Cincinnati WITCON 2026
Description
WITCON 2026: Celebrating 10 Years of Community, Connection, and Impact
For ten years, getWITit has been bringing people together to build stronger, more inclusive, and sustainable technology communities. In 2026, WITCON returns to Cincinnati to celebrate a decade of progress while looking ahead to the future of technology, leadership, and belonging.
WITCON is a one-day conference designed for women, nonbinary people in tech, and allies who are committed to creating workplaces where everyone can thrive. More than just a technology conference, WITCON is a community-driven experience that brings together professionals across all career stages and disciplines to learn, connect, and grow.
Throughout the day, attendees will engage with thought-provoking keynote speakers, expert-led breakout sessions, interactive discussions, and meaningful networking opportunities. Sessions will explore topics spanning technology, cybersecurity, AI, data, software development, infrastructure, product management, leadership, career growth, and building inclusive cultures that drive innovation.
What makes WITCON special is the people. You'll join a vibrant community of technologists, leaders, advocates, and changemakers who believe that diverse perspectives create stronger teams, better solutions, and a more sustainable future for our industry.
Why Attend?
Gain practical insights from industry leaders and innovators
Learn strategies to advance your career, leadership skills, and technical expertise
Build meaningful connections with professionals across the technology ecosystem
Discover new ideas and perspectives shaping the future of work and technology
Celebrate a decade of impact and help shape what's next for our tech community
Whether you're an emerging professional, experienced leader, individual contributor, executive, student, or ally, WITCON offers valuable opportunities to learn, be inspired, and connect with others who are passionate about technology and creating positive change.
Join us as we celebrate 10 years of community, champion the voices shaping our industry, and continue building a more inclusive future in technology—together.
Agenda
- 9:00 am - 10:00 am
🌟Elizabeth Tolia
- 10:15 am - 11:00 am
Personal Productivity to Enterprise Scalability: A Real-World AI Case Study - Sandy Steiger, Alyssa Stickley, Anita Barala and Bernie Lawson
📍 Main Ballroom 🎤 Sandy Steiger, Alyssa Stickley, Anita Barala and Bernie Lawson ✨AI experimentation is easy. Building AI that actually works across an enterprise? That’s where things get interesting. In this session, Lithko Contracting shares our journey from using AI to make individuals more productive to building a reusable foundation that can scale AI across the business. We’ll share what we’re building, why we made the architecture decisions we did, and what we’ve learned along the way. More importantly, we’ll talk about the messy stuff: balancing speed with scalability, figuring out when to buy versus build, and laying the right foundation while everyone is asking, “Can’t we just go faster?” This isn’t a story about having enterprise AI figured out - it’s a real-world look at what we’re trying, what we’re learning, and how we’re building for where we want to go.
- 10:15 am - 11:00 am
IT Executive to Enterprise Leader – Lessons Learned the Hard Way - Donna Peters
📍 Meeting Room 2/3 🎤 Donna Peters ✨ What happens when the skills that made you successful are no longer enough to take you to the next level? In this candid and practical session, you will hear lessons learned transitioning from technology leadership to enterprise leadership. Through personal stories, leadership failures, and career-defining moments, attendees will learn how to move beyond functional expertise, build influence, think enterprise wide and leader with greater impact.
- 10:15 am - 11:00 am
From Skeptics to Believers: The Human Side of AI Adoption - Shannon Lewandowski and Angie Robey
📍 Meeting Room 4/5 🎤 Shannon Lewandowski and Angie Robey ✨ How does a team go from AI skepticism to AI fluency? Shannon Lewandowski and Angie Robey of Ingage Partners share the inside story: an AI policy built on permission, structured room for curiosity, and community learning through book clubs and hackathons that turned skeptics into believers. Leave with a practical playbook for building a trust-driven AI culture, and a case for why your most human skills are about to matter more, not less.
- 10:15 am - 11:00 am
Breathe Better. Lead Better. - Sicari Harned
📍 Meeting Room 7 🎤 Sicari Harned ✨ You know how to optimize your technology. But what about the system running it all... YOU? In tech, being “always on” can feel like part of the job. But constantly pushing through stress can impact focus, productivity, decision-making, and recovery. Your breath can be a powerful tool for changing your state in real time. In this interactive session, you’ll learn how functional breathing can support focus, resilience, and performance, along with practical techniques you can use during high-pressure moments, from presentations and difficult conversations to back-to-back meetings and mental overload. You’ll experience the practices firsthand and leave with simple tools you can immediately bring into your workday. Because sustainable performance isn’t about pushing harder. Sometimes, it starts with breathing differently.
- 10:15 am - 11:00 am
Agile Business Analyst: Thriving in the Modern Development Environment. - Kelsey Apple
📍 Meeting Room 8 🎤 Kelsey Apple ✨ The role of the Business Analyst continues to evolve as organizations increasingly adopt Agile methodologies to deliver value faster and respond to changing market demands. This session explores the critical transition from traditional waterfall approaches to Agile frameworks, specifically focusing on how Business Analysts can not only adapt but excel in these dynamic environments. Whether you're a seasoned Business Analyst preparing for organizational change or already working in Agile environments seeking to enhance your effectiveness, this session provides actionable strategies for professional growth and team contribution.
- 10:15 am - 11:00 am
My Well-Rounded Career: Reimagining Growth Beyond the Ladder - Gayathri Rajender
📍 Meeting Room 9 🎤 Gayathri Rajender ✨ The traditional career narrative demands constant upward movement. But in this relentless climb, are we growing holistically, or just burning out? This talk challenges the assumption of infinite professional scaling. We will explore whether standard advancement truly develops us and enriches our environments. By asking ""How much growth is enough?"", this session offers a fresh framework to shift from endless vertical chasing to sustainable, multi-dimensional success.
- 10:15 am - 11:00 am
The Abysmal State of Software Security - Dave Hatter
📍 The Learning Center 🎤 Dave Hatter ✨ From the SolarWinds breach to ransomware shutdowns of hospitals and automotive giants, software supply chain attacks are causing billions in damages and threatening national security. Meanwhile, the software we depend on is increasingly assembled from third-party and open-source components that organizations often can't even inventory, much less let alone secure.
- 11:15 am - 12:00 pm
From Channel to Changemakers - Women in the Tech Industry - Sarah Schlueter and Emily Jackson
📍 Main Ballroom 🎤 Sarah Schlueter and Emily Jackson ✨ Our presentation is a career-focused overview of the B2B tech channel industry, designed to help young professionals understand how the "tech channel" works, where the opportunities are, and how to position themselves for long-term career growth and entrepreneurship.
- 11:15 am - 12:00 pm
Leading Through the AI Hype Cycle - Sarah Trimble-Oliver and Jill Campbell
📍 Meeting Room 2/3 🎤 Sarah Trimble-Oliver and Jill Campbell ✨ AI is driving urgency across every organization—but for many teams, the reality doesn’t match the promise. Leaders are being asked to move quickly, invest aggressively, and deliver results while navigating unclear use cases, unproven tools, and rapidly shifting expectations. This is the AI hype cycle in action: early excitement leads to inflated expectations, followed by stalled pilots, unclear ROI, and growing skepticism. Many organizations are already experiencing this shift as AI initiatives struggle to scale beyond experimentation or fail to deliver meaningful business value. This session takes a practical, operator-level view of what it means to lead through that cycle. Rather than focusing on theory, it breaks down what actually happens inside organizations—why pilots fail, how weak data foundations limit progress, where governance breaks down, and why “AI projects” often stall instead of becoming real capabilities. The goal isn’t to slow down innovation—it’s to lead it more effectively. The organizations that succeed are not the ones that chase every trend, but the ones that bring discipline to adoption: aligning AI to real problems, strengthening data and governance foundations, and deliberately moving from experimentation to operational value.
- 11:15 am - 11:30 am
⚡Your IT Experience Is Your Superpower: Breaking into Cybersecurity - Mark Dargin
📍 Meeting Room 4/5 🎤Mark Dargin ✨ Thinking about moving from traditional IT into cybersecurity? You may already have more security experience than you realize. This session will explore how to recognize and leverage your existing IT skills—from networking and systems to cloud, programming, and IT project management—to build a successful cybersecurity career. Attendees will leave with practical strategies for identifying cybersecurity career paths, closing knowledge gaps, building credibility, and positioning their existing experience for new opportunities in cybersecurity.
- 11:45 am - 12:00 pm
⚡Experience Is the New Competitive Advantage: Thriving in the AI Era - Jenna Marino
📍 Meeting Room 4/5 🎤Jenna Marino ✨Artificial intelligence has transformed how we work, but it hasn't replaced the need for human judgment. In many ways, it has made experience more valuable than ever. As a designer whose career began before computers, the internet, and AI became everyday tools, I've had to reinvent my process through every major technological shift—from hand-drawn layouts to enterprise UX at Salesforce, civic innovation projects, startup consulting, and AI-assisted strategy today. The tools have changed dramatically, but the core skill has remained the same: identifying the right problem before rushing to solve it. This session explores why seasoned professionals have an unexpected advantage in the age of AI. We'll discuss how decades of pattern recognition, stakeholder management, customer empathy, and strategic thinking enable experienced leaders to use AI as a force multiplier rather than a replacement. Attendees will leave with a practical framework for combining timeless problem-solving skills with modern AI tools to deliver greater impact, lead through change, and remain indispensable in an evolving workplace.
- 11:15 am - 12:00 pm
Beyond the LMS: Leading Enterprise Learning Transformation - Talya Flowers
📍 Meeting Room 7 🎤 Talya Flowers ✨ Learning & Development is evolving beyond course design. As organizations adopt enterprise learning technologies, AI, and workflow automation, L&D professionals are increasingly partnering with IT to solve complex business challenges. In this session, I'll share lessons learned from leading an enterprise LMS implementation and how those experiences led to redesigning and automating learning operations. Attendees will learn practical strategies for strengthening IT partnerships, improving business processes, and leveraging technology to create more efficient, scalable learning organizations.
- 11:15 am - 12:00 pm
Strengthen Your Speaking Skills - Sammie Walker Herrera
📍 Meeting Room 8 🎤 Sammie Walker Herrera ✨ If you’re aspiring to higher levels of leadership but find communication and confidence to be barriers, this workshop is for you. In this interactive session, Sammie Walker Herrera will guide attendees to strengthen their public speaking skills using a proven speaking structure and thoughtful feedback. The goal is to empower attendees to build authentic connections through their voice, transforming speaking stress into confidence. This fun, non-judgmental space will nurture creativity, inclusivity, and personal growth, helping participants leave as more impactful speakers ready to foster stronger relationships.
- 11:15 am - 12:00 pm
AI is Changing What We Build—and How We Assure Quality - Wanda Hayes
📍 Meeting Room 9 🎤 Wanda Hayes ✨ This session explores our ongoing journey toward Enterprise AI Quality Engineering and the key considerations along the way. We'll examine how traditional testing expands to include non-deterministic AI evaluation, what this means for testing AI solutions, and how existing engineering roles and skills may evolve. We'll also share the challenges, lessons learned, and considerations around people, processes, tools and technology as organizations work toward building a scalable AI Quality Engineering capability.
- 11:15 am - 12:00 pm
The AI-Native SDLC: Building Custom Enterprise Software at the Speed of Intelligence - Audrey Ronis-Tobin and John Kitson
📍 The Learning Center 🎤 Audrey Ronis-Tobin and John Kitson ✨ Building custom enterprise applications no longer requires massive engineering teams or multi-year development cycles. The rise of agentic AI and orchestrated intelligence has fundamentally redefined the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC), enabling organizations to build purpose-built, cloud-native platforms faster and more efficiently than ever before. In this session, we will break down the emerging and highly dynamic AI-Native Product Engineering Process as it is evolving today. This is a modern framework that pairs a Lean Engineering Pod (Product Manager, System Architect, Agentic AI Developer, and UI/UX Designer) with an integrated SDLC Platform. You will learn how dedicated AI agents - such as Spec Writers, Data Schema Architects, Full-Stack Developers, and Code Reviewers - work together to accelerate delivery, facilitate reliable outcomes with spec-driven development, and automate quality control.
- 12:30 pm - 1:15 pm
🌟P.I.V.O.T. Like a B.O.S.S. - La'Shaunda Ewing
📍 Main Ballroom 🎤 La'Shaunda Ewing ✨In a world that often pressures women to conform, this interactive session empowers participants to embrace their authentic selves while mastering the art of the P.I.V.O.T., a powerful strategy for navigating change, challenges, and career transitions. Designed for leaders across corporate, academic, entrepreneurial, and community spaces, this session combines real-world strategies, faith-based principles, and engaging discussion to help attendees align their goals with their values, develop a resilient pivot mindset, and confidently lead through uncertainty. Participants will leave inspired and equipped to elevate, shift, and walk boldly into their next season with purpose, power, and authenticity.
- 1:30 pm - 2:15 pm
AI Governance Is Not an AI Problem - Afrooz Kharazmi, Nicole Beckwith, Emily Morgan, Kelsey Dybvad
📍 Main Ballroom 🎤 Afrooz Kharazmi, Nicole Beckwith, Emily Morgan, Kelsey Dybvad ✨ AI Governance Is Not an AI Problem: It’s an Operating Model Problem. Organizations are rushing to adopt AI, but many are approaching governance as a policy or compliance exercise. The real challenge is operational: Who owns the AI? Who makes decisions? What happens when something goes wrong? How does it move from experimentation into the organization’s actual technology and business processes?
- 1:30 pm - 2:15 pm
Love, Lies & Livestock: How Cybercriminals Industrialized Trust - Jax Ray
📍 Meeting Room 2/3 🎤 Jax Ray ✨ Modern cyberattacks do not always begin with malware or stolen credentials. Sometimes, they begin with a conversation. This presentation explores how cybercriminals use social engineering, OSINT, cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence, and human psychology to manufacture trust and exploit victims. Using “pig butchering” schemes as a case study, the session examines how organized crime has industrialized deception, why even technically savvy people remain vulnerable, and how AI is making these attacks more convincing and scalable. The key takeaway is that trust itself has become part of the modern attack surface.
- 1:30 pm - 2:15 pm
Cybersecurity Isn’t an IT Problem: Making Cyber Risk a Leadership Conversation - Kara Holland
📍 Meeting Room 2/3 🎤 Kara Holland ✨ Cybersecurity isn't just an IT issue, it's a leadership issue. This session helps technology and business leaders translate cyber risk into business impact, make informed decisions under pressure, and strengthen organizational resilience through better communication, collaboration, and leadership.
- 1:30 pm - 2:15 pm
Change Management Through the Lens of a CS Leader: Beyond the Go-Live - Kat Rolley
📍 Meeting Room 7 🎤 Kat Rolley ✨ As a client success leader, Kat sits at the intersection of client relationships and technology delivery, watching organizations move from excitement to frustration to shelfware when change management gets skipped. This session turns that experience into a framework any leader can use, whether the people you're bringing along are clients, internal stakeholders, or your own team. This is a working session, not a straight talk: attendees will share their own experiences with change that didn't stick, apply the framework to a current project or past change, and leave with a self-assessment plus one concrete first move for the next 30 days.
The Binder Effect: Five Leadership Practices That Turn Cross-Functional Projects into Successful Transformations - Jarissa Garcia
📍 Meeting Room 8 🎤 Jarissa Garcia ✨ During an international technology transformation assignment in Paris, I discovered that my greatest contribution was not technical expertise, but becoming the “binder” of the team. By building trust, connecting stakeholders, and strengthening partnerships across teams, I helped create the collaboration needed to move transformation forward. This session explores five practical leadership practices for breaking down silos, influencing without authority, strengthening cross-functional partnerships, and helping technology-driven change succeed through people.
- 1:30 pm - 2:15 pm
Beyond the Tools: Building Human Side of the Digital Workplace - Elisabeth Galperin
📍 Meeting Room 8 🎤 Elisabeth Galperin ✨ Technology is evolving faster than the human habits and workplace cultures required to harness its full potential. An organization's investment in technology should ideally be matched by an investment in the people expected to turn that technological capability into results. Simply put, tools cannot be prioritized over team. This session explores what it means for people to flourish in today’s digital workplace through three perspectives: individual, team, and organization. Participants will examine how cognitive capacity, digital friction, constant connectivity, and workplace norms affect focus, performance, collaboration, and well-being—and discover practical ways to respect human capacity, protect human connection, and create healthy digital norms and boundaries so people and technology can perform at their best together.
- 1:30 pm - 2:15 pm
Find Your Tribe: Growing Together in the Age of AI - Rama Nagaraju
📍 The Learning Center 🎤 Rama Nagaraju ✨ Finding Your Tribe: The Most Underrated Career Strategy in the Age of AI. As AI reshapes careers faster than anyone can keep pace, professional growth is shifting from what you know to who you grow with. Drawing on decades of insights from diverse communities, including aviation, entrepreneurial groups, and personal book clubs, this session reframes community not as a nice-to-have but as one of the highest-leverage career investments available today. We'll explore why communities accelerate learning in an AI-enabled world, how belonging normalizes curiosity and risk-taking, and why, when the right tribe doesn't exist, building it yourself may be the boldest career move you make. Attendees will leave with a practical lens for identifying, joining, or founding the communities that will carry their careers forward. 3 Key Takeaways: Why a community, not just skill acquisition, is the real accelerant for career growth in fast-moving fields like AI; how to identify or evaluate whether a ""tribe"" is actually serving your growth; a framework for starting your own community when the right one doesn't exist yet.
- 2:30 pm - 3:15 pm
The Woman AI Can’t Replace - Chimbusomma "Buso" Chika
📍 Main Ballroom 🎤 Chimbusomma "Buso" Chika ✨ Artificial intelligence is changing the workplace, but it can’t replace the qualities that make exceptional leaders. This session helps women in technology identify where AI creates leverage and where human connection, judgment, empathy, and courage create lasting value. Through enterprise transformation stories, practical AI strategies, and personal experiences navigating leadership and motherhood, attendees will leave with a clear roadmap for embracing AI without losing the qualities that make them indispensable.
- 2:30 pm - 3:15 pm
Personal Productivity to Enterprise Scalability: A Real-World AI Case Study - Meenakshi Mahapatra
📍 Meeting Room 2/3 🎤 Meenakshi Mahapatra ✨ As enterprises move from traditional BI and data platforms toward AI-driven analytics and agentic applications, having access to data alone is no longer sufficient. Users need business-specific context - an understanding of what data means, how business concepts relate, which metrics are trusted, what policies apply, and how data should be used. This presentation introduces the emerging concept of the Context Layer, explains where it fits within the enterprise data ecosystem, and explores how it extends traditional semantic models, data catalogs, metadata management, and knowledge graphs. It will also examine why context is becoming increasingly important for AI readiness, governed self-service, compliance, and trusted decision-making, along with the technologies and architectural capabilities that can support its implementation.
- 2:30 pm - 2:45 pm
⚡Kait Snyder
📍 Meeting Room 4/5 🎤 Kait Snyder ✨ AI is often presented as a tool for developers, data scientists, and technical teams. But some of its most practical applications are found in everyday operations: improving processes, reducing repetitive work, strengthening communication, and helping teams make better use of the information they already have. In this lightning talk, Kait Snyder will share a practical, people-centered approach to using AI at work. Rather than focusing on technical jargon or futuristic possibilities, the session will explore how professionals can identify useful opportunities, encourage adoption, and use AI thoughtfully in their day-to-day workflows. Attendees will leave with a clearer understanding of where AI can create immediate value, even for teams without a technical background.
- 3:00 pm - 3:15 pm
⚡Leah Cann Schneider
📍 Meeting Room 4/5 🎤 Leah Cann Schneider ✨ From childhood, many women are taught to see one another as competitors, to guard our position, compare our success, and believe another woman’s opportunity comes at our expense. That mindset can follow us into adulthood and show up at work, where we spend so much of our lives alongside women facing many of the same challenges. Rising Together is a candid, hopeful conversation about retraining that competitor mindset. Through personal reflection, shared experiences, and stories of former rivals who became allies, we will explore what becomes possible when women stop treating success as a limited resource. Remembering that the future we create for one another is the future we model for the women and girls who come next.
- 2:30 pm - 3:15 pm
Closing the Strategy / Execution Gap in Any Business with Product Management - Marc Aiello
📍 Meeting Room 7 🎤 Marc Aiello ✨ Using Product Management Frameworks to Keep Operations Connected to Strategy Most organizations have more good ideas than they can fund, and the ideas are all reasonable, which is what makes choosing hard. Without agreed criteria, the decision goes to whoever argues best or asks last. Leadership sets a direction and it never quite reaches the work. The session covers how a team builds a shared picture of where it is headed, agrees on how it will decide what is worth doing, and describes work clearly enough that anyone can see what problem it solves and how they will know it worked. The result is strong alignment from leadership through the teams and into the work.
- 2:30 pm - 3:15 pm
Beyond Being the Glue: Turning Invisible Work Into Leadership - Brittany Woods
📍 Meeting Room 8 🎤 Brittany Woods ✨ Some of the most important work in product, project and program management happens between the lines. Creating clarity, connecting teams, surfacing risk, improving broken processes, and turning decisions into outcomes. This conversation explores how to recognize that “invisible” work as real leadership, make its impact visible, and move from being the person who holds everything together to building systems and teams that can thrive without relying on one person to do it all.
- 2:30 pm - 3:15 pm
Beyond the Inventory: Architecting Your IAM Program for the Age of AI Agents - Chris Murphy
📍 Meeting Room 9 🎤 Chris Murphy ✨ Finding and cataloging Non-Human Identities (NHIs) was step one but discovery alone will not protect your enterprise when autonomous AI agents begin executing actions across your systems at machine speed. As AI shifts from static integrations to dynamic agentic workflows, traditional IAM programs and periodic audits fall critically short. Join KPMG for a session where we look past basic inventory and unveil a modern IAM architecture and control framework designed specifically for the AI era. We will explore how to redefine NHIs as distinct, accountable identities, establish external runtime guardrails to enforce least privilege during live execution, and synchronize machine-speed agent operations with human-speed lifecycle governance. You will leave with a practical blueprint to mature your IAM controls and govern the next frontier of identity with confidence
- 2:30 pm - 3:15 pm
Madhavi Najana
📍 The Learning Center 🎤 Madhavi Najana ✨
- 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm
🌟Megs Gelfgot
Lineup
Marc Aiello, Founder, Consultant, Signal Product Management
Marc Aiello is the founder of Signal Product Management. For over a decade, he has helped product teams and the leaders they report to make clearer decisions about what to build and why, focusing less on how work gets built and more on keeping delivery connected to strategy all the way through launch. More recently he has been adapting that work for service (non-software) organizations and their strategic decisions. He speaks at various Cincinnati product management and echnology events and meetups (Product Camp, CincyAI for Humans, Cincinnati PM Meetup, Bridge2AI).
Kelsey Apple - Kelsey Apple Consulting, Sponsored by Max Techical Training
Kelsey Apple, MCT, MCSD, PMP, PSM, AI+, is a technology consultant, educator, and trainer with over 35 years of experience helping organizations improve performance through technology, business analysis, project management, Agile, and AI. A Microsoft Certified Trainer since 1995, she has taught and consulted across numerous industries and partnered with MAX Technical Training as a senior instructor for over 20 years, focusing on private and customized education. Her awards include IBM's prestigious Dr. James H. Adair Award for Instructors Worldwide, the IBM Outstanding Customer Satisfaction Award, and recognition as a TopCAT Woman of the Year in Technology finalist
Anita Baral - AI Software Engineer, Lithko Contracting
Anita Baral is an AI Engineer at Lithko Contracting, working at the intersection of AI, data, and software engineering. She's passionate about automation and application development, building solutions that turn ideas into practical, scalable systems. Anita brings a collaborative, forward-thinking approach to her work and is committed to advancing representation of women in AI and data. She is also a co-author of "Neural Text-to-Speech for Myaamia: Speech Synthesis for an Indigenous Algonquian Language," presented at the AmericasNLP Workshop (ACL 2026).
Nicole Beckwith
Jill Campbell - Program Manager, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center
Results oriented IT leader with a proven track record of success in developing a clear and compelling global IT/Digital strategy to support organizational needs and goals. Crafts detailed transformation IT roadmaps with an aligned global & domestic IT organizational model while enhancing business systems for optimal performance. Adept at driving digital transformation, planning IT implementations, and managing robust global IT infrastructure solutions to meet business requirements. Demonstrated expertise in managing acquisitions, integrating IT systems, and navigating complex transitions to ensure seamless global business continuity. Experienced at executing large cross-functional enterprise-wide programs and safeguarding the bottom line.
Leah Cann Schindler - Principal IT Product Owner, The Fischer Group
Over my nine years at Fischer Homes, I have grown from Co-Op to Business Analyst to Product Owner, driving innovation for our Land, Sales, and Marketing teams while coaching and mentoring others, including helping manage Fischer’s IT Co-Ops. In 2024, I founded Wisdom in Technology, Fischer’s first Associate Resource Group, creating a strong network for associates to share knowledge and expertise across teams. In 2025, I was honored with The Fischer Group’s Innovation Award. Outside of work, I’m blessed with two children, and our family of four loves traveling and adventure. In winter, you’ll most often find us at the local hockey rink, where both kids love to skate.
Chimbusomma "Buso" Chika - AI Keynote Speaker & Founder, Monica Innovates
Mark Dargin - Principal Security Architect | Sales & Client Advisory, GuidePoint Security
Mark Dargin is a seasoned security and network architecture leader with deep expertise in guiding global enterprises through complex cybersecurity challenges. He currently serves as a Principal Security Architect at GuidePoint Security, one of North America’s leading pure-play security risk advisory firms, where he advises Fortune 500 organizations on strengthening their security posture and aligning technology investments with business objectives. In addition to his client advisory work, Mark is an Information Security & Assurance instructor at Schoolcraft College in Michigan, where he develops the next generation of cybersecurity professionals. He holds a Master of Science in Business Information Technology from Walsh College and has authored numerous articles published across the computing press. A sought-after speaker, he has delivered presentations at leading industry conferences, including the RSA Conference (RSAC), ISACA North America Conferences, and WITCON. Mark’s expertise is supported by a portfolio of advanced certifications, including CRISC, CISSP, CCSP, PMP, GIAC-GMON, GIAC-GNFA, and Certified Blockchain Expert, along with multiple vendor-specific credentials.
Kelsey Dybvad
La'Shaunda Ewing - Found/Owner, Wisdom Flows LLC, ADM
Talya Flowers - Learning Technologist
Talya Flowers is a learning technology professional specializing in enterprise learning systems, instructional design, workflow automation, and business process improvement. She has led enterprise LMS implementations, designed technology-enabled learning solutions, and developed automated workflows that improve operational efficiency across Learning & Development. She bridges L&D and IT to help organizations build smarter, more scalable learning experiences.
Elisabeth Galperin - Executive Coach | Leadership Consultant, Peak Productivity
Elisabeth Galperin is an executive coach, speaker, and leadership performance expert who helps driven professionals increase their impact without sacrificing their well-being. She equips leaders with practical strategies to manage competing priorities, strengthen communication, and create sustainable systems for success. Elisabeth’s approach blends the insight of a coach, the guidance of a consultant, and the support of an accountability partner. As a speaker she brings warmth, humor, and real-world perspective to her work—helping professionals move beyond overwhelm, lead with greater confidence, and create more capacity for what matters most at work and in life.
Jarissa Garcia - Bilingual Lead Business Advisor, Hispanic Chamber Cincinnati USA
Jarissa Garcia is a Bilingual Lead Business Advisor at the Hispanic Chamber Cincinnati USA and founder of MediaPurposed LLC. Her career spans engineering, business operations, technology adoption, communications, and nonprofit leadership. She helps organizations navigate change by connecting people, strategy, and systems. Jarissa is passionate about the human side of transformation and helping leaders build trust, strengthen collaboration, and turn change into meaningful, sustainable results.
Megs Gelfgot
Sicari Harned - Senior Immigration Specialist, NTT DATA Business Solutions
"Sicari is a Senior Immigration Specialist at NTT DATA Business Solutions, bringing a background in HR, cross-cultural workforce management, and supporting employees through complex global mobility transitions. She is also a trauma-informed functional and somatic breathwork facilitator. Blending her professional experience with nervous-system education and breathwork, Sicari is passionate about helping people build focus, resilience, emotional capacity, and sustainable leadership from the inside out. Her work explores how something as simple and accessible as the breath can become a powerful tool for navigating stress, increasing presence, and showing up with greater intention."
Dave Hatter - Cyber Security Consultant, intrustIT
Wanda Hayes - Director, SQA Automation, Western & Southern Financial Group
Wanda Hayes has more than 25 years of experience in Information Technology, with a diverse background spanning roles such as software development, business analysis, program/project management, database administration, ITIL, Six Sigma Black Belt and Software Quality Assurance. Throughout most of her career, she has specialized in Software Quality Assurance, with a strong focus on test automation. Wanda has held technology roles at organizations including Procter & Gamble, General Electric, and Nielsen. She currently serves as the Director of SQA Automation at Western & Southern Financial Group, where she leads enterprise software quality automation initiatives and is helping establish the organization's AI testing and evaluation capabilities.
Kara Holland - Principal Advisor & Founder, Holt & Bolt
Kara Holland is the founder of Holt & Bolt, a cyber risk and resilience company helping organizations transform cybersecurity from a technical function into a strategic business capability. In her professional career, Kara works in Governance, Risk, and Compliance, where she partners with business pillars to surface risk in real time and align security strategy directly with business growth. Her experience spans IT and cybersecurity, giving her a practical perspective on the intersection of technology, risk, leadership, and business strategy.
Emily Jackson
Afrooz Kharazmi - Founder, Solyn Consulting LLC
Afrooz Kharazmi is an IT and AI governance professional with 18 years of experience in technology, including business intelligence, IT operations and transformation. She brings a practical, business-focused perspective to AI, helping organizations establish governance frameworks, build AI literacy, and integrate AI into workflows and operating models. As the founder of Solyn Consulting, Afrooz focuses on helping organizations adopt AI responsibly while ensuring the people, processes, and governance needed to make AI work effectively are in place.
John Kitson - Director of Product Management, CoStrategix
John Kitson is Director of Product Management at CoStrategix, where he leads product consulting and key innovations in AI-driven software development. John has been instrumental in creating the firm's AI-native SDLC Framework, which shifts software delivery from basic coding assistance to autonomous agent loops paired with human-in-the-loop governance. With over a decade of experience spanning B2B software, product strategy, and engineering - including previous leadership roles at Coupa Software and Aquiire - John is a recognized thought leader on applying real-world AI and deep product mindsets to enterprise software transformation. John is a proud father who loves imagineering and cooking.
Bernie Lawson - Sr Developer, Lithko Contracting
Bernie solves problems with software. He’s been focused on designing data intensive applications for most of his career and enjoys talking with others about software, industry, and gardening. A Cincinnati transplant tending a garden and chicken flock on the Westside.
Shannon Lewandowski - VP, Strategy & Innovation, Ingage Partners
Shannon Lewandowski helps leaders reinvent how their businesses and teams work, and helps them build the culture that makes the change stick. With more than 25 years across global digital agencies and software consulting, she works at the intersection of strategy, technology, and human centered design, guiding organizations through the ways modern software, mobile, data, and AI are reshaping products, teams, and customer experiences. She is VP, Strategy and Innovation at Ingage Partners, an employee-owned, Cincinnati-based Certified B Corp product, software, and AI consultancy.
Meenakshi Mahapatra - Senior Data Consultant, CoStrategix
"Meenakshi Mahapatra is a Senior Data Consultant based in Cincinnati, Ohio, with over 15 years of experience in data management, enterprise data architecture, and technical consulting. Throughout her career, she has held key data engineering and governance roles at organizations including Accenture, Golden Technology Inc., Fifth Third Bank, Tech Mahindra, and Infosys. She specializes in data architecture, Master Data Management (MDM), enterprise data warehousing (EDW), and data quality tools (IDQ). Meenakshi holds a B.Tech in Computer Science from the Institute of Technical Education and Research."
Jenna Marino -Founder, Design Director, AGNT
Jenna Marino is a Design Director, entrepreneur, and founder of AGNT, a strategic design and product consultancy focused on the intersection of technology, human behavior, and business. Her career spans UX, product strategy, branding, and experience design, from global brands and startups to civic innovation, including work with the City of Covington. Today, she works as a contractor with Salesforce, helping shape experiences for next-generation AI agent technology, while building her own products, including TipTapGo. A lifelong design nerd and technology skeptic-turned-enthusiast, Jenna has witnessed the evolution from pre-digital to AI. Outside work, she has run eight marathons across the country and loves her kid, live music, vintage fashion, the 90s, and will never say no to a rollercoaster.
Emily Morgan
Chris Murphy - Cyber Security Director, KPMG
Chris is a Director in KPMG’s Cyber and Technology Risk practice, with extensive experience helping organizations transform their Identity and Access Management (IAM), cybersecurity, and technology risk capabilities. He has led large-scale IAM transformation programs and helped clients develop and execute Zero Trust strategies and roadmaps designed to strengthen security, reduce risk, and improve overall cyber maturity. More recently, Chris has been focused on emerging identity challenges associated with Non-Human Identities (NHI) and Agentic AI. He is helping build out KPMG’s framework and approach for governing the rapidly expanding ecosystem of machine, workload, service, and AI agent identities, with a particular focus on how organizations can securely govern autonomous and agentic AI.
Rama Nagaraju - Director Strategic Initiatives, BMO - Bank of Montreal
Rama Nagaraju is a technologist, aviator, mentor, reader, and community builder who believes that some of our most meaningful growth happens through the people we surround ourselves with. Over the years, Rama has built and nurtured communities around aviation, reading, writing, and lifelong learning. A certificated flight instructor, he facilitates ground school for his flying club and founded Udtapavan, an initiative connecting general aviation enthusiasts across India. He also founded Back to the Page, a reading community built around a simple idea: reading should lead to reflection, conversation, and connection. His philosophy is simple: find people who amplify your curiosity and energy. And when the community you're looking for doesn't exist, build it.
Madhavi Najana - Software Engineer Manager, Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati
Donna Peters - Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer, TriHelath
As Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at TriHealth, Donna leads enterprise technology, cybersecurity, digital transformation, innovation, and AI strategy. Her passion is helping organizations move beyond technology projects to fundamentally transform how care is delivered, how consumers experience healthcare, and how caregivers spend their time. Her work is focused on leveraging innovation, data, digital capabilities, and emerging technologies to simplify complexity, create capacity, and improve the experience of patients, providers, and team members. She believe technology should not replace human relationships. It should strengthen them by reducing friction, enabling better decisions, and allowing people to focus on the moments that matter most. Throughout her career, she has led large-scale transformations spanning clinical systems, digital experience, analytics, cybersecurity, infrastructure modernization, and emerging technologies. She is energized by bringing together strategy, innovation, and operational execution to solve complex challenges and deliver meaningful outcomes. She is also passionate about developing future leaders, advancing women in technology, and fostering teams where people can do their best work. She believes the most impactful innovations are not defined by the technology itself, but by how they improve lives, empower people, and help organizations thrive in a rapidly changing world.
Gayathri Rajender - Product Leader , Fifth Third Bank
For the last 18+ years, I’ve been on a mission to prove that big corporate transformations don't have to be a slog. Living and working across Asia, Europe, and the US, I’ve helped banking and enterprise heavyweights ditch their clunky legacy habits, rethink their product strategies, and put AI to work where it actually makes life easier. I like to think of myself as the translator between big, ambitious vision and day-to-day execution. Whether I’m guiding global teams through massive tech integrations or turning tangled operations into smooth, customer-friendly experiences, my goal is pretty straightforward: cut through the noise, build things people love using, and make sure we're driving real business growth along the way(think ROI).
Jax Ray - Director of Cybersecurity, Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO)
Jacqueline N. Ray is the Director of Cybersecurity at the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a 2026 Top 100 Information Security Professional Award Winner. With 19 years of Information Technology experience — including 11 years specializing in cybersecurity — she is a nationally recognized leader in securing critical public safety and defense infrastructures. In her current role, Jacqueline is responsible for safeguarding law enforcement systems, sensitive criminal justice data, and county-wide digital assets against an ever-evolving threat landscape. Jacqueline built and currently leads HCSO’s first-ever dedicated cybersecurity program — establishing the policies, infrastructure, and security posture that now protect one of Ohio’s largest law enforcement agencies from the ground up. Her signature achievement is the design and delivery of a CJIS-compliant Identity and Access Management (IAM) solution with badge-tap MFA — implemented in under a year, with a team of two. Prior to joining the Sheriff’s Office, Jacqueline held key cybersecurity leadership roles within the Department of Defense, including positions at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center and the Defense Manpower Data Center. Across these roles, she consistently delivered solutions that balanced rigorous security requirements with mission-critical operational goals. Jacqueline also serves as a Subject Matter Expert for the Defense Security Cooperation Agency Mobile Education Team, having traveled across four continents to deliver cybersecurity training and strategic consultation to Ministries of Defense worldwide. Her international engagements have taken her to Indonesia, Albania, Turkmenistan, and beyond, where she has advised senior military leaders on cybersecurity strategy, network defense, and enterprise risk management. A passionate advocate for collaboration and knowledge-sharing across public and private sectors, Jacqueline holds the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), and ITIL certifications. Her rare combination of federal, international, and local government experience — and her proven ability to build impactful programs with limited resources — makes her a trusted and sought-after voice in the cybersecurity community.
Angie Robey - VP, People Experience, Ingage Partners
Angie Robey opens doors to opportunity for people and helps them find the role where they fit and thrive. Her career spans finance, business operations, and technology consulting, with roles as an analyst, product owner, and program lead. Today she builds the coaching, performance, and growth programs that help people and teams develop through change, including the shift to AI. Known for developing others and building trusted relationships, she is VP, People Experience at Ingage Partners, an employee-owned, Cincinnati-based Certified B Corp product, software, and AI consultancy.
Kat Rolley - Director, Client Success, Verndale
Kat is the Director of Client Success at Verndale, where she leads strategic account management across a portfolio of enterprise clients. She's spent 4+ years in the Salesforce ecosystem, working alongside clients through complex CRM projects, translating business goals into technical delivery and helping organizations manage the change that comes with it. Her background spans client success and sales leadership across the Salesforce consulting world, with a focus on building partnerships that last past go-live.
Audrey Ronis-Tobin - Director of Product Marketing, CoStrategix
Audrey Ronis-Tobin is Director of Product Marketing at CoStrategix, where she leads brand positioning and go-to-market initiatives for the company’s AI products and enterprise digital transformation services. Audrey has been instrumental in shaping the firm’s strategic messaging, championing growth strategies, and bridging complex technologies with business value. With experience spanning SaaS, healthcare, industrial safety products, telecom, and media, Audrey prioritizes customer-centricity and market impact. In her free time, Audrey serves on the Board of the American Marketing Association Cincinnati and keeps bees as a hobby.
Sarah Schlueter - Marketing Specialist, BlueStar
Sarah is a results-driven Marketing Specialist at BlueStar, where she supports the growth of multiple vendor lines through strategic marketing, vendor management, and solutions-based selling. With a strong foundation in business development and product management, she previously served as a Business Development Manager, cultivating vendor-reseller relationships and delivering targeted sales and product support. Known for her strong communication skills and strategic mindset, Sarah excels in aligning marketing strategies with business goals.
Kait Snyder - Senior AI Enablement Program Manager, Bright MLS
Kait Snyder is a program and operations professional with 15 years of experience across finance, banking, technology, EHS, and real estate. Her work has centered on helping teams operate more effectively, whether through building onboarding and enablement programs, improving internal processes, or helping professionals use new technology with more confidence. She currently leads teams and cross-functional initiatives focused on making work more practical, connected, and sustainable. A University of Cincinnati graduate, Kait is especially interested in the space where people, process, and technology meet, and in turning good ideas into programs that actually work.
Sandy Steiger - Director, Data and Development, Lithko Contracting
As the Director of Data and Development at Lithko Contracting, Sandy Steiger leads the execution of the enterprise data strategy and drives the development of modern data and analytics solutions that deliver actionable insights across the organization. Steiger has 20+ years’ experience in the data and analytics industry. Steiger holds a Master of Science in Statistics from Miami University and a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics and Business Administration from Mount St. Joseph University.
Alyssa Stickley - Director, Knowledge & Content Enablement, Lithko Contracting
Alyssa is Director of Knowledge and Content Enablement at Lithko Contracting, with more than 15 years of experience in knowledge and content management. She leads enterprise knowledge strategy with a focus on AI readiness and scalability and is currently leading an enterprise-wide transformation to rethink how organizational knowledge is structured, governed, shared, and consumed by AI. Her work focuses on turning complex, fragmented information into trusted, reusable knowledge that helps both people and AI work better.
Elizabeth Tolia
Sarah Trimble-Oliver - Director of Information Technology, Michelman
Sarah leads Michelman’s IT organization, which includes help desk services, infrastructure, cybersecurity, enterprise applications, and data platforms. She shapes and executes strategic IT initiatives that align with business objectives, while ensuring robust infrastructure, strong cybersecurity measures, and data-driven decision-making capabilities across global manufacturing operations. Sarah has certifications in Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Information Security Manager (CISM), ITIL 4 Foundation & Digital Strategy, Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, and IBM AI Engineering.
Sammie Walker Herrera - Executive Communication Trainer & Certified ADHD Coach, Speak Y'all
Sammie Walker Herrera runs a public speaking coaching consultancy called Speak Y'all (yes, she's from Texas), leveraging 10+ years coaching leaders on their impromptu speaking, interviewing, and leadership skills. Her clients are senior leaders at companies like Amazon, IBM, Oracle, and Microsoft. She focuses on creating a fun, non-judgmental space for folks to hone their speaking strengths. Sammie is a Certified ADHD Coach through the ADD Coach Academy & the International Coaching Federation. She is passionate about supporting fellow neurodivergent professionals. Sammie earned two Bachelor's degrees from Carnegie Mellon and a Master's of Arts from Slippery Rock University
Brittany Woods
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