for junior developers, including S3 - Cloud Object Storage, AWS Lambda, and API Gateway, giving you a foundation to begin your cloud journey.
Whether you're a recent graduate curious about your options or a junior developer eager to upskill but unsure where to start, this talk is for you! Let's demystify the cloud together.
Level: Foundational (100)
AWS com Tucumã - AWS User Group Manaus
🎤 AWS Amplify: Tire seus projetos do papel em poucos cliques sem ser Cloud especialista
Women Innovating in Cloud Africa (WIICA)/CloudHER Program Learning Series
🎤 Setting Up an AI Mentor: Use AI Efficiently for Ongoing Career Growth
Ignite Cloud
🎤 What Community Taught Me About Tech That No Course Could
You Don't Have to Be Senior to Give Back: Building in Community from Day One
When I joined the tech industry, I had no previous technical background, no network, and no idea where to start. I was an immigrant woman who had changed careers in her 40s, and the challenges I faced in those early years became the reason I started giving back — not once I felt ready, but from the beginning.
This 30-minute talk, delivered at the closing session of the Women Innovating In Cloud Africa (WIICA) 12-Week AWS Workshop Challenge, covered:
- Why documenting your learning publicly creates value for others at the exact moment it feels most uncertain for you
- How community involvement accelerates your own technical growth — the more you explain, the more you understand
- What the AWS Community Builder program is, who it is genuinely for, and why candidates at every experience level should consider applying
- Practical examples of how I began creating content and supporting other learners from the earliest stages of my own transition into tech
- Why long-term cloud careers are built as much through community as through certifications
The audience was a cohort completing a structured 12-week AWS learning program and preparing to begin their capstone projects.
The closing message was direct: the transition from learning to building does not happen in isolation. The people around you in a community are not just peers. They are the support structure, the mentors, and eventually the people you mentor in return.
Becoming an AWS Community Builder: A Global Series for a Global Community
In December 2025 and January 2026, I designed, coordinated, and co-hosted a series of 10 regional online sessions to help candidates around the world prepare stronger AWS Community Builder applications and understand why community contribution matters far beyond any program.
The series reached over 4,000 participants across Oceania, Africa, North America, India, Europe, Brazil, LATAM, China, Israel, and Egypt and the UAE. Sessions were conducted in English, Portuguese, Spanish, Hebrew, Arabic, and Chinese, with language support provided throughout, so candidates who don't primarily operate in English could navigate the application process with the same confidence as everyone else.
Each session covered:
- What the AWS Community Builder program is and who it is genuinely for
- The real benefits: AWS credits, certification vouchers, learning resources, and direct access to AWS teams and a global network of 3,000+ builders
- How to approach the application: what AWS looks for, how to select content examples, and how to structure your answers
- Honest experience from current Community Builders across career stages and technical backgrounds
- Live Q&A with time for the questions people are often too hesitant to ask publicly
Beyond the program details, every session addressed a wider question: what does sustained community contribution actually do for your career and technical growth? The answers came not from slides, but from the builders in the room, people who had applied from different countries, at different experience levels, in languages other than English, and made it through.
A companion article on suzanamelo.com consolidated all session recordings, application resources, and preparation guidance into a single reference, still used by candidates in the 2026 application cycle.
AWS Community Day Nordics 2025 Sessionize Event
AWS Community Day Portugal Sessionize Event
AWS Community Day Baltic Sessionize Event
AWS Womens User Group Munich
🎤 How to kick-start your cloud career?
AWS Community Day Italy 2025 Sessionize Event
AWS Women’s User Group Berlin Meetup - Women’s Day Special
🎤 Empowerment Panel - Women’s Day Special
An evening dedicated to learning, empowerment, and community.
The session is designed for attendees to gain firsthand insights from pioneering women in the AWS cloud space as they discuss their experiences, challenges, and triumphs. Join the conversation, ask your questions, and connect with like-minded professionals committed to driving change in tech.
AWS Women's User Group Meetup Vienna – Cloud Computing & AI Innovation
🎤 Why You Should Learn Cloud Computing and How to Get Started with AWS
Cloud computing is inevitable. It's everywhere, even if we don't always notice it - but we should. Research shows that 94% of all companies worldwide use cloud computing at some level, and this number continues to grow.
So, whether you're looking to launch a career in cloud technology or expand your skills, you're on the right track. While the many paths to the Cloud could look overwhelming, they don't have to be. Let’s explore where you can start to be part of this inevitable future. Take a seat, fasten your seat belts, and let's fly to the Cloud.
Women in tech fireside chat and meetup at AWS re:Invent 2024
🎤 ACT177 | Women in tech fireside chat and meetup
A curated session bringing together women leaders and practitioners in cloud computing.
Led discussions covering challenges faced by women worldwide, such as bias, microaggressions, and actionable ways companies can promote career development, mentorship, sponsorship, and equal opportunities for women. Spoke on practical strategies for fostering diversity, creating inclusive spaces, and closing the gender gap in tech, exploring ways to break barriers, amplify voices, and drive meaningful change.
AWS User Group Skåne
🎤 Why You Should Learn Cloud Computing and How to Get Started with AWS
Cloud computing is inevitable. It's everywhere, even if we don't always notice it, but we should.
Research published on websites like CloudZero, Zippia, and Earthweb showed that 94% of all companies worldwide use cloud computing at some level, and this number continues to grow.
So, whether you're looking to launch a career in cloud technology or expand your skills, you're on the right track. While the many paths to the Cloud could look overwhelming, they don't have to be.
Join me on a journey into the world of cloud computing. We'll explore what this is, how we got here, and where you can start to be part of this inevitable future. Take a seat, fasten your seat belts, and let's fly to the Cloud.
Moar Serverless 2024
🎤 Adding Serverless Content Moderation to Your Application with Only 3 Simple AWS Tools
Serverless Days ANZ
🎤 Serverless Panel Discussion
In this discussion, I shared insights about my experience as a junior developer working with Serverless services, sharing challenges and lessons learned, and explaining how I overcame my lack of knowledge of AWS Lambdas and DynamoDB when I started.
JuniorDev Auckland Meet
🎤 Why Junior Devs should know about Cloud Computing and where to start in AWS
Once you choose a technology life, Cloud is inevitable!
As a software developer, you will likely bump into some cloud product at some point in your journey. Suzana will cover some main concepts of Cloud and Cloud Computing, why you should learn about this crucial area and where to start in AWS (or any other cloud provider), including some of the essential products to be aware of as a junior developer.
Even if you just graduated and want to know more about the options around you or a junior developer who wants to upskill but doesn't know where to start in Cloud, this talk is for you!
Auckland AWS Tools and Programming meetup
🎤 Moderating Content with Amazon Rekognition
In times when interacting with a range of internet options is routine, and new channels, products and services are released with a snap of fingers, it's crucial to think about the content you are exposed to, and you expose to others. Amazon Rekognition is a cloud-based image and video analysis service that makes it easy to add advanced computer vision capabilities to your applications using AI and machine learning.
AWS Cloud Club in Auckland kick off!
🎤 Why You Should Learn Cloud Computing and How to Get Started with AWS
AWS UG Aotearoa - Community Day 2023 Sessionize Event
Auckland AWS Community Meetups
🎤 Breaking the Bias in Tech
Full-Stack Engineering - Auckland
🎤 How Human Skills can make you a better developer and a highly valued professional
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