Steve Buchanan

Startup Advisor | Cloud Engineering Lead| Author | Speaker​

Steve is a startup advisor & cloud engineering lead, delivering Azure & AKS cloud-native services powering Apple SaaS products used by over 70k customers worldwide. With over twenty years in the tech industry, Steve brings a unique blend of leadership, strategic planning, and technical expertise to one of the world’s leading tech companies. An accomplished thought leader, Steve has shared insights on over a dozen podcasts, co-authored MN’s computer science plan, he authored 8 technical books, a respected Pluralsight and O’Reilly author, empowering tech pros to master cutting-edge tech. He is a former 10-time Microsoft MVP continuing as a tech community champion. Steve’s contributions to tech have been widely recognized, including features in prominent publications such as the Star Tribune (the fifth-largest newspaper in the U.S.), one of the “25 ITSM Experts to Watch in 2017,” recognition as an “IT Unity Community Champ”, listed as one of Onalytica’s “Who’s Who in Cloud?” top 50 thought leaders, and honored with the 2024 Tekne Exceptional Technology Leadership Award. Steve is also a sought-after speaker, having delivered engaging presentations at numerous high-profile events, including the keynote for Minnebar 18, and presenting at DevOps Days, Open Source North, Midwest Management Summit (MMS), Microsoft Ignite, Experts Live Europe, and OSCON. He stays active in the technical community and enjoys blogging about his adventures in the world of tech at www.buchatech.com

Kelsey Hightower

Keynote Speaker | Distiguished Engineer

Kelsey Hightower is a globally recognized technologist, speaker, and open-source advocate. He rose to prominence as a lead engineer and developer advocate at Google Cloud (L9 Distinguished Engineer), where he shaped developer tools and influenced cloud infrastructure direction from 2015 until his retirement in June 2023 . Endearingly known for his clarity, charisma, and live technical demos, Kelsey makes complex engineering deeply human with authentic storytelling and practical insights

Kiah Imani

Co-Founder | Developer | Speaker​

Kiah is a developer who advocates and evangelizes about all things cloud at LocalStack. She is a public speaker who regularly presents at conferences and trade shows and is a self-proclaimed opinionated knowledge seeker. Kiah also moonlights as a co-founder of canna-tech startup C-Trax. Kiah has over a decade of experience covering both engineering and business roles and prides herself on bringing a unique perspective to building products from idea to deployment and navigating product-market fit. In her spare time, Kiah enjoys blogging about community, tech, and startups at blkgrlcto.com

Evonya Easley

Entrepreneur | Author | Personal Stylist​

Evonya “Love E” Easley is a certified personal stylist, author, Goldman Sach graduate and entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in fashion and retail. As the founder and CEO of Love E, a GA minority-certified supplier, she provides expert personal styling and shopping services for busy professionals, ensuring they exude confidence in every aspect of life. Her clients have been featured on major networks, including Bloomberg, MSNBC, CNN, Disney and more. A style expert and speaker, Evonya has contributed to Marie Claire and CNN, sharing insights on using style for career success. She is also a pioneer in virtual reality, producing 3D VR shows and immersive experiences. Explore her work at www.loveefashion.com.

Eddie Williams

Senior Cyber Cecurity Leader​

Eddie Williams is a strategic cybersecurity leader with a background that spans military intelligence, healthcare security, and enterprise risk governance. Over the past two decades, he’s helped organizations—from global consultancies to national healthcare systems—mature their cybersecurity posture, navigate complex regulatory environments, and build strong, mission-aligned security cultures. Before stepping into senior leadership roles in the private sector, Eddie served as a U.S. Army HUMINT collection manager, overseeing intelligence operations in high-pressure environments. He brings that same calm under pressure, curiosity, and focus on human behavior to cybersecurity—particularly in areas like social engineering defense, GRC strategy, and AI risk management. He’s deeply committed to mentoring teams, bridging silos, and aligning security initiatives with real business needs. Eddie also contributes to advisory boards focused on AI and emerging technologies, and he continues to speak and write on cybersecurity leadership, cultural transformation, and the human side of digital risk.

Mark J Mosley

Digital Transformation Leader | Speaker​

Mark J. Mosley is a digital transformation leader with over a decade of experience at some of the world’s leading tech companies, including Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, and ServiceNow. He specializes in unlocking value from cloud, AI, and enterprise technologies, driving meaningful business outcomes across both the public and private sectors. Mark is passionate about coaching and mentoring professionals, helping them break into tech and advance their careers. His mission is to empower individuals to recognize their transferable skills, stand out in interviews, and thrive in a more equitable digital future. Featured in the Associated Press, Business Insider, and Yahoo Finance, Mark has delivered talks at renowned conferences across the country, sharing insights on technology modernization, diversity, and leadership development.

Matthew Kirby

Media Entreprenuer | Creative Strategist | HR Leader

Matthew Kirby is a visionary media entrepreneur, HR leader, and creative strategist dedicated to amplifying underrepresented voices. After a personal journey through displacement and resilience, Matthew launched 9ToThrive Media to spotlight the stories of Black and Brown professionals often overlooked in mainstream media. With over a decade of experience across human resources, leadership development, and storytelling, Matthew blends heart and strategy to build platforms where identity, access, and ownership converge. As the host of the YNG BLK HR podcast, he’s built a loyal community of 20K+ and continues to lead with purpose, innovation, and cultural fluency.

Sola Babatunde

Product Designer

A product designer with experience at big brands like Microsoft and Adobe and fast startups like Airbnb. After graduating Texas A&M University and New York University, he still continues to contribute to the Black in Tech space whenever he can.

Omar Perkins

Founder | AI Strategist | Educator

As the founder of The Perkins Institute, I am a distinguished Al Strategist and Educator with over two decades of experience driving impactful change across public and private sectors, including 12+ years deeply embedded in educational systems as an Admissions Representative. My unique expertise, rooted in an IBM Certified Al Engineering background and Master of Science degrees in Organizational Leadership and Psychology (Industrial and Organizational), enables a human-centered approach to Al integration. I specialize in empowering C-suite executives and leadership teams within school districts and multi-million dollar companies to not only implement robust Al strategies but also to cultivate a humane and positive psychology foundation, ensuring employees feel better equipped and more positive about Al adoption. As a recognized Al innovator and speaker, my commitment is to bridge the gap between cutting-edge Al and its ethical, effective, and flourishing implementation for all stakeholders.

Dr. Malika Grayson-Duncan

Founder | Career Coach | Mentor

Dr. Malika Grayson- Duncan is the co-founder of Career Factory 360, a career consulting agency developed to empower professionals and students through coaching, mentoring, and strategic guidance. Career Factory 360 helps individuals transform their ambition into action by taking control of their professional journey with a proven six-part methodology designed to ignite clarity, build confidence, and drive results. Dr. Grayson-Duncan is also founder of STEMinist Empowered LLC, an organization shaped by her personal experiences in academia and industry. Through STEMinist Empowered, she is dedicated to bridging the representation gap and fostering a more inclusive STEM community through curated workshops and mentorship cohorts. To date, STEMinist Empowered has successfully conducted three mentorship cohorts, supporting women in advanced degree programs. With nearly a decade of experience in the aerospace and defense industry, Dr. Grayson-Duncan is a Program Manager, leading a team of engineers who develop and deliver cutting-edge technologies to solve their customers’ toughest challenges. Her prior roles span IT Portfolio Management, Systems Engineering Management, Software Development, R&D Portfolio Management, and Strategic Planning.

Dale Rodriguez

Solutions Engineer | Cybersecurity Specialist

Dale Rodriguez is an experienced Solutions Engineer at Chainguard and cybersecurity evangelist with a track record of helping his clients eliminate open source security risk and meet compliance standards. Beyond his technical expertise, he is a passionate advocate for cybersecurity education, adeptly guiding both security and IT professionals through best practices and the latest trends in the field.

SerVanes Wilson

Sr. Consultant | Media Specialist

SerVanes Wilson is a results-driven media specialist with hands-on AI experience as an early beta tester for OpenAI’s DALL-E (2021) and ChatGPT (2022). Adept at leveraging cutting-edge large language models (LLMs) and generative AI tools to drive innovation for small businesses, artists, and creators. Passionate about integrating AI-powered solutions into content creation, marketing, and workflow optimization.

Dominic Algrete

Cybersecurity SOC Analyst

Dominic Alegrete is a 21-year-old SOC Analyst with three years of hands-on cybersecurity experience specializing in blue team, threat analysis, and SOC operations. After landing his first tech role at 18 while still in high school and without a college degree, Dominic quickly built a platform to help others transition into the cybersecurity field. He shares career insights and the latest industry news to educate and inspire the next generation. Dominic’s untraditional path has given him industry experience and real-world expertise that few achieve at his age. By forging his own way into cybersecurity, he has worked in high-level environments, developed a unique perspective on breaking into tech, and is committed to helping others do the same.

Yolanda Marie Tate

Founder | Veteran | BIT Chapter Leader​

Yolanda Marie Tate is a 29-year U.S. Army veteran who has transformed decades of battlefield and boardroom leadership into a mission of empowering others to lead with presence, resilience, and purpose. As the founder of Elevate 2 Wellness, she equips veterans, tech professionals, and high-performing teams with strategies to protect their peace, build sustainable habits, and thrive without sacrificing well-being. She is also the Chapter President of Blacks In Technology Northern Virginia, a trusted advisor to Veterans Growing America, and a sought-after speaker and emcee for high-impact events. Her signature DARE to Elevate framework blends mindful leadership, holistic wellness, and proven performance strategies—helping leaders strengthen confidence, sharpen communication, and cultivate resilience in high-pressure environments. Whether engaging audiences from the stage, facilitating transformation in corporate settings, or mentoring the next generation of tech leaders, Yolanda’s message is clear: You don’t have to choose between career, calling, and care for yourself—you can thrive in all three.

Abdie Mohamed

Cybersecurity Specialist | Cloud Engineer | Speaker | Mentor | ​

Abdie Mohamed is a cybersecurity and cloud governance practitioner with over six years of experience helping organizations secure, optimize, and manage their cloud environments. He specializes in cybersecurity and cloud, having driven multimillion-dollar cost savings through effective governance strategies. As a public speaker, Abdie has delivered talks at conferences, universities, and community events, inspiring audiences on topics like GRC engineering, cloud security, and career development in tech. He is a career coach, mentor, and thought leader through his speaking engagements, written content, and community involvement. Known for blending technical expertise with engaging storytelling, Abdie empowers both technical and non-technical audiences to take action while equipping them with the tools to become more effective leaders.

William Hill

Staff Software Engineer | Speaker

William Hill is a staff software engineer at Meroxa with over a decade of experience building full-stack systems in domains ranging from national security and climate science to healthcare and generative AI. He specializes in data engineering, distributed systems, and real-time data processing. Throughout his career, William has built tools for subject matter experts in nonproliferation, climate science, solar energy, and basketball analytics—translating complex domain needs into reliable, scalable software. He has led high-impact projects including real-time maritime data integrations with the U.S. Space Force, HL7-to-FHIR pipelines for health data interoperability, and tactical communication tools for the Air Force. At Livermore National Lab, he led DevOps efforts for the R&D 100 award-winning ESGF climate data platform, modernizing an 8,000-line Bash release process into a streamlined CI/CD system. At New Relic, he launched features like Saved Views for Log Management and the S3 Log Forwarder used by thousands of customers. He is an active contributor to the open-source Conduit project, building data connectors that power modern ETL pipelines. A seasoned speaker, William has presented at conferences such as AWS re:Invent, BiTCON, RenderATL, and Tapia. His talks and workshops cover topics like AI agent workflows, Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG), and global state management in React. He is also committed to increasing diversity in tech through mentorship and community engagement.

Ivan Herndon

VP, Head of Engineering

Ivan Herndon is the VP of Engineering at Branch Insurance, where he leads a team focused on building scalable, inclusive, and resilient software systems. A former apprentice turned engineering executive, Ivan is passionate about redefining hiring pipelines, investing in overlooked talent, and fostering collaborative team cultures. He’s built internal apprenticeship programs, scaled diverse engineering teams, and believes great leadership is less about control and more about creating the conditions for others to thrive.

Dwight Turner

Compliance Analyst

Dwight is a cybersecurity professional with a heart for teaching and mentoring. He uses his compliance expertise to help companies meet challenging regulatory requirements, while championing privacy-first practices. Recognized as a Semifinalist for the 2025 Privacy Champion Award by DataGrail, Dwight is known for making challenging subjects like dark patterns and AI governance approachable. Dwight holds advanced certifications and is an active member of ForHumanity, a nonprofit dedicated to making AI systems safer, more transparent, and equitable for all.

Tina Getachew

Business Intelligence Manager

With over 15 years of project management experience, Tina serves as a Business Intelligence Manager, specializing in aligning cybersecurity strategies with business objectives to drive impactful outcomes- by practicing stakeholder management every day. By bridging the gap between business units and central security and risk functions, she ensures that technical initiatives are aligned with organizational goals and risk profiles. She also is a Project Manager for a team of developers that produce an array of cybersecurity and AI deliverables for the Office of the CISO. A certified PMP and CISSP professional, she brings a unique blend of technical knowledge and business acumen, along with the ability to communicate complex information in an accessible, high-level manner. Fluent in English, Spanish, and Amharic, she operates effectively across geographies and cultural contexts, ensuring seamless stakeholder engagement at all levels. Tina is an experienced public speaker, having delivered presentations on cybersecurity risks to internal governance boards, presented on soft skills in cybersecurity, and is an active member of her local Toastmasters club.

James Tooles

Chief Architect, Microsoft Americas Office of the CTO

James Tooles is based in NYC and serves as a Chief Architect in Microsoft’s Americas Office of the CTO, where he partners with F500 enterprise leaders to drive innovation and deliver transformative technology strategies. Prior to rejoining Microsoft, James was the Founder and Chief Technology Officer of a generative AI startup, where he led engineering, product development, and go-to-market strategy. This entrepreneurial experience deepened his expertise in emerging technologies and strengthened his ability to translate innovation into business impact. Previously, James held the role of Cloud Solution Architect for Data & AI at Microsoft, supporting top enterprise clients in adopting advanced analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence solutions. His exceptional contributions earned him the prestigious Pinnacle Award in 2022, recognizing his leadership and technical excellence. James is passionate about helping customers solve complex organizational challenges leveraging technology.