​The first Monday of every month in NYC is CryptoMondays Wall Street. December 1st, we're excited to host Special Guests CryptoMondays Wall Street — Year in Review Presented by Vault12, Power Women, NyXXt, Valmar Capital & Solidus Labs

LOOKING FORWARD LOOKING BACK

📅 December 1 \| 6:00–8:30 PM 📍 Sojourner Gallery, 178 Bleecker St, 2nd Floor, NYC Current Exihbition: Glistening Water artist Alena Ahrens invites viewers into a contemplative encounter with color, perception, and the quiet movement of time. Her paintings unfold like slow breaths—each layer of pigment, gradient, and gesture forming a rhythm that is less seen than felt. Drawing from both Color Field painting and the ritualistic processes of material transformation, Ahrens turns color into a vessel of reflection, a surface where memory and awareness meet.

We’re closing out the year with a special edition session: Looking Forward, Looking Back — the Web3 market recap + trend forecast that every founder, investor, and operator needs before the new year.

Special Guests

Wasim Ahmad: Co-Founder of Vault12

Chen Arad Co-Founder of Solidus Labs

Hosted By

Joe Cox & Sarah Pustilnik CryptoMondays Wall St

In Collaboration With Sojourner Gallery, NYC

We will follow our regular format: 6 - 7 PM: Hang, mingle, look at art and network 7 - 7:45 PM: Insights from CMWS Guests 7:45 - 8:30 PM: Network and chill ​ RSVP to lu.ma link for access

​Community Partner: Vault12 ​“If you don’t worry about crypto inheritance, nobody else will.” ​Vault12 safeguards your legacy—protecting and inheriting all your crypto assets, from Bitcoin to NFTs and digital collectibles. 🎁 Exclusive Gift: One year FREE subscription for Crypto Inheritance! Use code CMNYC25 at checkout. m​Learn more at Vault12.com

​Special Guest: Chen Arad Co-Founder of Solidus Labs Chen is passionate about turning complex issues into compelling stories that drive action and value. At Solidus, our story is about bridging traditional finance and the new digital economy by combating manipulation and helping digital asset businesses operate with less risk, increased transparency, and stronger credibility. We're proud to play a role in the even bigger story of blockchain and digital assets as they transform finance, make capital markets more accessible, inject liquidity into formerly illiquid assets, and introduce new levels of efficiency. ​ Featured Guest: Wasim Ahmad: Co-Founder of Vault12. Serial entrepreneur and co-founder with over 20 years of experience in innovative startups, currently focused on products at Vault12. Creative operator with 20+ years of executive-level startup experience scaling enterprise B2B2C companies and now launching a crypto-security company after running a successful private and public offering. Previously raised over $100M+ in funding at eight startups with five successful exits. Always looking at innovations such as AI, Blockchain, Crypto, and ZK for the future. Currently spearheading Product, Marketing, and Business Development at Vault12, ​Advising funds and open to board positions, co-founder, and CEO opportunities.

CryptoMondays Wall Street ​Host: Joe Cox ​​Head of Business Development at Valmar Capital Joe Cox leads business development at Valmar Capital, a digital assets multi-manager, multi-strategy platform combining emerging crypto talent with institutional-grade infrastructure and cutting-edge technology. As the host of CryptoMondays Wall Street, Joe brings thought leadership, community, and strategy to every conversation.

Special Guest Host: Sarah Pustilnik Sarah is a seasoned Venture Capitalist and Entrepreneur with an unyielding passion for media, tech, energy, innovation, and new ventures. Have experience in both the business and creative side of industry. Strong history and experience with some of the biggest players in Media, Wall Street, Tech, Private Equity, Families, Defense, Innovation, Healthcare, and Energy. Principal in a SFO and it’s financial and foundational efforts. A disrupter, traditionalist, as well as thought leader. Pride myself on relationships with co-workers, colleagues, and those in the community.

​About the Series ​CryptoMondays Wall Street bridges institutional finance and Web3. Since 2018, CryptoMondays has grown to 150,000+ members across 68 + cities, hosting global IRL meetups that connect investors, founders, and innovators. Thank you to our teams at NyXXt.co

Curating connection, culture & influence for the next generation of family office leaders.

At the crossroads of media, healthcare, energy, AI, fintech, blockchain, technology, and emerging markets, we bring together capital, community, and culture to shape the next era of innovation. THC Lawyers Focused, Experienced and Trusted Legal Counsel. At THC Lawyers, we are dedicated to guiding our clients toward achieving their objectives efficiently and effectively, leveraging our extensive expertise in commercial and financial litigation and capital markets, along with intellectual property matters. Our clients rely on us for cost-efficient resolutions to their legal challenges, trusting our proven track record of delivering strategic solutions. strategic solutions Remsen Partners connects visionary founders and operators with investors who want to build the extraordinary - focusing on luxury. ​Another exclusive, production powered by NFT VIP — connecting communities, brands, and ideas across every CryptoMondays stage and beyond. MedStartr is all about driving innovation further faster in healthcare. The goal of the myriad conversations we enable is to not only talk about innovation but to do things, to get involved, to create the future of medicine together. To this end, we created MedStartr.com, a crowdfunding platform designed for healthcare startups. It isn’t just for funding but for bringing patients, care team members, partners, pilots, and investors to the table for early-stage companies, non-profits, and people with innovative ideas.

​For partnership or brand integration inquiries, contact [email protected]

​By RSVPing, you agree to be added to our future correspondence and confirm your email is active and in good standing.

In this session, you'll discover how intentional relationships can become the launchpad for career growth. Learn how to build authentic connections, navigate strategic alliances, and leverage your network to unlock new opportunities, amplify your impact, and accelerate your leadership journey - especially in fast-moving industries like tech. Whether you're just starting out or stepping into executive roles, this talk will equip you with practical insights to turn conversations into catalysts.

Connection Pods accommodate up to 15 people. Please RSVP and arrive at least 5 minutes before the start time, at which point remaining spaces are open to standby attendees.

Hear talks from experts on the latest topics in AI, ML, and computer vision.

Date and Time

Oct 2 at 9 AM Pacific

Location

Virtual. Register for the Zoom.

The Hidden Order of Intelligent Systems: Complexity, Autonomy, and the Future of AI

As artificial intelligence systems grow more autonomous and integrated into our world, they also become harder to predict, control, and fully understand. This talk explores how complexity theory can help us make sense of these challenges, by revealing the hidden patterns that drive collective behavior, adaptation, and resilience in intelligent systems. From emergent coordination among autonomous agents to nonlinear feedback in real-world deployments, we’ll explore how order arises from chaos, and what that means for the next generation of AI. Along the way, we’ll draw connections to neuroscience, agentic AI, and distributed systems that offer fresh insights into designing multi-faceted AI systems.

About the Speaker

Ria Cheruvu is a Senior Trustworthy AI Architect at NVIDIA. She holds a master’s degree in data science from Harvard and teaches data science and ethical AI across global platforms. Ria is passionate about uncovering the hidden dynamics that shape intelligent systems—from natural networks to artificial ones.

Managing Medical Imaging Datasets: From Curation to Evaluation

High-quality data is the cornerstone of effective machine learning in healthcare. This talk presents practical strategies and emerging techniques for managing medical imaging datasets, from synthetic data generation and curation to evaluation and deployment.

We’ll begin by highlighting real-world case studies from leading researchers and practitioners who are reshaping medical imaging workflows through data-centric practices. The session will then transition into a hands-on tutorial using FiftyOne, the open-source platform for visual dataset inspection and model evaluation. Attendees will learn how to load, visualize, curate, and evaluate medical datasets across various imaging modalities.

Whether you're a researcher, clinician, or ML engineer, this talk will equip you with practical tools and insights to improve dataset quality, model reliability, and clinical impact.

About the Speaker

Paula Ramos has a PhD in Computer Vision and Machine Learning, with more than 20 years of experience in the technological field. She has been developing novel integrated engineering technologies, mainly in Computer Vision, robotics, and Machine Learning applied to agriculture, since the early 2000s in Colombia.

Building Agents That Learn: Managing Memory in AI Agents

In the rapidly evolving landscape of agentic systems, memory management has emerged as a key pillar for building intelligent, context-aware AI Agents. Different types of memory, such as short-term and long-term memory, play distinct roles in supporting an agent's functionality. In this talk, we will explore these types of memory, discuss challenges with managing agentic memory, and present practical solutions for building agentic systems that can learn from their past executions and personalize their interactions over time.

About the Speaker

Apoorva Joshi is a Data Scientist turned Developer Advocate, with over 7 years of experience applying machine learning to problems in domains such as cybersecurity and mental health. As an AI Developer Advocate at MongoDB, she now helps developers be successful at building AI applications through written content and hands-on workshops.

Human-Centered AI: Soft Skills That Make Visual AI Work in Manufacturing

Visual AI systems can spot defects and optimize workflows—but it’s people who train, deploy, and trust the results. This session explores the often-overlooked soft skills that make Visual AI implementations successful: communication, cross-functional collaboration, documentation habits, and on-the-floor leadership. Sheena Yap Chan shares practical strategies to reduce resistance to AI tools, improve adoption rates, and build inclusive teams where operators, engineers, and executives align. Attendees will leave with actionable techniques to drive smoother, people-first AI rollouts in manufacturing environments.

About the Speaker

Sheena Yap Chan is a Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author, leadership speaker and consultant who helps organizations develop confidence, communication, and collaboration skills that drive innovation and team performance—especially in high-tech, high-change industries. She’s worked with leaders across engineering, operations, and manufacturing to align people with digital transformation goals.

Hear talks from experts on the latest topics in AI, ML, and computer vision.

Date and Time

Oct 2 at 9 AM Pacific

Location

Virtual. Register for the Zoom.

The Hidden Order of Intelligent Systems: Complexity, Autonomy, and the Future of AI

As artificial intelligence systems grow more autonomous and integrated into our world, they also become harder to predict, control, and fully understand. This talk explores how complexity theory can help us make sense of these challenges, by revealing the hidden patterns that drive collective behavior, adaptation, and resilience in intelligent systems. From emergent coordination among autonomous agents to nonlinear feedback in real-world deployments, we’ll explore how order arises from chaos, and what that means for the next generation of AI. Along the way, we’ll draw connections to neuroscience, agentic AI, and distributed systems that offer fresh insights into designing multi-faceted AI systems.

About the Speaker

Ria Cheruvu is a Senior Trustworthy AI Architect at NVIDIA. She holds a master’s degree in data science from Harvard and teaches data science and ethical AI across global platforms. Ria is passionate about uncovering the hidden dynamics that shape intelligent systems—from natural networks to artificial ones.

Managing Medical Imaging Datasets: From Curation to Evaluation

High-quality data is the cornerstone of effective machine learning in healthcare. This talk presents practical strategies and emerging techniques for managing medical imaging datasets, from synthetic data generation and curation to evaluation and deployment.

We’ll begin by highlighting real-world case studies from leading researchers and practitioners who are reshaping medical imaging workflows through data-centric practices. The session will then transition into a hands-on tutorial using FiftyOne, the open-source platform for visual dataset inspection and model evaluation. Attendees will learn how to load, visualize, curate, and evaluate medical datasets across various imaging modalities.

Whether you're a researcher, clinician, or ML engineer, this talk will equip you with practical tools and insights to improve dataset quality, model reliability, and clinical impact.

About the Speaker

Paula Ramos has a PhD in Computer Vision and Machine Learning, with more than 20 years of experience in the technological field. She has been developing novel integrated engineering technologies, mainly in Computer Vision, robotics, and Machine Learning applied to agriculture, since the early 2000s in Colombia.

Building Agents That Learn: Managing Memory in AI Agents

In the rapidly evolving landscape of agentic systems, memory management has emerged as a key pillar for building intelligent, context-aware AI Agents. Different types of memory, such as short-term and long-term memory, play distinct roles in supporting an agent's functionality. In this talk, we will explore these types of memory, discuss challenges with managing agentic memory, and present practical solutions for building agentic systems that can learn from their past executions and personalize their interactions over time.

About the Speaker

Apoorva Joshi is a Data Scientist turned Developer Advocate, with over 7 years of experience applying machine learning to problems in domains such as cybersecurity and mental health. As an AI Developer Advocate at MongoDB, she now helps developers be successful at building AI applications through written content and hands-on workshops.

Human-Centered AI: Soft Skills That Make Visual AI Work in Manufacturing

Visual AI systems can spot defects and optimize workflows—but it’s people who train, deploy, and trust the results. This session explores the often-overlooked soft skills that make Visual AI implementations successful: communication, cross-functional collaboration, documentation habits, and on-the-floor leadership. Sheena Yap Chan shares practical strategies to reduce resistance to AI tools, improve adoption rates, and build inclusive teams where operators, engineers, and executives align. Attendees will leave with actionable techniques to drive smoother, people-first AI rollouts in manufacturing environments.

About the Speaker

Sheena Yap Chan is a Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author, leadership speaker and consultant who helps organizations develop confidence, communication, and collaboration skills that drive innovation and team performance—especially in high-tech, high-change industries. She’s worked with leaders across engineering, operations, and manufacturing to align people with digital transformation goals.

Hear talks from experts on the latest topics in AI, ML, and computer vision.

Date and Time

Oct 2 at 9 AM Pacific

Location

Virtual. Register for the Zoom.

The Hidden Order of Intelligent Systems: Complexity, Autonomy, and the Future of AI

As artificial intelligence systems grow more autonomous and integrated into our world, they also become harder to predict, control, and fully understand. This talk explores how complexity theory can help us make sense of these challenges, by revealing the hidden patterns that drive collective behavior, adaptation, and resilience in intelligent systems. From emergent coordination among autonomous agents to nonlinear feedback in real-world deployments, we’ll explore how order arises from chaos, and what that means for the next generation of AI. Along the way, we’ll draw connections to neuroscience, agentic AI, and distributed systems that offer fresh insights into designing multi-faceted AI systems.

About the Speaker

Ria Cheruvu is a Senior Trustworthy AI Architect at NVIDIA. She holds a master’s degree in data science from Harvard and teaches data science and ethical AI across global platforms. Ria is passionate about uncovering the hidden dynamics that shape intelligent systems—from natural networks to artificial ones.

Managing Medical Imaging Datasets: From Curation to Evaluation

High-quality data is the cornerstone of effective machine learning in healthcare. This talk presents practical strategies and emerging techniques for managing medical imaging datasets, from synthetic data generation and curation to evaluation and deployment.

We’ll begin by highlighting real-world case studies from leading researchers and practitioners who are reshaping medical imaging workflows through data-centric practices. The session will then transition into a hands-on tutorial using FiftyOne, the open-source platform for visual dataset inspection and model evaluation. Attendees will learn how to load, visualize, curate, and evaluate medical datasets across various imaging modalities.

Whether you're a researcher, clinician, or ML engineer, this talk will equip you with practical tools and insights to improve dataset quality, model reliability, and clinical impact.

About the Speaker

Paula Ramos has a PhD in Computer Vision and Machine Learning, with more than 20 years of experience in the technological field. She has been developing novel integrated engineering technologies, mainly in Computer Vision, robotics, and Machine Learning applied to agriculture, since the early 2000s in Colombia.

Building Agents That Learn: Managing Memory in AI Agents

In the rapidly evolving landscape of agentic systems, memory management has emerged as a key pillar for building intelligent, context-aware AI Agents. Different types of memory, such as short-term and long-term memory, play distinct roles in supporting an agent's functionality. In this talk, we will explore these types of memory, discuss challenges with managing agentic memory, and present practical solutions for building agentic systems that can learn from their past executions and personalize their interactions over time.

About the Speaker

Apoorva Joshi is a Data Scientist turned Developer Advocate, with over 7 years of experience applying machine learning to problems in domains such as cybersecurity and mental health. As an AI Developer Advocate at MongoDB, she now helps developers be successful at building AI applications through written content and hands-on workshops.

Human-Centered AI: Soft Skills That Make Visual AI Work in Manufacturing

Visual AI systems can spot defects and optimize workflows—but it’s people who train, deploy, and trust the results. This session explores the often-overlooked soft skills that make Visual AI implementations successful: communication, cross-functional collaboration, documentation habits, and on-the-floor leadership. Sheena Yap Chan shares practical strategies to reduce resistance to AI tools, improve adoption rates, and build inclusive teams where operators, engineers, and executives align. Attendees will leave with actionable techniques to drive smoother, people-first AI rollouts in manufacturing environments.

About the Speaker

Sheena Yap Chan is a Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author, leadership speaker and consultant who helps organizations develop confidence, communication, and collaboration skills that drive innovation and team performance—especially in high-tech, high-change industries. She’s worked with leaders across engineering, operations, and manufacturing to align people with digital transformation goals.

Hear talks from experts on the latest topics in AI, ML, and computer vision.

Date and Time

Oct 2 at 9 AM Pacific

Location

Virtual. Register for the Zoom.

The Hidden Order of Intelligent Systems: Complexity, Autonomy, and the Future of AI

As artificial intelligence systems grow more autonomous and integrated into our world, they also become harder to predict, control, and fully understand. This talk explores how complexity theory can help us make sense of these challenges, by revealing the hidden patterns that drive collective behavior, adaptation, and resilience in intelligent systems. From emergent coordination among autonomous agents to nonlinear feedback in real-world deployments, we’ll explore how order arises from chaos, and what that means for the next generation of AI. Along the way, we’ll draw connections to neuroscience, agentic AI, and distributed systems that offer fresh insights into designing multi-faceted AI systems.

About the Speaker

Ria Cheruvu is a Senior Trustworthy AI Architect at NVIDIA. She holds a master’s degree in data science from Harvard and teaches data science and ethical AI across global platforms. Ria is passionate about uncovering the hidden dynamics that shape intelligent systems—from natural networks to artificial ones.

Managing Medical Imaging Datasets: From Curation to Evaluation

High-quality data is the cornerstone of effective machine learning in healthcare. This talk presents practical strategies and emerging techniques for managing medical imaging datasets, from synthetic data generation and curation to evaluation and deployment.

We’ll begin by highlighting real-world case studies from leading researchers and practitioners who are reshaping medical imaging workflows through data-centric practices. The session will then transition into a hands-on tutorial using FiftyOne, the open-source platform for visual dataset inspection and model evaluation. Attendees will learn how to load, visualize, curate, and evaluate medical datasets across various imaging modalities.

Whether you're a researcher, clinician, or ML engineer, this talk will equip you with practical tools and insights to improve dataset quality, model reliability, and clinical impact.

About the Speaker

Paula Ramos has a PhD in Computer Vision and Machine Learning, with more than 20 years of experience in the technological field. She has been developing novel integrated engineering technologies, mainly in Computer Vision, robotics, and Machine Learning applied to agriculture, since the early 2000s in Colombia.

Building Agents That Learn: Managing Memory in AI Agents

In the rapidly evolving landscape of agentic systems, memory management has emerged as a key pillar for building intelligent, context-aware AI Agents. Different types of memory, such as short-term and long-term memory, play distinct roles in supporting an agent's functionality. In this talk, we will explore these types of memory, discuss challenges with managing agentic memory, and present practical solutions for building agentic systems that can learn from their past executions and personalize their interactions over time.

About the Speaker

Apoorva Joshi is a Data Scientist turned Developer Advocate, with over 7 years of experience applying machine learning to problems in domains such as cybersecurity and mental health. As an AI Developer Advocate at MongoDB, she now helps developers be successful at building AI applications through written content and hands-on workshops.

Human-Centered AI: Soft Skills That Make Visual AI Work in Manufacturing

Visual AI systems can spot defects and optimize workflows—but it’s people who train, deploy, and trust the results. This session explores the often-overlooked soft skills that make Visual AI implementations successful: communication, cross-functional collaboration, documentation habits, and on-the-floor leadership. Sheena Yap Chan shares practical strategies to reduce resistance to AI tools, improve adoption rates, and build inclusive teams where operators, engineers, and executives align. Attendees will leave with actionable techniques to drive smoother, people-first AI rollouts in manufacturing environments.

About the Speaker

Sheena Yap Chan is a Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author, leadership speaker and consultant who helps organizations develop confidence, communication, and collaboration skills that drive innovation and team performance—especially in high-tech, high-change industries. She’s worked with leaders across engineering, operations, and manufacturing to align people with digital transformation goals.

Hear talks from experts on the latest topics in AI, ML, and computer vision.

Date and Time

Oct 2 at 9 AM Pacific

Location

Virtual. Register for the Zoom.

The Hidden Order of Intelligent Systems: Complexity, Autonomy, and the Future of AI

As artificial intelligence systems grow more autonomous and integrated into our world, they also become harder to predict, control, and fully understand. This talk explores how complexity theory can help us make sense of these challenges, by revealing the hidden patterns that drive collective behavior, adaptation, and resilience in intelligent systems. From emergent coordination among autonomous agents to nonlinear feedback in real-world deployments, we’ll explore how order arises from chaos, and what that means for the next generation of AI. Along the way, we’ll draw connections to neuroscience, agentic AI, and distributed systems that offer fresh insights into designing multi-faceted AI systems.

About the Speaker

Ria Cheruvu is a Senior Trustworthy AI Architect at NVIDIA. She holds a master’s degree in data science from Harvard and teaches data science and ethical AI across global platforms. Ria is passionate about uncovering the hidden dynamics that shape intelligent systems—from natural networks to artificial ones.

Managing Medical Imaging Datasets: From Curation to Evaluation

High-quality data is the cornerstone of effective machine learning in healthcare. This talk presents practical strategies and emerging techniques for managing medical imaging datasets, from synthetic data generation and curation to evaluation and deployment.

We’ll begin by highlighting real-world case studies from leading researchers and practitioners who are reshaping medical imaging workflows through data-centric practices. The session will then transition into a hands-on tutorial using FiftyOne, the open-source platform for visual dataset inspection and model evaluation. Attendees will learn how to load, visualize, curate, and evaluate medical datasets across various imaging modalities.

Whether you're a researcher, clinician, or ML engineer, this talk will equip you with practical tools and insights to improve dataset quality, model reliability, and clinical impact.

About the Speaker

Paula Ramos has a PhD in Computer Vision and Machine Learning, with more than 20 years of experience in the technological field. She has been developing novel integrated engineering technologies, mainly in Computer Vision, robotics, and Machine Learning applied to agriculture, since the early 2000s in Colombia.

Building Agents That Learn: Managing Memory in AI Agents

In the rapidly evolving landscape of agentic systems, memory management has emerged as a key pillar for building intelligent, context-aware AI Agents. Different types of memory, such as short-term and long-term memory, play distinct roles in supporting an agent's functionality. In this talk, we will explore these types of memory, discuss challenges with managing agentic memory, and present practical solutions for building agentic systems that can learn from their past executions and personalize their interactions over time.

About the Speaker

Apoorva Joshi is a Data Scientist turned Developer Advocate, with over 7 years of experience applying machine learning to problems in domains such as cybersecurity and mental health. As an AI Developer Advocate at MongoDB, she now helps developers be successful at building AI applications through written content and hands-on workshops.

Human-Centered AI: Soft Skills That Make Visual AI Work in Manufacturing

Visual AI systems can spot defects and optimize workflows—but it’s people who train, deploy, and trust the results. This session explores the often-overlooked soft skills that make Visual AI implementations successful: communication, cross-functional collaboration, documentation habits, and on-the-floor leadership. Sheena Yap Chan shares practical strategies to reduce resistance to AI tools, improve adoption rates, and build inclusive teams where operators, engineers, and executives align. Attendees will leave with actionable techniques to drive smoother, people-first AI rollouts in manufacturing environments.

About the Speaker

Sheena Yap Chan is a Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author, leadership speaker and consultant who helps organizations develop confidence, communication, and collaboration skills that drive innovation and team performance—especially in high-tech, high-change industries. She’s worked with leaders across engineering, operations, and manufacturing to align people with digital transformation goals.

Hear talks from experts on the latest topics in AI, ML, and computer vision.

Date and Time

Oct 2 at 9 AM Pacific

Location

Virtual. Register for the Zoom.

The Hidden Order of Intelligent Systems: Complexity, Autonomy, and the Future of AI

As artificial intelligence systems grow more autonomous and integrated into our world, they also become harder to predict, control, and fully understand. This talk explores how complexity theory can help us make sense of these challenges, by revealing the hidden patterns that drive collective behavior, adaptation, and resilience in intelligent systems. From emergent coordination among autonomous agents to nonlinear feedback in real-world deployments, we’ll explore how order arises from chaos, and what that means for the next generation of AI. Along the way, we’ll draw connections to neuroscience, agentic AI, and distributed systems that offer fresh insights into designing multi-faceted AI systems.

About the Speaker

Ria Cheruvu is a Senior Trustworthy AI Architect at NVIDIA. She holds a master’s degree in data science from Harvard and teaches data science and ethical AI across global platforms. Ria is passionate about uncovering the hidden dynamics that shape intelligent systems—from natural networks to artificial ones.

Managing Medical Imaging Datasets: From Curation to Evaluation

High-quality data is the cornerstone of effective machine learning in healthcare. This talk presents practical strategies and emerging techniques for managing medical imaging datasets, from synthetic data generation and curation to evaluation and deployment.

We’ll begin by highlighting real-world case studies from leading researchers and practitioners who are reshaping medical imaging workflows through data-centric practices. The session will then transition into a hands-on tutorial using FiftyOne, the open-source platform for visual dataset inspection and model evaluation. Attendees will learn how to load, visualize, curate, and evaluate medical datasets across various imaging modalities.

Whether you're a researcher, clinician, or ML engineer, this talk will equip you with practical tools and insights to improve dataset quality, model reliability, and clinical impact.

About the Speaker

Paula Ramos has a PhD in Computer Vision and Machine Learning, with more than 20 years of experience in the technological field. She has been developing novel integrated engineering technologies, mainly in Computer Vision, robotics, and Machine Learning applied to agriculture, since the early 2000s in Colombia.

Building Agents That Learn: Managing Memory in AI Agents

In the rapidly evolving landscape of agentic systems, memory management has emerged as a key pillar for building intelligent, context-aware AI Agents. Different types of memory, such as short-term and long-term memory, play distinct roles in supporting an agent's functionality. In this talk, we will explore these types of memory, discuss challenges with managing agentic memory, and present practical solutions for building agentic systems that can learn from their past executions and personalize their interactions over time.

About the Speaker

Apoorva Joshi is a Data Scientist turned Developer Advocate, with over 7 years of experience applying machine learning to problems in domains such as cybersecurity and mental health. As an AI Developer Advocate at MongoDB, she now helps developers be successful at building AI applications through written content and hands-on workshops.

Human-Centered AI: Soft Skills That Make Visual AI Work in Manufacturing

Visual AI systems can spot defects and optimize workflows—but it’s people who train, deploy, and trust the results. This session explores the often-overlooked soft skills that make Visual AI implementations successful: communication, cross-functional collaboration, documentation habits, and on-the-floor leadership. Sheena Yap Chan shares practical strategies to reduce resistance to AI tools, improve adoption rates, and build inclusive teams where operators, engineers, and executives align. Attendees will leave with actionable techniques to drive smoother, people-first AI rollouts in manufacturing environments.

About the Speaker

Sheena Yap Chan is a Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author, leadership speaker and consultant who helps organizations develop confidence, communication, and collaboration skills that drive innovation and team performance—especially in high-tech, high-change industries. She’s worked with leaders across engineering, operations, and manufacturing to align people with digital transformation goals.

Hear talks from experts on the latest topics in AI, ML, and computer vision.

Date and Time

Oct 2 at 9 AM Pacific

Location

Virtual. Register for the Zoom.

The Hidden Order of Intelligent Systems: Complexity, Autonomy, and the Future of AI

As artificial intelligence systems grow more autonomous and integrated into our world, they also become harder to predict, control, and fully understand. This talk explores how complexity theory can help us make sense of these challenges, by revealing the hidden patterns that drive collective behavior, adaptation, and resilience in intelligent systems. From emergent coordination among autonomous agents to nonlinear feedback in real-world deployments, we’ll explore how order arises from chaos, and what that means for the next generation of AI. Along the way, we’ll draw connections to neuroscience, agentic AI, and distributed systems that offer fresh insights into designing multi-faceted AI systems.

About the Speaker

Ria Cheruvu is a Senior Trustworthy AI Architect at NVIDIA. She holds a master’s degree in data science from Harvard and teaches data science and ethical AI across global platforms. Ria is passionate about uncovering the hidden dynamics that shape intelligent systems—from natural networks to artificial ones.

Managing Medical Imaging Datasets: From Curation to Evaluation

High-quality data is the cornerstone of effective machine learning in healthcare. This talk presents practical strategies and emerging techniques for managing medical imaging datasets, from synthetic data generation and curation to evaluation and deployment.

We’ll begin by highlighting real-world case studies from leading researchers and practitioners who are reshaping medical imaging workflows through data-centric practices. The session will then transition into a hands-on tutorial using FiftyOne, the open-source platform for visual dataset inspection and model evaluation. Attendees will learn how to load, visualize, curate, and evaluate medical datasets across various imaging modalities.

Whether you're a researcher, clinician, or ML engineer, this talk will equip you with practical tools and insights to improve dataset quality, model reliability, and clinical impact.

About the Speaker

Paula Ramos has a PhD in Computer Vision and Machine Learning, with more than 20 years of experience in the technological field. She has been developing novel integrated engineering technologies, mainly in Computer Vision, robotics, and Machine Learning applied to agriculture, since the early 2000s in Colombia.

Building Agents That Learn: Managing Memory in AI Agents

In the rapidly evolving landscape of agentic systems, memory management has emerged as a key pillar for building intelligent, context-aware AI Agents. Different types of memory, such as short-term and long-term memory, play distinct roles in supporting an agent's functionality. In this talk, we will explore these types of memory, discuss challenges with managing agentic memory, and present practical solutions for building agentic systems that can learn from their past executions and personalize their interactions over time.

About the Speaker

Apoorva Joshi is a Data Scientist turned Developer Advocate, with over 7 years of experience applying machine learning to problems in domains such as cybersecurity and mental health. As an AI Developer Advocate at MongoDB, she now helps developers be successful at building AI applications through written content and hands-on workshops.

Human-Centered AI: Soft Skills That Make Visual AI Work in Manufacturing

Visual AI systems can spot defects and optimize workflows—but it’s people who train, deploy, and trust the results. This session explores the often-overlooked soft skills that make Visual AI implementations successful: communication, cross-functional collaboration, documentation habits, and on-the-floor leadership. Sheena Yap Chan shares practical strategies to reduce resistance to AI tools, improve adoption rates, and build inclusive teams where operators, engineers, and executives align. Attendees will leave with actionable techniques to drive smoother, people-first AI rollouts in manufacturing environments.

About the Speaker

Sheena Yap Chan is a Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author, leadership speaker and consultant who helps organizations develop confidence, communication, and collaboration skills that drive innovation and team performance—especially in high-tech, high-change industries. She’s worked with leaders across engineering, operations, and manufacturing to align people with digital transformation goals.

Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) is a powerful technique for building chatbots that answer questions using your own content, but it can struggle with context and accuracy on complex sites. In this session, we demonstrate how integrating GraphRAG into the open-source AllyCat chatbot leads to more accurate and context-aware responses by leveraging graph-based retrieval.

With the addition of GraphRAG, this chat delivers more consistent and reliable answers, reducing hallucinations and improving the quality of chatbot interactions—key requirements for effective customer support, documentation, and user engagement.

This talk will include a live demo and code walkthrough, showing how developers can quickly integrate this with their own applications and adapt it to meet specific needs. By using AllyCat, developers can provide instant, accurate support to users and continuously improve their services.

About the speaker Nyah Macklin is a Senior Developer Advocate at Neo4j, specializing in GraphRAG, knowledge graphs, and AI-driven developer tooling. An internationally recognized speaker, content creator, and advocate for ethical AI governance, Nyah has built high-impact technical communities and led initiatives that advance a critical understanding of AI and its use cases. They are also the Founder & CTO of Afros in AI, a technical community dedicated to showcasing the multifaceted nature of artificial intelligence. Beyond Nyah's technical expertise, Nyah has a background in government leadership and technology policy, having served as Chief of Staff in the U.S. state government, where they helped shape tech-driven legislative initiatives and equity-driven legislation. When not immersed in their work, Nyah cares about empowering, teaching, and tutoring engineers, live-streaming technical deep dives, and building open-source tools that make software more accessible, explainable, and community-driven.

About the AI Alliance The AI Alliance is an international community of researchers, developers and organizational leaders committed to support and enhance open innovation across the AI technology landscape to accelerate progress, improve safety, security and trust in AI, and maximize benefits to people and society everywhere. Members of the AI Alliance believe that open innovation is essential to develop and achieve safe and responsible AI that benefit society rather than benefit a select few big players.

Join the community Sign up for the AI Alliance newsletter (check the website footer) and join our new AI Alliance Discord.

Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) is a powerful technique for building chatbots that answer questions using your own content, but it can struggle with context and accuracy on complex sites. In this session, we demonstrate how integrating GraphRAG into the open-source AllyCat chatbot leads to more accurate and context-aware responses by leveraging graph-based retrieval.

With the addition of GraphRAG, this chat delivers more consistent and reliable answers, reducing hallucinations and improving the quality of chatbot interactions—key requirements for effective customer support, documentation, and user engagement.

This talk will include a live demo and code walkthrough, showing how developers can quickly integrate this with their own applications and adapt it to meet specific needs. By using AllyCat, developers can provide instant, accurate support to users and continuously improve their services.

About the speaker Nyah Macklin is a Senior Developer Advocate at Neo4j, specializing in GraphRAG, knowledge graphs, and AI-driven developer tooling. An internationally recognized speaker, content creator, and advocate for ethical AI governance, Nyah has built high-impact technical communities and led initiatives that advance a critical understanding of AI and its use cases. They are also the Founder & CTO of Afros in AI, a technical community dedicated to showcasing the multifaceted nature of artificial intelligence. Beyond Nyah's technical expertise, Nyah has a background in government leadership and technology policy, having served as Chief of Staff in the U.S. state government, where they helped shape tech-driven legislative initiatives and equity-driven legislation. When not immersed in their work, Nyah cares about empowering, teaching, and tutoring engineers, live-streaming technical deep dives, and building open-source tools that make software more accessible, explainable, and community-driven.

About the AI Alliance The AI Alliance is an international community of researchers, developers and organizational leaders committed to support and enhance open innovation across the AI technology landscape to accelerate progress, improve safety, security and trust in AI, and maximize benefits to people and society everywhere. Members of the AI Alliance believe that open innovation is essential to develop and achieve safe and responsible AI that benefit society rather than benefit a select few big players.

Join the community Sign up for the AI Alliance newsletter (check the website footer) and join our new AI Alliance Discord.

Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) is a powerful technique for building chatbots that answer questions using your own content, but it can struggle with context and accuracy on complex sites. In this session, we demonstrate how integrating GraphRAG into the open-source AllyCat chatbot leads to more accurate and context-aware responses by leveraging graph-based retrieval.

With the addition of GraphRAG, this chat delivers more consistent and reliable answers, reducing hallucinations and improving the quality of chatbot interactions—key requirements for effective customer support, documentation, and user engagement.

This talk will include a live demo and code walkthrough, showing how developers can quickly integrate this with their own applications and adapt it to meet specific needs. By using AllyCat, developers can provide instant, accurate support to users and continuously improve their services.

About the speaker Nyah Macklin is a Senior Developer Advocate at Neo4j, specializing in GraphRAG, knowledge graphs, and AI-driven developer tooling. An internationally recognized speaker, content creator, and advocate for ethical AI governance, Nyah has built high-impact technical communities and led initiatives that advance a critical understanding of AI and its use cases. They are also the Founder & CTO of Afros in AI, a technical community dedicated to showcasing the multifaceted nature of artificial intelligence. Beyond Nyah's technical expertise, Nyah has a background in government leadership and technology policy, having served as Chief of Staff in the U.S. state government, where they helped shape tech-driven legislative initiatives and equity-driven legislation. When not immersed in their work, Nyah cares about empowering, teaching, and tutoring engineers, live-streaming technical deep dives, and building open-source tools that make software more accessible, explainable, and community-driven.

About the AI Alliance The AI Alliance is an international community of researchers, developers and organizational leaders committed to support and enhance open innovation across the AI technology landscape to accelerate progress, improve safety, security and trust in AI, and maximize benefits to people and society everywhere. Members of the AI Alliance believe that open innovation is essential to develop and achieve safe and responsible AI that benefit society rather than benefit a select few big players.

Join the community Sign up for the AI Alliance newsletter (check the website footer) and join our new AI Alliance Discord.

Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) is a powerful technique for building chatbots that answer questions using your own content, but it can struggle with context and accuracy on complex sites. In this session, we demonstrate how integrating GraphRAG into the open-source AllyCat chatbot leads to more accurate and context-aware responses by leveraging graph-based retrieval.

With the addition of GraphRAG, this chat delivers more consistent and reliable answers, reducing hallucinations and improving the quality of chatbot interactions—key requirements for effective customer support, documentation, and user engagement.

This talk will include a live demo and code walkthrough, showing how developers can quickly integrate this with their own applications and adapt it to meet specific needs. By using AllyCat, developers can provide instant, accurate support to users and continuously improve their services.

About the speaker Nyah Macklin is a Senior Developer Advocate at Neo4j, specializing in GraphRAG, knowledge graphs, and AI-driven developer tooling. An internationally recognized speaker, content creator, and advocate for ethical AI governance, Nyah has built high-impact technical communities and led initiatives that advance a critical understanding of AI and its use cases. They are also the Founder & CTO of Afros in AI, a technical community dedicated to showcasing the multifaceted nature of artificial intelligence. Beyond Nyah's technical expertise, Nyah has a background in government leadership and technology policy, having served as Chief of Staff in the U.S. state government, where they helped shape tech-driven legislative initiatives and equity-driven legislation. When not immersed in their work, Nyah cares about empowering, teaching, and tutoring engineers, live-streaming technical deep dives, and building open-source tools that make software more accessible, explainable, and community-driven.

About the AI Alliance The AI Alliance is an international community of researchers, developers and organizational leaders committed to support and enhance open innovation across the AI technology landscape to accelerate progress, improve safety, security and trust in AI, and maximize benefits to people and society everywhere. Members of the AI Alliance believe that open innovation is essential to develop and achieve safe and responsible AI that benefit society rather than benefit a select few big players.

Join the community Sign up for the AI Alliance newsletter (check the website footer) and join our new AI Alliance Discord.

Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) is a powerful technique for building chatbots that answer questions using your own content, but it can struggle with context and accuracy on complex sites. In this session, we demonstrate how integrating GraphRAG into the open-source AllyCat chatbot leads to more accurate and context-aware responses by leveraging graph-based retrieval.

With the addition of GraphRAG, this chat delivers more consistent and reliable answers, reducing hallucinations and improving the quality of chatbot interactions—key requirements for effective customer support, documentation, and user engagement.

This talk will include a live demo and code walkthrough, showing how developers can quickly integrate this with their own applications and adapt it to meet specific needs. By using AllyCat, developers can provide instant, accurate support to users and continuously improve their services.

About the speaker Nyah Macklin is a Senior Developer Advocate at Neo4j, specializing in GraphRAG, knowledge graphs, and AI-driven developer tooling. An internationally recognized speaker, content creator, and advocate for ethical AI governance, Nyah has built high-impact technical communities and led initiatives that advance a critical understanding of AI and its use cases. They are also the Founder & CTO of Afros in AI, a technical community dedicated to showcasing the multifaceted nature of artificial intelligence. Beyond Nyah's technical expertise, Nyah has a background in government leadership and technology policy, having served as Chief of Staff in the U.S. state government, where they helped shape tech-driven legislative initiatives and equity-driven legislation. When not immersed in their work, Nyah cares about empowering, teaching, and tutoring engineers, live-streaming technical deep dives, and building open-source tools that make software more accessible, explainable, and community-driven.

About the AI Alliance The AI Alliance is an international community of researchers, developers and organizational leaders committed to support and enhance open innovation across the AI technology landscape to accelerate progress, improve safety, security and trust in AI, and maximize benefits to people and society everywhere. Members of the AI Alliance believe that open innovation is essential to develop and achieve safe and responsible AI that benefit society rather than benefit a select few big players.

Join the community Sign up for the AI Alliance newsletter (check the website footer) and join our new AI Alliance Discord.

Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) is a powerful technique for building chatbots that answer questions using your own content, but it can struggle with context and accuracy on complex sites. In this session, we demonstrate how integrating GraphRAG into the open-source AllyCat chatbot leads to more accurate and context-aware responses by leveraging graph-based retrieval.

With the addition of GraphRAG, this chat delivers more consistent and reliable answers, reducing hallucinations and improving the quality of chatbot interactions—key requirements for effective customer support, documentation, and user engagement.

This talk will include a live demo and code walkthrough, showing how developers can quickly integrate this with their own applications and adapt it to meet specific needs. By using AllyCat, developers can provide instant, accurate support to users and continuously improve their services.

About the speaker Nyah Macklin is a Senior Developer Advocate at Neo4j, specializing in GraphRAG, knowledge graphs, and AI-driven developer tooling. An internationally recognized speaker, content creator, and advocate for ethical AI governance, Nyah has built high-impact technical communities and led initiatives that advance a critical understanding of AI and its use cases. They are also the Founder & CTO of Afros in AI, a technical community dedicated to showcasing the multifaceted nature of artificial intelligence. Beyond Nyah's technical expertise, Nyah has a background in government leadership and technology policy, having served as Chief of Staff in the U.S. state government, where they helped shape tech-driven legislative initiatives and equity-driven legislation. When not immersed in their work, Nyah cares about empowering, teaching, and tutoring engineers, live-streaming technical deep dives, and building open-source tools that make software more accessible, explainable, and community-driven.

About the AI Alliance The AI Alliance is an international community of researchers, developers and organizational leaders committed to support and enhance open innovation across the AI technology landscape to accelerate progress, improve safety, security and trust in AI, and maximize benefits to people and society everywhere. Members of the AI Alliance believe that open innovation is essential to develop and achieve safe and responsible AI that benefit society rather than benefit a select few big players.

Join the community Sign up for the AI Alliance newsletter (check the website footer) and join our new AI Alliance Discord.

Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) is a powerful technique for building chatbots that answer questions using your own content, but it can struggle with context and accuracy on complex sites. In this session, we demonstrate how integrating GraphRAG into the open-source AllyCat chatbot leads to more accurate and context-aware responses by leveraging graph-based retrieval.

With the addition of GraphRAG, this chat delivers more consistent and reliable answers, reducing hallucinations and improving the quality of chatbot interactions—key requirements for effective customer support, documentation, and user engagement.

This talk will include a live demo and code walkthrough, showing how developers can quickly integrate this with their own applications and adapt it to meet specific needs. By using AllyCat, developers can provide instant, accurate support to users and continuously improve their services.

About the speaker Nyah Macklin is a Senior Developer Advocate at Neo4j, specializing in GraphRAG, knowledge graphs, and AI-driven developer tooling. An internationally recognized speaker, content creator, and advocate for ethical AI governance, Nyah has built high-impact technical communities and led initiatives that advance a critical understanding of AI and its use cases. They are also the Founder & CTO of Afros in AI, a technical community dedicated to showcasing the multifaceted nature of artificial intelligence. Beyond Nyah's technical expertise, Nyah has a background in government leadership and technology policy, having served as Chief of Staff in the U.S. state government, where they helped shape tech-driven legislative initiatives and equity-driven legislation. When not immersed in their work, Nyah cares about empowering, teaching, and tutoring engineers, live-streaming technical deep dives, and building open-source tools that make software more accessible, explainable, and community-driven.

About the AI Alliance The AI Alliance is an international community of researchers, developers and organizational leaders committed to support and enhance open innovation across the AI technology landscape to accelerate progress, improve safety, security and trust in AI, and maximize benefits to people and society everywhere. Members of the AI Alliance believe that open innovation is essential to develop and achieve safe and responsible AI that benefit society rather than benefit a select few big players.

Join the community Sign up for the AI Alliance newsletter (check the website footer) and join our new AI Alliance Discord.

The line between generic AI capabilities and truly transformative business applications often comes down to one thing: your data. While foundation models provide impressive general intelligence, they lack the specialized knowledge needed for domain-specific tasks that drive real business value. But how do you effectively bridge this gap? What's the difference between simply fine-tuning models versus using techniques like retrieval-augmented generation? And with constantly evolving models and technologies, how do you build systems that remain adaptable while still delivering consistent results? Whether you're in retail, healthcare, or transportation, understanding how to properly enrich, annotate, and leverage your proprietary data could be the difference between an AI project that fails and one that fundamentally transforms your business. Wendy Gonzalez is the CEO — and former COO — of Sama, a company leading the way in ethical AI by delivering accurate, human-annotated data while advancing economic opportunity in underserved communities. She joined Sama in 2015 and has been central to scaling both its global operations and its mission-driven business model, which has helped over 65,000 people lift themselves out of poverty through dignified digital work. With over 20 years of experience in the tech and data space, Wendy’s held leadership roles at EY, Capgemini, and Cycle30, where she built and managed high-performing teams across complex, global environments. Her leadership style blends operational excellence with deep purpose — ensuring that innovation doesn’t come at the expense of integrity. Wendy is also a vocal advocate for inclusive AI and sustainable impact, regularly speaking on how companies can balance cutting-edge technology with real-world responsibility. Duncan Curtis is the Senior Vice President of Generative AI at Sama, where he leads the development of AI-powered tools that are shaping the future of data annotation. With a background in product leadership and machine learning, Duncan has spent his career building scalable systems that bridge cutting-edge technology with real-world impact. Before joining Sama, he led teams at companies like Google, where he worked on large-scale personalization systems, and contributed to AI product strategy across multiple sectors. At Sama, he's focused on harnessing the power of generative AI to improve quality, speed, and efficiency — all while keeping human oversight and ethical practices at the core. Duncan brings a unique perspective to the AI space: one that’s grounded in technical expertise, but always oriented toward practical solutions and responsible innovation. In the episode, Richie, Wendy, and Duncan explore the importance of using specialized data with large language models, the role of data enrichment in improving AI accuracy, the balance between automation and human oversight, the significance of responsible AI practices, and much more. Links Mentioned in the Show: SamaConnect with WendyConnect with DuncanCourse: Generative AI ConceptsRelated Episode: Creating High Quality AI Applications with Theresa Parker & Sudhi Balan, Rocket SoftwareRegister for RADAR AI New to DataCamp? Learn on the go...

Send us a text In this powerhouse episode of Making Data Simple, we welcome Dave Martin—CEO, tech entrepreneur, investor coach to elite CEOs, and bestselling author of Mega Thinking: A Simple, Powerful Process to Think Smarter and Make Better Leadership Decisions. From Silicon Valley to boardrooms worldwide, Dave breaks down how top leaders think differently, make high-stakes decisions with clarity, and unlock their full leadership potential. Whether you’re scaling a startup or leading a Fortune 500, these are the insights that move the needle. ⏱️ Episode Breakdown 02:38 – Meet Dave Martin: From tech entrepreneur to investor coach—Dave’s leadership journey05:27 – Silicon Valley Secrets: What makes this innovation hub tick?08:17 – The Inception of Mega Thinking: Where breakthrough leadership strategies begin10:57 – Startups Unfiltered: What it really takes to succeed (and survive)14:00 – What is Mega Thinking?: The simple yet powerful framework to level up your leadership21:05 – Mega Thinking in Action: How top performers apply it daily24:07 – What Holds People Back?: The hidden barriers between you and your next big idea27:26 – Mega Thinking Summary: Your rapid-fire leadership playbook33:06 – Reminiscing IBM: Timeless leadership lessons from a tech giant34:28 – The Most Powerful Leaders: How they think differently—and why it works36:42 – Final Thoughts: Dave’s rapid-fire leadership advice you can apply today38:46 – How to Reach Dave Martin: Continue the conversation and go deeper🔗 Connect with Dave: LinkedIn 🌐 Website: megathinkingbook.com

MegaThinking #LeadershipUnlocked #ExecutiveMindset #ThinkSmarterLeadBetter #StartupSuccess #SiliconValleySecrets #BusinessInnovation #LeadershipDecisions #MakingDataSimple #CEOInsights #TechLeadership #PodcastPower

Want to be featured as a guest on Making Data Simple? Reach out to us at [email protected] and tell us why you should be next. The Making Data Simple Podcast is hosted by Al Martin, WW VP Technical Sales, IBM, where we explore trending technologies, business innovation, and leadership ... while keeping it simple & fun.

This event will be online and in-person. The speaker and YouTube live stream starts at 7:30 pm ET. In-person attendees may arrive as early as 7 pm ET.

Important note Google Maps currently incorrectly pins the location around the corner on Crosby Street. The entrance is not on Crosby. The entrance is on Spring Street, inside the Marc Jacobs International building. It is roughly halfway between Crosby and Lafayette, almost directly across Spring Street from the Chipotle restaurant.

Description Whether you are a product manager, engineer, or QA, change happens when people make it happen.

In this session, Asha Sachdeva and Kai Wong from Teladoc Health's Accessibility team will motivate you to champion digital accessibility through personal commitment, strategic action, and tools — no fancy job title needed. Discover practical strategies, including engineering-specific tips, to make a meaningful impact on accessibility within your team or organization.

Attendees will:

• Learn ways to build a network and gain credibility as an influential accessibility champion in tech.
• Gain technical and non-technical tips on driving accessibility change in your work and teams.
• Get motivated to integrate accessibility in software development.

Presenter bio Kai Wong (she/they), believes in the transformative power of accessible technology for a better world. At Teladoc Health, the global leader in health and whole person care, Kai is a Principal of Digital Accessibility, founder of Accessibility Champions for Change, and serves on the leadership board for their disability-focused Business Resource Group (BRG).

They are an inventor of a U.S. patent pending, a recipient of the 2021 DC FemTech Award, and hold certifications in accessibility, health education, and quality assurance. Dubbed a presenter who “could make stale bread interesting,” Kai's strategy for advancing accessibility is simple: make it fun and inspire action.

Asha Sachdeva is a seasoned senior manager of engineering with a specialization in accessibility, bringing over two decades of experience in leading cross-functional engineering teams to deliver high-quality, accessible, and user-centric digital products. With a strong passion for creating technology that empowers individuals of all abilities, Asha operates at the intersection of technical innovation and social responsibility.

Sasha leads a team of engineers and accessibility experts in developing solutions that adhere to accessibility standards such as WCAG, Section 508, and ADA. Sacha collaborates closely with product, design, and QA teams to integrate accessibility across every phase of the product development lifecycle, from ideation through to implementation and testing. Sacha has a Master’s degree in Computer Science.

Accessibility The presentation will have human captions [CC], not automatic captions. There will be an ASL interpreter.

For Aira Visual Interpreter access for the Blind and Low Vision community, download the Aira Explorer app on the Apple App Store or Google Play. For access in the physical space, the A11yNYC geofence should apply automatically.

To access the online webinar for audio description, use the A11yNYC Access Offer to call, or simply inform your Visual Interpreter that you'd like that offer applied when you connect.

Please let us know about any other accessibility requirements two weeks before the event.

Livestream YouTube link

Provided by Internet Society Accessibility SIG.

Location details The event is on the 4th floor. Everyone must be accompanied to the event on the 4th floor. Because everyone needs to be escorted, please arrive early or on time. When you enter the ground floor, a representative from A11yNYC will be there to provide elevator access.

Attendees can enter on the third floor and go up the staircase, or request accommodation to go directly to the 4th floor. Thanks to Ben Ogilvie for making this possible! Let us know if you're coming!

The building is near several transit stops:

6 train

• Spring Street (non-accessible stop): 100 feet
• Canal Street (accessible stop): 0.4 miles

NQRW trains

• Prince Street (non-accessible stop): 0.2 miles
• Canal Street (accessible stop): 0.3 miles

M1 / M55 Bus lines

• Broadway/Spring Street stop: 500 feet

Cabs and rideshares can let passengers out right near the building entrance

Accreditation All A11yNYC meetups are pre-approved for IAAP Continuing Accessibility Education Credits (CAEC).

Sponsors Thanks to AKQA, Deque, Evinced, Equal Entry, and Fable for sponsoring. Want to be a sponsor? Contact [email protected]

AGENDA 18.00 – 18:20 Meet & Greet

Sponsored and Hosted by iO Associates (Tech & Digital recruitment specialists), we bring you an evening of Data and AI.

18:20 - 19:10 Discovery Graphs by Alex Cole

Data discovery projects often reveal a chaotic and intricate data landscape—how can we untangle this mess and communicate it effectively? In this talk, I'll introduce graph databases and share how I've leveraged them to create interactive, structured visualizations of the data landscape. I'll demonstrate how these tools can highlight data lineage, manage complexity, and provide meaningful insights to stakeholders.

Alex Cole is a Lead Architect specializing in Data and AI. As a Databricks Solutions Architect Champion and leader of the Cognizant Databricks Community of Practice, Alex applies deep technical knowledge and creative problem-solving to his projects. He has made contributions to open-source projects, including Apache Commons, Databricks Labs, and the Unity Catalog—an open-source data governance tool. Alex holds multiple certifications in Data Engineering, Data Science, AI Engineering, and MLOps for both Azure and Databricks. He shares his insights and experiences on his blog at www.alexcole.net. Connect with Alex on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alexcole01/

19:10 - 19:40 Pizza, Drinks and Networking - thanks iO!

19:40 - 20:30 Data Culture Renaissance by Cayleigh O'Dwyer

Sharing the key components required to bridge the gap between people and the ever changing world of Data & AI.

As a Data Culture Revolutionist with over 10 years’ experience in the Data Strategy & Culture environment, I am a passionate advocate for data-driven decision-making. Focussed on driving data maturity, bridging the worlds of data and business, I bring thought leadership and industry expertise and my journey involves not only visualizing transformation but also executing it effectively. With a keen eye for design thinking and innovation, I thrive in diverse environments, fostering collaboration and nurturing a data-driven culture. Let’s revolutionize data together.

20:30 on - networking/pub

-------------- About iO Associates - https://www.ioassociates.co.uk/ As Tech & Digital recruitment specialists, it has always been a key part of the ethos at iO Associates to give back to the communities in which we serve. iO Associates are therefore keen supporters and organisers of meetup groups right across the UK, providing opportunities for knowledge sharing and building connections. ---- Photos We ask that you do NOT take photos at this meetup. We will invite people to be included in a group photo/s during the event. Speakers will let you know if it's okay to photograph their presentation (excluding other attendees). You may see organisers taking photos during the talks. These will be of speakers, if they have agreed to this, and will not include faces of attendees.