About the Speaker:
David Moschella is a senior fellow at Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), the world’s leading digital policy think tank. Previously, he was in charge of worldwide research for IDC, the largest market analysis firm in the information technology industry, responsible for the company’s global technology industry forecasts and insights. David’s books include Technology Fears and Scapegoats: 40 Myths about Privacy, Jobs, AI, and Today’s Innovation Economy; Seeing Digital—A Visual Guide to the Industries, Organizations, and Careers of the 2020s; Customer-Driven IT, and Waves of Power.

About the Speaker:
Miljan Bajic is a coach, trainer, and organizational change leader with over 20 years experience. With a career spanning technology and business, he focuses on collaboration to help organizations work smarter and achieve their goals. Miljan is dedicated to making a positive difference in people’s lives.

Agile New England’s Monthly Keynote Speaker is Virtual!

Please note our January, 2025, keynote will be fully virtual with no in-person meeting. The new timeline follows:

5:30 – 6:30 pm ET – Agile 101 breakout with Garry Miller (or network in main Zoom session)

6:30 – 8:00 pm ET – Keynote Speaker, followed by announcements and free-form networking

About the Speaker:
Kim Poremski is founder and president of Agile Prowess. As a Scrum Alliance Certified Scrum Trainer (CST®) and SAFe 6.0 Practice Consultant (SPC), Kim draws upon 30+ years of IT and product management experience, coupled with 16+ years in the agile arena. She coaches individuals, teams, and leaders and facilitates interactive workshops in person and online. Kim is a frequent speaker at regional and national Agile events and served as the conference emcee for 2023 Global Scrum Gatherings in Portland, Oregon and Amsterdam.

About the Speaker:
Alex Yates is currently Assistant Vice President of Change Management at Genpact. He’s worked in senior change transformation and communication roles with companies in the media, healthcare, and consumer goods industries, and in Major League Baseball. Alex loves learning about AI, neuroscience, and human-centered design, as well as travelling and cliff jumping.

About the Speakers:

Justin Chapman

Justin Chapman is an experienced Product Operations/Management professional, known for his proficiency in applying an Agile mindset against dogma and his skill in talent management and design thinking.

Steve Jaccaud

Steve Jaccaud is a seasoned Enterprise Agile coach and consultant, noted for his expertise in transformation and change management, organizational design and development, and leadership effectiveness coaching.

Together these two practitioners will host an interactive session exploring whether or not AI could kill Agile Coaching.

About the Speaker:
Dan Gallagher is driven by the notion that life is too short to build products people won’t use. He has logged 30 years as a product designer, product manager, product owner, agile team member, product executive, product consultant, and even scrum master. Dan has battled on the ground, led from the trenches, fought through the middle, and surveilled from above. He has combined this experience with extensive product research, wisdom from pundits (applied and validated), and life observations to evolve the Product Agility methodology into a powerful force for change in product development.

About the Speaker:
Natalie Vinitsky is a Senior Director of the Agile and Innovation Center at Citi within the Risk function. She oversees the Portfolio of Operational Risk Management and Global Risk Review book of work using Agile as a delivery method. She is a certified Agile and Design Thinking Coach and an expert in executive coaching, digital transformation, and lean portfolio management. She has over 25 years experience helping executives and their organizations achieve higher delivery value, sustain growth, and continuously improve by focusing on human-centric design.

This session will describe why conventional management models are ill-equipped to meet the unprecedented challenges of a radically different business world. It will acquaint participants with a new organizational paradigm — the self-managed peer-to-peer network — where leadership and decision-making are exercised by teams rather than individuals, and will spotlight organizations using collective intelligence and shared power to navigate business environments transformed by increasing change and escalating complexity.

Nobody Is Smarter Than Everybody is for leaders who are open to learning about the extraordinary advantages that self-managed networks provide through better and faster problem solving, more effective and efficient work processes, and consistent customer satisfaction and profitability.

About the Speaker:
Rod Collins is an author, keynote speaker, and leadership coach. He is a leading expert and thought leader on the future of business transformation. Rod’s books, blogs, and speeches inspire through their use of storytelling and leading-edge ideas. During his tenure as Chief Operating Executive, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Federal Employee Program experienced its greatest five-year growth period in the company’s 60-year history. An award-winning author, Rod’s books include Wiki Management, which highlights the innovative tools and practices of a revolutionary new management model, and Leadership in a Wiki World, which illustrates how leaders can leverage the power of collective intelligence to sustain extraordinary performance in rapidly changing markets. His latest book, Nobody Is Smarter Than Everybody spotlights three companies who grew from starts-ups to market leaders by building organizations where no one is a boss and everyone is a leader.

In this talk, we’ll explore concepts such as trust-building and psychological safety and how they intertwine in the Virtuous Trust Cycle to provide a supportive context for individuals to practice and improve EQ. We will  describe how measurements of psychological safety can accurately predict whether your Agile transformation will be effective or challenged. In addition, we’ll practice an exercise on how to enable and measure conditions for psychological safety.

Come join us at ANE to explore how the Trust Virtuous Cycle framework can help leaders and team members increase trust levels that create conditions for psychological safety for shaping a culture of innovation.

About the Speaker:

Pepe Lopez is a longtime business coach and Agile strategist who specializes in building the trust-based relationships critical for development teams and projects that require high levels of collaboration. He’s the author of the Trust Virtuous Cycle, a light framework to build trust and measure psychological safety. Pepe has 20 plus years of experience in roles such as People Leader, PM, Portfolio Manager, and Change Manager. In these roles he’s developed expertise in relationship building, quality frameworks, product development, roadmap execution, and training and development. Most importantly, he’s gained hands-on experience helping organizational cultures in transition.

Are you interested in UI design practices to make your interfaces more accessible? We’ll review topics like screen reader compatibility (ensuring that elements are properly labeled so screen readers provide accurate information to blind users), high contrast modes (to accommodate users with low vision or color blindness), and keyboard navigation (keyboard shortcuts and navigational aids for users who cannot rely on a mouse or touch input).

Are you involved in defining and prioritizing product features? We’ll help you navigate the complexities of requirements for diverse user populations, examining subjects such as multilingual support (language options to cater to users from diverse linguistic backgrounds), customizable interfaces (enabling users to personalize their experience based on individual preferences), and gesture-based interaction (gesture-based controls, voice commands, and other interaction methods for users with physical disabilities).

Whether you’re a UI designer, product owner, software engineer, application architect, or simply someone interested in enhancing accessibility and usability in design, this talk will offer valuable perspectives and actionable takeaways.

About the Speaker:

Weslyn Rawlins is a seasoned people and culture leader, adept at driving transformative initiatives and fostering inclusive workplaces. With a background in program and project management, she’s honed skills in strategic communication, operations management, and cross-functional team leadership. During her tenure at a top fortune 500 company, she orchestrated multimillion-dollar business transformations and enhanced sales enablement. She has trained tech enthusiasts with Black Girls Code. As a DEI advocate and leader, Weslyn has overseen programs, expanded membership, and influenced enterprise-wide strategies to foster diversity, equity, and inclusion.