Speaker Websites

Jason Kotecki is an artist, author, and professional speaker. He is a partner in crime with his wife, Kim, on a crusade to annihilate Adultitis. Jason uses paint as his medium of choice for art. He helps organizations beat burnout and become more innovative by breaking rules that don’t exist. Jason is also the author of a children's book, 'The Penguin Who Flew.' He aims to inspire, entertain, and encourage people to rekindle their childlike spirit and create the life they were made for.

David LaMotte is a songwriter, speaker, and author. As a musician, he has performed over 3500 concerts and released thirteen full-length CDs, touring extensively. His music has been lauded for its challenging lyrics, unusual tunings, and homage to folk tradition. He has been a featured performer at top-tier music festivals and has presented at the PC(USA) Mission to the United Nations, peace conferences, and baccalaureates. David suspended his music career to study International Relations, Peace and Conflict Resolution. He has published four books, including two illustrated children’s books. He founded Senderos, a non-profit organization, and is a consultant on Peace and Justice for the North Carolina Council of Churches. He is also part of the musical trio Abraham Jam.

Anna David is a New York Times Bestselling author of eight books. She is the founder of Legacy Launch Pad, a boutique book publishing company. As a speaker, she has presented at colleges, TEDx events, and shared the stage with Tony Robbins. Anna is also a journalist whose work has appeared in publications such as the New York Times, Time, LA Times, Vanity Fair, Esquire, and Playboy. She has been featured on television shows like Today, Access Hollywood, and Good Morning America, and hosts the podcasts Behind the Book Cover and Recovery Rocks.

Speed-friending: speed-dating but for friends. A grownup show & tell. An adult recital. Some of the offerings of Mac & Cheese Productions℠, a lifestyle business that models and offers positive adulting and increases life fulfillment and ease through building connection: to others, to opportunities, and to self. You know all those things that are THE WORST? Small talk. Networking. Dating. Cleaning. Sales. Self-Promotion. Public speaking. Pricing. Saying no. Setting boundaries. Making asks. To Do Lists. Going places solo. Sticking out. Taking risks. Doing things that scare you. Doing things you're not good at. Doing things you have no business doing. Doing things you don't want to do but have to. Death. Reply All misuse… Saya (Sigh-Uh, like Maya) Hillman lives to make those things less worse. To make adulthood enjoyable. The poster child for living an idyllic, perfect fitting-life, Saya inspires groups and individuals to take charge of their lives and to learn, grow, and become even more delicious versions of themselves. Through events, courses, keynotes, workplace facilitation, products, consulting, writings, and community, Mac & Cheese helps adults become the best versions of themselves, redefine “success,” and design their lives to best fit themselves — to design their Life of Yes℠. An Evanston, Illinois native, Montessori and Boston College graduate, Chicago Girlie 4 Life (even when she doesn’t live there), and Winston-Salem resident, Saya’s a sad, mute wallflower turned joyful, self-assured wildflower. One of Chicago Magazine’s Top 20 Singles, Chicago Tribune’s Top 100 Innovators, and Brazen Careerist’s Top 20 Professionals to Watch, she’s been featured in Forbes and the New York Times, and is a TEDx speaker and an in-progress (fingers-crossed) memoirist. She’s traveled to all 50 states and 21 countries, fostered 18 puppies, met her husband via one of her own offerings, and is responsible for 7 3/4 couples (ask her about the 3/4).

Sandor is a C++ developer with an enthusiasm for Python. Before becoming a software developer, Sandor worked in operations as a DBA. Sandor enjoys coding and high-quality code. When not traveling with family or baking, Sandor reads and writes. Sandor writes about books, Stoic philosophy, and C++. Sandor is the creator of Daily C++ Interview.

Dylan Beattie is a software development consultant, conference speaker, and musician based in London, UK. He is the founder and director of Ursatile, an independent consultancy specializing in software development, communications training, and technology strategy. Dylan is the creator of the Rockstar programming language and a Microsoft MVP for Visual Studio and Development Technologies. He designs software, builds websites, and makes music. He also created The Linebreakers, a tech comedy alt-punk disco party rock'n'roll band. Dylan speaks at technology conferences, meetups, and community events all over the world.

Si Jobling is a podcaster, speaker, leader, and organiser with 30 years of experience in digital products. He is an experienced leader in tech, having worked with international brands like Rightmove, ASOS, Alibaba Group, UEFA and Yahoo!. Si is currently an Engineering Manager at Rightmove. He has also created community and podcast products around shared passions such as House Finesse, Multipack and On The Side. Since 2016, Si has focused on leading others in tech, adopting Agile principles and methodologies. He speaks at conferences and meetups and coaches others.

Graham Allcott is the founder of Think Productive and the author of 6 books, including How to be a Productivity Ninja & KIND. He is a keynote speaker on Kindness at work & productivity. He sends out an email every Sunday designed to fire you up for the week ahead. He can be contacted via the contact form on his website. He also has an AI coach called AskGraham.AI.

Neil Hughes is a comedian and mental health public speaker. He has been public speaking for over twenty years, performing for audiences ranging from two to two thousand people at various events. He speaks entertainingly on many topics, from mental health to building a satisfying career. Neil developed software since the 1980s. He is also available as a comedy consultant to help add jokes to speeches. Neil is a qualified physicist. He is based in the northwest of England and travels all over the UK.

Bonnie Simon is an Engineer who loves to build, finding solutions in this ever expanding fabric of space-time. Bonnie likes to Listen, Think and Create. Bonnie designed and developed the website.

Michael Ayles is an automotive, electronics, and software engineer. He designs engine control units and the tools that design them. He has 7 years of experience shipping production automotive hardware and firmware. Currently, he is exploring how far you can push LLMs to automate hardware development. He has developed 3 ECUs and has 10+ years of experience. His work has resulted in 28.5M+ miles driven.

Ron Darbouze is a strategic finance advisor who helps business owners gain financial clarity and scale with confidence through his company, Rock Finance. With nearly 20 years of experience in corporate finance and real estate, he focuses on investing in real estate projects and businesses that strengthen communities. He is passionate about faith, family, and fitness. Ron lives in Austin, Texas with his wife, Charrisse, and their three children. He enjoys spending time in the gym, attending church, and playing games with his kids. He delivers keynotes that empower mid-career professionals.

Adrian Kosmaczewski is a software expert with over 29 years of experience, currently working as Senior Architect for Red Hat. He is a published author, trainer, and speaker. He has written many books about software development and has shipped cloud, mobile, and desktop apps since 1996. Adrian holds a Master in Information Technology from the University of Liverpool. He is the co-creator of De Programmatica Ipsum, a monthly publication about the impact of software in society. He has been writing on the web since 1996, and blogging since 2004. He updates his personal blog every Friday.

Joran Quinten is a web development enthusiast and expert with a background in software engineering. He is passionate about getting people to love technology and getting technology to play nice. Joran is a developer, mentor, speaker, and published author. He has years of experience working with various web technologies and providing web development solutions to clients and businesses. Joran shares his thoughts and insights on web development through articles, tutorials, and talks.

Ben Koehler is the founder of Furukama's Blog. He is a speaker and coder who writes about web development, AI, and related topics. He can be found on GitHub, X, Bluesky, and LinkedIn. His blog posts cover subjects such as AI models, the future of apps, and the impact of AI on humanity.

Michael is a designer, developer, and writer. He is adventuring with family, writing this and that, and designing, coding & translating stuff from Villarrica, Chile. His online handle is michaelwalsh and mw.

Pawel Brodzinski focuses on leadership in technology. His blog covers topics related to running a technology business, including product management, agile and lean methodologies, leadership, and organizational design. He writes about effective teams, organizational culture, Lean & Agile, and understanding work in the context of technology. He also writes about early-stage product development and the startup ecosystem on Pre-Pre-Seed Substack. Pawel is the Chief Cook and Bottle-Washer at Lunar Logic, a company with no managers. He is also a conference speaker, academic lecturer, and mentor.

Marc Littlemore is an Engineering Manager at n8n. He focuses on building diverse and inclusive software engineering teams. He helps teams to build quality software applications whilst not being in the same office. Marc is a veteran software engineer who started programming in the early 80s. He has worked in the video games industry for almost 20 years and later at the BBC, building their gaming APIs and BBC Account. He transitioned into technical leadership, focusing on creating a culture of inclusion and psychological safety. Marc writes about software development, JavaScript testing, remote working, and technical leadership. He also enjoys music and helps his wife with her writing career.

Punkto is a computer monkey who has primarily worked as a sysadmin. They have earned professional certifications, but believe real-world skills are more important. Proof of their abilities can be found on their blog, in their talks, and in the services they run. Punkto has used various names online and in person, but is now consolidating everything under the punkto.org moniker. They enjoy writing, sometimes on technical topics, which can be found on their blog. They also enjoy public speaking, usually on technical topics, and speaking engagements can be found on their website.

Peter Knox is the VP, Head of Marketing, and Client Experience Director at BookHighlight, a book marketing and sales agency based in Brooklyn, New York. He guides authors from proposal through publication and beyond. Peter is driven by a passion for connecting books to readers. Prior to BookHighlight, Peter was the Senior Marketing Manager leading the trade business book group at Wiley for almost fourteen years. His publishing career began at Washington College, where he served as Student Director of the Literary House Press and was awarded the Haddock Prize for Publishing Excellence. He enjoys traveling, taking photos, watching movies, and attending concerts and sporting events.

Eric Melchor is the Founder of 3rd Space Bucharest, happy hour-style networking events that bring people together in a fun way combined with lightning talks. He is an adventurous connector, creative strategist, and dad to two incredible kids. Born in Houston and now living in Romania, Eric has built his life around courage, curiosity, and community. He launches grassroots fitness programs for kids and hosts cocktail parties in Bucharest. Eric is committed to living fully, raising kind and curious children, developing ideas that ignite joy, and serving as a catalyst for authentic human connection. He wants people to feel more seen, more energized, and less alone in this world.

Ulysse (born Benjamin) is a software engineer, game developer, writer, and video maker. His website explores topics such as game development, computer graphics, modern culture, productivity, rationality, software, and Mandarin. He is interested in collaboration and open to discussing work opportunities. He can be found on YouTube and Twitter, and welcomes questions and conversation via email.

Oleg Kagan is an author, editor, speaker, writing coach, and librarian. He founded and serves as a Contributing Editor for the EveryLibrary Medium Magazine. His articles there have received over 250,000 views. As a speaker, Oleg has presented on literary and library-related topics. He has worked at libraries in the greater Los Angeles area for the past two decades, currently coordinating community engagement for one of the largest library systems in the United States. He is on the Advisory Board of EveryLibrary and the creative consultancy Catalyst Muse. He is also the author of Inspiring Library Stories: Tales of Kindness, Connection, and Community Impact.

Roberto Aley is a Colombian citizen living in Costa Rica. He is a programmer with almost 20 years of experience. He enjoys working in low level programming and reverse engineering x86 systems. In his spare time, he likes to play music, learn languages and photography. He can be contacted via Twitter.