[
{
"id": 2130,
"participant_id": 5541,
"presenter_name": "Hillary Drake",
"presenter_bio": "Hillary Drake is CEO and co-founder of [Liminal Network](https://liminalnetwork.com/). Hillary has over twenty years of experience in logistics working for manufacturers, resellers, and service providers. She is passionate about creating practical solutions to real-world problems.",
"session_title": "Speed Networking",
"summary": null,
"description": "Join to us network for networking sake!",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": null,
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Soft Skills"
],
"other_presenter_names": [
"Minnestar"
],
"other_presenter_ids": [
2622
],
"attendance_count": 12,
"created_at": "2026-04-24 01:37:32 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 01:37:32 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2129,
"participant_id": 2622,
"presenter_name": "Minnestar",
"presenter_bio": "Minnestar is a nonprofit community organization that connects Minnesota’s tech ecosystem through free, inclusive, and community-led events. We’re best known for Minnebar and Minnedemo — spaces where technologists, founders, creatives, and curious minds come together to share ideas, demo projects, and support one another.\r\n\r\nAt Minnestar, we believe the best tech community is one that’s accessible, welcoming, and powered by the people in it.\r\n\r\n[Learn more about Minnestar](https://minnestar.org/)\r\n\r\nMeg Steuer is the Executive Director of Minnestar, where she leads efforts to build, nurture, and engage Minnesota’s vibrant tech community. With a passion for fostering connections and championing innovation, Meg brings years of experience in community building, economic development, and scaling initiatives.\r\n\r\nSince moving to Minnesota in 2014, Meg has made a significant impact in the community through her work with organizations like GREATER MSP, Forge North, BETA, Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation, and the Small Business Development Center.\r\n\r\n[Connect on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/megsteuer/)",
"session_title": "AI Networking",
"summary": null,
"description": "Want to chat about AI outside of a session, this is your chance!",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": null,
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 10,
"created_at": "2026-04-24 01:35:51 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 01:35:51 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2128,
"participant_id": 7085,
"presenter_name": "Meg Steuer",
"presenter_bio": null,
"session_title": "The Minnesota First Check Playbook: How Early-Stage Capital Really Flows",
"summary": null,
"description": "How does early-stage capital actually move in Minnesota? This session unpacks how founders go from idea to first check, including how angels, funds, and networks interact behind the scenes. We’ll cover where founders typically get stuck, what signals matter most locally, and how to navigate the path to funding more effectively. Designed for builders looking to better understand and access early-stage capital.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 12:30:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Startups"
],
"other_presenter_names": [
"Minnestar"
],
"other_presenter_ids": [
2622
],
"attendance_count": 7,
"created_at": "2026-04-24 01:34:55 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2127,
"participant_id": 2622,
"presenter_name": "Minnestar",
"presenter_bio": "Minnestar is a nonprofit community organization that connects Minnesota’s tech ecosystem through free, inclusive, and community-led events. We’re best known for Minnebar and Minnedemo — spaces where technologists, founders, creatives, and curious minds come together to share ideas, demo projects, and support one another.\r\n\r\nAt Minnestar, we believe the best tech community is one that’s accessible, welcoming, and powered by the people in it.\r\n\r\n[Learn more about Minnestar](https://minnestar.org/)\r\n\r\nMeg Steuer is the Executive Director of Minnestar, where she leads efforts to build, nurture, and engage Minnesota’s vibrant tech community. With a passion for fostering connections and championing innovation, Meg brings years of experience in community building, economic development, and scaling initiatives.\r\n\r\nSince moving to Minnesota in 2014, Meg has made a significant impact in the community through her work with organizations like GREATER MSP, Forge North, BETA, Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation, and the Small Business Development Center.\r\n\r\n[Connect on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/megsteuer/)",
"session_title": "Meet Our Community Partners!",
"summary": null,
"description": "We’re thrilled to welcome some incredible community organizations, user groups, and nonprofits to Minnebar20 as Community Partners! These groups are doing incredible work across tech, education, entrepreneurship, and equity — and we’re proud to share space with them.\r\n\r\nBe sure to stop by their tables during lunch to learn more, make connections, and get involved. They'll be located just outside of Sandy's Place (the cafeteria) so you can easily visit before, after or during lunch!\r\n\r\nCheck back here for the full lineup, coming soon!\r\n",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": null,
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Other"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 4,
"created_at": "2026-04-23 16:12:04 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-26 22:34:25 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2126,
"participant_id": 1792,
"presenter_name": "Eryn O'Neil",
"presenter_bio": "Eryn is an engineering manager, most recently at Trello, and a longtime member of the Twin Cities tech community. She spoke at tech conferences nationally and internationally for years before her kids had other ideas. She has been a Minneapolis election judge since 2016 and opinionated for much longer than that.",
"session_title": "The Part You Didn't See: A Collective Account of Operation Metro Surge",
"summary": null,
"description": "All of us lived it. No one saw all of it. Operation Metro Surge was too large, too fast, and too deliberately decentralized for any single person to have witnessed the whole thing. But collectively, we did. This session is an attempt to build a collective context, drawing on local and national reporting and firsthand testimony, and to make sense of what it revealed. \r\n\r\nThe community response that emerged wasn't spontaneous. It built upon community and technical infrastructure that was created over months and years, by non-profit groups and local organizers who saw what was coming before most of us were paying attention. By understanding how we got through the previous crisis, we can see where things stand now: what's continued, what's evolved, and how the tools that got us through that can get us through the next.\r\n\r\nThis session is a community- and organizing-focused counterpart to [What tech lessons should we learn from the ICE invasion?](https://sessions.minnestar.org/sessions/2108).",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 13:25:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Community",
"Wildcard"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 81,
"created_at": "2026-04-20 05:02:38 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2125,
"participant_id": 7051,
"presenter_name": "Venkata Sai Praneeth Sirigiri",
"presenter_bio": "Venkata Sai Praneeth Sirigiri is the Founder, CEO & Principal AI Engineer of sAIcube LLC, a Minnesota-based AI company building multimodal AI applications across digital media, education, and software. He turns AI research into real products — including SchoolBooks AI (an AI-powered textbook generation platform) and saiemo (an AI-native OTT platform streaming fully AI-generated films and series). From LLM integration to diffusion model pipelines, Praneeth builds end-to-end AI systems and shares that knowledge through hands-on workshops and sessions.\r\n\r\n[SAICUBE WEBSITE](https://saicube.com)\r\n\r\n[SCHOOLBOOKS AI WEBSITE](https://schoolbooksai.com)\r\n\r\n[SAIEMO WEBSITE](https://saiemo.com)",
"session_title": "AI Films Are Real. Here's How I Use LLMs, Diffusion Models & Voice AI to Build an End-to-End Film Pipeline",
"summary": null,
"description": "AI-generated films and AI-assisted films aren't a future concept — they're happening right now, and I'm making them.\r\n\r\nIn this session, I'll pull back the curtain on the exact pipeline I use to produce cinematic AI films from scratch — no camera, no crew, no studio. Just a prompt, the right AI tools chained together, and a story worth telling.\r\n\r\nI'll walk through every stage live — writing the script, generating scenes, cloning voices, composing music, and cutting the final edit. You'll leave with a repeatable, real-world pipeline you can start using the same day.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 16:10:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Advanced",
"categories": [
"Startups",
"Emerging Tech",
"AI/ML",
"Design",
"Careers",
"Other"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 13,
"created_at": "2026-04-20 04:59:58 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2124,
"participant_id": 3299,
"presenter_name": "John Wilson",
"presenter_bio": "John Wilson is a long time photographer, mostly of his own kids. Although he still uses a digital fancy-pants camera, and even shoots the occasional roll of film, he often finds himself taking a picture with the only camera available (the phone). In his day job, he's a Senior Software Engineer, in his extremely limited free time, he likes to design and build synthesizers, and paint with watercolors (although usually not both at the same time)\r\n\r\n**Links:**\r\n\r\n- [Personal site](https://crazybutable.com/)\r\n- [Mastodon](https://mastodon.social/@crazybutable/)\r\n- [Youtube](https://www.youtube.com/@crazybutable)",
"session_title": "Editing Photos On Your Phone with No Apps",
"summary": null,
"description": "You have a phone. You have photos. Have you ever tried editing your photos on your phone... and just got frustrated? \r\n\r\nThis session is for you if:\r\n\r\n- You have experienced this frustration and gave up\r\n- You didn't even know there were editing tools available\r\n- You are experienced photographer but found the little sliders on the phone fiddly and gave up after approximately 68 seconds of fiddling \r\n\r\n(That last one was me! I had a fair amount of experience editing digital photos when I got my first phone with a \"real\" camera, and the default editing experience drove me up the wall.)\r\n\r\nIn this session, I'll be covering:\r\n\r\n- A meta-method for learning how to use photo editing software\r\n- Filters! What they are, how they work, why only three of them are any good\r\n- Every single photo adjustment slider on an iPhone and what they are used for (If you have an Android phone, your sliders are mostly exactly the same but, depending on the Android version and phone, you may be missing sliders or have extra ones)\r\n- HDR (High Dynamic Range) and how it fools you into thinking your photos are better than they are\r\n- A general workflow for editing photos\r\n- Any questions you might have\r\n\r\nAt the end of this session, you'll know more about photo editing, especially on phones. And hopefully you'll have a few new guidelines and tricks up your sleeve when you take a photo of something and it just looks a bit blah.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 09:45:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Beginner",
"categories": [
"Design",
"Other"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 30,
"created_at": "2026-04-20 04:56:27 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2123,
"participant_id": 7048,
"presenter_name": "Meghan Gencev",
"presenter_bio": "Meghan Gencev is the founder of Spark Pattern, a strategic consulting practice focused on digital strategy, experience design, and operations. With nearly 20 years of experience — including the last decade leading digital strategy, project management, and client accounts at leading agencies — she's spent her career at the intersection of strategy and execution. That means she's also inherited enough broken handoffs, ungoverned shared drives, and processes nobody actually follows to know exactly what this talk is about.",
"session_title": "The Work That Holds Teams Together: Stop Blaming the Person. Fix the System.",
"summary": null,
"description": "When something breaks on a team, we almost always blame a person. The one who didn't document because there was no single place to put it. The one who dropped the ball because nobody told them they were holding it. The one who's been figuring it out as they go because nobody wrote down how any of this works.\r\n\r\nBut team failures aren't only people problems. They're operational problems. That work lives in a Slack thread from eight months ago, in a shared drive nobody governs, in a process people follow because they've always done it that way — or in the head of the one person everyone knows to ask. And nobody owns any of it.\r\n\r\nThis session names that work and introduces SEEN — a framework for operating teams where nothing critical is hidden:\r\n\r\n- **S — Spaces:** Shared tools and spaces that are governed, maintained, and owned\r\n- **E — Exchanges:** Handoffs between people and roles that are explicit, designed, and acknowledged\r\n- **E — Expectations:** Processes, norms, and institutional knowledge that are visible and challengeable\r\n- **N — Network:** Decisions, context, and feedback that reliably reach the people who need them\r\n\r\nCome ready to recognize your team in the patterns. Leave with a practical audit you can run Monday and language to talk about the invisible work that's been slowing you down.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 15:15:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Product",
"Soft Skills",
"Careers",
"Wildcard"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 24,
"created_at": "2026-04-20 04:48:26 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 17:02:30 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2122,
"participant_id": 6267,
"presenter_name": "Jon Wilson",
"presenter_bio": "Jon Wilson is a web developer who has consulted on projects for 3M and IBM, and currently works with Mayo Clinic. His passion is decentralizing the web so that everyone can help create our technological future and share in its rewards.",
"session_title": "Join our quest to throw a ring into a volcano",
"summary": null,
"description": "The Dark Lords of Tech are nearing completion of their mission: to seize all the world's wealth and power. Their plan's one flaw: it depends on controlling all of our data. Enter the Atmosphere. We are a group of builders, designers, dreamers, hobbits and elves forging the tools of our liberation. In this session, we'll demo one of them — the App Wizard, an open source web tool that helps anyone scaffold a personal app on the AT Protocol (the one behind Bluesky). We'll also talk about the wider atproto ecosystem and how the protocol puts users back in control of their data. Bring a laptop to build alongside us, or just a notebook to sketch ideas.\r\n\r\nWherever your interests lie, there's a corner of the Atmosphere waiting for you. Join us.\r\n\r\n(Oh, the ring? That part was just a metaphor.)",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 15:15:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Community",
"Development",
"Emerging Tech"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 23,
"created_at": "2026-04-20 04:44:58 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2121,
"participant_id": 7044,
"presenter_name": "Fuad Jeet",
"presenter_bio": "I like building systems at scale—from research applications at the University of Minnesota to finance production systems handling millions of transactions per second.\r\nI also like lifting heavy things (275lb bench-press included!).\r\n\r\n- [Linkedin](https://www.linkedin.com/in/fmuhtasim/)",
"session_title": "🥳 Landing you First Software Engineering Job 101 (You vs AI)",
"summary": null,
"description": "The **Great story** of landing your first software engineering job isn’t one you'll keep to yourself. It’s a defining moment—one you’ll retell for decades, maybe even pass down (haha, it's that important!). This story of yours deserves our full and immediate attention.\r\n\r\n---\r\n\r\nIn this talk, I’ll share my path to my first major fintech role—graduating with a Computer Science degree at the height of AI layoffs, when the path forward was anything but clear.\r\n\r\nI did not have the luxury of leaving it to chance so naturally, I tried **EVERYTHING.**\r\n Not * casually.* But deliberately - \r\ntreating the job hunt like:\r\n\r\n- a system to be studied, tested, and refined.\r\n\r\nSomewhere between joining every meetup I could find and handing out resumes at every tech conferences, something clicked:\r\n\r\n- You don’t just live your “great story”—you write it in real time.\r\n\r\n---\r\n\r\n**What This Talk Is (And Isn’t):**\r\n\r\nI won’t ask you to grind through LeetCode-style questions—you’re probably already doing that.\r\n\r\nInstead, we’ll focus on what actually moves the needle across three fronts:\r\n\r\n- **Building real value and capacity**\r\n- **Crafting a clear personal narrative**\r\n- **Engaging with the world with curiosity**\r\n\r\nWe’ll move past the obsession with the “perfect resume” \r\nand focus on building a portfolio *and* a story that connect.\r\n\r\nBecause today, it’s not just about skill.\r\nIt’s about how clearly you can communicate:\r\n- what you’ve built \r\n- what you’ve learned \r\n- and why it matters \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nNo fluff. No recycled advice. Just what works—and how to start shaping the story you’re already in. \r\n\r\nLet's work on it together.\r\n**See you there!**",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 14:20:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Beginner",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Startups",
"Careers"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 7,
"created_at": "2026-04-20 04:28:24 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2120,
"participant_id": 6815,
"presenter_name": "Shree Pandey",
"presenter_bio": null,
"session_title": "Solar and Battery Storage: What the process of getting a microgrid looks like.",
"summary": null,
"description": "Are you thinking about getting a microgrid with solar photovoltaic (PV) and battery energy storage (ESS)? \r\n\r\nIn this session, I will talk about essential items to consider while choosing a solar PV and ESS. I will also share what it takes to keep a system functioning for a long time and get the most out of it. \r\n\r\nDiscussion topics:\r\n*General overview of PV and ESS \r\n*Project process \r\n*System sizing \r\n*Equipment \r\n*Interaction with utilities and government entities \r\n*Balancing cost and system size \r\n*Typical electrical diagrams \r\n*DIY vs professional install \r\n*System monitoring and maintenance ",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 14:20:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Emerging Tech",
"Other"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 32,
"created_at": "2026-04-20 04:24:02 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2119,
"participant_id": 7043,
"presenter_name": "Niko LeMieux",
"presenter_bio": null,
"session_title": "Shared Intelligence for Humans and AI Agents: How Engram Built Our Company Brain",
"summary": null,
"description": "Jensen Huang famously runs Nvidia with 60+ direct reports and skips 1-on-1s by giving everyone equal access to information and reasoning. It sounds brilliant... until you try it in a fast-moving startup or with dozens of AI agents and suddenly everyone (and every agent) is drowning in lost context, hallucinations, parallel drift, and rediscovered problems.\r\n\r\nAt our fintech startup Easy we solved this by building Engram, our shared intelligence layer and living Company Brain. Engram automatically ingests everything and turns it into a rich, self-organizing collective memory for both our team and our AI agents.\r\n\r\n**The result? A 28x productivity boost.**\r\n\r\nIn this session we’ll show exactly how [Engram](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/humans-own-ai-assists-graph-remembers-andrew-fisher-eaq2c/) works: the five-layer memory stack, mycelium-inspired self-organization, provenance chains for trustworthy autonomy, and the always-on Curator that surfaces business patterns. You’ll see real examples of how it turns session amnesia into shared superintelligence, and we’ll walk through how to set it up yourself (it’s open source and runs in a handful of commands).\r\n\r\nWhether you’re running agents in a startup or just want to stop re-explaining the same decisions, you’ll leave with practical steps to implement collective memory in your own operations.\r\n\r\nLinks for the program/notes:\r\nGitHub → https://github.com/itseasyco/engram",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 12:30:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Intermediate",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Startups",
"Emerging Tech",
"AI/ML"
],
"other_presenter_names": [
"Andrew Fisher"
],
"other_presenter_ids": [
7049
],
"attendance_count": 6,
"created_at": "2026-04-20 04:21:57 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 17:02:30 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2118,
"participant_id": 7050,
"presenter_name": "Alice Smiddy",
"presenter_bio": "Alice Smiddy is a lead data scientist with experience designing and deploying machine learning systems in messy, real‑world environments. Her work focuses on data, experimentation, and human‑centered problem solving. Outside of work, her play centers on entertaining her almost‑4‑year‑old — from building scavenger hunts to attempting to foster a love of science via baking soda volcanoes and cornstarch slime. At Minnebar, she’s combining her tech chops with her toddler‑engagement skills in the name of structured chaos and fun.\r\n\r\n**Links:**\r\n- [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/alice-smiddy/)",
"session_title": "The Minnebar Scavenger Hunt: Powered by AI & Tape",
"summary": null,
"description": "I wanted to create a live, QR-based scavenger hunt for Minnebar, but I didn't want to touch the web stack myself. As a data scientist, I’m comfortable with data but a stranger to hosting and UI.\r\n\r\nIn this session, I’ll walk you through how I used AI to architect the entire project—from selecting a free database to deciding on a hosting platform—all through a collaborative Q&A. Then, I’ll show how I used GitHub Copilot to turn those plans into functional code, iterating through the build until it was live.\r\n\r\n**The best part?** The hunt is active right now! Come hear how AI slashed the \"idea-to-deployment\" time from weeks to hours, then grab the first clue and start playing.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 12:30:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Beginner",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Wildcard"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 11,
"created_at": "2026-04-20 04:04:34 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2117,
"participant_id": 1421,
"presenter_name": "Marty Wetherall",
"presenter_bio": "Girl Dad, Entrepreneur, co-founder of esports management platform **LeagueOS** (Twins Techstars '22), leading comms for the **National Center for Autonomous Technologies (NCAT)**.\r\n\r\n**Links:**\r\n\r\n- Insta/X/Bluesky: @mcw719\r\n- [LinkedIn] (https://www.linkedin.com/in/martywetherall/)\r\n- [LeagueOS] (https://leagueos.gg)\r\n- [NCAT] (https://ncatech.org)",
"session_title": "Well Dontcha Know: The National Center for Autonomous Technologies is in Northern Minnesota",
"summary": null,
"description": "Yep, you betcha! Seven years ago, **The National Center for Autonomous Technologies (NCAT) was founded in Thief River Falls, Minnesota** through the National Science Foundation’s Advanced Technological Education (NSF ATE) program. \r\n\r\nThe NSF ATE program has been funding innovation at two-year colleges for over 25 years focusing on the education of technicians for the high-technology fields that drive our nation’s economy. \r\n\r\nAs the first national ATE center in autonomous technologies, NCAT's is nurturing the technical workforce of tomorrow in the following domains:\r\n\r\n- **Air** (Uncrewed Aircraft Systems)\r\n- **Land** (Self-Driving Vehicles)\r\n- **Sea** (Uncrewed Maritime Systems)\r\n\r\nCome learn more about how NCAT is accelerating autonomous innovation – ***aligning talent and funding with emerging tech*** – all from way up north here in Minnesota. ",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 09:45:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Emerging Tech",
"AI/ML",
"Careers"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 11,
"created_at": "2026-04-20 03:31:53 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2115,
"participant_id": 6443,
"presenter_name": "Emily Rhoades",
"presenter_bio": "I am a farm manager who studied computer science and gender studies. For me, the fun lies in the interdisciplinary.",
"session_title": "Why is tech sexist? A farming perspective ",
"summary": null,
"description": "Embark with me on a **journey back in time** to a place I'm sure you've been dying to explore: the early to mid-1900s rural Midwest. Stick with me now. With our time machine, we will be able to observe a change in agriculture that would go on to fundamentally shape our nation's health, environment, and political climate, to name just a few. At the center of the transition: technology and women. \r\n\r\nI believe this frequently forgotten and quite surprising history can provide a unique perspective on gender inequity in the tech industry, both past and present. As we rapidly enter a new era of technology, this story also raises the stakes of engaging with the ever-so-complicated question: **Why** is tech sexist?",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 12:30:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Emerging Tech",
"Community",
"Wildcard",
"Other"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 35,
"created_at": "2026-04-20 03:17:03 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2114,
"participant_id": 4965,
"presenter_name": "Frank Schilder",
"presenter_bio": "Frank Schilder is a senior principal scientist at Thomson Reuters Labs, specializing in AI and machine learning. He holds a Ph.D. in Cognitive Science from the University of Edinburgh and previously taught at the University of Hamburg, Germany.",
"session_title": "Research at the Speed of AI: What Works, What Breaks, and What Still Needs You",
"summary": null,
"description": "Karpathy's AutoResearch ran 700 experiments while he slept. It works because the objective is locked: one metric, lower is better, don't touch the evaluation function. Most research doesn't start there. Deciding what to measure, whether your benchmark is even valid, what a result means: that's the part that still requires a human. This talk is about that part.\r\n\r\nI built a stateful AI research assistant to help me run an enterprise knowledge graph project: can organizational KG signals (reporting chains, projects, meeting attendance) help LLM agents resolve ambiguous people references in enterprise conversations? Think \"set up a meeting with the data scientist on the Atlas project\" when three people hold that role, two of whom changed positions last quarter. We built a synthetic org, generated a benchmark, ran experiments across three models and six retrieval conditions.\r\n\r\nHere's what I learned the hard way.\r\n\r\nThe assistant has knowledge boundaries it won't volunteer. Infrastructure failures can corrupt results silently. Design flaws in your data go unquestioned if you don't ask. Confident-sounding write-ups can outrun what the numbers actually support. And fast-generated code works until you need to defend it.\r\n\r\nThese aren't reasons to stop. They're reasons to develop practices: specify behavior before you ask for implementation, verify outputs against raw sources rather than summaries, make \"why did you do it this way?\" a standing question, and treat the first draft narrative as a starting point, not a conclusion.\r\n\r\nI'll walk through the failure modes concretely, show what the collaboration actually looked like, and share what moved the needle on both speed and rigor.\r\n\r\n**Format:** Story + examples + Q&A\r\n",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 13:25:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Advanced",
"categories": [
"Development",
"AI/ML"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 17,
"created_at": "2026-04-20 03:11:18 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2113,
"participant_id": 7047,
"presenter_name": "Shiven Kharidehal",
"presenter_bio": null,
"session_title": "How AI Shapes Human Judgment: Confidence, Trust, and Over‑Reliance Across Three Original Studies (As a High Schooler)",
"summary": null,
"description": "This session presents findings from three original research studies examining how humans interact with AI — and how AI interacts with us. Across topics including LLM confidence calibration, AI‑generated phishing, and the effects of AI explanations on trust, this talk explores a central question: How does AI influence human judgment, accuracy, and over‑reliance?\r\n\r\nI’m a high school student at Mounds View High School and very new to presenting at events like Minnebar, so this session is designed to be especially accessible, fast‑paced, and easy to follow. Despite being early in my research journey, I’ve spent the past year studying how people trust (and sometimes over‑trust) AI systems — and I’ll be sharing what surprised me most.\r\n\r\nYou’ll learn, as the results of my 3 papers reported:\r\n\r\nHow often large language models are confidently wrong, and why self‑reported confidence fails as a reliability signal\r\n\r\nWhy AI‑generated phishing emails are harder to detect — and why people are more confident when they’re wrong\r\n\r\nHow explanations (simple or detailed) increase trust and over‑reliance, even when the AI is incorrect\r\n\r\nWhat these findings mean for cybersecurity, education, and everyday AI use\r\n\r\nWhether you’re an AI researcher, developer, educator, or just curious about how humans and AI influence each other, you’ll walk away with a clearer understanding of the risks and opportunities in our rapidly evolving AI ecosystem.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 16:10:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Emerging Tech",
"AI/ML",
"Wildcard"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 5,
"created_at": "2026-04-20 02:58:15 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 17:02:30 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2112,
"participant_id": 7035,
"presenter_name": "Sean Hobin",
"presenter_bio": "I'm an AI engineer at Securian Financial, where I build production ML systems and cloud infrastructure. My background spans healthcare ML, RAG pipelines, and production audio-thread C++ - the last of which I learned entirely by accident while building BeastBox. I'm also an avid rock climber and hobbyist musician, which mostly means I spend my free time either on a wall or making mouth sounds at a computer 😛 This is my first Minnebar session.",
"session_title": "Mouth to MIDI in 11 Milliseconds: A Live Beatbox Drum Engine I Built on Nights and Weekends",
"summary": null,
"description": "Lots of AI sessions this year are about text. This one is about your mouth.\r\n\r\nBeastBox is a real-time beatbox-to-MIDI engine I've been building on nights and weekends. You make a kick-drum sound. 11 milliseconds later, a real kick drum hits. Snare, hi-hat? Same thing. No quantization, no lag you can feel, no cloud round-trip. Just a microphone, a tiny CNN, and a lot of C++ behind the curtain.\r\n\r\n**What you'll see, live on stage:**\r\n\r\n- I'll beatbox a full drum pattern and you'll hear it come back as a real drum kit in real time\r\n- The visualizer shows the onset detector firing and the CNN's class probabilities updating hit by hit\r\n- A guided tour of the architecture: an ONNX model trained in PyTorch, a native JUCE audio engine, cross-platform native code, and a Flutter UI bridged in with a lock-free ring buffer\r\n- What breaks, what surprised me, what I'd do differently\r\n- The specific tricks that got end-to-end latency under 20ms (typically 9 to 11) on a laptop CPU\r\n\r\nBeastBox is a personal passion project, not a pitch. I want feedback from a room of builders, especially people who care about DSP, on-device ML, or real-time systems. If you've ever wanted to beatbox a whole drum kit into existence, or if you just want to see what it takes to run an extremely low-latency neural net inside an audio-thread budget, come hang out.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 13:25:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Intermediate",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Emerging Tech",
"AI/ML",
"Wildcard"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 11,
"created_at": "2026-04-20 02:36:42 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2111,
"participant_id": 3572,
"presenter_name": "Michael Halagan",
"presenter_bio": "Mike Halagan is the founder and CEO of Local AI, a Twin Cities consulting firm that helps companies put AI to work in production. He's spent the last 15+ years building ML and AI systems, starting as a bioinformatics scientist at Be The Match working on bone marrow donor-recipient matching, then moving through data science, engineering, and leadership roles at C.H. Robinson where he eventually led 50+ engineers across five teams. The dynamic pricing engine his teams shipped became a recurring talking point on quarterly earnings calls.\r\n\r\nThese days he spends most of his time embedded with client engineering teams, designing and shipping LLM and agent-based systems on AWS Bedrock AgentCore and Azure Agent Service. Recent work has included customer-facing chatbots, underwriting agents, compliance automation, and end-to-end MLOps platforms for clients in healthcare, insurance, retail, and logistics. \r\n\r\nBased in Maple Grove. M.S. in Biomedical Informatics & Computational Biology from the University of Minnesota.\r\n\r\n[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikehalagan/)",
"session_title": "The AI Native SDLC: Idea to Working Code at Scale, Live",
"summary": null,
"description": "I've been putting together a workflow that uses Claude Code Plugins, a custom docs MCP server, and the Linear MCP to take an idea from rough sketch to work items that are actually ready to build, and then from tickets into working code. This talk is a live walkthrough of that.\r\n\r\nI'll start with a brand new idea and take it through the whole flow in front of you. A PM-style prototype turning into scoped Linear tickets, Claude Code picking those tickets up, and doing the implementation work. Along the way I'll compare each step to how the same thing would play out in a more traditional flow, since that's where the value becomes obvious.\r\n\r\nThe stack:\r\n\r\n- **Claude Code Plugins** for role-specific workflows, so the PM step, the engineering step, and the review step each have their own purpose-built experience\r\n- **A custom docs MCP server** that gives every agent the same grounding in product context, architecture, and team conventions\r\n- **The Linear MCP** so the output lands as real work items, not yet another tool your team has to remember to check\r\n\r\nIf you're a PM trying to hand engineering better-formed ideas, an engineer tired of untangling half-baked tickets, or a founder looking to cut down on handoffs between idea and code, I think you'll get something out of this one.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 11:35:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Development",
"AI/ML",
"Product"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 13,
"created_at": "2026-04-20 02:13:38 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2109,
"participant_id": 6236,
"presenter_name": "Marlaina Love",
"presenter_bio": "Marlaina is the Founder and CEO of The Diamond Resilience, a creative tech studio developing infrastructure for alternative career pathways in technology. Since launch, she has helped over 60 professionals turn their expertise into digital solutions that generate $500 to $1,000+ in passive income. Her mission is to equip talented individuals with the tools, mentorship, and community needed to monetize their existing knowledge.\r\n\r\nWith experience as a corporate Project and Program Management consultant leading global teams in supply chain, medical devices, autonomous vehicles, and retail, Marlaina understands both corporate challenges and the untapped creative potential of professionals. She now channels her experience and expertise into developing the infrastructure that supports a resilient workforce, enabling professionals to build independent, self-sustaining careers in an AI-powered, digital-first economy.\r\n\r\n**Links:**\r\n\r\n- [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/lovemarlaina)\r\n- [Website](https://www.linkedin.com/company/thediamondresilience)",
"session_title": "Service to Software: Turn Your \"How-To\" into a Monetized Micro-App",
"summary": null,
"description": "Learn how to package your expertise into **digital solutions that generate recurring revenue streams**, attract better clients, and give you the breathing room you deserve.\r\n\r\n## You'll walk away with a clear plan and actionable framework to:\r\n\r\n- 📦 **Package your expertise** into digital solutions clients can access immediately\r\n- 💰 **Build multiple revenue streams** from the work you've already perfected\r\n- 🎯 **Attract the right clients**—the ones ready to invest and succeed\r\n",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 09:45:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Beginner",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Startups",
"AI/ML",
"Product",
"Marketing"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 14,
"created_at": "2026-04-20 01:51:18 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2108,
"participant_id": 678,
"presenter_name": "Paul Cantrell",
"presenter_bio": "Paul fell in love with programming at first sight on an Apple ][+ and never looked back. He teaches computer science at Macalester College and is a freelance software developer (often with the fine folks at Bust Out).\r\n\r\nLiving a secret double life as a classically trained composer and pianist, he brings a musician's passion for aesthetics and nuanced detail to the craft of writing software, thus making his bio sound all fancy.\r\n\r\n**Links:**\r\n\r\n- [Personal site](https://innig.net)\r\n- [Mastodon](https://hachyderm.io/@inthehands)\r\n",
"session_title": "What tech lessons should we learn from the ICE invasion?",
"summary": null,
"description": "This year put the Twin Cities at the forefront of international attention — and not because of the large number of AI talks we managed to squeeze into our local unconference. We are the site of a disaster; we are (we're told) a city of heroes. We just lived through something whose memory will outlive all of us. We should reflect on it.\r\n\r\nComing from personal experience on the ground in South Minneapolis, in the thick of it, this talk will share **lessons about technology**: how it helps us, how it fails to help us, how it hurts us. These are lessons about fighting authoritarianism. They are also general lessons about product design, about security, about our human aspirations, about risk, about triage, about ethical computing — lessons we already knew, or should have known, but that are now thrown into sharp relief by the clear light only crisis can bring.\r\n\r\nAfter the talk portion, time allowing, there will be a period of scaffolded small group discussion and idea sharing for those who wish to participate.\r\n\r\nThis session is a tech-focused counterpart to [The Part You Didn’t See](https://sessions.minnestar.org/sessions/2126).",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 10:40:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Product",
"Wildcard"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 82,
"created_at": "2026-04-19 22:33:58 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2107,
"participant_id": 295,
"presenter_name": "Alec Rippberger",
"presenter_bio": "Alec Rippberger is a web software developer with a passion for creating and deconstructing digital systems. He's currently helping to build amazing digital products at Livefront.\n\n**Links:**\n\n- [GitHub](https://github.com/arippberger)\n- Twitter: @alecrippberger",
"session_title": "PolitiClaw: building a local-first political co-pilot with OpenClaw 🦞",
"summary": null,
"description": "OpenClaw is an open-source agent framework. It moves the AI paradigm from \"chatbot\" to something that runs in the background, remembers what you've told it, and acts on a schedule. It also has a plugin ecosystem, allowing you to expand base functionality or build your own tools. \r\n\r\nI'll start with a quick tour of OpenClaw for folks who haven't seen it: gateway, tools, skills, cron, memory. Then the plugin SDK: What definePluginEntry actually does; How to register tools the agent can call; How to ship skills as Markdown files a user can override without touching your code.\r\n\r\nThen PolitiClaw: an OpenClaw plugin I've been working on. It watches federal legislation, scores reps against stances a user has declared, and drafts outreach letters that can be pasted into an email client.\r\n\r\nNo OpenClaw experience needed. A little TypeScript helps but isn't required.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 15:15:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Development",
"AI/ML",
"Community"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 29,
"created_at": "2026-04-19 18:25:47 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2106,
"participant_id": 7039,
"presenter_name": "Nadir Doctor",
"presenter_bio": "Nadir Doctor is a Snowflake Data Super Hero and also actively works with Microsoft SQL Server and PostgreSQL databases - both on-prem and in the cloud.\r\n\r\nhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/nadirdoctor/",
"session_title": "Fire up yourself and your teams with Snowflake usage",
"summary": null,
"description": "Discuss salient helpful features available with Snowflake and highlights of my work experience during the recent years \r\n\r\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowflake_Inc.\r\n\r\nNadir Doctor is a Snowflake Data Super Hero and also actively works with Microsoft SQL Server and PostgreSQL databases - both on-prem and in the cloud [https://www.linkedin.com/in/nadirdoctor/]",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 16:10:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"AI/ML"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 4,
"created_at": "2026-04-19 15:59:12 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2105,
"participant_id": 7037,
"presenter_name": "Rob Davis",
"presenter_bio": "I tell the stories of pioneering people, ideas, and organizations and helps accelerate the nation’s transition to use of clean and renewable energy. My work has been covered in National Geographic, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Wired; referenced in the 25th anniversary edition of Trivial Pursuit; and included in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. \r\n\r\nClaim to fame: created the international crowdsourced campaign to celebrate the launch of Firefox 1.0 with a full page ad in the New York Times.\r\n\r\nMacalester College grad",
"session_title": "Catan, Clean Energy, and Code: Can You Prove That Wind Farm Actually Generated Electricity?",
"summary": null,
"description": "Every time a company claims it's \"100% powered by renewable energy,\" or a product says it's \"made with clean energy,\" we all assume that statement traces back to a wind turbine or solar panel that actually produced the electricity. *But... who actually checks?*\r\n\r\nThis session digs into the hidden system behind clean energy claims — Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), the registries that issue and track them, and why verifying generation claims is harder (and more interesting) than it sounds. We'll start with the trust problem, then walk through what it actually takes to validate a claim using real-world data.\r\n\r\nAlong the way we'll:\r\n* Peek inside the strange world of US energy infrastructure: 3,000+ utilities, 50 state regulatory schemes, several registries, and a federal dataset that still starts in CSVs and dBase\r\n* Reconstruct missing power plant data using 20+ years of free public datasets\r\n* Use physics models and real satellite weather data to estimate what a generator should have produced\r\n* Compare modeled vs. reported generation and ask: does this claim hold up?\r\n* Show how it all turns into an API (with a quick peek at code)\r\n\r\nWe'll also touch on how richer data unlocks new kinds of claims — like energy tied to pollinator-friendly solar — and why that matters for the next phase of the energy transition.\r\n\r\nExpect a mix of storytelling, consumer-friendly examples (yes, Catan), light audience participation with fun rewards, and practical lessons on working with messy public data. No energy background required. If you like uncovering hidden systems — or just a new way to think about \"trust, but verify\" — you'll fit right in.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 14:20:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Emerging Tech",
"Product",
"Marketing"
],
"other_presenter_names": [
"John Peacock"
],
"other_presenter_ids": [
7038
],
"attendance_count": 27,
"created_at": "2026-04-19 15:24:13 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 17:02:30 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2104,
"participant_id": 7036,
"presenter_name": "Peiyu Phua",
"presenter_bio": "I am a statewide planner at Minnesota Management and Budget who somehow ended up leading the state’s human-centered AI planning efforts. I have no backup. I am not scared. *(I am a little scared.)*\r\n\r\nI am not a technologist. I am not a lawyer. I am not a lobbyist. I am one person with a notebook, a lot of questions, and resources that are… let’s say… *government-sized.*\r\n\r\nConnect with me on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/peiyuphua) — especially if you’re already brewing something to say.",
"session_title": "Government’s in the Room. Go.",
"summary": null,
"description": "I am a state employee leading a statewide AI planning project focused on human-centered outcomes. One person. Just me. So I need all of you — my army of beautiful, criminally underutilized, truth-telling humans.\r\n\r\nBring your hot takes. Tell me what we’re getting wrong. Tell me what you’d do if you were in charge. Bring your most unhinged proposals — we might just find gold in there. Don’t let me off easy. I have thick skin and I **need** to know.\r\n\r\nI will respond honestly, even when the honest answer is *“I don’t know.”* I’m not here to defend the government — I wouldn’t even know where to start.\r\n\r\nThis will be messy. That’s the point. But it’s also genuinely valuable — because I have this tiny, now-or-never window to shape how Minnesota responds to AI, and I am not about to waste it. So if you’ve ever wanted to say something to the government and have someone listen and make it count, this is your 40 minutes.\r\n\r\n*Say something. Say anything.* No ego. No filter. No guaranteed outcome. No wrong answers. No holding back.\r\n\r\n**Let’s see what happens.**",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 12:30:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Community",
"Other",
"AI/ML",
"Design",
"Careers",
"Wildcard"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 41,
"created_at": "2026-04-19 13:52:05 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 17:02:30 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2103,
"participant_id": 81,
"presenter_name": "Brad Broulik",
"presenter_bio": "Brad Broulik is an author, trainer, speaker, tech lead, and supervisor specializing in technical leadership, career development and innovation at [HealthPartners](https://www.healthpartners.com).\r\n\r\n**Links:**\r\n- [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/brad-broulik-42ba7b5/)\r\n- [Blog](https://bradbroulik.blogspot.com/)\r\n- [GitHub](https://github.com/BradBroulik)",
"session_title": "Migration Engineering: Automating Security & Tech Stack Upgrades",
"summary": null,
"description": "What keeps you up at night? Last year, 26,000 vulnerabilities were discovered - 10% of them exploited by malicious actors, wreaking havoc on real victims. Even more concerning, 88% of these attacks happened within the first 6 days of discovery. The threat window is closing fast, and patching vulnerabilities the traditional way isn’t cutting it. It’s time to automate. In this session, we’ll explore how Open Source tools GitHub’s Dependabot, GitHub Actions, and OpenRewrite can automate your security and tech stack upgrades - slashing response times, reducing risk, and enabling continuous improvement. You’ll walk away with practical strategies for integrating these technologies into your workflow to stay ahead of your teams tech debt snowball.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 13:25:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Beginner",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Emerging Tech"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 9,
"created_at": "2026-04-19 12:35:20 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2102,
"participant_id": 7013,
"presenter_name": "Ben Wadsworth",
"presenter_bio": "Technology enablement leader focused on platform ownership, roadmaps, and scalable execution across customer and order workflows. Helping teams align priorities, accelerate decisions, and deliver with clear accountability. Current projects are centered around automation, process improvement, AI, analytics, and product roadmaps, with an emphasis on practical solutions that drive adoption and measurable value.\r\n\r\n- [LinkedIn Profile](https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-wadsworth)",
"session_title": "Influence Through Alignment: Technology Enablement in a Matrixed Organization",
"summary": null,
"description": "**Overview**\r\nIn a matrixed organization, outcomes often depend less on authority and more on the ability to align priorities, clarify ownership, and keep decisions moving. This session offers a practical approach to technology initiatives that strengthens influence through alignment across multiple platforms and cross-functional stakeholders. The focus is on the mechanics of cross-functional leadership: how to align stakeholders around a shared definition of value, clarify decision rights (“who decides what”) to reduce ambiguity, and establish an operating cadence that keeps decisions moving and removes roadblocks. Attendees will learn how to use prioritization criteria to shift conversations from opinions to tradeoffs, and how to create influence through clear communication, a champion network, and well-defined value measures.\r\n\r\n**Learning goals**\r\n • Build alignment early and sustain it through delivery\r\n • Establish a shared definition of value so teams optimize and prioritize established outcomes\r\n • Prevent “shadow priorities” by centralizing intake and maintaining clear priorities visible\r\n • Define ownership for exceptions, escalation paths, and dependencies\r\n\r\n**Expected Outcomes**\r\nAttendees will leave with a practical approach which can be applied immediately to lead technology initiatives across teams in a matrixed environment by using alignment mechanisms such as shared value definitions, explicit prioritization, clear decision rights to accelerate decisions and reduce rework.\r\n\r\n**What key takeaways will the attendees gain?**\r\n • A practical approach to leading technology initiatives across teams in a matrixed organization using alignment as the primary lever\r\n • Techniques to build alignment early, maintain it through delivery, and keep decisions moving by establishing ownership and decision rights\r\n • A method for creating a shared definition of value so teams optimize and prioritize for the same outcomes\r\n • An intake and prioritization approach that keeps priorities visible, reduces shadow priorities, and shifts conversations from opinions to tradeoffs\r\n • Sustain momentum through clear exception ownership, escalation paths, cross-team dependencies, and creating influence through communication, champions, and value measures\r\n",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 12:30:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Product",
"Soft Skills",
"Careers"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 6,
"created_at": "2026-04-19 08:29:42 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2101,
"participant_id": 4455,
"presenter_name": "Loran Gutt",
"presenter_bio": "Long-time Minnesotan, husband, father. Interested in eCommerce technology. Ex-ShopNBC and 3M. Lead Strategy and Corp Dev for 4x PE firms at THL, Thoma Bravo, Vista and Marlin.",
"session_title": "Leverage Your Experience: How to Land Your First Advisory Role",
"summary": null,
"description": "You have hard-earned skills and functional expertise that early-stage founders, younger professionals, and industry newcomers desperately need. Yet, many experienced professionals hesitate to step into advisory roles due to perceived barriers around time commitments, corporate optics, or simply knowing where to start. This session will break down those barriers and provide a practical roadmap for securing and succeeding in your first board or advisory position.\r\n\r\nIf you are worried about the corporate optics, rest assured: your boss is not going to fire you. A quick look at their LinkedIn profile will likely reveal that they advise multiple people and companies themselves. Furthermore, advisory work is highly flexible. A commitment of just a few focused hours a month can be incredibly impactful for a growing startup and entirely manageable alongside your main career.\r\n\r\nWhat You’ll Walk Away With:\r\n\r\n• A Specific Personal Template: A ready-to-use framework to help you package your corporate expertise into a highly sought-after advisory asset.\r\n\r\n• A Network Outreach Plan: A specific, easy-to-follow plan to re-engage six people who have helped you along your career path, turning warm contacts into advisory conversations.\r\n\r\n• Accelerated Day-Job Performance: Fresh perspectives and innovative approaches that directly improve your performance and decision-making in your primary role.\r\n\r\n• Agile Solutions: Exposure to new tools, templates, and operational playbooks that work better, faster, and cheaper in younger, fast-moving companies.\r\n\r\nAbout the Speaker:\r\n\r\nLoran Gutt is currently balancing a rewarding day job as SVP Strategy and Corp Dev at Bazaarvoice with paid board and advisory roles across six companies, serving on the Board of Directors for Shipsi, acting as a CEO strategy advisor for Wunderkind, and several earlier-stage companies, while driving exponential revenue growth, executing transformational M&A, and delivering exceptional financial turnarounds and outsized returns (up to 6x ROIC) for top private equity-backed software and enterprise companies.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 15:15:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Intermediate",
"categories": [
"Soft Skills",
"Careers"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 25,
"created_at": "2026-04-19 03:14:42 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2100,
"participant_id": 7033,
"presenter_name": "Andy Ganoe",
"presenter_bio": "Andy Ganoe is a leader and technologist serving as Director of Technical Operations overseeing engineering, DevOps, and compliance. He loves to play with technology and build with AI, and has been focused on turning that into something practical, building tools, standardizing patterns, and getting everyone from engineers to non-technical team members working alongside agents.\r\n",
"session_title": "10x'ing Myself and My Team: Leading With Agents, Not Just Using Them",
"summary": null,
"description": "Most AI productivity talks focus on one person doing one thing faster. What happens when you're responsible for a whole team and you start weaving agents into how everyone works?\r\n\r\nThat's where I've been for the last six months. Turning meeting notes into Jira stories. Automating compliance checks. Building tools that work for engineers, QA, product, scrum masters, analytics, and non-technical team members alike. The pattern is always the same, find the thing you do over and over, teach an agent how you do it, and get that time back.\r\n\r\nI'll share how I built the tooling, standardized it across roles, and what happened when people started managing workflows instead of just executing them.\r\n\r\nThis isn't about replacing anyone. It's about giving every person on your team leverage they didn't have before. I'll be honest, the job looks different now. People on my team don't just execute tasks anymore. They orchestrate, review, and decide what ships. If you're a leader trying to scale your team's impact, or someone in a hands-on role wondering why your day suddenly feels different, this is what's working for us right now.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 09:45:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Intermediate",
"categories": [
"Development",
"AI/ML",
"Product",
"Careers"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 24,
"created_at": "2026-04-19 02:00:17 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2099,
"participant_id": 7027,
"presenter_name": "Craig Vosper",
"presenter_bio": "Craig Vosper is a seasoned technology executive and leadership expert who specializes in building disciplined, high-performing teams that bridge the gap between complex technology and business value. A graduate of West Point and a former Platoon Leader in the 2nd Ranger Battalion, \r\n\r\nCraig’s leadership philosophy was forged in high-stakes environments where he learned that \"Elite\" is not a title, but a standard you earn every day. In his previous role, Craig oversaw the execution of up to 100 projects annually, maintaining a 99% delivery success rate and a 98% client retention rate. By translating military principles like Commander’s Intent and the Backbriefs into actionable corporate strategies, \r\n\r\nCraig helps leaders stop being the bottleneck and start building proactive, adaptable teams that win.",
"session_title": "Building Elite Teams - Forgotten Lessons from the Ranger Battalion",
"summary": null,
"description": "Given the complexities of our future environments, leaders will not be able to respond to these complexities effectively. The future will rely on Elite teams able to take risks and make decisions quickly and in alignment with the organization's goals. \r\n\r\nMany leaders believe they have a \"talent\" problem, but the truth is usually an \"operating\" problem. After a wake-up call in a downtown pizza place, Craig Vosper realized that the leadership principles he learned in the 2nd Ranger Battalion were the exact tools missing from his corporate strategy. He had become the bottleneck—and his team was waiting for him to lead, not manage.\r\n\r\nIn this high-impact session, Craig shares the framework for developing Elite Teams that are win, are proactive, adaptable, and have each other's backs. You will walk away with a tactical toolkit to:\r\nE - Empower your Team: Ensure the desire to win outweighs the fear of failure.\r\nL - Lead your people: Give them a clear path to winning. \r\nI - Inspire Greatness: Lead your team daily as Greatness isn't an event; it's a daily cadence.\r\nT - Team over heroes: Heroes can save the day, but teams win the war. \r\nE - Excellence as purpose: Make being excellent at what you do your purpose.\r\n\r\nLeadership isn't a natural gift; it is a trained discipline. Whether you are an overwhelmed leader or one seeking to grow your organization, join Craig to learn how to build teams that win, even when you’re not in the room.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 13:25:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Intermediate",
"categories": [
"Soft Skills",
"Careers"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 10,
"created_at": "2026-04-19 00:26:36 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2098,
"participant_id": 7032,
"presenter_name": "Jonathan Anderstrom",
"presenter_bio": "Jonathan Anderstrom is a veteran founder and thought leader dedicated to bridging the gap between cutting-edge technology and real-world business growth. After co-founding, scaling, and successfully exiting his first business, Jonathan is currently launching a new startup. A passionate advocate for the local innovation ecosystem, Jonathan combines his deep expertise in software development with a philosophical, purpose-driven approach to help the next generation of founders build, scale, and succeed. [https://www.linkedin.com/in/anderstrom/]",
"session_title": "The Startup Was a Financial Success. I Am Not Building It That Way Again.",
"summary": null,
"description": "In 2007, my wife and I started Creed Interactive in our basement with a mortgage to cover, a lot of hustle, and no certainty it would become anything lasting. Over 15 years, we grew it exponentially and we built a strong business where we ultimately exited successfully to Delta Dental Insurance.\r\n\r\nBy most measures, it worked. We created opportunities and achieved the goals we set out to reach. But starting over today, I am not building my next start up the same way again.\r\n\r\nIn this talk, I’ll share what actually drove the company’s success: how we found the right markets, hired people who could grow with the business, used retainer work to reduce volatility, learned to say no to bad-fit projects, and got clearer about profitability and focus. I’ll also talk about the less visible lessons: the joy of building with your spouse, the emotional cost of growth, and why a successful exit can still leave you rethinking how you want to build.\r\n\r\nIn my next start up, I am changing my definition of what is worth building. I am creating something different and finding a new method on how quickly truth should surface, and what I’m no longer willing to trade for growth. This next company will follow a very different logic. I’ll end by sharing the shifts I’m making now, and why **a successful first run can be the very thing that makes you question the whole playbook.**",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 16:10:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Startups",
"Careers",
"Marketing"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 11,
"created_at": "2026-04-18 23:54:00 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2097,
"participant_id": 6985,
"presenter_name": "Ryan Schafer",
"presenter_bio": "Ryan is a healthcare operations and transformation leader with 25+ years of experience making complicated organizations actually work better. He's spent his career in the space where People, Process, and Technology collide — building strategies that work and implementing them in the real world. With a background spanning consulting, health plan operations, and executive leadership, Ryan has a particular passion for the role of the second-in-command: the COOs, Chiefs of Staff, and integrators who quietly hold organizations together and make bold visions actually happen. A pragmatist at heart, he's known for brokering alignment, breaking big transformational efforts into steps that don't terrify people, and leading teams that deliver measurable results. He's also based in Minnesota, which means he shows up to things like this.",
"session_title": "What’s a Second, and why do they matter?",
"summary": null,
"description": "The people who are “The Glue” of your teams, hiding in plain sight\r\n\r\nVisionary, Founder, Dreamer, Idea Generator, you already know what we call the people in the spotlight… but in every high-performing team, near every “Visionary” who actually delivers, there’s someone (or several of them) keeping everyone moving in alignment, and forward, together. You've probably worked alongside one. You might even be one.\r\n\r\nWhat makes these people extraordinary is WHO they are, which they bring to every role they’re in. So while some organizations have “Second in Command” titles that attempt to call for this kind of person, like COO, Chief of Staff, President, or Integrator, those are job titles, and you can put any kind of person into any job.\r\n\r\nNot understanding who Seconds are means you often lose what holds your organization together without knowing how or why, but when you DO understand them, you unlock partnerships so effective they change what's possible.\r\nIn this session, we will name the identity of Secondness, separate Identity from Roles, and give every person in the room a new lens for building teams that actually execute.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 11:35:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Soft Skills",
"Careers"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 8,
"created_at": "2026-04-18 21:07:14 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2096,
"participant_id": 7012,
"presenter_name": "Sergio Najera-Feito",
"presenter_bio": " \\- Nerd \r\n \\- Enjoyer of human beings \r\n \\- Co-creator of [Pericle: Gathering Darkness](https://www.periclethegame.com)",
"session_title": "AI Sucks ☯️",
"summary": null,
"description": "It's undeniable how truly amazing modern AI is, and in 2026, we’ve only scratched the surface of AI’s true potential. \r\n\r\nClearly AI has some incredible, life-changing, and far-reaching use cases, given virtually every other presentation here at Minnebar20 is about AI.\r\n\r\nAt the same time, it’s being overprescribed as the end all be all solution to everything, from replacing 80% of the workers at your company with AI, to your own personal AI Jesus for only $1.99 (per minute)!\r\n\r\nBut AI sucks at a lot of things, and we need to talk about it.\r\n\r\nThis talk has a few simple goals, which are to demonstrate: \r\n \\- real life examples of what AI sucks at, from silly to scary \r\n \\- ways to discuss tradeoffs of AI without being entirely “doom and gloom” \r\n \\- actionable things you can do to contribute to a less sucky AI experience \r\n",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 10:40:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Emerging Tech",
"AI/ML",
"Community",
"Soft Skills"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 56,
"created_at": "2026-04-18 20:52:22 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2095,
"participant_id": 4726,
"presenter_name": "Tyler Thingelstad",
"presenter_bio": "I am a sophomore at Edina High School and a JV debater. ",
"session_title": "AI in Schools: What Students Are Actually Doing (and What Comes Next)",
"summary": null,
"description": "Schools are actively debating how to respond to AI—but much of that conversation is happening without a clear view of how students are actually using it day-to-day.\r\n\r\nAs a current high school student, I’ll bring a ground-level perspective on how AI is really showing up in classrooms: how often it’s used, what it’s used for, and how students themselves think about it.\r\n\r\nRight now, AI is often framed as a problem to control. In practice, that control is limited. AI tools are widely accessible, constantly improving, and already part of many students’ daily routines—whether for studying, completing assignments, or, in some cases, bypassing the work entirely. At the same time, every student is being exposed to AI in some form, regardless of school policies.\r\n\r\nIn this session, I’ll break down the most common ways students are using AI today—from legitimate learning support to clear academic dishonesty—and explore the gray areas in between, where expectations are often unclear. I’ll also share how students themselves view these boundaries, and where there’s a disconnect between student norms and school rules.\r\n\r\nLooking ahead, I’ll discuss the potential long-term impacts of this level of AI reliance—both the opportunities and the risks for skill development, learning habits, and equity.\r\n\r\nFinally, I’ll offer a student-informed perspective on what effective AI policies could look like: not just how to reduce misuse, but how schools can realistically adapt and help students use AI as a tool for learning rather than a shortcut around it.\r\n\r\nAttendees will leave with a clearer understanding of what is actually happening in schools today, where current approaches fall short, and practical ways to think about AI policy moving forward.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 14:20:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"AI/ML"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 31,
"created_at": "2026-04-18 01:06:33 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 17:02:30 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2094,
"participant_id": 10,
"presenter_name": "Jamie Thingelstad",
"presenter_bio": "Writer of the [Weekly Thing](https://weekly.thingelstad.com/). [Blogger](https://www.thingelstad.com). Explorer of tech, the open web, AI, and a [good escape room](https://escape.thingelstad.com/). Maybe a [podcast](https://another.thingelstad.com/)? CTO of [SPS Commerce](https://www.spscommerce.com), Board Member of [MnTech](https://mntech.org), Former Board Member [Minnestar](https://minnestar.org). [Minneapolis](https://www.minneapolis.org/) is home. See [about for more](https://www.thingelstad.com/about/).",
"session_title": "Elixir: Creating an AI Agent for our Clash Royale Clan",
"summary": null,
"description": "[POAP KINGS](https://poapkings.com/) is our [Clash Royale](https://supercell.com/en/games/clashroyale/) clan that is structured, recognition-driven, and built around the idea that participation deserves proof. That last part is literal. Our members collect [POAP](https://poap.xyz)s — a blockchain-based collectible that marks their place in the clan's history.\r\n\r\nThen one of the clan founders decided the clan needed an AI agent! 🤖\r\n\r\nThat agent is [Elixir](https://poapkings.com/elixir/) ([Github](https://github.com/jthingelstad/elixir-bot)). It runs 24/7 inside the POAP KINGS Discord, pulling data from the Clash Royale API and generating signals to drive insights. When something real happens — a member crossing a trophy milestone, a war day kicking off, a promotion earned, a new member — Elixir notices and says something, in its own voice, without being asked.\r\n\r\nElixir isn't just an announcer! In the leadership channel, the clan's co-leader can ask it freeform questions — who's been carrying wars, which members are going quiet, whether someone's earned a promotion — and get answers grounded in actual clan data. Elixir also drives the clan's entire website: it regenerates roster pages, member bios, and the home page message, then commits it all to git automatically.\r\n\r\nElixir also helps our clan members get better! They can use `#ask-elixir` to get input on their deck, how to counter certain cards, and analyze their previous games. They can even use `#card-quiz` to drill themselves on battle mechanics.\r\n\r\nIn this session we'll tell the story of building Elixir. We'll demo it live in Discord, walk through the architecture (Python, Clash Royale API, LLM, SQLite, and an 11ty static site pipeline), and dig into the agent design problems that actually turn out to be hard: distinguishing signal from noise, why memory matters more than raw intelligence, schema-validating LLM output before it touches your site, and why giving an agent a consistent voice is not a nice-to-have.\r\n\r\nYou don't need to know Clash Royale. You just need to be curious about what it actually takes to create an agent.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 11:35:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Intermediate",
"categories": [
"Development",
"AI/ML"
],
"other_presenter_names": [
"Tyler Thingelstad"
],
"other_presenter_ids": [
4726
],
"attendance_count": 8,
"created_at": "2026-04-18 00:41:32 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 17:02:30 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2093,
"participant_id": 7005,
"presenter_name": "Glenn",
"presenter_bio": "Glenn spent over 20 years as a Creative Director at advertising agencies across Minneapolis — which basically means he's spent decades solving problems under pressure, translating complicated things into plain language, and convincing people to care about stuff. He never studied technology, never learned to code, and would still describe himself as a regular person who just can't stop poking at things to see how they work. That curiosity led him down the AI rabbit hole a few years ago, and he hasn't come up for air since. Today he works in marketing at a financial firm, where he's figured out how to use tools like Claude, ChatGPT, and others to punch way above his weight — without breaking compliance, alienating IT, or pretending to be an engineer. JUMP! is his honest account of what worked, what didn't, and why you don't need to be technical to start.",
"session_title": "JUMP! A regular person’s guide to introducing AI at work and in real life.",
"summary": null,
"description": "Everyone’s talking about AI—but if you’re in a “normal” job (especially in a regulated field), it’s not obvious where to start or what’s actually safe and useful to hand over to the machines. In this session, I’ll share how I’ve gradually woven AI into both my day job at a financial firm and my everyday life, without becoming an AI engineer or breaking compliance. \r\nYou’ll see how I use tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Cowork, and HeyGen to act like a one‑person marketing and content team (ad icons, copy‑fitting, SEO‑friendly video scripts, avatar videos), as well as a first‑line “smart friend” for real‑world troubleshooting—like fixing a thermostat that wouldn’t talk to my furnace and AC, or debugging a broken HTML email signature from screenshots and source code. \r\nI’ll be honest about what worked, what broke (like over‑engineered JSON and free‑tier GitHub limits), and how I decide where AI doesn’t belong. We’ll cover: \r\n• Where to start: low‑risk, high‑leverage AI use cases you can try this week at work and at home. \r\n• How to introduce AI inside a regulated or sensitive environment without freaking out compliance or leadership. \r\n• A simple decision framework for when to rely on AI, when to keep it as a draft‑only helper, and when not to use it at all. \r\nThis will be a collaborative session—come ready to share your own experiments, questions, and “is this OK to do?” scenarios. Whether you’re AI‑curious but stuck on “where do I start?” or already dabbling with tools, you’ll leave with concrete workflows, prompts, and sanity checks you can apply immediately. ",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 10:40:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Beginner",
"categories": [
"AI/ML",
"Soft Skills",
"Marketing"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 12,
"created_at": "2026-04-17 22:18:02 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2092,
"participant_id": 3355,
"presenter_name": "Colin Hirdman",
"presenter_bio": "I'm a Twin Cities entrepreneur and Minnebar veteran. Love building and learning, you can learn about what I'm up to at https://monkeyislandventures.com. I'm also a volunteer on the MN Blockchain Initiative board (https://www.mnblockchain.org/).\r\n\r\nLook forward to meeting you!\r\n\r\n**Links:**\r\n\r\n- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinhirdman/\r\n- Twitter: @colinhirdman\r\n",
"session_title": "LinkedIn Isn’t Broken...Your Strategy Is 😳 A LinkedIn growth workshop for founders who want leads-not likes 🙌",
"summary": null,
"description": "I'm excited to present a live workshop for founders who want to turn LinkedIn into a real source of leads and sales—without posting or sending spammy messages.\r\n\r\n⸻\r\n\r\nWhat You’ll Learn:\r\n\r\n- ✅ The exact LinkedIn philosophy I’ve used to generate millions in revenue\r\n- ✅ How to build a network of real buyers—not just connections\r\n- ✅ Proven campaign strategies to turn LinkedIn into a consistent source of leads and sales\r\n\r\n⸻\r\n\r\nWhat This Is (and Isn’t):\r\n\r\nThis is a no-fluff, strategy-first session.\r\n\r\nWe will NOT cover:\r\n\r\n❌ Optimizing your profile \r\n❌ Posting schedules \r\n❌ Chasing likes, comments, or “engagement hacks”\r\n\r\nWe WILL focus on:\r\n\r\n✅ How to grow an audience of ideal prospects \r\n✅ How to create opt-in interest instead of chasing people \r\n✅ How to turn LinkedIn into a repeatable system for conversations and revenue\r\n\r\n⸻\r\n\r\nWho This Is For:\r\n\r\n• Founders who know LinkedIn matters—but aren’t seeing results \r\n• Builders who don’t want to become “content creators” \r\n• Anyone who wants a clear, practical system they can actually use\r\n\r\n⸻\r\n\r\nWhat to Expect:\r\n\r\nCome ready to:\r\n\r\n• Rethink how LinkedIn actually works \r\n• See real strategies you can implement immediately \r\n• Ask questions and apply this to your business in real time\r\n\r\n⸻\r\n\r\nWhy I’m Doing This\r\n\r\nI’ve spent years running LinkedIn campaigns that drive real business results.\r\n\r\nThis session is about sharing what actually works—so you can:\r\n\r\n• Stay authentic \r\n• Build trust with the right people \r\n• Turn LinkedIn into a growth engine for your business",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 09:45:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Startups",
"Soft Skills",
"Marketing"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 23,
"created_at": "2026-04-17 15:47:17 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2090,
"participant_id": 6986,
"presenter_name": "Abdi Mohamed",
"presenter_bio": "Abdi Mohamed is the founder of Amptech, a full-service digital marketing agency with over 10 years of experience running digital advertising, designing websites, and building marketing systems for small businesses.\r\nOver the years, Abdi noticed that most of his clients had the same problem. They were getting leads but had no real system to manage them, follow up, or convert them into customers. That problem led him to build a CRM designed specifically for small businesses, one that brings together lead generation, lead management, and digital systems all in one place. The goal was simple: help business owners stop losing money on leads they never had time to follow up on.\r\nAs part of his commitment to giving back, Abdi also founded IT Metrohub, a workforce development organization in the Twin Cities that trains people on how to Use AI and cybersecurity. Many Minnesota residents can attend at no out-of-pocket cost.",
"session_title": "AI-Powered CRM for Small Businesses: What Actually Works",
"summary": null,
"description": "Most small businesses don't need a massive CRM. They need one that actually works for them. In this session, we'll look at how AI is changing the way small teams manage leads, follow up with customers, and keep deals from falling through the cracks.\r\nWe'll use a real local example: IT Metrohub, a workforce development organization, partnered with Amptech, a marketing agency, to generate leads, manage them, and streamline student registration using an AI-powered CRM. No theory, just what they actually built and how it worked.\r\nWe'll also cover what AI-powered CRMs can do today, which features are worth your attention, and how to get started without a big budget or a tech team.\r\nCome with questions. This one's meant to be a conversation.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 12:30:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Intermediate",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Startups",
"Emerging Tech",
"AI/ML",
"Community",
"Marketing"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 13,
"created_at": "2026-04-17 05:54:41 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2089,
"participant_id": 1270,
"presenter_name": "Daniel Feldman",
"presenter_bio": "I'm a software engineer working on open source network security stuff. Follow me @dfeldman.org on BlueSky.\r\n\r\n**Links:**\r\n\r\n- [GitHub](https://github.com/dfeldman)\r\n",
"session_title": " 🤖 AI LIGHTNING TALKS ⚡",
"summary": null,
"description": "This is the time for AI show-and-tell. No thought leadership. No \"journey\" slides. No executive summaries. Just AI practitioners, with a few minutes each, telling you what they're working on. Hot takes encouraged. Working demos encouraged. \"AI failed spectacularly and here's why\" talks get bonus applause.\r\n\r\nWant to share your project? Fill out [this form](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeqX3jSktw5SJPqv0-clXFUUSeVt63-gw78w-k9DVzuvRGWOA/viewform?usp=dialog).",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 15:15:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Beginner",
"categories": [
"Startups",
"Emerging Tech",
"AI/ML",
"Wildcard"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 23,
"created_at": "2026-04-16 21:00:53 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 17:02:30 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2088,
"participant_id": 7018,
"presenter_name": "Air Gustafson",
"presenter_bio": "Air Gustafson is the founder of Morty’s Bark & Brew and Bliss by Meatspace. She works at the intersection of human behavior and shared environments, designing simple systems that help people navigate pet-inclusive spaces with more awareness and less friction.\r\n\r\nHer current focus is developing a real-world pilot that applies these principles to dog parks, reframing behavior not as training, but as infrastructure.\r\n\r\n\r\n💼[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7445853479857778688/?originTrackingId=CngoAf4KtzAmhL%2FwvbB76A%3D%3D)\r\n🐾[Morty's Bark & Brew](https://www.mortysbarkbrew.com/)\r\n🧭[Meatspace](https://brand.page/meatspacedog)",
"session_title": "Don’t Train the User: Designing Behavior Systems for Chaotic Environments",
"summary": null,
"description": "Dog parks are one of the few public spaces with zero behavioral infrastructure—and predictable conflict points.\r\n\r\nInstead of blaming “bad dogs” or “irresponsible owners,” what if we designed simple, visible systems that guide human behavior at the exact moments pressure builds?\r\n\r\nIn this session, we’ll break down one real-world scenario (dog park gate entry) and explore how small design signals—timing, spacing, movement—can reduce friction before it escalates.\r\n\r\nIf you work in product, UX, or systems design, this is a live case study in shaping behavior without rules, enforcement, or training.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 11:35:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Design",
"Product",
"Community"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 11,
"created_at": "2026-04-16 20:16:58 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2086,
"participant_id": 7011,
"presenter_name": "Heather McCarl",
"presenter_bio": "Data Science Leader | AI Consultant | Speaker & Trainer\r\n\r\nWith over 20 years of experience in data science, Heather McCarl is the founder of Ethos AI Consultants, where she focuses on the intersection of emerging technology and responsible implementation. With a passion for navigating the complexities of AI, Heather helps organizations build frameworks that are as ethical as they are innovative. When she’s not deconstructing AI workflows, she’s crocheting, learning something new, gardening or spending time with family. \r\n\r\n**Links:**\r\n\r\n[Ethos AI Consulting](https://www.ethosaiconsultants.com)",
"session_title": "The Human Side of AI Adoption: Why Most AI Projects Fail Before They Start",
"summary": null,
"description": "Everyone's implementing AI. Most of it isn't working. **Not because the tools are bad, but because the people using them are still thinking the same way they always have.** Finite thinking in an infinite game.\r\n\r\nIn this session, we'll cut through the hype and get honest about the real reason AI initiatives stall: organizational mindset. You'll learn how to spot the invisible assumptions and paradigms that quietly kill AI projects before they ever get off the ground and what to do about it.\r\n\r\nYou'll walk away with:\r\n\r\n- A simple framework for diagnosing whether your team is ready for AI adoption (hint: most aren't as ready as they think)\r\n \r\n- The specific language patterns that signal deep resistance to change\r\n \r\n- A practical first step you can take Monday morning (no tools required)\r\n\r\nThis session is for founders, leaders, consultants, and anyone who has watched a promising AI initiative die a slow, frustrating death. You don't need to be technical. You just need to care about making change actually stick.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 09:45:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Beginner",
"categories": [
"AI/ML",
"Soft Skills",
"Other"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 11,
"created_at": "2026-04-16 14:41:58 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2084,
"participant_id": 7008,
"presenter_name": "Jared Duffy",
"presenter_bio": "Jared Duffy is VP of Finance at a SaaS company in the Twin Cities and an Adjunct Professor of Accounting at the University of St. Thomas. He has 10+ years of finance experience spanning Fortune 500 FP&A at Ecolab, healthcare SaaS, manufacturing controllership at Seagate, and his current role leading finance, legal, and operations. Over the past four months, he's used AI to automate large parts of his finance function, including collections, variance analysis, competitive intelligence, executive reporting, month-end close, and a live CEO dashboard, despite not being an engineer. He holds an MBA in Strategy from the University of Notre Dame.",
"session_title": "How AI Helped Me Automate a Finance Department & Put Real-Time Finance Metrics on My CEO's Phone",
"summary": null,
"description": "I'm a VP of Finance at a SaaS company. I'm not an engineer. But over the past 4 months, AI didn't just help me automate executive reporting, month end close, collections, variance analysis, competitive intelligence, and a CEO finance dashboard that puts live key metrics in the palm of my CEO's hand. It taught me how. Some of what I built uses tools that already existed, but AI empowered me by teaching me things that would have taken months or years to learn on my own. Things that used to take days now take hours. Things that used to take hours now take minutes. This isn't a talk about AI replacing people. It's about what happens when a non-technical person uses AI as a teacher, a building partner, and an agent that runs work in the background. My examples are in finance, but the patterns apply everywhere. If you spend hours every week on repetitive work, pulling data, formatting reports, chasing people for updates, answering the same questions over and over, responding to routine emails, or stitching together information from different systems, you're doing the same kind of work I automated. I'll show what I built, how AI walked me through it, and hopefully get you thinking about what your version of this looks like.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 09:45:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Startups",
"AI/ML",
"Careers",
"Other"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 9,
"created_at": "2026-04-16 02:45:45 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2083,
"participant_id": 2306,
"presenter_name": "Andrew Haisting",
"presenter_bio": "Andrew writes, reviews, and ships top quality code at [Livefront](https://livefront.com/).",
"session_title": "Everything in Time: The Ultimate Guide to Android Date and Time Programming",
"summary": null,
"description": "Have you ever felt frustrated trying to figure out how to model time in your Android app? The options are dizzying: `ZonedDateTime`, `OffsetDateTime`, dare I say... `GregorianCalendar`?\r\n\r\nOur talk will give you **everything** you will ever need to know about modeling and displaying time in an Android application.\r\n\r\nWe'll cover which time APIs you should use, which ones you should avoid, and how to model and display timestamps in a wide variety of use cases.\r\n\r\n*This will be the last Android talk about time you'll ever need to attend!*",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 14:20:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Intermediate",
"categories": [
"Development"
],
"other_presenter_names": [
"David Perez"
],
"other_presenter_ids": [
1475
],
"attendance_count": 24,
"created_at": "2026-04-15 23:01:25 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2081,
"participant_id": 7002,
"presenter_name": "Kurt Schmidt",
"presenter_bio": " Kurt Schmidt runs [Schmidt Consulting Group](https://schmidtconsulting.group), where he builds go-to-market systems for B2B companies and advises agency founders on positioning and growth. Over the past year, he's rebuilt his entire consulting operation on AI, from content pipelines and prospect scoring to daily briefing agents and automated client reporting. Former BMX pro. Author of three books. Host of Schmidt List podcast.",
"session_title": "I Tried to Replace Myself with AI. The AI Was the Easy Part.",
"summary": null,
"description": "Everyone's talking about what AI can do. Almost nobody talks about what breaks when you actually try to run a business on it.\r\n\r\nI've spent the past year rebuilding my consulting practice on AI. Not one tool, not one workflow. The whole operational layer. And the problems worth talking about were never the AI. They were the detection system I had to build to stop my own content pipeline from publishing things that sound like a robot wrote them. The three-day silent outage caused by a renamed folder. The moment I tried to turn my sales instincts into a scoring model and realized I couldn't explain how I actually make decisions.\r\n\r\nThis is a walk through the real system: what it looks like, what it costs, what I broke building it, and the one insight that turned out to matter more than any tool I plugged in. You'll see the actual architecture, the actual banned word list, and an honest split of what I'd never do manually again versus what I gave back to the humans.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 14:20:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"AI/ML"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 19,
"created_at": "2026-04-15 16:54:06 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2080,
"participant_id": 208,
"presenter_name": "Paul DeBettignies",
"presenter_bio": "Paul DeBettignies is the Founder of Launch Hiring and is better known as “Minnesota Headhunter.” Recognized as a Talent Leader, for 25+ years Paul has sat at the intersection of talent advisory and talent strategy building software, tech, product and digital teams with startups and tech companies throughout the country with a focus on Minnesota and the Midwest while creating recruiting strategies for Fortune 500 clients.\r\n\r\nHe is a regional and national writer speaker, trainer, subject matter expert and trusted media source on recruiter, HR, career, job search, networking and social media topics.\r\n\r\nBorn and raised in Minneapolis, Paul despises bios and does not take himself as serious as this all sounds. He loves sunsets, fishing, gardening and still believes that one day the Gophers will go to the Rose Bowl.\r\n\r\nStay in contact with him by clicking: [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/mnheadhunter) | [@MNHeadhunter](https://twitter.com/mnheadhunter) | [Minnesota Headhunter Blog](http://www.mnheadhunter.com)\r\n",
"session_title": "Recruiting, Hiring, and Building Teams In An AI World",
"summary": null,
"description": "I despise using hype or fear to get someone motivated to do a thing, but… if you have been, are, or will be recruiting, hiring, building talent pools for future hiring, networking to find co founders, you’re going to want to join me.\r\n\r\nIn short, hiring and building teams has been dramatically changing the past two years and the impact will last into the foreseeable future. Some of this changes comes from socio/economic/political factors and a bunch from the use of AI.\r\n\r\nHR tech - changed\r\n\r\nCandidate expectations - changing\r\n\r\nUse of tools to find people - changed, changing, and will change again\r\n\r\nHow we evaluate candidates - changing\r\n\r\nHow candidates evaluate us as leaders, hiring managers, and companies - changing\r\n\r\nWho should attend… if you are (or will be):\r\n\r\nA leader hiring a team\r\n\r\nA team member who is part of the interviewing process\r\n\r\nA CTO (or similar) doing long term planning\r\n\r\nA founder and looking for senior leaders\r\n\r\nA startup and prepping to hire outside of family and friends for the first time\r\n\r\n*Agenda coming soon*\r\n",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 13:25:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Startups",
"Careers"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 25,
"created_at": "2026-04-15 15:34:35 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2079,
"participant_id": 208,
"presenter_name": "Paul DeBettignies",
"presenter_bio": "Paul DeBettignies is the Founder of Launch Hiring and is better known as “Minnesota Headhunter.” Recognized as a Talent Leader, for 25+ years Paul has sat at the intersection of talent advisory and talent strategy building software, tech, product and digital teams with startups and tech companies throughout the country with a focus on Minnesota and the Midwest while creating recruiting strategies for Fortune 500 clients.\r\n\r\nHe is a regional and national writer speaker, trainer, subject matter expert and trusted media source on recruiter, HR, career, job search, networking and social media topics.\r\n\r\nBorn and raised in Minneapolis, Paul despises bios and does not take himself as serious as this all sounds. He loves sunsets, fishing, gardening and still believes that one day the Gophers will go to the Rose Bowl.\r\n\r\nStay in contact with him by clicking: [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/mnheadhunter) | [@MNHeadhunter](https://twitter.com/mnheadhunter) | [Minnesota Headhunter Blog](http://www.mnheadhunter.com)\r\n",
"session_title": "Managing Your Tech Career v17 – (Why do recruiters suck so bad?)",
"summary": null,
"description": "17 years doing this session and this likely is the most important one I have done.\r\n\r\nWhile things aren’t broken… they are not the same.\r\n\r\nHiring is happening: with smaller teams and higher expectations.\r\n\r\nAI is being used across recruiting, hiring, annual reviews, and promotions.\r\n\r\nAnd a lot of technologists are asking:\r\n\r\n“Am I on the right path… and am I doing the right things?”\r\n\r\nAfter a lot of conversations across the community this year, I’m back to share what I’m seeing and hearing, and how I’d think about building a career in tech right now.\r\n\r\nThis is a choose your own adventure agenda... please ask questions, bring up other/additional topics:\r\n\r\n•The current state of tech hiring (Minnesota + Bay Area)\r\n\r\n•How careers in tech actually develop (early, mid, and beyond)\r\n\r\n•What employers are really looking for and how they evaluate candidates to hire and for promotions\r\n\r\n•How AI is being used in hiring (what matters, what doesn’t)\r\n\r\n•Why strong candidates are getting missed—and how to stand out\r\n\r\n•Different ways to work in tech: full-time, contract, and project-based\r\n\r\n•Why adaptability and optionality matter more than ever\r\n\r\n•The growing importance of human skills in an AI-driven environment \r\n\r\n•Practical ways to build visibility and momentum with your employer and community\r\n\r\n•Looking out the next 1/3/5 years… things to do and be aware of\r\n",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 16:10:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Careers"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 38,
"created_at": "2026-04-15 14:34:14 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 17:02:30 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2078,
"participant_id": 5556,
"presenter_name": "Kathy Comfort",
"presenter_bio": "A strategy and technology professional currently focused on creating mass human flourishing. Interested in solving the most urgent challenge of our time: How do people learn, think, and lead in a world where knowledge is democratized and expertise is commoditized?\r\n\r\n[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathycomfort/) | [Centaurian AI](https://centaurianai.com/)",
"session_title": "Think First. Prompt Later. Be un-BOT-able.",
"summary": null,
"description": "\r\nWe'll explore the shift from the Knowledge Era to the Wisdom Era, where judgment and discernment become the scarce resource. And we'll work with two practical tools: Braindumping and Ignorance Mapping. Leave with a new relationship to uncertainty and a sharper sense of what makes you un-BOT-able.\r\n\r\nIf everyone walks into the room with the same AI tools and the same access to knowledge, how do you differentiate? I think the answer is counterintuitive.\r\n\r\nWhile everyone is racing to master AI, the real leverage is going all in on your thinking. Not instead of AI — but harnessing AI. Better thinking, better judgment, better questions: that's what separates signal from noise.\r\n\r\nYour edge isn't what you know. It's hidden in your openness to explore the unknown.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 10:40:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Beginner",
"categories": [
"Soft Skills",
"Careers",
"Other"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 20,
"created_at": "2026-04-15 13:53:37 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2076,
"participant_id": 6352,
"presenter_name": "Frida Kreitzer",
"presenter_bio": "I'm an IT and security leader who helps companies move fast without losing control. I have 10+ years in IT operations, security, and compliance, I specialize in SOC 2 readiness, risk management, and making complex systems actually work in practice. My current focus is helping organizations understand and defend how they’re using AI in the real world.\r\n\r\nHaving given talks at Nord Security, NordVPN, RSA and Instagram, I'm very excited to be at Minnestar this year!\r\n\r\n[Vintrias.io](https://vintrias.io)",
"session_title": "Shadow AI! Innovation Without Oversight",
"summary": null,
"description": "This talk will be on the rapid scaling of AI without sufficient oversight, and how this impacts businesses that must meet compliance standards while simultaneously adopting AI to replace more expensive SaaS tools and even human labor. \r\n\r\nHow can companies successfully signal trust to their customers in this environment?\r\n\r\nThe real risk isn’t AI itself; it’s the growing gap between how AI is actually being used and how (or if) it’s documented, controlled, and defensible.\r\n\r\nIn this session, we’ll dig into real-world moments where AI use has already created legal, reputational, and operational headaches - and unpack what “defensible AI” actually looks like beyond the buzzwords.\r\n\r\nYou’ll walk away knowing exactly where the hidden risks exist and how to get ahead of them without killing innovation.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 12:30:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"AI/ML",
"Careers",
"Wildcard",
"Emerging Tech",
"Other",
"Development"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 15,
"created_at": "2026-04-15 01:56:44 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-25 02:41:09 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2075,
"participant_id": 6999,
"presenter_name": "Nathan Young",
"presenter_bio": "Hi, I’m Nathan Young, a professional Second (in command) and author of How to be Second. I talk about being and growing as a second in command + a Second by identity, and I tear apart myths around those things.\r\n\r\nProfessionally I'm a fractional Second in Command or COO, and Founder of How to be Second, an organization dedicated to supporting and championing the movement of \"Seconds\" in the world. \r\n\r\nPersonally, a problem solver, Dad, leader, marketer...I wear a lot of hats and enjoy wrangling chaos. What I do best is get people moving forward, in alignment, together.\r\n\r\nemail: nathan@howtobesecond.com\r\n\r\nLinkedIN: www.linkedin.com/in/nathan-s-young\r\n\r\nHow to be Second: https://howtobesecond.com/\r\n\r\n",
"session_title": "Convincing Energy- Understanding your capacity is key to unlocking your companies growth potential.",
"summary": null,
"description": "Convincing energy is still the thing I run out of the fastest; after big asks or big days filled with asks, I often need a day (or two, or several) to recover. \r\n\r\nThis means that sometimes (often) the growth of my company, How to be Second, is stuck behind my convincing energy; frankly, this also limits our “luck potential”, because the only way I have found to influence luck (which plays a brutally important role in success) is to just increase our “luck surface area” - aka, how many people I know and make asks of. \r\n\r\nTurns out you can’t guarantee a “Yes” if you ask 100 people for something, but it also seems to be a hell of a lot more likely.\r\n\r\nI’ve been able to smooth out the number of asks I need to make partially through the people I surround myself with, but it all goes back to getting help.\r\n\r\nThis one isn’t solved, it’s just lived with. Let’s talk about convincing energy, how you can better understand where you are at, and how we can all live with our capacities to show up and ask for the resources and help our companies need. \r\n\r\n",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 15:15:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Startups",
"Marketing",
"Other"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 6,
"created_at": "2026-04-14 21:31:16 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2074,
"participant_id": 6240,
"presenter_name": "Richard Chandler, MA, LPC",
"presenter_bio": "Richard Chandler, MA, LPC, combines decades of experience as a licensed psychotherapist, executive coach, and business partners counselor, bringing unique expertise in relationship dynamics in personal and business settings. He works with partnerships and teams throughout the United States and Canada to help business partners overcome communication barriers and move forward productively.\r\n\r\n**Links:**\r\n\r\n- [Website](https://thebusinesspartnerscounselor.com/)\r\n- [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardjchandler/)",
"session_title": "Business Partners and Co-Founders: The Good, the Bad, the Weird",
"summary": null,
"description": "Business partnerships can be a force multiplier or a slow-moving failure mode. This session is a facilitated conversation for co-founders and partners (and those exploring a partnership) seeking practical tools to build a better working relationship. If you are in a partnership that feels great, messy, or somewhere in between, come compare notes with other partners and co-founders in the room.\r\n\r\nTogether, we will surface the real issues that make or break partnerships, including expectations, decision-making, conflict patterns and communication breakdowns. Bring your scenarios, questions, and lessons learned. The goal is to leave with clearer language, healthier defaults, and a few practical tools you can apply immediately.\r\n\r\n**Who this is for:**\r\n\r\n- Co-founders and business partners, past, present, and future.\r\n- Entrepreneurs considering a partnership, currently in one, or recovering from a hard one.\r\n- Anyone building a company with a friend, family member, or long-time collaborator.\r\n\r\n**What you will take away:**\r\n\r\n- Tools for clarifying roles, expectations, and decision-making before conflict escalates\r\n- Common partnership pitfalls, and early warning signs to watch for\r\n- Practical ways to have hard conversations without triggering defensiveness or shutdown\r\n- Prompts for separating “business relationship” issues from “personal relationship” issues\r\n- Ideas for repair when trust has been dented, and how to prevent repeat patterns\r\n\r\n**Format:**\r\n\r\nFacilitated discussion with prompts, short frameworks, and group sharing. We will also pull insights from participants’ real scenarios (time-boxed).\r\n\r\n**Note:** This is not legal advice. We will focus on partnership process, communication, and practical decision-making tools, not legal partnership agreements.\r\n\r\n**About the hosts:**\r\n\r\nRichard Chandler, “The Business Partners Counselor,” is a long-time business partnership counselor and executive coach. Grant Chandler is a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and consultant focused on building clear, repeatable ways of working. They are also a father-son business partnership, and have helped many partners align and stay effective under real-world constraints.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 10:40:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Startups",
"Soft Skills"
],
"other_presenter_names": [
"Grant Chandler"
],
"other_presenter_ids": [
2050
],
"attendance_count": 23,
"created_at": "2026-04-14 19:14:16 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2073,
"participant_id": 1690,
"presenter_name": "Janel Anderson",
"presenter_bio": "Dr. Janel Anderson, owner of Working Conversations, helps technology organizations communicate more effectively so they can collaborate better, be more innovative, and get products to market faster. \r\n\r\nJanel began her career in a start-up company where venture capital investors kept a revolving door on the senior leadership. Her curiosity about that prompted her to go to graduate school to better understand what makes for great leadership communication. After completing a PhD in organizational communication at Purdue University, she taught at the college level before returning to corporate America to run a user experience engineering department for a multinational corporation. \r\n
\r\nJanel combines her research background with many years in the corporate sector to provide engaging, motivating programs that are research-based and realistic and practical. Her technical management experience equips her to interact easily in technical settings with everyone from senior executives to individual contributors. \r\n
\r\nShe lives in Minneapolis with her husband and three children. Outside of work, Janel serves the urges of taste and design as she reverse engineers recipes for dishes from her favorite restaurants in her kitchen at home.\r\n\r\n**Links:**\r\n\r\nhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/janelanderson/",
"session_title": "The UX of Being Human: A Usability Assessment of You",
"summary": null,
"description": "What if we applied the same rigor we use to evaluate software interfaces to how we interact with our colleagues?\r\n\r\nIn this session, we'll conduct a live usability assessment, but instead of testing an app, we're testing you. Using actual UX methodology (heuristics, systems thinking, friction analysis), we'll identify where your professional interactions create unnecessary cognitive load, confusion, or frustration for the people trying to interact with you as a coworker or leader.\r\n\r\nYou'll discover:\r\n\r\n• The hidden usability issues in how you communicate \r\n• Why your \"intuitive\" management style might be anything but\r\n• How to run lightweight user testing on your own leadership approach\r\n• The difference between being technically right and being human-centered\r\n\r\nWalk away with a practical framework for making yourself easier to work with, because the best technology works seamlessly, and the best colleagues should be too.\r\n\r\nPerfect for developers, designers, and anyone who's ever wondered why people problems feel harder to debug than code problems.\r\n",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 12:30:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Design",
"Soft Skills",
"Careers"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 19,
"created_at": "2026-04-14 18:02:44 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2072,
"participant_id": 200,
"presenter_name": "Zack Steven",
"presenter_bio": "I am a lifelong entrepreneur and leader passionate about good design, big ideas, and strong inclusive communities. \r\n\r\nI created the Shared Success Agreement — open-sourced at [SharedSuccessAgreement.org](http://sharedsuccessagreement.org) — and over the past eight years have structured over 50 of them, investing more than $500,000 in growth-stage companies through Cloudburst. I believe everyone should be able to invest what they have — whether that's money, time, or expertise.\r\n\r\nI am a Founding Partner of [Monkey Island Ventures](http://monkeyislandventures.com), CEO of [Cloudburst Studio](http://cloudburststudio.com), and host the monthly [No-Code Coffee](https://no-code-coffee.kit.com/a17a71e671) meetup for non-technical entrepreneurs building tech companies.\r\n\r\nI have a degree in Studio Art from Grinnell College and have spent the past 20 years mastering the art of business in leadership roles across Product, Sales, Finance, and Operations for organizations ranging from startups to public companies. At its best, business is sculpture: beautiful and useful.\r\n\r\nI hold several patents, am a Minnesotan on the Move award recipient, and have served on non-profit boards including MetroIBA and the St. Paul Central High School Foundation. I am a native of The North and live in Edina with my wife and two sons.\r\n\r\nIf any of this aligns with your interests, let's connect on X: [@zacksteven](http://www.twitter.com/zacksteven) or in person at MinneBar. Just @ me.\r\n\r\n\r\n**Links:**\r\n\r\nX: [@zacksteven](http://www.twitter.com/zacksteven)\r\n\r\nLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zacksteven",
"session_title": "Shared Success Agreements: Stop Selling Your Time. Start Investing It.",
"summary": null,
"description": "At some point, most skilled people get asked to contribute to something they believe in — a friend's startup, a promising client, a project worth caring about. Sometimes you say yes. Sometimes you say no. But rarely do you have a clear framework for what your contribution is actually worth, or how to structure it so everyone wins.\r\n\r\nThere's a better model that almost nobody is using: one where your time and expertise function as actual investment capital, with structured returns tied to the value you help create.\r\n\r\nThat's what [Shared Success Agreements](http://sharedsuccessagreement.org) are. A founder-friendly alternative to equity, debt, or a SAFE — a structure that lets you invest your skills in exchange for a defined share of future revenue, with clear terms, milestone tracking, and real ROI expectations. Not consulting. Not employment. **Investment.**\r\n\r\nOver the past 8 years [Cloudburst](http://cloudburststudio.com) has invested more than $500,000 in clients this way. We've learned what works, what doesn't, and how to tell the difference before you commit. I'll share all of it.\r\n\r\nWhether you're between roles right now, running your own practice, or just wondering if there's a smarter way to deploy what you know — this session will show you how.\r\n\r\nYou'll leave with a new mental model for your own expertise, a framework for identifying which engagements are worth investing in vs. just billing, and a practical understanding of how to structure an agreement.\r\n\r\nThe open-source template is at [SharedSuccessAgreement.org](http://sharedsuccessagreement.org). This session gives you the strategy behind it.\r\n\r\nBring your scenarios and questions — when more of us are invested in each other's success, the whole ecosystem wins.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 13:25:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Beginner",
"categories": [
"Careers",
"Marketing"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 14,
"created_at": "2026-04-14 16:49:55 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-28 02:56:40 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2071,
"participant_id": 6996,
"presenter_name": "Justin Buhl",
"presenter_bio": "Justin Buhl is the Chief Technology Officer of Kigo, a subsidiary of Augeo building the infrastructure for AI native loyalty experiences. He leads the company's technology and product development, driving the platforms that enable personalized, intent based rewards across enterprise loyalty programs. A lifelong builder, Justin is experienced in developing mobile and web applications and the companies around them from the ground up.\r\n\r\n\r\nJustin organizes AI Tinkerers Minneapolis St. Paul, bringing together local AI builders to share demos and ideas. He was the co-founder of the fitness rewards platform Plyo and spends his free time tinkering with new technologies.",
"session_title": "Kill the Login: How AI Agents Replace Software Destinations",
"summary": null,
"description": "Most enterprise software sits there waiting - waiting for someone to remember it exists, log in, and do something. A manager has to open a recognition platform to thank an employee. An employee has to find a redemption portal to spend the points they've earned. The software works, but only if humans come to it.\r\n\r\nAI agents invert this entirely. Instead of a recognition platform waiting for a manager, an agent detects that Sarah just helped Kevin ship his project and messages the manager in Slack at the right moment: \"Want to recognize her?\" From there, the manager adds their own words - the agent created the opportunity, not the message. The destination disappears, the human moment doesn't.\r\n\r\nAt Augeo, we're building these systems now for our clients - but the pattern isn't industry-specific. It applies anywhere your product depends on someone remembering to show up. In this session, Justin will walk through what we've learned: the design patterns that actually work, where agents should replace destinations, and how to spot those opportunities in your own products.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 09:45:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"AI/ML"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 5,
"created_at": "2026-04-14 16:11:52 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2069,
"participant_id": 6004,
"presenter_name": "Trevor Wagner",
"presenter_bio": "Trevor is a Consulting Programmer Analyst/ SDET/ Quality Engineer with Upstream Consulting LLC.\r\n\r\nWith nearly 20 years of success helping development organizations to develop production solutions, testing, automation, and strategy for products of various sizes in a diverse set of environments, he helps organizations develop vision for visibility and insight into the functional state of work product.\r\n\r\n**Links:**\r\n\r\n- [Website](https://www.trevorwagner.dev/)\r\n- [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevorwagner05/)",
"session_title": "Exploring Six Types of Decisions Orgs Make When Working with Test Automation Frameworks That Often Lead to Trouble",
"summary": null,
"description": "At the same time tooling supporting test automation is tasked with discharging some unique responsibilities, the principles that set the stage for success with testing tooling closely resemble those that are equally as beneficial to first-class software solutions.\r\n\r\nIn particular, test automation frameworks carry a lot of weight when it comes to supporting/ providing access to define- and execute tests, to produce reliable test result data, and to provide scaffolding for extension and adaptation to improve coverage and reach. And as AI becomes more closely intertwined with how we deliver software, it will become increasingly important not just to be able to release with confidence, but also to be able to analyze-, evaluate-, and interact with work product with confidence.\r\n\r\nDespite this, organizations for some reason seem to encounter very similar sorts of dysfunction when working with test automation frameworks. Ultimately it is the sort of dysfunction that presents unwelcome trade-offs related to sunken cost. This dysfunction seems to follow six types of decisions with distinct characteristics and trade-offs. If those in charge of execution and decision-making potentially understood what these decisions looked like and how they incur risk of dysfunction, perhaps they could anticipate the trouble and make decisions that better managed that risk better.\r\n\r\nI’ve been brought in by a couple different organizations interested in resolving dysfunction in existing test automation frameworks and to build new tooling that stand a chance of circumnavigating it. I’m hosting this session to share what I see — in terms of *who* seems to be involved in/ affected by the dysfunction, *where* the dysfunction happens, and *what*/ *how*/ *why* organizations seem to (do to) perennially open themselves to risk.\r\n\r\n_**Format:** 30-ish minutes of presentation, 8-10 minutes of Q&A._\r\n",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 15:15:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Intermediate",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Other"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 7,
"created_at": "2026-04-14 14:16:09 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2067,
"participant_id": 4387,
"presenter_name": "Tyler Dane",
"presenter_bio": "I used the techniques in this talk to weasel into a Backend Engineer role at a startup, despite graduating with a History degree a few months earlier. Then I used them to land a Fullstack role and double my salary. Then I got a Lead Frontend role and doubled my salary again. Now I get Founding Engineer offers on autopilot (This stuff works!). \r\n\r\nI've also interviewed over 100 engineers and have seen the surprising ways companies _actually_ decide who to hire after the interview.\r\n\r\nI’m currently building an [open-source planner for minimalists](https://github.com/SwitchbackTech/compass) and [writing about system design](https://newsletter.fullstack.zip/).",
"session_title": "Every Engineer Sucks at Job Hunting Until They Learn This",
"summary": null,
"description": "There are three ways to get into a company: The front door, the side door, and the window. \r\n\r\nEveryone initially tries the front door because it only requires a resume and a LinkedIn. However, the front door’s low barrier to entry makes it competitive and strips you of your leverage.\r\n\r\nGetting in through the side door or window, on the other hand, requires an unconventional set of beliefs and techniques that make most developers uncomfortable. 90% of them refuse to approach these entry points, making them less competitive for the few who can tolerate the discomfort.\r\n\r\nThis talk is about **narrative:** how it works in the hiring process, how to craft yours, and the types of stories to avoid at all costs.\r\n\r\nDuring the first half, I’ll explain the difference between the side door and window and why **choosing an archetype** is a non-negotiable prerequisite for both. \r\n\r\nDuring the second half, I’ll offer 10 archetypes you can choose from, along with a popular engineer who embodies it. Some examples:\r\n\r\n- The Principled Prince (Bret Victor)\r\n- The Guinea Pig (Fireship)\r\n- The Craftsman (DHH)\r\n- The Sailor (Linus Torvalds)\r\n\r\nFinally, we'll **apply the theory** with a quiet, individual writing exercise. \r\n\r\nBy the end, you’ll have **the outline of a remarkable story** that will make you stand out and get the job offer you deserve on your terms. \r\n\r\n----\r\n\r\nIf you already get tons of interviews from the LinkedIn Easy Apply button, then this talk isn’t for you. If you’re committed to grinding Leetcode and blindly applying to hundreds of jobs until you get lucky, this talk isn’t for you.\r\n\r\nThis is for those who are sick of brute-forcing their careers. They’re good at their craft, but aren’t getting enough opportunities. It’s for those who pass the first few rounds, but don’t get offers. More than anything, it’s for those who recognize that humans make decisions based on emotions and good stories.\r\n\r\n----\r\n\r\nOn the fence? Think of this talk as the offspring of these two videos:\r\n\r\n- [is it impossible to get a junior developer job in 2026?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_a4JkCWfFc) (me)\r\n- [Inventing on Principle](https://vimeo.com/906418692) (Bret Victor)",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 09:45:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Beginner",
"categories": [
"Soft Skills",
"Careers"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 18,
"created_at": "2026-04-13 18:45:10 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2066,
"participant_id": 1282,
"presenter_name": "Sara Heitkamp",
"presenter_bio": "I’m a people-first, high-energy engineering leader specializing in Site Reliability Engineering, Incident leadership, and operational resilience at scale with 10+ years of experience managing Incidents and living the #oncalllife spanning Fortune 50 and Fortune 500 companies across e-commerce retail, telecommunications, SaaS, and highly regulated healthcare. **I bring energy, momentum, and even joy (sometimes even dancing!) to the work so that people and platforms thrive together.** \r\n\r\n**I've recently wondered *is everything falling apart?!* as I've navigated career losses, my son's autism diagnosis and worked through health issues (including surviving septic shock)**.\r\n\r\n**I’m a mom to a 22-year-old daughter and a 9-year-old son, and raising them has been both my greatest joy and my greatest teacher.** I love creating moments of adventure, curiosity, and connection with them. Outside of work, I’m drawn to movement and growth—whether that’s volleyball, strength training, yoga, learning a new skill or getting lost in a good book. I’m always exploring ways to live with more intention, energy, and authenticity.\r\n\r\n[LinkedIn] (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarajheitkamp/)",
"session_title": "🔥😌 Calm in the Chaos: Real-World Incident Management (and the Stuff We Don’t Talk About)",
"summary": null,
"description": "Let’s be honest—incident management isn’t just about dashboards, severity levels, and status updates. **It’s about people. It’s about pressure.** And sometimes… it’s about quietly wondering if *everything is falling apart (including you).*\r\n\r\nIn this session, we’ll go beyond theory and into the real world of incident response—where communication gets messy, decisions aren’t imperfect, and the difference between chaos and control often comes down to how we show up in the moment.\r\n\r\nThrough real-world scenarios (names and minor details changed to protect the privacy of those involved), we’ll break down what actually works during high-severity incidents—how to create calm, structure, and clarity when everything feels urgent.\r\n\r\n*We’ll also go where many talks don’t: the uncomfortable parts. The missteps. The failures. The moments where things didn’t go as planned—and what we learned from them.*\r\n\r\n**You’ll walk away with practical approaches to:\r\n\t•\tLeading incidents with confidence and clarity\r\n\t•\tRunning and participating in truly blameless postmortems\r\n\t•\tUsing premortems and proactive strategies to prevent incidents before they happen\r\n\t•\tInfluencing a culture of reliability—even when priorities compete**\r\n\r\nAnd because growth doesn’t stop at work, we’ll briefly explore how these same practices—reflection, ownership, and learning—can be applied to our personal lives, including **navigating career setbacks with intention and clarity.**\r\n\r\nThis session is interactive—come ready to reflect, share your own experiences, and learn from others. **Because the most valuable lessons in incident management don’t come from slides… they come from the stories we’re willing to tell.**",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 14:20:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Wildcard",
"Development",
"Soft Skills",
"Careers"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 26,
"created_at": "2026-04-13 03:36:17 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2065,
"participant_id": 6881,
"presenter_name": "Abdirahman Ali",
"presenter_bio": null,
"session_title": "How AI can help bring balance to our souls instead of taking that balance away",
"summary": null,
"description": "Hi Folks,\r\n\r\nI wanted to showcase a passion project I have been working on because of an increasing growth in interest in temperamental analysis I wanted to create a project that puts that knowledge then says lets use that understanding to grow ourselves into a greater state of harmony and increase our magnanimity and not use temperament and personality analysis as a way to justify fixed non conducive habits.\r\n\r\nThank you,\r\nAbdirahman Ali",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 15:15:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Beginner",
"categories": [
"Startups",
"Emerging Tech",
"AI/ML"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 7,
"created_at": "2026-04-13 01:21:41 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2064,
"participant_id": 159,
"presenter_name": "Matt Pacyga",
"presenter_bio": "Matt Pacyga | Product Strategist | Innovation Leader | Community Builder\r\n\r\nI’m Matt Pacyga, a product strategist and innovation leader passionate about creating transformative user experiences and empowering businesses to thrive. Guided by my StrengthsFinder Top 5—Futuristic, Woo, Communication, Arranger, and Includer. I bring a visionary yet inclusive approach to every challenge, inspiring teams and communities to achieve their full potential.\r\n\r\nEntrepreneurship and community-building are central to my journey. I co-founded Innovate MN, an Idea Jam event platform that fosters collaboration and problem-solving to tackle real-world challenges. I also bring years of experience as a mentor for Techstars' Future of Food Powered by Ecolab accelerator, where I guide startups in the digital food ecosystem toward success.\r\n\r\nIn addition to working with corporate leaders like Dairy Queen, Focus Brands, and Best Buy, I’ve launched and led startups, including Slice Engine and Gray Squid Division. These experiences honed my specialties in Product Leadership, Innovation Strategy, Strategic Vision, and Business Growth.\r\n\r\nWhether speaking at events, mentoring teams, or strategizing for the future, I’m committed to creating meaningful, community-focused solutions that make an impact. Based in Minneapolis, MN, I thrive on connecting people, exploring new technologies, and inspiring organizations to evolve.",
"session_title": "The Future of GSD - AI Conversational Task Management",
"summary": null,
"description": "## AI Operations Hub Demo\r\n\r\nSee how a single AI-powered conversation can replace your standup, your task board, and your meeting notes all at once. \r\n\r\nIn this live demo, we'll walk through an AI operations hub built for a startup that turns natural conversation into structured work: checking in, assigning tasks, extracting action items from meetings, and tracking weekly progress — all through chat.\r\n\r\n### What You'll See Live\r\n\r\n- **Conversational AI Work Assistant** \r\n A tool-calling assistant that manages tasks, check-ins, and priorities in real time\r\n\r\n- **Automatic Meeting Extraction** \r\n Powered by Read.ai webhook integration — watch a meeting turn into actionable parking lot items with zero manual effort\r\n\r\n- **Customizable AI Extraction Prompt** \r\n Control how the AI interprets and structures your meeting outputs\r\n\r\n- **Weekly Timeline View** \r\n Visualize team task distribution at a glance",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 15:15:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Intermediate",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Startups",
"Emerging Tech",
"AI/ML",
"Product"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 11,
"created_at": "2026-04-12 22:37:09 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2062,
"participant_id": 858,
"presenter_name": "Stephen Fluin",
"presenter_bio": "Stephen Fluin is an enthusiastic Minnesota-based Executive Technologist, Entrepreneur, and Wearables Expert. Acting as an advisor and consultant to hundreds of startup, mid-sized, and Fortune 500 companies, he combines a deep understanding of modern technology and business practices to build great software products, strategies, and experiences.\r\n\r\nStephen applies deep technical knowledge and lean methodologies to accelerate software development. He is a recognized Google Developer Expert in Angular. As an avid fan of wearables and the Internet of Things, he frequently collaborates with businesses and developers in the community.",
"session_title": "Stop Fighting the LLM: Mental Models for Fast, Frustration-Free App Building",
"summary": null,
"description": "I've built a lot of software with LLMs over the past year. Some of it went great. Some of it turned into five prompts of debugging hallucinated code while I questioned every life choice that brought me to that moment. For most people, the biggest bottleneck is the expectations they bring with them. Specifically, it's the mental models we bring to the work.\r\n\r\nIn this session I'll share the frameworks I've landed on for actually shipping apps with LLMs, not just generating code and hoping for the best. We'll talk about how to treat an LLM like a tireless intern instead of a magic wand, how to recognize and escape context collapse before your project goes sideways, and the specific tooling and workflows that bridge the gap between a raw prompt and something you can actually deploy.\r\n\r\nIf \"vibecoding\" hasn't been working for you, or if you're an experienced engineer who keeps getting stuck in loops with AI, this talk is for you. You'll leave with a repeatable approach to designing, prompting, and shipping real software without the frustration.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 14:20:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Beginner",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Startups",
"Emerging Tech",
"AI/ML",
"Product"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 12,
"created_at": "2026-04-12 12:32:27 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2061,
"participant_id": 6007,
"presenter_name": "Grant Udstrand",
"presenter_bio": "Grant Udstrand is a Software Architect and Edge Computing Specialist with a passion for designing low-latency, high-performance systems that bridge the gap between the cloud and the physical world. With deep expertise in IoT, real-time data processing, and distributed systems, Grant has spent his career building and optimizing edge-first architectures that power industrial automation, smart devices, and mission-critical applications.\r\n\r\nCurrently working in embedded and edge computing, Grant helps organizations deploy scalable, secure, and intelligent solutions that process data where it matters most—at the edge. He is an advocate for containerized deployments, real-time telemetry, and AI-driven insights in Edge ecosystems.\r\n\r\nBeyond his technical expertise, Grant is passionate about mentoring engineers, fostering innovation, and demystifying Edge Computing for developers, architects, and decision-makers. When he’s not architecting next-gen computing systems, you’ll find him exploring emerging technologies or engaging in hands-on projects with hardware and IoT devices.\r\n\r\n💡 Talk to me about: Edge Computing, IoT, AI at the Edge, and real-time systems.\r\n\r\n[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/grant-udstrand/)",
"session_title": "The Unreasonable Effectiveness of LLMs at Creating Broken Systems",
"summary": null,
"description": "Large Language Models are remarkably effective at generating code, tests, and even entire system designs. They’re also remarkably effective at creating systems that no one fully understands.\r\n\r\nAs engineering velocity increases, so does intellectual entropy. Add in the variance introduced by AI-assisted development, and teams fall into volatility traps: systems that appear to improve rapidly while quietly increasing risk.\r\n\r\nDrawing from real-world edge and hardware systems, we’ll explore why correctness is not a property of code, but of the system as a whole. We’ll also examine how AI can either amplify entropy or reduce it.\r\n\r\nWho should attend: Engineers, architects, and technical leaders building real systems. Beyond that, anyone else living in a world where things are moving faster, but getting harder to reason about, debug, or trust.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 15:15:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Beginner",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Startups",
"Emerging Tech",
"AI/ML",
"Design",
"Wildcard"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 31,
"created_at": "2026-04-11 14:58:36 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 03:37:26 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2060,
"participant_id": 2538,
"presenter_name": "Andy Krueger",
"presenter_bio": "Professional designer & product data ops guy. Amateur game designer. Expert game tryer, anime watcher, and nature enjoyer.",
"session_title": "Make your first video game with \"just enough\" AI",
"summary": null,
"description": "Have you always wanted to design a game but you don't know how to get started? Maybe you did get started and were quickly overwhelmed? Or you're already a full-time developer, so you don't want to spend your free time writing code? Good news! You can use AI to lay the technical foundation, so you can skip ahead to the fun part!\r\n\r\nI used Claude Code to build a shoot-em-up prototype in 24 hours. It was functional, but not very fun. Since then I've been hand-tuning the gameplay, level design, art assets and music. Let AI do the heavy lifting that it's good at (frameworks, physics, online scoring systems, etc.) so you can focus on making something that's unique and enjoyable for humans to play... and empower yourself so you're not reliant on an LLM.\r\n\r\nThis session will be about 1/2 presentation and 1/2 Q&A and discussion. I'll share specific examples from my conversations & codebase, and offer advice on:\r\n* Pros and cons of starting with AI code -- is this approach right for you?\r\n* What to consider before even writing your first prompt \r\n* Surprising \"gotchas\" to watch out for \r\n* When to use AI, and when to get your hands dirty\r\n* How to use AI as a coach to reduce your dependency on it\r\n\r\n",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 13:25:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Beginner",
"categories": [
"Development",
"AI/ML",
"Design",
"Soft Skills"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 17,
"created_at": "2026-04-10 21:33:44 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2059,
"participant_id": 6873,
"presenter_name": "Trevor Ausen",
"presenter_bio": "Trevor Ausen, CFP®, RICP® is an experienced financial planner with more than 10 years in financial planning. I have experience advising clients with equity compensation, small businesses, rental properties, and retirement withdrawal strategies.\r\n\r\nI really enjoy working with professionals with equity compensation. Authentic Life Financial Planning was started to help these professionals define their Authentic Life and align their finances to make that life a reality. \r\n\r\nI live in Minneapolis, MN, with my wife, Annie, our newborn son, and cats, Penguin and Oreo. I enjoy sailing, live music, and travel. My favorite destination so far is Sydney, Australia, although Norway and the Bahamas are close runners-up. \r\n\r\nSay hello or connect on [LinkedIn] (https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevorausen/)\r\n\r\nLearn more at [Authentic Life Financial Planning] (https://www.authenticlifefp.com/)",
"session_title": "Decoding Your Equity Compensation: Stock Options & RSUs with AMA",
"summary": null,
"description": "Do you work at a startup and receive stock as part of your compensation? Or are you at a big tech company and receive RSUs each year? These stock compensation programs can be complicated and have tax consequences that aren't always clear.\r\n\r\nI’ve met so many people who have exercised their options or sold some RSUs and then received a huge tax bill they weren’t expecting. Some good planning up front could have reduced that tax bill and prepared you to pay it before you got that April surprise.\r\n\r\nIn this session, we’ll cover the most common equity types, how they work, and how they’re taxed. From there, we’ll have time for you to ask any questions about equity compensation and personal finance.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 10:40:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Careers"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 3,
"created_at": "2026-04-10 20:30:56 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2058,
"participant_id": 6953,
"presenter_name": "David Solberg",
"presenter_bio": "Software Engineer for 15 years. Entrepreneur.",
"session_title": "Train AI To Be Your Employee",
"summary": null,
"description": "Training an agent is surprisingly similar to training a real person.\r\n\r\nBoth come with their own abilities, but you need to teach them to do things in ways specialized to your business. AI systems call these \"Skills,\" but they're essentially documentation of how to perform specialized tasks.\r\n\r\n**In this presentation, I will show how I trained an AI to perform a time-consuming administrative role that would be impractical for a human to do.**\r\n\r\nThe agent works for a home maintenance company and researches and enters customized maintenance plans for homes. I will discuss the nuances of training, including task guidance, guardrails, and continuous learning.\r\n\r\nThe first step is a human, who goes into the home and takes pictures of each appliance's nameplate, and then uploads those images to a folder.\r\n\r\nFrom there, the AI agent handles the rest:\r\n\r\n- Identifies the manufacturer, brand, manufacture date, and appliance type.\r\n\r\n- Queries the federal recall database to ensure there aren't active recalls for the appliance.\r\n\r\n- Downloads the appliance manual and reads through it to determine customized maintenance tasks.\r\n\r\n- Finds all filters for the appliance along with direct links to order replacements online.\r\n\r\n- Enters all that information into a server database.\r\n\r\nThis information is used by customers and technicians in web and mobile applications.\r\n\r\n\r\n",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 11:35:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Intermediate",
"categories": [
"Emerging Tech",
"AI/ML",
"Careers"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 30,
"created_at": "2026-04-10 20:17:31 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2057,
"participant_id": 6330,
"presenter_name": "Kaitlin Strand",
"presenter_bio": "Kaitlin Strand has spent 18 years inside the operational engine of high-growth companies, leading client delivery and building scalable systems at Bloom Health, Gravie, HomeSpotter and HOVER. She's been the person translating big ideas into working systems, driving company-wide initiatives from vision through execution and delivery, always asking \"how are we going to do that\" and being the person to find the answers and rally the team. Now she works across a portfolio of clients serving small businesses whose executives need to get out of the weeds and empower the talented teams they hired. \r\n\r\nConnect or say hello on [LinkedIn] (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaitlin-strand)\r\n\r\nLearn more at:\r\n[Apricity Ops] (https://www.apricityops.com)\r\n[How to Be Second] (https://howtobesecond.com)\r\n[C-Suite Integrators]( https://c-suiteintegrators.com)",
"session_title": "Why Your Third COO Just Quit (And Why Recruiting Won't Fix It)",
"summary": null,
"description": "You've cycled through three COOs in four years. Each one looked perfect on paper. Each one left you doing the same strategic work you were desperate to hand off.\r\n\r\nMaybe the problem isn't them. Maybe it's how you're finding them.\r\n\r\nHere's what's actually happening: You're not looking for a Chief Operating Officer. You're looking for a Second-in-Command. Someone who's energized by the work that drains you. Who sees systems where you see chaos. Who thrives on execution while you focus on vision.\r\n\r\nBut here's the problem: Recruiters optimize for qualifications. Résumés. Keywords. Experience.\r\n\r\nAnd the #1 factor in whether a CEO/COO relationship actually works? It's not any of those things. It's the relationship itself.\r\n\r\nYou can't recruit your way into a relationship.\r\n\r\nIn this session, we'll walk through what Seconds actually are (hint: it's an identity, not a job title), why traditional hiring fails at finding them, and what a matchmaking approach looks like for bringing on the person who can actually propel your vision forward. You'll leave knowing whether you're ready to delegate, what you actually need in a Second, and how to find them without posting another job description that attracts 200 wrong candidates.\r\n",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 12:30:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Startups",
"Careers"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 12,
"created_at": "2026-04-09 21:39:36 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2056,
"participant_id": 6969,
"presenter_name": "Peter Pascale",
"presenter_bio": "lover. fighter. ",
"session_title": "Lessons learned building LAIC: Life Time’s AI Concierge",
"summary": null,
"description": "LAIC is the Life Time AI Companion - an AI concierge available to every Life Time member. It answers questions about clubs, classes, and fitness programming, and it can also do things for the member: build custom workouts, draft training programs, provide nutrition guidance, and even schedule classes on a member's behalf.\r\n \r\nGetting to “cool demo” is easy with AI. Getting to something members rely on has proven to be more challenging. It takes a willingness to experiment and the tenacity to keep evolving at a pace that is constantly pushed by advances in AI tech. This talk will cover our approach, and lessons learned (including a few missteps) for others to apply (or avoid) when building AI products.\r\n \r\nWe'll cover things like:\r\n- Engaging the business in AI. How we get domain leaders to help shape the product.\r\n- How AI is changing how we build product.\r\n- Which Model is Best? (Answer: all of them). \r\n\r\nLearn what we’ve learned about leveraging the ever changing landscape of LLM models.\r\n \r\nIf you're building an AI product inside an established company, come for the war stories, leave with ideas for your playbook.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 12:30:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Intermediate",
"categories": [
"Emerging Tech",
"AI/ML",
"Product"
],
"other_presenter_names": [
"Drew Trabing"
],
"other_presenter_ids": [
6990
],
"attendance_count": 31,
"created_at": "2026-04-09 20:45:16 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 17:02:29 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2055,
"participant_id": 5454,
"presenter_name": "garrick van buren",
"presenter_bio": "Long time Minnebar attendee & presenter.\r\n\r\n- Currently focused on; B2B SaaS pricing strategy, recreating historic beer styles, geneaology\r\n\r\n- Previously focused on; kubb, typography, podcasting, ruby on rails, blogs, user experience. \r\n\r\n- [Personal](https://garrickvanburen.com)\r\n\r\n- [Substack](https://forstarters.substack.com)\r\n\r\n- [Pricing from the Start](https://pricingfromthestart.com)\r\n\r\n- [DÉJÀ BRÜ](https://dejabru.org)",
"session_title": "Pricing Office Hours: How (and How Much) Should You Charge.",
"summary": null,
"description": "Not sure how much your new product or service is worth to your customers.\r\n\r\nSwing by and we'll run some napkin math and rules of thumb on your specific product.\r\n\r\nLeave with some tools and techniques to tweak as you go.\r\n\r\n",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 13:25:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Advanced",
"categories": [
"Startups",
"Product",
"Marketing"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 20,
"created_at": "2026-04-09 20:10:53 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2054,
"participant_id": 6964,
"presenter_name": "Kishor Patil",
"presenter_bio": "I am a Senior Manager of Cloud Platform Engineering at Best Buy, where I lead enterprise-scale Google Cloud and AI deployments. ",
"session_title": "Secure AI Agents from Development to Runtime ",
"summary": null,
"description": "The Distance Between \"Hello World\" and \"Secure-at-Scale\"\r\n A developer spins up an AI agent, gives it access to a database, and suddenly magic happens. It’s writing emails, taking actions, and automating the enterprise. It looks flawless. It feels like the future.\r\n\r\nI’m here to talk about why that magic often breaks the moment it hits a production firewall.\r\n\r\nAs a practitioner leading GCP architecture, I spend a lot of time thinking about the distance between a \"smart\" agent and a \"secure\" one. The gap isn't usually the LLM's intelligence; it’s the Decision Architecture we build around it. \r\n\r\nIn this session, we’re moving past the AI hype to look at the actual scars of building secure agentic workflows. We will move through the lifecycle of an agent, from the initial development sandbox to a governed, enterprise runtime.\r\n\r\nWhat we will explore together:\r\n\r\nThe Development Gap: Why \"Prompt Engineering\" isn't a security strategy and how we build supply chain trust for models.\r\nThe Runtime Reality: Encoding enterprise \"values\" into technical guardrails using GCP’s security suite.\r\n\r\n",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 11:35:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"AI/ML"
],
"other_presenter_names": [
"Misho Changalov"
],
"other_presenter_ids": [
7116
],
"attendance_count": 4,
"created_at": "2026-04-08 22:39:33 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2053,
"participant_id": 6181,
"presenter_name": "Lyndon Carlson",
"presenter_bio": "Lyndon Carlson is an AI platform leader and founding CTO focused on building and aligning production-grade AI systems. His work spans training domain-specific models, applying reinforcement learning for alignment, and deploying agentic systems that operate reliably in real-world environments.\r\n\r\nHe currently leads AI initiatives at Trissential and is the founding CTO of ChatLPO, where he has built scalable AI platforms used by thousands of users. He has also led greenfield AI initiatives in partnership with AWS, including model development, alignment, and system deployment, with an emphasis on safety, governance, and enterprise scale.\r\n\r\nLyndon’s work focuses on bridging the gap between AI capability and real-world impact, turning advanced models into systems that organizations can actually trust and use.\r\n\r\n**Links:**\r\n\r\n- [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/lyndon-carlson/)\r\n- [Consulting Services](https://trissential.com/services/artificial-intelligence/)\r\n- [ChatLPO](https://chatlpo.com/)",
"session_title": "AI Is Becoming Infrastructure: Why Context Engineering and Platforms Will Define the Next Decade",
"summary": null,
"description": "Everyone is talking about models, prompts, and agents.\r\n\r\nThat’s not where the real shift is happening.\r\n\r\nAI is rapidly becoming infrastructure; embedded into how software is built, how decisions are made, and how companies operate. But most teams are still treating it like a tool, and that’s why so many AI initiatives stall out.\r\n\r\nIn this session, we’ll cut through the hype and focus on what actually matters:\r\n\r\n* Why AI projects get stuck between demo and production\r\n* Why model choice matters less than you think—and context matters more\r\n* What “context engineering” really is (and why it’s becoming a core discipline)\r\n* How companies are quietly becoming AI platform builders, often without realizing it\r\n\r\nThis is a mental model reset.\r\n\r\nIf you’re a builder, leader, or just trying to make sense of where AI is headed, this session will give you a clearer picture of what’s actually changing and what to do about it.\r\n\r\nCome ready to challenge assumptions, ask questions, and share what you’re seeing.\r\n",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 09:45:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Advanced",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Emerging Tech",
"AI/ML"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 13,
"created_at": "2026-04-08 20:25:22 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2052,
"participant_id": 6423,
"presenter_name": "AnnMarie Thomas",
"presenter_bio": "AnnMarie is an engineer. An artist. An educator. A maker. A writer. A lifelong learner who built her career mixing science, art, tech, and curiosity into something new — over and over again. From Squishy Circuits (play dough that lights up!) to OK Go Sandbox (music videos as STEAM playgrounds), to founding the Playful Learning Lab at the University of St. Thomas. Her work reminds us: when we make space for play, we make space for possibility.\r\n\r\nToday, she leads Listo Idea Co, consulting on projects ranging from workshop design to ocean focused VR/AR. She’s also an enthusiastic learner in a wide range of hobbies, including trapeze and magic (and is a Magician Member of the Academy of Magical Arts).",
"session_title": "Play Well With Others: Creativity Through Collaboration",
"summary": null,
"description": "For the past 20+ years, I've found myself leading collaborative projects. To me, the best outcomes often come from combining unusual topics and bringing together people from a variety of backgrounds. This approach has led to the creation of new communities (such as the Playful Learning Lab, Educator Show and Tell, and PlayLine), new products (ranging from Squishy Circuits to OK Go Sandbox), and new ways of working (for me and for my clients.) \r\n\r\nIn this session we'll explore:\r\n-How to find new collaborators (even if you're an introvert!)\r\n-Advice for the framing of collaborations (hint: don't leave them open ended- have a goal!)\r\n-Playful approaches to ideation\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 14:20:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Design",
"Product",
"Community",
"Soft Skills"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 42,
"created_at": "2026-04-08 20:00:38 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 17:02:29 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2051,
"participant_id": 6955,
"presenter_name": "Karl Ness",
"presenter_bio": "Former developer turned accessibility engineer turned startup founder. Kind of a strange place to find myself in mid-career having had a few bad experiences with startups, now finding myself as a founder and partner to a successful startup. Sometimes life takes you in a direction you had not predicted, but here we are, (hopefully) putting on a session about our startup (after having been a long time supporter and attendee of past Minnebar conferences) and the crazy experiences and decisions we've made along the journey so far. ",
"session_title": "How we bootstrapped our podcast studio in six months to profitiablity. ",
"summary": null,
"description": "We started as an art collective with six artists. We ended up with three and an idea to turn our art studio into a podcast studio. We signed our studio lease in September and had our first paying client in the studio in November. As of April, we're posting a profit less than six months later. I'll detail the journey and how we managed to scrape the money together to get it off the ground to how we're doing now. ",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 13:25:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Startups",
"AI/ML",
"Marketing"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 14,
"created_at": "2026-04-08 03:22:22 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2049,
"participant_id": 1937,
"presenter_name": "larry bieza",
"presenter_bio": "Larry is the founder of Yolomeal.com. We reveal the best tasting food at restaurants in your city. He is formerly the founder of Lyfmap.com, for which he ran a successful Wefunder campaign. ",
"session_title": "Livin' the Solo Founder Dream. I'll share learnings from building my second Consumer app. Open to participation!",
"summary": null,
"description": "I've completed my consumer web app for my startup, yolomeal.com. I am just finishing the mobile app (submitted to app stores). \r\n\r\nFor new solo founders: I'll share my process, and why certain decision were made. It's a lonely road, so let's walk for a few minutes together. \r\n\r\nFor UX/UI folks: Critique what I've built, and share your thoughts. I'm always open to your ideas.\r\n\r\nFor Sales and Marketing: I'll share my new never-done-before marketing strategy, which should be active during Minnebar. Let's check the analytics!\r\n\r\nThis is a chance for all attendees, to help inform me, and each other. I appreciate all of you. ",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 10:40:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Startups",
"Design",
"Marketing"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 15,
"created_at": "2026-04-07 22:39:37 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2048,
"participant_id": 6823,
"presenter_name": "Jared Rickert",
"presenter_bio": null,
"session_title": "Building a Knowledge Graph Your AI Can Actually Use",
"summary": null,
"description": "Most \"chat with your docs\" tools disappoint. They hallucinate, miss connections, and burn tokens. **The problem isn't the AI — it's how we structure our notes.**\r\n\r\nIn this interactive session, we'll build a shared knowledge graph together using:\r\n\r\n- **Markdown files** as the base format\r\n- **Entity types** (character, location, event) to classify notes\r\n- **Explicit links** between notes to encode relationships\r\n\r\nWe'll start with a blank folder, add structured notes together, then watch an AI navigate the graph we built — following relationships, not just matching keywords.\r\n\r\n**Bring your laptop if you want to contribute.** No ML background required.\r\n",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 10:40:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Beginner",
"categories": [
"Development",
"AI/ML"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 24,
"created_at": "2026-04-07 21:48:46 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2047,
"participant_id": 3520,
"presenter_name": "Tom Harren",
"presenter_bio": "Let's chat, I like meeting new people and I'm sure we will both learn some new things! \r\nSr. Devops Engineer at Polaris ~ [tomharren.github.io](https://tomharren.github.io/)\r\n",
"session_title": "No One Has the Full Picture (Especially in Complex Systems)",
"summary": null,
"description": "Most technical problems — from architecture debates to live production incidents — aren’t solved by brilliance. They’re solved by **clear thinking, calm communication, and building trust**, especially when the pressure is on and information is incomplete.\r\n\r\nThis session explores what actually works when systems are complex, the clock is ticking, and everyone involved wants to help — but in wildly different ways! We’ll talk about practical ways to create shared clarity: mapping the problem space, narrowing uncertainty, focusing on evidence over confidence, and keeping groups aligned even when goals differ.\r\n\r\nThe focus isn’t on heroics or blame, but on how individuals and teams can work together effectively when no one has the full picture — and still make good decisions.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 16:10:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Intermediate",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Soft Skills"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 42,
"created_at": "2026-04-07 20:21:12 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2046,
"participant_id": 5999,
"presenter_name": "Deborah Peteler",
"presenter_bio": "\r\nDeborah Peteler\r\n\r\nFounder of AnnapurnaBlue Health and Wellness, LLC,\r\nSpeaker and Educator \r\n\r\nDeborah’s mission in life is to help others thrive! A retired nurse, Mental Health Professional. She works with somatic healing and Eastern healing modalities, Deborah brings a powerful, unique skill set to AnnapurnaBlue Health and Wellness, grounded in evidence-based and trauma-informed methods.\r\n\r\nDeborah also has a background in business wellness, through which she works with entrepreneurs to establish workplace programs that increase compassion, interpersonal relations and wellness within a business environment, improving both the workspace environment and the work outcomes.\r\n\r\nDeborah helps clients work with toxic emotional issues that cause internal damage as well as harming relationships with others, in their relationships as well as their personal, family and business lives.\r\n\r\nAuthor of \"The Five Life Poisons\" to be released on April 2nd, 2025. \r\n\r\n\r\n",
"session_title": "The Five Poisons of Business: Transforming the Patterns That Hold Us Back",
"summary": null,
"description": "In business, we often focus on strategy, growth, and execution—but rarely do we look at the internal patterns that quietly shape our decisions, relationships, and outcomes.\r\n\r\nThis session introduces the concept of the Five Life Poisons—anger, ignorance, ego, jealousy, and attachment—and how they show up in business environments.\r\n\r\nWhether you are a founder, leader, or team member, these patterns can impact communication, decision-making, productivity, and overall success.\r\n\r\nThrough practical examples and guided reflection, you’ll learn how to:\r\n\r\nRecognize these patterns in yourself and your organization\r\nUnderstand how they affect leadership and company culture\r\nShift from reactive patterns to more intentional, effective responses\r\n\r\nThis is not about theory—it’s about awareness, clarity, and creating a more grounded and effective way of working.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 11:35:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Beginner",
"categories": [
"Community",
"Soft Skills",
"Careers"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 15,
"created_at": "2026-04-07 19:52:58 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2045,
"participant_id": 6936,
"presenter_name": "Tyler Moen",
"presenter_bio": "Tyler Moen is an IT Analyst with a background in hospitality and a strong interest in building better experiences through technology. His work centers on supporting not just users, but people. Focusing on helping create a reliable and hospitable user environment. Tyler brings a people-first perspective to tech, shaped by both his experience in support and the lessons he learned leading in hospitality. In his session, Tyler shares how authenticity, meaningful engagement, and human connection can strengthen support teams, leadership, and end-user trust.",
"session_title": "More Than a User: Bringing Unreasonable Hospitality into IT Support",
"summary": null,
"description": "Tech support is about more than solving problems. It’s also about building trust and connections.\r\n\r\nIn many support environments, conversations with users and teammates can become rushed, scripted, and transactional. This session explores how lessons from hospitality can help support professionals and leaders create more meaningful interactions, stronger relationships, and better support experiences overall.\r\n\r\nDrawing from personal stories transitioning from hospitality into IT, this talk will share practical ways to communicate more genuinely, connect more effectively, and bring more of your human personality into your work without losing professionalism. It will also touch on why these skills matter even more in an AI-driven world, where human character stands out more than ever.\r\n\r\nThis session will include audience engagement, reflection, and practical takeaways attendees can bring back to their teams.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 12:30:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Beginner",
"categories": [
"Soft Skills",
"Careers"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 16,
"created_at": "2026-04-07 19:05:04 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 17:02:29 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2044,
"participant_id": 2427,
"presenter_name": "Juan LLerena",
"presenter_bio": "**Juan Llerena – Author, Founder, Business & Marketing Consultant, Social Entrepreneur**\r\n\r\nJuan Llerena is an author, business and marketing consultant, and founder of JLLB Media and Vamos Impact, a 501(c)3 nonprofit based in Minnesota. With over 20 years of experience helping entrepreneurs and small businesses grow, Juan blends strategic marketing know-how with a deep commitment to empowering diverse communities.\r\n\r\nAs a social entrepreneur, he’s passionate about creating pathways for immigrant and minority-owned businesses to succeed—offering training, branding, and visibility strategies that actually work. Juan is also the author of Elev@te: AI Beginners Guide for Marketers and Business Owners, a journal-style resource designed to help entrepreneurs balance personal growth with business success.\r\n\r\nHis work sits at the intersection of communication, community, and creativity—fueled by the belief that entrepreneurship is not just about making money, but making meaning.\r\n\r\nJuan lives with his family in Waconia, MN, and has called Minnesota home for the last 25 years.\r\n\r\n**Links:**\r\n\r\n[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/juan-llerena-845ba357/)\r\n",
"session_title": "🛜 The Community Connection: Strategic Marketing, Outreach, and PR for Community Leaders",
"summary": null,
"description": "**Are you marketing, or are you just making noise?**\r\n\r\nIn a world where attention is the most valuable currency, many leaders find themselves \"stuck\"—not because they aren't working hard, but because they are operating in silos without a clear roadmap. Being stuck doesn't mean you're broken; it means you're ready for a shift in strategy and mindset. The Community Connection is a high-impact workshop designed to help you stop reacting and start leading by building a bridge between your vision and your community.\r\n\r\n**What We’ll Cover**\r\nThis session takes a 20,000-foot view of your organization to help you see the value of strategic connections.\r\n\r\n- The \"Triple Threat\" Strategy: Master the intersection of Marketing (the what/how), Outreach (the who), and Public Relations (the why) to build authentic community awareness. \r\n- The Proactive Roadmap: Move from a reactive \"firefighting\" mode to a proactive strategic plan that ensures consistency across every program and maximizes limited budgets. \r\n- The Modern Media Toolkit: Learn how to navigate the \"PESO\" model—Paid, Earned, Shared, and Owned media—to meet your audience exactly where they are. \r\n- Inclusive Communication: Learn to look \"beyond the lens\" to ensure your messaging is accessible, culturally aware, and reaching the non-English speaking members of your community. \r\n\r\nThe Elev@te Framework: A practical, 3-step framework to get you \"Unstuck & Thriving\" by clarifying your path, simplifying your priorities, and protecting your most valuable asset—your energy. \r\n\r\n**Workshop Goals:**\r\n1. Transform your philosophy: Shift from seeing marketing as \"selling\" to seeing it as a vital community conversation. \r\n2. Streamline your strategy: Learn how to pick just 3 priorities for the next 90 days to create real momentum. \r\n3. Build a Bridge: Develop the skills to become the \"Ultimate Connector\" in your local ecosystem\r\n\r\n**Who Is This For?**\r\n- Entrepreneurs & Business Owners looking to deepen their local impact. \r\n- Decision Makers in for-profit and nonprofit sectors who need a cohesive communication strategy. \r\n- Aspiring Entrepreneurs who want to build a business that \"doesn't break them.\" \r\n- Tech-Interested Leaders ready to leverage modern digital tools and SEO for community growth\r\n\r\n**About Your Facilitator: Juan Llerena**\r\nJuan Llerena is a community builder, entrepreneur, the founder of JLLB Media Creative Strategy & Business Growth, and founder and Executive Director of Vamos Impact, a MN based 501(c)3 nonprofit serving Latinos in Entrepreneurship. \r\n\r\nWith over 20 years of experience connecting businesses to communities, Juan has served as a leader in both the for-profit and nonprofit worlds. \r\n\r\nHe is the author of the book Elev@te: Lessons to Master the Balance of Entrepreneurship, Personal Growth, and Self-Care, and he brings a \"constant learning\" mindset to every strategy session. Known as the \"ultimate community connector,\" Juan specializes in helping leaders shift their mindset to build sustainable, thriving organizations.\r\n\r\n*\"You are not behind. You're just getting started. There’s a better way to build a community that doesn't break you.\" — Juan Llerena*\r\n\r\n**[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/juan-llerena-845ba357/) - \r\n[JLLB Media](https://jllbmedia.com/) - \r\n[Vamos Impact Nonprofit](https://vamosimpact.org/)**\r\n",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 10:40:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Startups",
"Community",
"Soft Skills",
"Marketing"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 12,
"created_at": "2026-04-07 17:56:36 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2043,
"participant_id": 6804,
"presenter_name": "Dagmawe Mamo",
"presenter_bio": null,
"session_title": "From CAD to Injection-Molded Parts in 12 Hours",
"summary": null,
"description": "For a bootstrapped hardware startup, traditional injection molding can be painfully slow and expensive. In this session, I’ll walk through a faster path: first 3D printing the mold to validate the part, then machining an aluminum mold on a Genmitsu Pro Ultra desktop CNC, and finally using a roughly $700 desktop injection molding machine to start producing plastic parts the same day.\r\n\r\nI’ll talk through the real tradeoffs, what this workflow can and can’t do, and why it can be a huge advantage for founders trying to move fast without spending thousands on tooling, waiting weeks for overseas suppliers, or getting hit with extra costs like tariffs and shipping delays. If you’re building physical products and need a scrappy, practical way to prototype and iterate faster, this talk is for you.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 09:45:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Startups",
"Emerging Tech",
"Design",
"Community"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 23,
"created_at": "2026-04-07 07:49:46 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 17:02:29 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2042,
"participant_id": 6922,
"presenter_name": "Angela Peterson",
"presenter_bio": "Angela Peterson is Lead Recruiter at VALERE Consulting and Recruiting, a woman-owned Twin Cities staffing agency, with 10+ years of experience specializing in IT, UX, Product, Business, and Executive roles for organizations ranging from startups to Fortune 5 enterprises nationwide, helping candidates in our community understand the power of positioning and what actually makes a resume stand out, from structure and storytelling to the subtle details that make a strong impact.\r\n\r\n[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/angela-peterson25/)",
"session_title": "Resume Refresh: Ready for AI, Designed to Impress",
"summary": null,
"description": "In today's market, your resume needs to be effective for every audience reviewing it, from the software screening you in or out, to the recruiter scanning your summary, to the hiring manager making the call. Your resume makes its first impression long before you do. The good news? You don't need to start from scratch.\r\n\r\nThese strategies work with the resume you already have. In this session, we'll cover:\r\n\r\n- Building a resume that passes ATS and AI screening tools without sounding robotic or \"AI-optimized\"\r\n\r\n- Structuring your experience so recruiters can quickly identify your fit\r\n\r\n- Transforming your existing resume into a clear and compelling narrative\r\n\r\n- Highlighting impact and skills in a way that resonates with hiring managers\r\n\r\n- How to make a lasting impression that sets you apart in a tight market\r\n\r\n\r\nWalk away with practical strategies to develop a resume that makes an impact and moves you forward.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 11:35:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Careers"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 29,
"created_at": "2026-04-06 19:58:50 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2041,
"participant_id": 5998,
"presenter_name": "Rawson Stovall",
"presenter_bio": "Starting at age 10, Rawson Stovall was the first regular reviewer of video games with his nationally-syndicated newspaper column, “The Vid Kid,” from 1982-1992. During that era he appeared on numerous television shows including *The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson*, *Good Morning America*, the *CBS Morning News*, and *That’s Incredible!* Articles about him appeared in *The New York Times*, *The Wall Street Journal*, and *USA Today*. His 1984 book, “*The Vid Kid’s Book of Home Video Games*” was published by Doubleday. Rawson was also the host of the event where Nintendo introduced the Nintendo Entertainment System.\r\n\r\nSince 1994 he has been an award-winning, multi-platinum-selling producer and designer with stops at EA, Activision, Sony, MGM, and Concrete Software. He has worked with brands such as The Sims, Pitfall, The Godfather, Medal of Honor, James Bond, PGA TOUR Golf, NHL Hockey, and the National Hot Rod Association.\r\n\r\n[LinkedIn] (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rawsonstovall/)",
"session_title": "Growing Up \"Vid Kid\" ",
"summary": null,
"description": "Hear stories from the crazy Vid Kid days of the 1980s! Starting at age 10, Rawson Stovall was the first regular reviewer of video games with his nationally-syndicated newspaper column, “The Vid Kid,” from 1982-1992. During that era he appeared on numerous television shows including *The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson*, *Good Morning America*, the *CBS Morning News*, and *That’s Incredible!* Articles about him appeared in *The New York Times*, *The Wall Street Journal*, and *USA Today*. His 1984 book, “*The Vid Kid’s Book of Home Video Games*” was published by Doubleday. Oddly, Rawson was the host of the event where Nintendo introduced the Nintendo Entertainment System.\r\n",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 13:25:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Careers",
"Other"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 12,
"created_at": "2026-04-06 17:49:18 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2040,
"participant_id": 6913,
"presenter_name": "Peter Lonnquist",
"presenter_bio": "Peter Lonnquist is a collector of video game hardware with a focus on the medium’s formative first decade (1972–1982). Outside of collecting, he is a father, data analytics manager, and musician—and a lifelong gamer since early childhood.",
"session_title": "50 Years of Consoles, Computers, and Handhelds: The Convergence of the Steam Deck",
"summary": null,
"description": "This presentation will explore consoles, computers, peripherals, and handheld gaming hardware, tracing 50 years of shared ideas, experimentation, and cross-pollination that ultimately converged in the commercially successful Steam Deck.\r\n\r\nUsing the Steam Deck as a culmination of the last 50 years we have the opportunity to rethink the history of game consoles and:\r\n– Recognize that modern gaming ideas have deep historical roots\r\n– Understand that video game hardware history is not a simple linear progression\r\n– Develop a broader appreciation for overlooked or transitional game hardware",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 14:20:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Other"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 36,
"created_at": "2026-04-05 19:44:39 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2039,
"participant_id": 4818,
"presenter_name": "John Arms",
"presenter_bio": "John Arms is a Practicing Fractional Marketing Executive and Fractional Talent author, speaker, connector, and teacher.\r\n\r\nhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/johnarms\n\n**Links:**\n\n- Twitter: @@JohnJarms",
"session_title": "Ai + Fractionals: The Next Chapter of the American Economy Is You",
"summary": null,
"description": "Something fundamental is happening to the American economy. By 2030, 60% of us will be working independently as 1099ers — not as a trend, but as a structural shift. The traditional org chart is dissolving, and what’s replacing it isn’t chaos. It’s millions of fractional professionals, empowered by AI tools, reorganizing around their own independence. \r\n\r\nThis is the next chapter of the American economy — not bigger companies, but better-equipped individuals building organizations of one that perform like organizations of many. \r\n\r\nIf you’ve been laid off, you’re not behind. You’re standing at the front edge of this shift. \r\n\r\nThis talk lays out the macroeconomic forces driving it, the AI infrastructure making it possible, and why the smartest move you can make right now is to stop looking for your next job and start building your next chapter.\r\n",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 16:10:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Startups",
"AI/ML",
"Careers"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 22,
"created_at": "2026-04-05 15:56:21 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2038,
"participant_id": 3082,
"presenter_name": "Stephanie Rich",
"presenter_bio": "Stephanie Rich is Partner, Platform at Bread & Butter Ventures where she works to add continuous value to portfolio companies and founders. She is the former Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Techstars Farm to Fork Accelerator in partnership with Cargill and Ecolab. Steph has worked with numerous early stage startups as a mentor and advisor, and has received the Techstars #givefirst award three separate times. She has hands-on expertise in bringing products and companies to market while building, cultivating and sustaining customer bases online and off.
\r\n\r\nStephanie is the founder of Starting Up North, a publication focused on telling the stories and sharing the insights of Minnesota startups, innovators and their ecosystem, and Goby Partners, a marketing consultancy for startups and growing brands. Prior to Goby, Stephanie was employee #1 at Particle, the leading development platform for the Internet of Things. She established operational infrastructure and built the Particle brand in the marketplace by leading communications, social media, and product launches.
\r\n\r\n\r\nShe received her BSJ at the Medill School of Journalism and her MBA at the University of Cambridge. Stephanie's bread and butter is connecting dots - whether that means facilitating unexpected collaborations, surfacing the right tools for solving a problem, or helping teams identify previously unknown strengths. She is also very good at logic puzzles and stopping to pet every dog she meets.",
"session_title": "Venture Capital: What It Is, How It Works, and When to Walk Away",
"summary": null,
"description": "There's a lot of noise around venture capital and not enough honest explanation of what it actually is, how it works, or what to expect if you take it. If you're on the founder path and trying to figure out how to fund your company, this session is for you. A VC Partner and former operator will walk through the fundamentals: what venture capital is, where the money comes from, how investors make decisions, and what you're actually signing up for when you take a check. We'll spend equal time on the \"should you\" question, including the types of businesses VC is built for, the ones it isn't, and how to think honestly about whether your goals and a VC's goals are actually aligned. Plenty of time for Q&A built in. Your host is Steph Rich, Partner at Bread & Butter Ventures, who has spent her career on both sides of the table as an early operator and early-stage VC.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 13:25:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Beginner",
"categories": [
"Startups"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 30,
"created_at": "2026-04-05 13:46:51 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2037,
"participant_id": 2948,
"presenter_name": "Michelle Smeby",
"presenter_bio": "Michelle Smeby is CEO and Transformation Leader of wHolistic Change, Inc. with 25 years of experience implementing enterprise solutions at Fortune 500 companies. Michelle is an author, speaker, trainer, and consultant who specializes in helping corporations deliver transformational change.\r\n\r\nMichelle has a Masters degree in biomedical engineering and is a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).\r\n\r\nMichelle’s first book, \"wHolistic Change: Delivering Corporate Change That Lasts\" has been used in over 70 countries spanning 6 continents. Her second book, \"The Tenacious Leader: Your Map to Overcome Change Fatigue\" is coming soon in 2026.\r\n\r\n**Links:**\r\n- [wHolistic Change, Inc] (https://www.wholistic-change.com/)\r\n- [LinkedIn Profile] (https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellesmeby/)",
"session_title": "You Are a Superhero. Let's Discover Your Superpower So You Can Use It for Greatness",
"summary": null,
"description": "Your superpower is the unique expertise or characteristic that defines you. It’s what your colleagues, family, and friends recognize you for. Discovering your superpower helps you understand your strengths and build trusted relationships. When you know what you bring to the team, you can leverage your superpower when issues arise that require your unique talent. \r\n\r\nBy understanding and utilizing your and your team’s unique superpowers, you can unlock everyone's full potential. This leads to greater success in your endeavors. When people feel respected and valued for their skills, they bring their authentic selves and are motivated to do their best. \r\n\r\nIn this session you will learn:\r\n- How to discover your superpower\r\n- What to do if your manager doesn't value or tries to suppress your unique gift\r\n- How to unleash your superpower to inspire the people around you\r\n- How to start seeing superpowers around you, to build the best teams\r\n",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 09:45:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Community",
"Soft Skills",
"Careers"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 29,
"created_at": "2026-04-05 00:06:58 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2036,
"participant_id": 6911,
"presenter_name": "Aniruddha Ghosh",
"presenter_bio": "Ani Ghosh is a Data Analytics Manager at MedStar Health, leading the Capacity & Throughput Data and Analytics program to enhance operations across 10 acute care hospitals. Prior to MedStar Health, Ani was a Data Scientist at Target, where he led a team of analysts and engineers building data products that assessed forecasting model performance across $100B revenue verticals. His experience spans the full analytics spectrum, from executive dashboards and data engineering to deploying machine learning models at scale. Ani is passionate about closing the gap between data and decision-making, and believes that the biggest barrier to analytics impact is not technology but how analytics work is organized and governed. Outside of work, he enjoys tennis, hiking, and exploring national parks. ",
"session_title": "Data & Analytics in the Age of AI: Lessons from Healthcare Analytics",
"summary": null,
"description": "AI is transforming work, and data & analytics is no exception. But beyond the headlines, what are companies actually doing with AI in their analytics workflows today?\r\n\r\nIn this session, we will start with a look at how organizations across industries are applying AI to existing analytics workflows: accelerating insight generation, automating reporting, enabling natural language data exploration, and more. We will ground this in real examples and observations from what is happening in practice.\r\n\r\nThen we will take a step deeper into why this is harder than it looks. AI powered analytics does not work without strong fundamentals such as clear data definitions, governed semantic layers, and high quality data. Without these, AI might not just underperform, but it can dangerously mislead.\r\n\r\nWe will use healthcare as a lens for these challenges, where the higher stakes make these issues unavoidable. How do you ensure privacy and security when AI interacts with sensitive data? How do you evaluate and trust AI generated outputs? What should AI be allowed to do and what it should not? How do you make the case for investment when the return is not always immediate?\r\n\r\nWhether you work in healthcare or any other industry, these lessons apply broadly. We will discuss what is working, what is not, and what data teams should be thinking about before diving in.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 12:30:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Intermediate",
"categories": [
"AI/ML",
"Careers"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 20,
"created_at": "2026-04-04 20:30:40 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2035,
"participant_id": 4976,
"presenter_name": "Mena Duarte",
"presenter_bio": "Mena Duarte is a CPA candidate, small business owner, and accountant who came up through education, nonprofits, and community organizing. Her work is about turning financial data into organizational impact, especially for the communities that need it most.\r\n\r\n [Keep in touch on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/menaduarte/)",
"session_title": "💡Get finance to say YES to your idea: The other side of the dashboard",
"summary": null,
"description": "You show up for community. Mutual aid, the march, the group chat that actually does something.\r\n\r\nBut at work, when you see a broken policy or a budget decision that hurts the people it's supposed to help, you accept it's just the way things are. It's not because you don't care. It's because you're good at the technical part, but no one ever taught you to make a case in the language the leadership understands.\r\n\r\nI'm a working accountant who came up through education, nonprofit, and community organizing before I ever touched a financial statement. I spent years watching leadership get it wrong while frontline workers already knew the answer. So I did something about it: I became the finance person. I graduated summa cum laude with degrees in business and accounting and minors in economics and finance.\r\n\r\nThis session is what I learned in the field, and how you can use it without sitting through a lecture on budgets.\r\n\r\nWe'll work through three moves that actually shift the conversation with finance and leadership. No manipulation; no selling out. No becoming someone you're not. You'll practice with real scenarios from tech, healthcare, and nonprofits. You'll leave with a one-page tool you can use Monday morning.\r\n\r\nConviction is necessary, but it's just the start. This is the rest of it.\r\n\r\nThis session is for people who do what's right out in the world and are ready to make it happen from a work laptop, too.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 16:10:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Beginner",
"categories": [
"Community",
"Careers",
"Marketing"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 15,
"created_at": "2026-04-04 18:16:41 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-27 17:26:12 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2034,
"participant_id": 219,
"presenter_name": "Robert Tomb",
"presenter_bio": "Well, a simple tagline has been: \"a nerd in the twin cities who has a family, a bicycle (or so), and some other stuff,\" which is pretty accurate.\r\n\r\nBeyond that, I currently work in Minneapolis as a Director of Engineering for Shipt, by way of a couple of years in Target's tech organization. Prior, I'd worked in online advertising where I got my start in the SaaS world. Even before that, it was all on-prem software in the ERP world. I've helped build remote, local, and hybrid teams starting as far back as 2006. I like to build on those experiences to help new engineering managers grow their teams.\r\n\r\nYou may recognize me as a volunteer from previous Minnestar events, and now I'm helping out on the board. Volunteering with Minnestar might be the longest-running volunteer stint in my life.\r\n\r\n**Links:**\r\n\r\n- [GitHub](https://github.com/bikeonastick)\r\n- [Bluesky: @bikeonastick.bsky.social](https://bsky.app/profile/bikeonastick.bsky.social)\r\n- [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/roberttomb/)",
"session_title": "Skill(.md)s, context engineering, and a way to take the garbage out",
"summary": null,
"description": "SKILL.md files are a great way to export knowledge from one engineer to another. Think of them as training docs that someone can read, but if they don't want to, they can assign their assistant, or copilot, to read them _and do the work._ \r\n\r\nSharing knowledge (context) across larger engineering organizations that are engaged in agentic engineering (go ahead, call it vibe coding, but then we can't be friends), should make everyone more productive, until it doesn't. Done right, big win. Done wrong, failures may not be recognizable as such until well after you shipped what you thought was working code.\r\n\r\nIn this session, I'll cover:\r\n\r\n- general benefits of SKILL.md files, \r\n- how my teams are using SKILL.md files at Shipt to share context with one another\r\n- Cite an academic study measuring the effects of bad context on coding assistant outcomes\r\n- Tell you why I believe you should audit your context if you are not sure if your SKILL.md files might be conflicting\r\n- Show a SKILL.md that checks other skill files (yo dawg, I heard you like SKILL.md files)\r\n- Tell you how you can do the same\r\n- Plead with you to stop thinking of SKILL.md files a \"just markdown\"",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 12:30:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Intermediate",
"categories": [
"Development",
"AI/ML"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 36,
"created_at": "2026-04-03 23:00:30 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2033,
"participant_id": 2999,
"presenter_name": "Kate Kuehl",
"presenter_bio": "Kate Kuehl is a software engineer, founder, and global builder. She works on AI-driven products, mobile apps, and distributed teams between the U.S. and Kenya. She’s interested in what happens when powerful technology meets real-world constraints, and what that means for how we work and build.\r\n\r\n**Links:**\r\n\r\n- [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/katekuehl)\r\n- [GitHub](https://github.com/katekuehl)\r\n- Twitter: @KateKuehl",
"session_title": "Future of Work in the Age of AI: Interior Design as a Case Study",
"summary": null,
"description": "Two years ago, I wrote about the future of Interior Designers in the world of AI. \r\n\r\nNow that AI can design a room in seconds… did it actually happen?\r\n\r\nOr are we (me) missing something about how we actually buy? Let's talk about it + the future of work and commerce for all of us.\r\n\r\nhttps://katekuehl.medium.com/is-the-interior-designer-doomed-by-3d-generative-ai-aece2a92cc0d\r\n\r\n\r\nJoining us will be Steve Bonoff, of IQ Design. He will talk about how interior designers are operating today and what it means for the future of the industry.\r\n\r\n\r\nSession will include a talk and group discussion addressing/challenging: \r\n • AI can design anything, so why don’t we just buy it? \r\n • Why infinite options make decisions harder, not easier \r\n • Coordination and the meaning of labor\r\n • Why “Just Generate It Yourself” Doesn’t Work\r\n",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 14:20:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Beginner",
"categories": [
"Emerging Tech",
"AI/ML",
"Design",
"Product",
"Careers"
],
"other_presenter_names": [
"Steven Bonoff"
],
"other_presenter_ids": [
7090
],
"attendance_count": 22,
"created_at": "2026-04-03 22:54:37 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2031,
"participant_id": 6908,
"presenter_name": "Darsh Garg",
"presenter_bio": null,
"session_title": "From Demo to Deployment: Why Most AI Projects Never Make It to Reality",
"summary": null,
"description": "Lessons from building real AI systems that survive beyond the hackathon.\r\n\r\nAI projects often shine in demos or hackathons, but most fail to survive the messy realities of real-world deployment. In this talk, I’ll share insights from building agentic AI systems that actually work beyond proof-of-concept. We’ll explore where AI projects typically break: data pipelines, infrastructure, human workflows, and deployment processes. More importantly, I’ll present a framework for designing AI systems that endure, including modular pipelines, human-in-the-loop design, and practical monitoring strategies. Attendees will leave with actionable lessons on bridging the gap between flashy demos and reliable, production-ready AI solutions. This session is targeted at developers, product builders, and anyone curious about what it really takes to make AI projects work in practice.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 14:20:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Intermediate",
"categories": [
"Startups",
"AI/ML",
"Product"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 8,
"created_at": "2026-04-03 16:00:35 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2030,
"participant_id": 6788,
"presenter_name": "Mitch Bliven",
"presenter_bio": "Mitch is the founder of GNS and a Working Genius Certified Facilitator serving the Twin Cities metro area. His path started in social work, then moved to the private sector where he found a passion for using data to solve problems. Unfortunately this did not stop him from being entirely burned out. After eight years he was introduced to Working Genius which led him to discover that his natural gift of curiosity wasn't a nuisance, but his greatest professional strength. \r\n\r\nToday, Mitch combines a human-centric perspective with data-driven rigor to design high-performing collaborative teams. Through the Working Genius framework, he helps organizations identify where team friction originates, align people to their natural strengths, and build communication systems that accelerate execution.\r\n",
"session_title": "Normalize Your Team: Working Genius IS the Primary Key",
"summary": null,
"description": "Most technology organizations optimize their development pipelines, yet few remove the friction from how work moves through their people. Bad systems don't scale and if your human architecture isn't intentionally designed, even the best software architecture will suffer from stalled decisions. \r\n\r\nThis session unpacks the Working Genius framework as a relational schema for your team. We will identify the invisible bottlenecks between the first spark and final implementation, aligning your team’s natural energy with your release cadence to eliminate deployment friction.\r\n\r\nJoin us to learn how to debug your team dynamics and take home a framework to:\r\n\r\n𝗠𝗮𝗽 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝗩𝘂𝗹𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀: Know where your personal and organizational blind spots are before you initiate a project, so you avoid the misfires that slow down execution.\r\n\r\n𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀: Create clear ownership and intent to synchronize execution and eliminate the waste of rework and delay.\r\n\r\n𝗢𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝗽𝘂𝘁: Aligning roles to how people naturally think and contribute reduces burnout while increasing output and accountability.\r\n\r\nYou'll leave with a concrete mental model to stop relying on unstructured, high-friction collaboration, and start treating your team's dynamics with the same architectural rigor as your codebase.\r\n\r\nI am sharing this framework because it is the tool I used five years ago to re-engineer my own career. Making the transition from a W-2 employee to founding a business is never easy, but Working Genius made it possible.\r\n",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 10:40:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Intermediate",
"categories": [
"Product",
"Soft Skills",
"Careers"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 14,
"created_at": "2026-04-03 15:57:42 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2029,
"participant_id": 6906,
"presenter_name": "Paul Cramer",
"presenter_bio": "Paul Cramer works with organizations building digital products, focusing on how leadership behavior, decision-making, and patterns under pressure shape outcomes. His work sits at the intersection of product, AI, and enterprise growth—but underneath it all is a simple question: what’s actually driving the way teams operate?\r\n\r\nHe is the author of Burnt Peanut Butter Toast, a book exploring how the way we survive something becomes the way we live—and lead—everything.",
"session_title": "You’re Not Leading. You’re Reacting.",
"summary": null,
"description": "Most teams think they have a strategy problem.\r\n\r\nThey don’t.\r\n\r\nThey’re reacting.\r\n\r\nReacting to pressure, shifting priorities, stakeholder noise, and the constant push to move faster. Over time, those reactions start to look like leadership—but they quietly drive misalignment, rework, and products that never quite deliver the outcomes teams expect.\r\n\r\nIn this session, we’ll explore why smart teams with the right tools, talent, and intentions still struggle to make progress—and how the way people and organizations operate under pressure shapes the way decisions get made and products get built.\r\n\r\nThis isn’t a session about frameworks or process. It’s about recognizing the patterns underneath them—and what changes when you start to see them clearly.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 16:10:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Beginner",
"categories": [
"Product"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 47,
"created_at": "2026-04-03 14:48:57 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 17:02:29 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2028,
"participant_id": 2292,
"presenter_name": "Bryce Howitson",
"presenter_bio": "Bryce is obsessed with creating products that people want to use. He helps organizations of all sizes prototype and test their ideas. Sometimes called a designer, a developer, a strategist, a writer, or an artist, Bryce has led teams and worked in the trenches.\r\n\r\nBryce is a Google Developer Expert in UI/UX/Product/Web Technologies and a certified Design Sprint Master.\r\n\r\nHe shares his knowledge by mentoring and teaching from his homeland in the great frozen north of Minnesota.",
"session_title": "UX Office Hours",
"summary": null,
"description": "**Do you crave feedback on your project/product/service/hobby/idea?**\r\n\r\nStop by and chat with experts in UX, Product, Marketing, and much more. Topics are open and varied. We're here to provide feedback and answer questions. But be warned, we like to ask \"why\". You may be challenged to think differently. And we might even discuss unexpected solutions. **This is your chance to get feedback or ask questions in a small conversational setting.**\r\n\r\nIf you're asking, \"What might I get out of attending?\" **Past UX office hours have touched on topics like:**\r\n\r\n- How do I get my users to...?\r\n- Help me identify my audience\r\n- What's the best way to get feedback on my product?\r\n- Do I have product-market fit? If so, how do I know?\r\n- Would you give me a UX review on my project?\r\n- How do I hire a good designer?\r\n- I haven't identified competitors. Do I have a valid service?\r\n- How do I work with my engineering team?\r\n- How do I work with my design team?\r\n\r\n*Where to find us: The UX Office Hours will be staffed throughout the event. Find us in the B1 building near the \"living room\", in the pods (small rooms with tables/whiteboards), or nearby. Look for volunteers wearing orange mentor badges.*",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 09:30:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Startups",
"Design",
"Product",
"Soft Skills",
"Other"
],
"other_presenter_names": [
"Rothanak Chhoun",
"Elle Yesnes",
"Homer Rutledge",
"Alexis Logsdon"
],
"other_presenter_ids": [
5398,
6995,
5453,
6130
],
"attendance_count": 10,
"created_at": "2026-04-03 01:25:08 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-26 22:32:29 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2027,
"participant_id": 6903,
"presenter_name": "Marta Daehn",
"presenter_bio": "Values meaningful work. Likes trees. Probably thinks too much. ",
"session_title": "Lowering Anxiety for Product & UX/UI Designers (or anyone!) -or- How Language and Perspective Shape Work Dynamics",
"summary": null,
"description": "Ah, Product and UX/UI Designers - we love our work. We're protective of it and we take pride in it. So we can naturally get a little nervous to show off our creations (especially when we're new!) because we're so closely tied to our designs that any critique of our work feels like a critique of *us!* But it doesn't have to be that way...\r\n\r\nWe can all feel anxiety when it comes to our design work, so the question is: how can we better separate ourselves from our work, and lower our anxiety? Whether you are new to design or a seasoned designer or maybe you just want to hear about how to help calm your own nervous system, this session is for you! We'll talk through how intentional language and reframing scenarios can help alleviate the pressure that we too often put upon ourselves. Presented by someone who is a Recovering Anxious Designer and has come out on the other side, this session will provide you with tips and tricks on how to take those situations that elevate your anxiety and turn them into scenarios that excite you! ",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 14:20:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Design",
"Soft Skills"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 11,
"created_at": "2026-04-02 20:43:28 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2026,
"participant_id": 6904,
"presenter_name": "Sofiia Hohunska",
"presenter_bio": null,
"session_title": "From Founder to Marketing Department of One: What Actually Works When You're Doing It All",
"summary": null,
"description": "Most founders become the marketing department by accident. One day you're building the product, the next you're writing ad copy, scheduling emails, analyzing data, and wondering why none of it is converting.\r\n\r\nThis session is for founders and small teams who are doing marketing without a marketing team - and want to stop guessing.\r\n\r\nI've run full-stack marketing solo for multiple businesses across e-commerce and service industries: Meta Ads at 10+ ROAS (industry average is 2-4x), email flows generating $20K+/week in revenue, and lead gen systems that run without the founder in the middle of every decision.\r\n\r\nWhat we'll cover:\r\n- The prioritization framework - what to build first when everything feels urgent and your budget isn't infinite\r\n- Where founders waste the most time and money - the three things that look like marketing but don't move revenue\r\n- What \"good enough\" actually looks like - how to know when to optimize vs. when to move on\r\n- The one metric that tells you if your marketing is working - before you've spent months figuring it out the hard way\r\n\r\n\r\nYou'll leave with a clear picture of where to focus next - whether you're pre-revenue, scaling, or just tired of marketing feeling like a black hole.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 16:10:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Startups",
"Marketing"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 18,
"created_at": "2026-04-02 19:46:24 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2025,
"participant_id": 6902,
"presenter_name": "William Hossain",
"presenter_bio": "William was an 8-year Nuclear Navy Veteran, who operated nuclear reactors during two deployments aboard an aircraft carrier. William currently works for Geronimo Power, headquartered in Bloomington, MN, as an Asset Manager for multiple renewable energy projects across the greater Midwest.\r\n\r\nWilliam is a current Fellow and Minnesota Community Leader for Project Vanguard. \r\n\r\nWilliam was brought to the Twin Cities in pursuit of an MBA at Minnesota Carlson and decided to take up residence.\r\n\r\nIf you wish to connect, please note that you found my information via Minnestar.\r\n\r\n[Project Vanguard](https://projectvanguard.com/)\r\n\r\n[LinkedIn](linkedin.com/in/williamhossain/)",
"session_title": "Project Vanguard - Veterans in (or interested in) Energy Networking opportunity",
"summary": null,
"description": "If you are a **Veteran**, a Family Member of a Veteran, or Ally of Veterans, you are welcome to connect with **Project Vanguard Fellow William Hossain** (an Asset Manager of utility scale energy sites).\r\n\r\nCome see how you can join a growing local and national community of Veterans and supporters that are focused on protecting and growing the energy infrastructure of the US, as well as connecting Veterans to career opportunities in energy industry. \r\n\r\nThis will be a free-flowing session that could lead to expanding your network, discovering new opportunities, and learning about future events hosted by Project Vanguard - pending Happy Hour(s) to be sponsored!+\r\n\r\n[link](https://projectvanguard.com/)\r\n[link](https://www.linkedin.com/in/williamhossain/)",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 10:40:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Community",
"Careers",
"Other"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 6,
"created_at": "2026-04-02 18:15:30 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2024,
"participant_id": 6900,
"presenter_name": "Katie Sandquist",
"presenter_bio": "Katie Sandquist is a seasoned operator and the Co-Founder/CEO of The Stable Company, where she helps leaders build organizations that scale without burning out. Forged in the worlds of real estate, healthcare, and service technology, Katie has mastered how to grow, successfully guiding three different companies from inception through acquisition. Her expertise isn't theoretical; it’s built on the hard-won experience of driving high performance, securing critical certifications, and integrating the operational rhythms that align team culture with long-term strategic goals.\r\n\r\nAt The Stable Company, Katie and her team provide high-level consulting and software designed by operators who have lived the problems they are solving. Her mission is to help leaders build things that last by focusing on the intersection of human purpose, operational excellence, and technology. Based in Hudson, Wisconsin, where she lives with her husband of 20 years, Chris, and their teenage son, Calvin, Katie remains committed to the belief that the right people, locked into the right vision, can genuinely change their corner of the world.\r\n\r\n**Links:**\r\n\r\n- [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-s-1a7b0a86/)",
"session_title": "Architecting Your Life OS: Applying Scaling Frameworks to Personal Growth",
"summary": null,
"description": "You’ve built systems for your code, your products, and your companies—but is your life running on legacy software? Many high-performers treat their professional goals with rigorous engineering and their personal lives with hope and caffeine. The result is the bottleneck effect: burnout, fragile resilience, and lost vision.\r\n\r\nIn this session, we apply the principles of a Business Operating System (BOS) to the most important organization you lead: yourself. \r\n\r\nWe will explore how structured rhythms and visual tools create the focus and action steps to achieve your vision. Using frameworks from the world of scaling businesses, we will identify how to move from reactive living to intentional leadership across all areas of life.\r\n\r\nSession Takeaways -\r\n\r\nThe Personal Scorecard: Identify the 3–5 Metrics that prove your life is on track, moving from subjective feelings to objective data.\r\n\r\nThe 3-Year Picture Mapping: Craft a Vision Board (digital or physical) that serves as the User Interface for your Life OS, ensuring your daily sprints align with your long-term North Star.\r\n\r\nPersonal Meeting Rhythms: How to implement a weekly & annual resets to audit your energy, solve personal bottlenecks, and reduce decision fatigue.\r\n\r\nDelegate & Elevate: Use an energy-audit framework to identify tasks that drain your battery and create a plan to offload or optimize them.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 14:20:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Soft Skills"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 21,
"created_at": "2026-04-02 18:01:47 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2023,
"participant_id": 6244,
"presenter_name": "Drea LeMaster",
"presenter_bio": "UI/UX Designer and Developer 4",
"session_title": "Design - AI Agents + Skills in Figma",
"summary": null,
"description": "Let’s take a look together at using agents and skills in Figma! I will go through what is available in Figma and present a demo on how this can be used in a project.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 12:30:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Intermediate",
"categories": [
"AI/ML",
"Design"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 25,
"created_at": "2026-04-02 17:43:05 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 17:02:29 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2022,
"participant_id": 6899,
"presenter_name": "Meredith Clause",
"presenter_bio": "With more than 25 years of executive leadership experience, I work alongside CIOs and technology teams to translate complexity into clarity — for boards, investors, and enterprise stakeholders. \r\n \r\nBefore founding Storycore, I served as CMO of a global fitness franchise (Anytime Fitness), VP at Regis Corporation, and held senior leadership roles at Best Buy. That operator background shapes how I approach technology narratives: strategy first, story second. \r\n\r\n\r\nToday, I partner with enterprise technology leaders navigating transformation, AI acceleration, and high stakes executive scrutiny - helping them articulate strategy with precision and confidence. \r\n\r\n\r\nMBA, Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota\r\nIDEO-Certified in human-centered storytelling\r\nFormer Fortune 500 executive\r\n\r\n\r\nA little more about me, personally:\r\nHobbyist Cyclist\r\nWorld-Ranked CrossFit Athlete, JV Division\r\nUnabashed Paint By Number enthusiast",
"session_title": "I Learned How to Tell Stories in This Building — Here's What Most Techies Miss",
"summary": null,
"description": "I spent years at Best Buy headquarters learning how to make complex (often technical) strategy land with executives who had 90 seconds of attention and zero patience for jargon. That framework now drives every narrative I build for CIOs and startup founders — and it was never about slides. Even though they were good.\r\n\r\nMost leaders try to communicate strategy by adding more detail, more data, more evidence. That's backwards. The leaders who get funded, who get buy-in, who move organizations - they do something fundamentally different. They build narratives with stakes that motivate an audience to act.\r\n\r\nThis session breaks down the communication gap that kills good ideas. Why it happens, why smart people solve it the wrong way, and three specific moves you can apply immediately to make your ideas land with any audience. I'll use real examples from building executive narratives for CIOs at companies like Estée Lauder and Bacardi, and for founders raising capital. This is a talk, not a pitch. Come ready to argue with me about what actually works.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 11:35:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Advanced",
"categories": [
"Startups",
"Soft Skills",
"Marketing"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 45,
"created_at": "2026-04-02 17:32:15 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2021,
"participant_id": 4866,
"presenter_name": "Chase Peterson",
"presenter_bio": "Chase is an Adjunct Instructor and AI Faculty Fellow at Metro State University, where he teaches Data Mining Tools, Advanced Data Mining and Applied AI in Business. His journey began on the factory floor as a welder, evolved through systems integration and building management systems, and landed squarely in the world of cybersecurity, AI, and Industrial Controls. With an MBA and CISSP, Chase bridges the gap between industry reality and academic insight. He’s been featured on Minnesota Public Radio discussing the evolving role of AI in higher education, and has spoken at conferences like MWAIS, ICAIS, and IACIS. Known for his lighthearted and generally optimistic approach to serious tech, Chase explores the chaos in the algorithm.\r\n\r\n - [Linkedin](https://www.linkedin.com/in/petersonchase/)\r\n",
"session_title": "Your AI Is Not Special: Red Teaming Before You Become a Statistic",
"summary": null,
"description": "Thankfully, AI features usually don't fail in fun, dramatic movie-villain ways. \r\n\r\nThey fail in boring, expensive, and embarrassing ways: bad outputs, bad decisions, unsafe actions, misplaced trust, and workflows that quietly do the wrong thing at scale. \r\n\r\nThe failures come from biased data, unsafe tool access, overreliance on bad outputs, weak approval flows, and a lack of monitoring once the system ships \r\n\r\nIn this session we'll look at common failure modes, how your model can be attacked, and why your internal Red Teaming needs to include the whole business. This is half cautionary tale, half lab, and half builder’s playbook.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 15:15:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"AI/ML",
"Design",
"Product",
"Community",
"Wildcard"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 19,
"created_at": "2026-04-02 16:47:45 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2020,
"participant_id": 4779,
"presenter_name": "Alisa Dean",
"presenter_bio": "Alisa is a Senior Academic Advisor at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities in the College of Liberal Arts, where she works with undergraduate students charting paths into tech careers. She specializes in making AI approachable for non-technical people and has spent years bridging the gap between emerging tools and the humans who aren't sure they belong in the room yet.\r\n\r\nA Minnesota State Fair regular, Alisa has been competing in the Crop Art competition for years and brought home a 5th place ribbon in the Group, Organization, or Team category in 2025. This year she's combining her two worlds and proving that the most interesting tech people are also, occasionally, covered in seed glue.",
"session_title": "Leave With Something You Made: Crop Art, Community & an Unlikely AI Assist",
"summary": null,
"description": "This is a workshop about community, craft, and the unlikely places technology shows up. You'll leave with a hands-on introduction to crop art, a take-home magnetic piece, and the satisfaction of having contributed to a collective Minnebar anniversary project headed to the Minnesota State Fair. Along the way, we'll explore one unlikely AI use case that helps crop art newbies. The first 40 attendees will get a take-home project and supplies.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 13:25:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Beginner",
"categories": [
"Community",
"Soft Skills",
"Wildcard"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 22,
"created_at": "2026-04-02 15:02:57 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-27 16:15:26 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2018,
"participant_id": 6147,
"presenter_name": "Vaish Sagar",
"presenter_bio": "I'm an AI engineer, full-stack developer, and two-time founder with a Master's in Computer Science specializing in NLP from Arizona State University. Recognized by the U.S. government with an O-1A for extraordinary abilities in AI, I have five years of experience spanning enterprise data engineering at Oracle, consumer product development, and applied AI research. I've built and shipped two startup platforms from scratch, was a Sequoia Capital Arc Accelerator finalist, and was featured on Fox9 News for consumer tech innovation.\r\nWhat sets my work apart is where it lives: at the intersection of AI and music. I've built AI tools inside DAW environments, applied music theory principles to reduce artifacts in AI-generated audio, and trained a GPT-style transformer from scratch to study musical structures in song lyrics. As a guitarist and vocalist, I bring a musician's ear to my technical work. My current project, \"What Does B-Major Sound Like in a Parallel Universe?\", is a reflection of that curiosity, of exploring what music could be. ",
"session_title": "Three Musicians, One Engineer: Building AI Systems for Musicians in Minneapolis",
"summary": null,
"description": "## The Premise\r\n\r\nAs engineers, we have a gift: we can build systems for which we are not \r\nthe intended users. \r\n\r\nMinneapolis has a rich musical culture. There are incredible jazz musicians \r\nand venues in this city, and there's a running joke about not being able \r\nto throw a rock without hitting an indie recording studio. Japan \r\nrevolutionized the world of music with smartphones. How can we do the same \r\nwith AI in Minneapolis? It's time we built locally: tools to discover local \r\nmusic, software written for our artists, systems that drive real growth for \r\nthe people making music here.\r\n\r\n## The Format\r\n\r\nI'm inviting three musicians working in different areas to sit down and \r\ntalk about the problems they face in their daily lives, and how we can \r\nmake their lives easier so they have more time to make music:\r\n\r\n- An educator\r\n- A live performer\r\n- A producer\r\n\r\n## What We'll Cover\r\n\r\n**DAW Accessibility.** You can tell that designers weren't involved in \r\nbuilding tools like Logic Pro, Ableton, and Reaper. How do we make these \r\nsystems easier to use?\r\n\r\n**Generative AI & Ethics.** Generative AI in music raises real questions. \r\nWe'll talk about existing software, what musicians like and don't like \r\nabout it, and where the ethical lines are. I explored some of this in my article, [*\"Much Ado About AI: An Artist, a Writer, a Musician, and an Engineer Walk Into a Debate.\"*](https://vaishsagar06.substack.com/p/much-ado-about-ai-an-artist-musician)\r\n\r\n**AI in Education.** How can we use AI meaningfully in teaching music?\r\n\r\n**Local Music & Trends.** What kind of music are Minneapolis musicians \r\nmaking and interested in making? Who are the stakeholders: who's making \r\nmusic, who's listening, who's going to live shows?\r\n",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 14:20:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Beginner",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Startups",
"Emerging Tech",
"AI/ML",
"Design",
"Wildcard",
"Other"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 17,
"created_at": "2026-04-01 20:40:48 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2017,
"participant_id": 4828,
"presenter_name": "Scott McKuen",
"presenter_bio": "Math and Physics geek from Iowa - Iowa State, then UIUC. Twenty+ years in Silicon Valley, then moved back to the Midwest for a better quality of life. Lots of previous work in AI/ML and finance.\n\n**Links:**\n\n- [GitHub](https://github.com/scottmckuen)\n- Twitter: @mckuens",
"session_title": "What the Heck is a Qubit?",
"summary": null,
"description": "What do people actually mean when they talk about **quantum computing**? What could it possibly mean for a bit to be *both zero and one simultaneously*? Or to *just try all the answers at once and pick the best one*? What is being *entangled*? Are we really on the verge of quantum-mediated alternate-history time-travel? \r\n\r\nNo. But a lot of the other strange things you might have heard about are real! And you (yes, YOU) can already work with prototype machines today. If you've ever wondered what it was like to work in our industry in the 1950s, when computing was brand new and nobody knew where it would end up, quantum computing can give you some of that - not with time travel, but just by being *raw*.\r\n\r\nThe basic ideas: qubits, superposition, and entanglement, can be managed with high school algebra. So we will do a little bit of that. \r\n\r\nWe will also briefly refresh (or initialize) your memory of basic bits and gates from classical computing, to orient us and make the similarities and differences clear. And we will point to some online resources where you can build logic gates, play with quantum circuits, and explore more on your own.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 10:40:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Beginner",
"categories": [
"Emerging Tech",
"Wildcard"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 33,
"created_at": "2026-04-01 20:23:14 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2016,
"participant_id": 6262,
"presenter_name": "Justin Trantham",
"presenter_bio": null,
"session_title": "We Automate Your \"Real\" Workflows (Live)",
"summary": null,
"description": "> Bring your business (or other technological) bottlenecks. We will build the solutions live with you. (using AI or not depending on the wifi ;)\r\nWe are Microsoft partners and know OpenAI(Codex/Agent Mode)/Microsoft Copilot, Power Platform, Webflow, Lovable, Supabase, Github, and likely more I'm forggeting right now. We can as a group figure it out we can automate it!\r\n\r\n\r\nIn this interactive session, FlowDevs engages directly with the audience to tackle real-world operational challenges. We ask attendees to share the specific inefficiencies they face in their businesses. From there, we select one or two prime examples and engineer clear, automated solutions on the spot. \r\n\r\n### Session Format (40 Minutes)\r\n\r\n* **00:00 - 00:05 | Briefing:** Explaining the interactive format and selecting audience challenges.\r\n* **00:05 - 00:35 | Live Build:** Architecting a custom workflow, automation, AI agent, website, or app to solve the selected problem in real-time.\r\n* **00:35 - 00:40 | Wrap-up:** Reviewing the solution and answering audience questions.\r\n\r\n### Example Live-Build Scenarios\r\n\r\n* **Business Card Digitization:** Configuring Microsoft Power Automate to scan physical business cards and route the extracted data directly to SharePoint.\r\n* **Agentic Review Management:** Using Make.com to create an automated workflow where an LLM agentically drafts responses to business reviews.\r\n* **Automated Lead Generation:** Configuring Codex or Claude to scrape the web and compile a CSV file of prospective leads.\r\n* **Deep Research Prep:** Using Gemini or OpenAI to conduct deep research tasks and compile background briefs on upcoming meeting attendees.\r\n* **Rapid MVP Development:** Building a functional Lovable MVP featuring a front-end form and a connected database.\r\n* **Career Prep Automation:** Scraping the web for specific job interview details and deploying Claude to generate tailored sample cover letters.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 15:15:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Intermediate",
"categories": [
"Startups",
"Emerging Tech",
"AI/ML",
"Marketing",
"Soft Skills",
"Careers"
],
"other_presenter_names": [
"Caleb Anderson"
],
"other_presenter_ids": [
6370
],
"attendance_count": 25,
"created_at": "2026-04-01 17:24:19 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2015,
"participant_id": 6891,
"presenter_name": "Walter Ethan Lick Eagle",
"presenter_bio": "I founded Build the Change LLC to turn 15 years of innovation training and education practice with larger firms into 'done for you' products and services that teach you to change through their use. Instead of teaching leaders and teams to navigate ambiguity with slides and static frameworks, I dig into details. I've developed interventions through practical coaching and facilitation that people can actually use and apply immediately. Chesterton's Fence need not apply.\r\n\r\nDrawing on engineering, design thinking, and real-world experience inside large organizations ( academia, national labs, government and corporate alike), I focus on improving how people make decisions, work together, and execute change. The goal isn’t 'more ideas', it’s finding the ones with real traction.\r\n\r\n**Links:**\r\n- [Personal site](https://ethaneagle.substack.com/)\r\n- [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethaneagle)",
"session_title": "Outlearning Ai: How Small Wins Beat \"Big Data\"",
"summary": null,
"description": "How do teams outperform AI? \r\n\r\nIf your value is ‘I can think (search/ research) my way to a decent answer,’ AI is already competing with you. \r\n\r\nThis session is about what still gives you an edge. We'll practice how to turn ambiguity into action using small, fast experiments (“Weick-sized wins”) that generate real insight\r\n\r\nYou’ll leave with:\r\n\r\nA simple way to break stuck problems into testable actions\r\nA clearer read on where your team is actually stuck\r\nOne experiment you can run immediately to increase learning velocity\r\n\r\nPart 1 — 3 min intro and chose from among 6 to 4 4-min segments (~20 min total)\r\nPart 2 — Practice (12 min) - Exercise: “Act to Learn”\r\nWork in pairs: Pick a real ambiguous problem (something that annoys you both at work that you'd like to change, but don't see an obvious 'fix')\r\n\r\nWe'll apply what we just talked about to \r\n\r\nDefine:\r\n1. one small action (reversible)\r\n2. what it will teach you\r\n3. what decision it unlocks\r\n4. When you can test it next (within a week or less!)\r\n\r\nPart 3 — Feedback for you (5–8 min)\r\n\r\nPeer critique using the following questions:\r\nIs it safe enough to fail? Make adjustments!\r\nIs it fast enough? Make adjustments!\r\nDoes it actually reduce ambiguity? Make adjustments!\r\n\r\nFeedback for me: One-line takeaway for the session [3x5 cards!]\r\n\r\n~~\r\nCheck out my bio for more information, hit me up on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethaneagle) and mention MinneBar if you want to chat.\r\n\r\n[to truly NERD out, download and read the article](https://homepages.se.edu/cvonbergen/files/2013/01/Small-Wins_Redefining-the-Scale-of-Social-Problems.pdf)",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 11:35:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Beginner",
"categories": [
"Soft Skills",
"Careers",
"Wildcard",
"Other"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 11,
"created_at": "2026-04-01 03:32:53 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-27 17:06:43 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2014,
"participant_id": 4366,
"presenter_name": "Tom Benbow",
"presenter_bio": "Tom builds unusual software. Think motion-tracking experiences for kids, anonymous SMS-based lost and found, or a terminal-style life tracker that exposes patterns in your life — like you ate three burritos on your best climbing day. He's currently building Geppetto, a platform for building and managing websites that uses AI as an assistant, not the creative director. He has chosen to demo it live with no script. Fingers crossed.\r\n\r\n[tombenbow.com](https://www.tombenbow.com)",
"session_title": "Website Improv: You're the Worst Client Ever",
"summary": null,
"description": "I built a platform for developing websites. You're going to help me test it — by being the most difficult clients imaginable.\r\n\r\nHere's how it works: someone pitches a website idea, I build it live using Geppetto (the tool I've been building), and then you tell me everything that's wrong with it. More Comic Sans. Make the logo bigger. Actually, start over. I want it to feel more... blue. \r\n\r\nI'll do my best to keep up. It might go off the rails. That's the point.\r\n\r\nAlong the way, I'll share some thoughts on how we can use AI to enhance our workflow while maintaining control.\r\n\r\nCome if you enjoy watching someone build things under pressure, have strong opinions about fonts, or have ever wanted to say \"I'll know it when I see it\" and mean it.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 11:35:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Beginner",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Emerging Tech",
"AI/ML",
"Design"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 43,
"created_at": "2026-03-31 21:21:09 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2013,
"participant_id": 6778,
"presenter_name": "Xandra Best",
"presenter_bio": null,
"session_title": "How To Talk With Your Team About Best Practices (a new way of efficiently discussing and prioritizing the best practices that matter most to your team)",
"summary": null,
"description": "The conversation around best practices can be ... complicated. There is always more that your technical team could be doing to follow best practices. Resources are always limited, and there are always legitimate competing business priorities for the team to consider. Prioritizing the best practices that matter to your team can be like comparing apples to oranges.\r\n\r\nThe best teams have discussions including both business and technical members around which best practices to adopt and why, but those conversations are as difficult as they are vital. Let's talk about how we might make those conversations work better! In this session, I'll present a new approach for tackling these conversations. ",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 10:40:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Design",
"Product",
"Soft Skills",
"Wildcard"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 17,
"created_at": "2026-03-31 21:02:10 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2011,
"participant_id": 693,
"presenter_name": "Benjamin Ortega",
"presenter_bio": "Ben is a software maker who spends his best hours elbow-deep in homelab projects and the occasional questionable car hack. He's also passionate about building technology at its best and doing things that matter: civic tech, community-driven tools, and tools that amplify diverse voices and give more people a seat at the table. A software engineer at Best Buy by day, he also enjoys playing music and riding bikes.\r\n\r\nFind me elsewhere on:\r\n\r\n- [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/benortega/)\r\n- [bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/substars.bsky.social)",
"session_title": "Only Amiga Makes It Possible: Discovering the Future in a Computer from 1985",
"summary": null,
"description": "In 1985, Commodore shipped a home computer, the Amiga, with a hardware operation queue, a scanline-synchronized display coprocessor, and a four-channel audio engine, all running in parallel without touching the CPU. We've spent forty years reinventing it.\r\n\r\nThe Amiga is remembered for the extraordinary games, graphics, and music people created with it. We'll dive into the hardware and learn what made this custom chipset remarkable, tracing how the architecture that made a 1985 home computer feel like magic also incorporates many of the same ideas as the GPU pipelines, async patterns, and parallel processing models we as technologists work with today.\r\n\r\nStill not hyped enough? Watch [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAVb0X64rNU).",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 09:45:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Intermediate",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Emerging Tech",
"Wildcard"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 43,
"created_at": "2026-03-31 05:34:43 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-25 15:22:17 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2010,
"participant_id": 2908,
"presenter_name": "Ahnaf Prio",
"presenter_bio": "Ahnaf Prio is a Senior Engineering Manager at Best Buy, where he leads the agentic commerce team. He is the former CTO of Invive.io, a biotech startup that explored innovation in the life insurance space. He previously served as CTO of Tavolo, a restaurant technology company recognized as Emerging Startup of the Year in Minnesota (2021). He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the University of Minnesota Morris Alumni Association and on the Neighborhood Sales Tax Revitalization Board for the City of Saint Paul.",
"session_title": "Understanding Agentic Commerce 🤖🛒",
"summary": null,
"description": "Agentic commerce is the next shift in how we build online shopping experiences. Instead of users navigating flows, systems can now coordinate tasks like product discovery, cart building, and checkout across different platforms—initiated and fulfilled by agents on behalf of the user.\r\n\r\nThis talk breaks down what’s actually real today versus what’s still forming. We’ll walk through the landscape—commerce specs like ACP and UCP that are shaping how discovery and checkout work in these systems, alongside foundational pieces like MCP for tool access and A2A for agent coordination. We’ll ground it in what’s already working today: existing backend systems and APIs being orchestrated by agents to enable end-to-end shopping flows, and the emerging patterns.\r\n\r\nYou’ll get a clear picture of where things stand today and how all of this actually fits together—hopefully walking away with something useful you can apply, whether you’re building as a developer or thinking about it from a business strategy lens.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 10:40:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Intermediate",
"categories": [
"Emerging Tech"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 26,
"created_at": "2026-03-31 02:06:49 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2008,
"participant_id": 6516,
"presenter_name": "Cary Christopherson ",
"presenter_bio": "Cary is an IT/Cybersecurity practitioner and leader of over 20 years, with experience across organizations large and small.\r\n\r\nHis passions include motorsports, technology, music, lawn care, and 3D printing. \r\n\r\nHis goals this year are to successfully grow blueberries, produce 3D printing filament in his garage, and for the MN United to make the playoffs.\r\n\r\n",
"session_title": "3D Printing: One step closer to the home replicator?",
"summary": null,
"description": "For years, consumer 3D printing was the exclusive domain of the \"dedicated tinkerer\", a niche pursuit requiring a mix of engineering prowess, patience, and arcane technical knowledge. However, recent breakthroughs in hardware, software, and materials have stripped away the complexity, transforming 3D printers from temperamental experiments into accessible tools for the casual hobbyist, the home organizer, and the creative professional alike.\r\n\r\nSome suggest that the 3D printer is on its way to becoming a standard household appliance, as ubiquitous as the toaster or the microwave. But how close are we to that reality?\r\n\r\nIn this session, we will:\r\n\r\n*Look back at a brief history of 3D Printing from the \"RepRap\" movement to the mostly plug-and-play machines of today.\r\n\r\n\r\n*Learn how 3D Printing looks and feels today, including 3d model distribution methods, materials used, various technologies in play, and how it all works\r\n\r\n\r\n*Dive into the exciting advancements currently reshaping the space, including high-speed printing, toolchanging, multi-material capabilities, and the emergence of AI in the space\r\n\r\n*Identify some key roadblocks that could stifle innovation and prevent further development and adoption of 3D printing in the US and around the world\r\n\r\nAnd more! \r\n\r\nJoin us if you're curious about getting into 3D printing, or just want to learn more about what's going on!\r\n",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 15:15:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Emerging Tech",
"Wildcard",
"Other"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 37,
"created_at": "2026-03-30 21:43:21 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2007,
"participant_id": 6876,
"presenter_name": "Max G",
"presenter_bio": null,
"session_title": "Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained: Defeating the Loneliness Epidemic!",
"summary": null,
"description": "Why does making friends as an adult feel like a high-level boss battle we weren't prepared for? In a world that is more connected than ever, the Loneliness Epidemic is hitting harder than we like to admit.\r\n\r\nJoin me for a session as they open up about their own journey through the 'Friendship Desert'—the missed connections, the flakiness of modern life, and the struggle to find a party that actually stays together. This isn't just a lecture; it's a shared space for us to be honest about the effort it takes to stay connected.\r\n\r\nThrough 2000s-themed nostalgia, interactive Kahoot quiz, and Q&A we’ll explore our collective experiences with friendship. We’ll dive into what it means to be vulnerable in a 'surface-level' world and how a 'Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained' mindset can break the cycle of isolation.\r\n\r\nIf you’re tired of 'solo-queuing' and ready to put in true effort for a permanent party, come join the conversation. Let's brave the unknown together! :D",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 13:25:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Community",
"Other"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 23,
"created_at": "2026-03-30 05:02:34 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2006,
"participant_id": 6882,
"presenter_name": "Kelly Anderson",
"presenter_bio": "Kelly Anderson | Crayon Kelly\r\n\r\nKelly Anderson is a visual artist, creative strategist, and the founder of the Crayon Kelly Experience, a St. Louis Park-based agency and gallery dedicated to interactive art. With a background in graphic design and over two decades of experience at the intersection of art and business, Kelly specializes in breaking down the \"fourth wall\" of the gallery space, transforming viewers into active participants.\r\n\r\nKnown for her signature use of melted crayons, acrylics, and digital painting, Kelly’s work often explores community history and local icons. Beyond the canvas, she is a passionate advocate for art business literacy, mentoring creatives on how to build sustainable, financially viable careers.\r\n\r\nAs the President-elect for Minnesota at the National Art Education Association (NAEA), Kelly is committed to fostering creative ecosystems that bridge the gap between traditional education and the professional art industry. Whether she is organizing large-scale mural festivals or launching live interactive painting competitions like Time Stamp Art, her mission remains the same: making art accessible, experiential, and entrepreneurial.",
"session_title": "Build A Bridge with Interactive Art",
"summary": null,
"description": "Build a Bridge with Interactive Art\r\nHosted by Crayon Kelly\r\n\r\nStep beyond the velvet rope and into a space where the \"fourth wall\" of the gallery is stripped away. Build a Bridge with Interactive Art is an immersive session designed to explore how active public participation transforms a static piece of work into a living community narrative.\r\n\r\nLed by Kelly Anderson, founder of the Crayon Kelly Experience, this session dives into the mechanics of interactive art as a tool for connection. We will examine how blending traditional mediums—like melted crayons and acrylics—with digital painting and large-scale public installations can bridge the gap between artist and observer.\r\n\r\nWhat to Expect:\r\n\r\nThe Philosophy of Participation: Insights into shifting the artistic focus from \"look but don't touch\" to collaborative creation.\r\n\r\nCase Studies in Connection: A look at how mural festivals and live painting competitions (like Time Stamp Art) foster local identity and engagement.\r\n\r\nCreative Strategy: How to design experiences that encourage people to contribute their own stories to a shared visual space.\r\n\r\nWhether you are a creator looking to deepen your community impact or a strategist interested in the intersection of art and public engagement, join us to discover how we can use the canvas to build stronger, more vibrant bridges.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 15:15:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Startups",
"Design",
"Community",
"Marketing"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 23,
"created_at": "2026-03-30 02:55:50 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2005,
"participant_id": 4906,
"presenter_name": "Rod Brown",
"presenter_bio": "Rod has spent 30+ years studying why organizations fail to measure what people truly contribute and what to do about it. He is the creator of the Contributive Value framework and author (with co-author Charles Donly) of the forthcoming Don’t Let AI Eat You Alive (Globe Pequot / Prometheus, 2027). He has held leadership roles at Xerox, Dell (contract), and Oracle (PeopleSoft), and has served on the boards of Greater MSP and MnSCU–MSU Mankato.\r\n\r\nCo-Author-Charles Donly is CEO of F2 AI, which is digitizing and modernizing U.S. shipbuilding using AI, machine learning, and edge computing. He's spent 20+ years building and leading global engineering teams across defense, med-tech, and enterprise AI and has a rare gift for making complex systems legible to anyone in the room. He is also Head of Technical Advisory Board in Austin, Texas. \r\nTogether: one built the human framework for measuring contribution. The other builds AI systems that operate at the edge of what's technically possible. This session brings both perspectives to a question every worker and leader needs to answer right now.\r\n",
"session_title": "Don't Let AI Eat You Alive: What Every Employee, Leader, and Organization Must Do Before It’s Too Late",
"summary": null,
"description": "Don’t Let AI Eat You Alive: What Workers Need to Know Now\r\nShort Description / Abstract\r\nAI isn’t coming for your job, it’s already reshaping how work gets valued, measured, and rewarded. Most workers are unprepared, and most organizations aren’t helping.\r\nThe real issue isn’t AI. It’s that organizations have never been good at measuring what people actually contribute. They track what’s easy to count hours, outputs, titles and AI is now optimizing around those flawed metrics. Workers who can’t clearly articulate and evidence their contribution are the most exposed.\r\nThis session introduces the Contributive Value (CV) framework, a new way to understand why performance systems fail most workers, and OUTSMART, a practical eight element model individuals can use right now to navigate AI disruption, assess their value, and communicate it effectively.\r\nThis isn’t a doom session. It’s a clear diagnosis—with a survival guide attached.\r\nSession Format\r\n•\tProblem framing (10 minutes)\r\n•\tCV + OUTSMART frameworks (15 minutes)\r\n•\tOpen discussion and Q&A (15 minutes)\r\nInteractive and discussion driven.\r\n",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 09:45:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Intermediate",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Startups",
"Emerging Tech",
"AI/ML",
"Design",
"Product",
"Community",
"Soft Skills",
"Careers",
"Marketing"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 32,
"created_at": "2026-03-30 00:14:21 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2004,
"participant_id": 4189,
"presenter_name": "Jade Barker",
"presenter_bio": "Warrior Princess of Tech - I use a wacky title because it saves me hassles.\r\n\r\n\r\nFintech Cofounder at Silicon Prairie, Founded in 2016. We're mostly Technologists that had to become Investment Bankers. We built proprietary software (and license it), plus operate several regulated Financial Institutions. We've done about $75 Million worth of deals to date.\r\n\r\n\r\n- Co-Founder of a Blockchain 501(c)(3) - 2014\r\n- Investment Crowdfunding Portals - 2016\r\n- Smart Contract Document Stack Geppetto - 2017\r\n- SEC Transfer Agency - 2018\r\n- FINRA Broker Dealer - 2020\r\n- Adjunct Professor for Blockchain Graduate Computer Science - 2023\r\n- SEC/FINRA Alternative Trading System (\"ATS\") - 2023\r\n\r\n\r\nFeel free to reach out on Linkedin, just mention Minnebar. \r\nhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jadebarker/",
"session_title": "More... \"Diagrams to Get your $hit together\"",
"summary": null,
"description": "Back by popular demand! ...FYI \"Computer Science\" used to be called \"Decision Science\". Save yourself hassles with better decisions. If you don't know what to do, try a diagram. Bring some scratch paper etc. if you want to work along.\r\n\r\n\r\n1- Consulting daily grind; What do people (customers) actually WANT from me?! \r\nSolve this with a User Story! \"As a ___, I want to ___, So I can ___.\" \r\n\r\nI'll walk you through the classic format, share a couple real world examples, and expand that into white boarding like a professional. After 13 years in the tech community, I still do this literally every single consulting call. \r\n\r\n\r\n2- Gird the loins of your mind; Iron clad communication for boundaries and positions.\r\n\"When you __, I feel __, what I wanted to feel is ___. If you keep doing ___, I will ___.\"\r\n\r\nSometimes confusion is intentional. Cut through that bull$hit like butter. Know your own mind, and communicate it so clearly you can determine if the other person is acting in good faith. Plus, how to clear your mind in 5 minute with quick-and-dirty journaling. This one will fix like half of your interpersonal stuff, more if this stuff is brand new to you.\r\n\r\n\r\n3- Hard bull$hit like; Should I leave or should I stay?\r\nThis is not actually a binary decision, this goes in a 4-square box... Because inaction is still a choice. It will help you trick yourself into bravery.\r\n\r\nI'll show you how to map out the hard stuff, so you at least SEE what you are facing. Sometimes the possible outcomes can have VERY different weights and your choice gets simple. Sometimes it just gives you enough mental distance that you can work up the guts to do the needful thing. At very least, you name the monster.\r\n\r\n",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 09:45:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Intermediate",
"categories": [
"Startups",
"Product",
"Soft Skills",
"Careers",
"Wildcard"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 48,
"created_at": "2026-03-28 22:22:04 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 17:02:29 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2003,
"participant_id": 6872,
"presenter_name": "Samhita Krishnamurthy",
"presenter_bio": " Samhita Krishnamurthy is a civic tech builder focused on redesigning civic engagement systems for young people by creating new tech-enabled pathways for participation. As a high school sophomore at Minnetonka High School, she works at the intersection of technology, design, and public impact to turn civic interest into meaningful action. She is the founder of Spark Civics, where she leads initiatives that combine technology, education, and mentorship to expand youth civic engagement. Through Spark Civics, she has designed and led civic innovation programs, led youth engagement efforts across Minnesota, and developed a civic tech platform that simplifies civic engagement into a one-step pathway, guiding young people from awareness to meaningful action through personalized support and real-world opportunities. Her work has been presented to state leaders, civic organizations, and youth communities across Minnesota. Samhita also serves as President of the Minnetonka Girls Who Code chapter, where she leads a team of 20+ members delivering pro bono technology solutions to local businesses. In addition, she represents District 6 on the Minnesota Youth Council, working with legislators and communities to advance youth civic engagement, including drafting legislation and statewide initiatives. Her work has been supported through partnerships such as the Global Girls Glow Youth Visionary Lab, where she secured $5,000 in funding to expand her initiatives. She has been recognized as a National Honorable Mention and Minnesota State Winner by NCWIT and received the Target TWIST Award for Computing.",
"session_title": "From Uncle Sam to Civic Tech: Rebuilding Civic Engagement for Gen Z Using Design Thinking",
"summary": null,
"description": " For over 200 years, civic engagement and education in the U.S. have remained largely unchanged while Gen Z participation has declined. Today, more than 60% of eligible young adults do not vote, and many feel unprepared to engage in civic life.\r\nBut this is not a motivation problem; it is a design problem.\r\n\r\n We continue to rely on messages like the Uncle Sam poster, “We want you,” without showing people what to do next or how to meaningfully get involved. And let’s be honest, most civic systems were not built with Gen Z in mind, and it shows. As a 16-year-old working in this space, I have spent the past few years researching youth civic engagement, working with communities across Minnesota, drafting legislation, and founding Spark Civics, a youth-led organization focused on building tech-enabled systems for civic participation.\r\n\r\n In this interactive session, we will explore how civic engagement can be rebuilt using design thinking and civic tech. We will apply product design, user experience, and behavioral science to create clear pathways, transforming awareness into action. I will demo a platform that guides users through personalized next steps, feedback loops, and real opportunities to engage. I’ll share lessons and insights from a Spark Civics camp where students turned ideas into real-world impact. Join this session to turn ideas into tech-powered impact and see what civic engagement looks like when it is actually designed to work.\r\n",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 13:25:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Emerging Tech",
"Design",
"Community"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 27,
"created_at": "2026-03-28 17:32:39 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 2002,
"participant_id": 6045,
"presenter_name": "Alan Fernald",
"presenter_bio": "Alan Fernald is the founder and purpose coach at The Purpose-Driven Leader, a purpose coaching company that empowers rising and mid-career professionals to deepen their self-knowledge, express their purpose, and maximize their success and impact in delivering on it.\r\n\r\nAlan works with you from a place of your self-knowledge and your strengths. He helps you break through your fixed or scarcity mindset and express your personal mission statement, your North Star. From there, Alan works with you to develop your growth plan, a roadmap to you delivering on your purpose.\r\n\r\nPrior to founding the Purpose-Driven Leader, Alan refined his leadership acumen through a range of roles, from management consulting to electoral campaign leadership, to leading DEI work at Fortune 500 financial services companies.",
"session_title": "Boldly You: Showing Up to Your Life’s Purpose",
"summary": null,
"description": "How can knowing your life’s purpose unlock acceleration in your career, your business, and your thought leadership? And what are the practices of purpose-driven leaders who show up from a place of authenticity and the aliveness within them?\r\n\r\nJoin Alan Fernald, career coach and speaker from The Purpose-Driven Leader, for a talk on the three practices that support you in showing up at your most powerfully and magnetically in your career and life. These practices are centering your agency, infinite games versus finite games, and cultivating wholeheartedness. \r\n",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 10:40:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Beginner",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Soft Skills",
"Careers"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 30,
"created_at": "2026-03-28 02:11:38 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1969,
"participant_id": 17,
"presenter_name": "Jaim Zuber",
"presenter_bio": "Apple Platforms Engineering and Leadership. Mobile and desktop.\r\n\r\nHacking on speech-to-text (ASR) systems while he searches for the next gig.\r\n\r\nHe likes hockey, BBQ, and making noise with a modest array of instruments… sometimes in public.\r\n\r\n**Links:**\r\n- [jaimzuber.com](https://jaimzuber.com)\r\n- [BlueSky](https://bsky.app/profile/jaimzuber.com)\r\n- [Mastodon](https://mspsocial.net/@jaimzuber)\r\n- [GitHub](https://github.com/sharpfive)\r\n",
"session_title": "Real World Speech Interfaces: What Builders Are Seeing",
"summary": null,
"description": "Are you building with speech, or thinking about it? Let’s compare notes.\r\n\r\nSpeech interfaces (e.g. speech-to-text, text-to-speech) have become one of the most practical (and widespread) ways AI shows up in real products.\r\n\r\n2025 was the year of AI meeting note takers. Transcription apps are everywhere (and seemingly popped up out of nowhere).\r\n\r\n2026 is about dictation. WisprFlow and Willow are changing how we interact with computers. Prompting Claude from a keyboard is sooo 2025.\r\n\r\nYet, it feels like we’ve only scratched the surface of what these technologies can do. \r\n\r\nBuilding in the space? Let’s talk shop and make wild guesses on where this is headed.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 10:40:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Intermediate",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Startups",
"Emerging Tech",
"AI/ML",
"Product"
],
"other_presenter_names": [
"Ian Bicking",
"Vaish Sagar"
],
"other_presenter_ids": [
366,
6147
],
"attendance_count": 29,
"created_at": "2026-03-27 20:04:28 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1967,
"participant_id": 131,
"presenter_name": "Jachin Rupe",
"presenter_bio": "Jachin is a former full time software engineer, now he's mostly a stay-at-home dad, but he still has time for some consulting and an endless parade of personal project. His favorite programming language is [Elm](https://elm-lang.org/).\r\n\r\nHis name is pronounced JAY-kin; it's a Hebrew name, but he’s not Jewish.\r\n\r\nHe's got a blog at [jachin.rupe.name](http://jachin.rupe.name/)\r\n\r\n**Links:**\r\n\r\n- [GitHub](https://github.com/jachin)",
"session_title": "A weather station, plant monitors, buttons, and other smart home fun",
"summary": null,
"description": "I gave a talk last year on a doorbell and kitchen dashboard project. I'll do a quick recap of those and how they're going.\r\n\r\nI have some more projects that I'd like to share, including a weather station I set up in my backyard and self-hosting the data.\r\n\r\nI have tried out some different houseplant monitors. I'll tell you how that's going.\r\n\r\nI've tried several of different buttons. We can talk about those too.\r\n\r\nLast year, the follow-up conversations I had with folks were so good, I kinda want to just run it back and do the same talk again, but there are also plenty of new things to talk about.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 12:30:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Development"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 40,
"created_at": "2026-03-27 17:05:56 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 17:02:29 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1966,
"participant_id": 1247,
"presenter_name": "Senthil Kumaran",
"presenter_bio": "Senthil S. Kumaran is a technology executive, architect, and educator with over 30 years of experience in software engineering and leadership. He has driven digital transformation and technological innovation across various sectors, including healthcare, finance, retail, and manufacturing. His expertise includes strategic IT leadership, cloud-native architecture, enterprise architecture, and the implementation of advanced technologies like applied AI and machine learning to create scalable, impactful solutions. He is also a recognized thought leader in applying agile methodologies and DevOps practices.\r\n\r\nKumaran currently serves as the CIO at MNGI Digestive Health and holds a part-time position as an Adjunct Professor at Concordia University. In this academic role, he teaches courses in software engineering, emerging technologies, and data management. He is also a sought-after speaker who has presented at over 100 technical and healthcare conferences on the intersection of technology, healthcare, and AI.\r\n\r\nAs the technical co-founder of Virtuwell, a pioneering telehealth platform, Kumaran designed and implemented a HIPAA-compliant system that served over one million patients, earning a 98%+ positive feedback rating. His contributions included developing clinical decision support systems and optimizing patient engagement workflows. At Virtuwell, he led the AI, Machine Learning, and Enterprise Architecture group, driving over $100 million in savings, innovation, and growth through digital product development.\r\n\r\nHe holds a Master's in Electronics Engineering from Bharathiar University, India, and an MBA from the University of St. Thomas. He is also an active contributor to various nonprofits and frequently presents at technology events worldwide.\r\n",
"session_title": "UNLOCKING PRODUCTIVITY: THE POWER OF AI TOOLS IN THE WORKPLACE V4",
"summary": null,
"description": "\"Remember last year when we were 'Ghibli-fying' photos and marveling at the first wave of AI agents? That was the rehearsal. This year, the curtain has officially stayed up, and the 'Magic' has turned into Muscle.\"\r\n
\r\nThe Power of Autonomy & Context\r\n\r\nWe’ll kick off with the game-changers in Agentic AI: systems that don't just \"chat\" but independently solve problems. We’ll specifically dive into Google AI Studio and Gemini 2.5 Flash, showing how its massive context window can digest hours of video or thousands of documents in seconds to act as your ultimate research partner.\r\n
\r\nThe 60+ Tool Transformation\r\n\r\nI’ll break down a curated list of over 60 industry-leading tools to replace your most tedious tasks:\r\n
Productivity & Research: Mastering Perplexity, Grok 3, and Gamma for instant intelligence.\r\n
Content Powerhouses: Using Kling, HeyGen, and VEO 3 for video, and Midjourney for elite design.\r\n
The Business Engine: Automating entire workflows with Make, Zapier, and Bardeen.\r\n
Specialized Agents: Deploying Seona AI for SEO and Otter/Fireflies to automate your meetings.\r\n
\r\nBuilding Your Own \"Staff\"\r\n\r\nLearn how to use Agentic AI to create autonomous digital assistants that execute tasks. From Social Media Management with Tapilo and TweetHunter to Vibe Coding with Lovable and Cursor, you’ll see how to build a virtual department on a shoestring budget.\r\n
\r\nThe Bottom Line This isn't just a list of \"cool apps.\" It’s a roadmap for Productivity 4.0. Whether you are a startup founder using Tome or an executive streamlining with Copilot, you’ll leave with a toolkit to transform your workday from \"busy\" to \"impactful.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 10:40:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Beginner",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Startups",
"Emerging Tech",
"AI/ML",
"Product",
"Soft Skills"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 21,
"created_at": "2026-03-26 18:51:52 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 17:02:29 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1965,
"participant_id": 5523,
"presenter_name": "John Benninghoff",
"presenter_bio": "John Benninghoff's interest in cybersecurity began in 1985 when he read the book *Out of the Inner Circle: A Hacker's Guide to Computer Security*, and found a way to get paid to do it starting in 1998. John is a proud security heretic, bringing his love of human factors, design, economics, probability, and psychology to the practice, focusing on how to integrate security into how work is done and improve organizational performance rather than avoid security issues. He currently consults through his company, [Security Differently](https://www.security-differently.com).\r\n\r\nJohn has also done work in exploratory data analysis and visualization, risk analysis and quantification, Site Reliability Engineering, and writing code in R. John holds a Masters Degree in Safety Science from Trinity College Dublin, where his research focus was on applying safety principles to technology. Outside of work, John enjoys spending time outdoors, hiking running, and camping.\r\n\r\nLinks to all his current and past work can be found at .",
"session_title": "(Cybersecurity) Warnings 😳",
"summary": null,
"description": "Let's talk about cybersecurity warnings! 😳 Security warnings - and many other computer warnings - are terrible, and there are *so many examples*...but why is that and does it really have to be that way? I'm lucky to have worked on a project to explain what makes a good cybersecurity warning for product designers, security professionals, and lawyers, and I can tell you that it doesn't!\r\n\r\nCome join us in mocking a gallery of bad security and not-security warnings, in screenshots and emoji. Along the way, we'll talk about the history of security and traditional product warnings, what we know about making good warnings, celebrate a (small) gallery of good warnings, and talk about how we can all get better!",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 09:45:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Design",
"Product",
"Other"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 43,
"created_at": "2026-03-26 17:39:29 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1964,
"participant_id": 6000,
"presenter_name": "Joe Slaughter",
"presenter_bio": "Industrial Automation Engineer, Publisher of DefineTheBox a Microsoft App for dynamic and living documentation\r\n\r\nhttps://appsource.microsoft.com/en-us/product/dynamics-365/layer1holdingsllc1667923574055.definethebox",
"session_title": "DefineTheBox Prioritize Solutions to Risk",
"summary": null,
"description": "When the list of Risks Change, much like changing a Prompt to AI changes the Outputs. Changing the list of requirements changes the plans to implement.\r\n\r\nThis Session will show the use of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Enterprise software and customizations used to update spreadsheets and document generation from database artifacts.\r\n\r\nStop copying and pasting Excel Living Documentation and use Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Document Generation.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 09:45:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Intermediate",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Startups",
"Design",
"Marketing"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 2,
"created_at": "2026-03-26 15:27:24 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 17:02:29 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1963,
"participant_id": 6151,
"presenter_name": "Sara Williams",
"presenter_bio": "**Sara Williams**\r\nSara Williams is an experienced technology leader with over 18 years in web development and IT management. She holds two certificates from Harvard in Front-End Web Development and Business Strategy and Execution. Currently serving as Enterprise Technology Systems Manager at Nexstar Network, Inc., Sara leads AI and ERP initiatives for scalability and growth. With a passion for bridging the AI skills gap, Sara actively educates others on how AI tools can enhance their daily work and recently published a book, _Super Employee - A Manual For Encouragement_, about this topic.\r\n\r\n**Links:**\r\n\r\n- [Book](https://a.co/d/j5bPhRg)\r\n- [Website](https://freeyouup.com)\r\n- [YouTube](https://youtube.com/@AIworkday)\r\n- [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/aiworkday64/)",
"session_title": "AI - Technology Cannibalism: Who Ate Who and What's Working Now",
"summary": null,
"description": "Since last year a lot has happened in the world of AI.\r\n\r\nHundreds of new SaaS tools have become available and thousands of apps. \r\n\r\nSome have *disappeared* completely - or have they...\r\n\r\nFind out what AI tools have been eaten in the past year, and by who!\r\n\r\nAlso learn about what's working and what's not with AI tools that have the power to change the way we work.\r\n\r\nThis session will have a combination of information and demonstrations in a choose your own adventure format.\r\n\r\n- Who Ate Who, and Who's Next...\r\n- Demos: AI Wars! Pitting similar AI tools against each other to see who can and who can't do **that**\r\n- Some fun things you can try at home\r\n\r\n*Note: This session is geared towards using AI mainly for work tasks in various roles and industries, for the (potentially non-technical) end user*",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 15:15:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Emerging Tech",
"AI/ML"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 10,
"created_at": "2026-03-25 23:41:12 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1962,
"participant_id": 1740,
"presenter_name": "Phil Ensminger",
"presenter_bio": "All work is lists, time, people, and tools. It gives me life to help individuals and businesses navigate the infinite matrix of these things with clarity and confidence. \r\n\r\nFound online at [thickmarker.com](https://thickmarker.com/) and [philensminger.com](https://www.philensminger.com/).",
"session_title": "When Before What: Practical prioritization for leaders and builders",
"summary": null,
"description": "*What are we building? What's most important? When are we done? What's needed? Where will I find the time? What's next?*\r\n\r\nChoosing is hard. Opportunity is unlimited. The work is unlimited. \r\n\r\nBut, limits are real. Time is limited. People are limited. *Most* is singular. \r\n\r\nIt's cliche to say that \"priorities shift\" and yet, so many of our leadership practices are built on assumptions of stability. Beautiful vision statements grow stale and fail when we never update them. We give ourselves and teams whiplash when we pivot too often and chase problems that weren't really in our way. \r\n\r\nWhat could it mean to embrace our limits and work *with* them? What happens when we commit to \"for now\", reserving the right to change our minds? What happens when we're honest with ourselves and others about how much we can actually take on? \r\n\r\nWhat's hard about prioritization? How might we *do better*?\r\n\r\nIf you attend this session, expect to participate. This is about you and your work. Expect to walk away with work to do, and a few new techniques to help you do it. ",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 13:25:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Intermediate",
"categories": [
"Startups",
"Product",
"Soft Skills",
"Other"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 28,
"created_at": "2026-03-25 23:01:41 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1961,
"participant_id": 2973,
"presenter_name": "Shalanah Dawson",
"presenter_bio": "\r\n\r\nShalanah is crafting digital products at [Livefront](https://livefront.com).\r\n\r\nConnect on [LinkedIn](https://linkedin.com/in/shalanah)\r\n",
"session_title": "✨ Let’s animate! ✨ An Introduction to Rive.app",
"summary": null,
"description": "The founders of Rive.app are twins that wanted to bring back the joy and interactivity that we lost after the death of Flash. In this session, learn about Rive.app, how it’s used, what platforms it integrates with, examples, and basic walkthrough.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 13:25:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Design"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 51,
"created_at": "2026-03-25 22:39:41 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1960,
"participant_id": 6820,
"presenter_name": "Paul Carroll",
"presenter_bio": "I designed and built websites for 15 years and now I design and build furniture. In my free time I also do illustration work, 3D animation & play music. I have three cats. Are you reading this bio? Nice.\r\n\r\n**Here's some links:**\r\n\r\n- [Afternoon Design x Build](https://afternoondesign.co)\r\n- [stublag.com](https://stublag.com)\r\n- [doodle.zone](https://doodle.zone)",
"session_title": "Photogrammetry to Furniture - Designing for the real world in Blender",
"summary": null,
"description": "Sometimes string and cardboard aren’t enough to figure out a home improvement project. As a visual person I have found it extremely handy to use a couple of free tools to help visualize things before diving in. This started as a way for me to understand projects around my own house, but now it has transformed into a furniture business.\r\n\r\nIn this talk I will go over my process for taking a 3D scan of a space and prototyping with it in [Blender](https://www.blender.org/). I'll also cover some of the pitfalls and rough edges you can encounter, and answer any questions about what's possible with these tools.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 16:10:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Design",
"Wildcard",
"Other"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 38,
"created_at": "2026-03-25 21:56:03 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1959,
"participant_id": 6829,
"presenter_name": "Mary MacCarthy",
"presenter_bio": "After 35 years at 3M, Medtronic, Imation, Cardiovascular Systems, University of Minnesota, startups and consulting, I've stepped into a cannabis CEO gig. \r\n\r\nhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/marymaccarthy/",
"session_title": "Cannabis! Building a cultivation, R&D, manufacturing and dispensary business in the Twin Cities. ",
"summary": null,
"description": "Recreational, adult use cannabis is now legal in Minnesota. What's it like building a large cannabis business compared to other healthcare or high tech businesses? Join me to hear the Northern Calyx journey and get free merch. ",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 11:35:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Startups"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 30,
"created_at": "2026-03-25 21:30:42 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1958,
"participant_id": 6828,
"presenter_name": "Samantha Young",
"presenter_bio": "I am a person who wears many hats. \r\n\r\nI am a part of and involved in the How to be Second community. \r\nhttps://howtobesecond.com/\r\n\r\nI am a Spiritual Director who works at the intersection of faith and profession. \r\nhttps://streamsgrace.com/\r\n\r\nI also moonlight as a podcast producer and editor, and semi professional social media manager. \r\n\r\nLinkedIN: www.linkedin.com/in/samanthayoungsd\r\n\r\nAbove all, I care deeply about helping people embrace who they are and how to move through the world in a more authentic way. ",
"session_title": "Questions to ask during a transition... and who can help.",
"summary": null,
"description": "What am I doing? Who am I? What SHOULD I be doing? \r\n\r\nAll transitions are hard. I'm not just talking about the \"I need a new job\" transition. It could also be a \"I have a new boss\" or a \"it's really hitting me that I'm 40\" or even \"I guess I want to be done working\" transition. \r\n\r\nWe ALL transition, and inevitably some pesky thoughts creep up when that happens. We start to question and maybe even doubt what we are doing or the choices we have made. And then making even more choices is harder. \r\n\r\nWell, there is a lot of help out there and navigating that can be another hurdle and before you know it you haven't gotten any help and you are stumbling around uncertain and confused. \r\n\r\nLet's talk about transitional questions and how the different types of help out there may or may not meet the needs you have. \r\n\r\nI firmly believe, and my life has shown me, that going alone is the worst option. \r\n\r\nTransitions are hard, different types of help exists. Let's navigate that together. ",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 16:10:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Soft Skills",
"Careers",
"Other"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 36,
"created_at": "2026-03-25 21:17:29 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1957,
"participant_id": 6824,
"presenter_name": "Rayen Inostroza",
"presenter_bio": "Rayen Inostroza is a teacher, founder, and entrepreneur building at the intersection of education, technology, and community. She is the co-founder of ChatLPO, an AI-powered platform designed to help teachers plan, create, and deliver more effective lessons.\r\n\r\nShe was recognized as a semifinalist in MN Cup, the largest startup competition in Minnesota, and was also awarded as one of the “50 Genius” women in Chile, highlighting her as one of the most innovative female founders in the country for her impact in STEM. In addition, her startup ChatLPO was recognized as one of the Top 5 Startups in Chile.\r\n\r\nBeyond her work in EdTech, Rayen has built a social media community of over +300,000 followers, where she builds her personal brand and shares her experience in education. Her content focuses on building her online community, creating meaningful connections, and building something impactful through her work.\r\n\r\nThrough her work, Rayen brings a unique perspective on how to grow an authentic personal brand, build a loyal community, and turn ideas into real impact.\r\n\r\n- [Instagram] (https://www.instagram.com/la_profe_online)\r\n- [TikTok] (https://www.tiktok.com/@la_profe_online?_t=8kjXVIRkeTv&_r=1)\r\n- [Linkedin] (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rayen-inostroza-63803988/)\r\n- [ChatLPO Website] (https://chatlpo.com/)",
"session_title": " Growing a Social Media Community: What’s Working Right Now",
"summary": null,
"description": "Social media is full of advice- but what actually works today to build a real, engaged community?\r\n\r\nIn this session, I’ll break down current strategies for growing a personal brand and turning followers into a community that interacts, shares, and sticks around. I’ll share what I’ve learned building a community of 300K+ followers, including what worked, what didn’t, and what I would do differently if starting from zero.\r\n\r\nWe’ll cover:\r\n\r\nHow to find your voice and stand out (without feeling fake)\r\nWhat kind of content actually drives engagement right now\r\nHow to build trust and connection- not just followers\r\nPractical ways to stay consistent without burning out\r\n\r\nThis will be a collaborative session- come ready to share your experience, ask questions, and exchange ideas. Whether you’re just starting or already creating content, you’ll leave with clear, actionable strategies you can apply immediately.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 12:30:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Beginner",
"categories": [
"Startups",
"Community",
"Careers",
"Marketing"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 25,
"created_at": "2026-03-25 14:03:38 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1956,
"participant_id": 12,
"presenter_name": "Mark Gritter",
"presenter_bio": "Mark Gritter is a Founding Engineer at ThirdLaw, his fifth startup experience, building monitoring and control for AI systems.\r\n\r\nMark formerly worked at Akita Software and Postman on API observailbity; at HashiCorp on the Vault team; co-founded Tintri, an enterprise storage company that IPOed in 2017; and was a day-one employee at Kealia, a video streaming startup acquired by Sun Microsystems in 2004.\r\n\r\nMark's previous Minnebar presentations have covered topics such as correctness of algorithms, combinatorial auctions, scaling a startup, building a file system, and procedural content generation.\r\n\r\n**Links:**\r\n\r\n- [GitHub](https://github.com/mgritter)\r\n- [Mastodon: @markgritter@mathstodon.xyz](https://mathstodon.xyz/@markgritter)\r\n- [Bluesky: @markgritter.bsky.social](https://bsky.app/profile/markgritter.bsky.social)",
"session_title": "Sol LeWitt, Combinatorial Enumeration, and Rogue",
"summary": null,
"description": "Sol LeWitt wrote that \"the serial artist does not attempt to produce a beautiful or mysterious object but functions merely as a clerk cataloguing the results of his premise.” This premise could be a set of axioms, a geometric constraint – or a roguelike level generator! From this viewpoint, the enumeration of all outputs from a procedural content system is itself a type of artwork.\r\n\r\nRogue, a text-based dungeon crawler from the 1980s, is one of the first games that used procedurally generated content. It generates a random layout for each level that the player explores. Rogue's simple algorithms for doing so have been a source of inspiration for game developers for decades. But because Rogue uses a 32-bit psuedorandom number generator, there are \"only\" four billion possible levels, and we can enumerate them all. (I'd hoped that there was some crunchy technical content about how to do so efficiently -- but it's actually pretty easy!)\r\n\r\nI’ll explore this connection between 20th century conceptual art and 21st century expressive range analysis. I'll show some examples of serial art, more recent examples of complete enumerations, and some results from looking at the Rogue level generator.\r\n",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 09:45:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Intermediate",
"categories": [
"Wildcard"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 14,
"created_at": "2026-03-25 07:14:43 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 17:02:29 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1955,
"participant_id": 6822,
"presenter_name": "Michael Arulfo",
"presenter_bio": "Michael Arulfo is the Chief AI Officer and Field CTO at Cadre, where he architects the AI strategy and Enterprise AI platform powering a mental health platform that connects members with vetted peer coaches through content, community, and clinically governed technology. Mike also serves as the Field CTO and leader of the Cadre AI Agency Lab (CAAL) where he provides AI Strategy and Enterprise Architecture guidance to Fortune 1000 and Fortune 500 clients. \r\n\r\nHe is the co-author of The Cadre AI Framework, a groundbreaking AI governance framework that defines how AI is permitted to operate in moments of human vulnerability — setting the standard for responsible AI in mental health.Trained in AI strategy and Architecture at MIT and UC Berkeley, Mike brings over two decades of executive leadership across health care’s most demanding environments. \r\n\r\nHe served as an Enterprise Architect at UnitedHealthcare (Office of the CIO), Chief Architect of Optum Everycare at OptumHealth, and Principal Enterprise Architect at Boston Scientific, where he co-chaired the company’s generative AI tiger team in the Office of the CIO. His career includes pioneering work on 3M.com and collaboration with the Mayo Clinic, building a foundation in large-scale health care systems that few can match. Mike’s impact has been recognized at every level. \r\n\r\nHe is the recipient of the Bravo! Leadership Award from UnitedHealthcare, the Bravo! Relationship Award from OptumHealth, the CEO Winning Spirit Award from Boston Scientific (2024), and a 2026 Minnesota ORBIE Award nomination from the Inspire Leadership Network. Marquis Who’s Who (2025) recently honored him as a leader in Enterprise AI, with a feature profile published via the Associated Press. He is a builder, a strategist, and when the moment calls for it — a West Coast swing dancer!",
"session_title": "What Happens When You Combine Bad Bunny + AI + Mental Health? ",
"summary": null,
"description": "It starts with a WestCoast Swing Dance demo to a Bad Bunny song. Then it gets real. Cadre's Chief AI Officer (CAIO) Mike Arulfo breaks down the AI Enterprise strategy powering a mental health platform built for humans, not algorithms. Michael will also cover the latest trends in Artificial Intelligence happening in the Enterprise and Startup environments based on his current experience working in an AI tech startup and from Human X 2026 in San Francisco and the Chief Architect Network (CAN)Summit in London! Dr. Charryse Johnson unveils The Cadre Way AI Framework— a clinical governance framework defining how AI operates in moments of vulnerability. Two perspectives. One mission. Zero boring slides.\r\n",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 10:40:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Intermediate",
"categories": [
"AI/ML",
"Development",
"Startups",
"Emerging Tech",
"Design",
"Product",
"Marketing",
"Wildcard"
],
"other_presenter_names": [
"Dr.Charryse Johnson"
],
"other_presenter_ids": [
7070
],
"attendance_count": 21,
"created_at": "2026-03-25 03:03:34 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1954,
"participant_id": 2644,
"presenter_name": "Stephen Gornick",
"presenter_bio": "Fiat mining as a Developer. Otherwise, contributing to [TollGate.me](https://Tollgate.me)",
"session_title": "How To Sell Your Neighbor's Wi-Fi, For Fun and Bitcoin!",
"summary": null,
"description": "I don’t have dedicated home internet at my apartment — but my neighbor’s cable company will sell me wireless internet access from his cable modem for $10/month. Then I run [TollGate.me](https://Tollgate.me) on a cheap router and resell that bandwidth as a Bitcoin-powered hotspot.\r\n\r\nIn this session I’ll show you exactly how it works: the simple hardware setup, how Lightning micropayments flow in sats every time someone connects, and how people in a good location with excess bandwidth can*(\\*)* turn it into automatic bitcoin income with almost zero ongoing effort.
\r\n*(\\*) Where permitted by your ISP’s Terms of Service*\r\n\r\nI’ll bring my hotspot router so you can try it yourself — I’ll give you a sample of ecash to use for paying to connect using your phone or laptop, and you’ll see the sats flow in real-time.\r\n\r\nIf you’ve ever wanted to set up a tiny ISP that pays you in bitcoin while you do (almost) nothing — or just see decentralized internet access in action — come check it out. No slides, just a working hotspot with real payments happening live.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 13:25:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Intermediate",
"categories": [
"Emerging Tech"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 17,
"created_at": "2026-03-25 02:57:31 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1953,
"participant_id": 6313,
"presenter_name": "Alex Frescoln",
"presenter_bio": "I'm a Startup Attorney who works with founders, project developers, and established companies launching new ventures. I enjoy working with companies that are looking for innovative solutions to solve tough problems. Avisen Legal services cover formation, fundraising, equity structuring, governance, contracts, and more.\r\n\r\nhttps://www.avisenlegal.com/team/alex-frescoln/",
"session_title": "Hack Your Legal Costs: AI + Your Attorney in 2026",
"summary": null,
"description": "Founders are already using ChatGPT, Grok, Claude and other AI to draft contracts, review investor terms, and do legal research. Some of that's great, and some of it's going to cost you your company when it blows up.\r\n\r\nThis session is a practical walkthrough of how to use AI and your lawyer together to get quality legal work done faster and cheaper. We'll look at live examples: AI drafting a SAFE (what it nails, what it hallucinates), AI reviewing a contractor agreement (what it catches, what it misses), and AI \"doing legal research\" (when it's useful, when it's confidently making things up).\r\n\r\nYou'll leave knowing:\r\n\r\n- How to use AI output to make your lawyer faster and your bill smaller\r\n- The mistakes AI makes about startup legal work that could actually sink your company\r\n- Confidentiality risks with AI\r\n- What an AI-forward law firm looks like in practice, and why it matters for your budget\r\n\r\nThis isn't a talk about AI replacing lawyers. It's about founders being smarter about how they use both. Bring your laptop.\r\n\r\nPresenters: Todd Taylor and Alex Frescoln, Avisen Legal — startup and business lawyers with an AI-forward practice serving founders, funders, and growth companies.\r\n",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 11:35:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Beginner",
"categories": [
"Startups",
"AI/ML",
"Other"
],
"other_presenter_names": [
"Todd Taylor"
],
"other_presenter_ids": [
6821
],
"attendance_count": 26,
"created_at": "2026-03-25 02:23:13 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1952,
"participant_id": 442,
"presenter_name": "Jason Hsu",
"presenter_bio": "\n\n**Links:**\n\n- [GitHub](https://github.com/jhsu802701)",
"session_title": "Horror Movie Survival: Protecting Yourself From Airborne Pathogens",
"summary": null,
"description": "A common trope in stupid horror movies is authority figures who prove to be too clueless and wimpy to protect the people.\r\n\r\nSadly, the writers of those stupid horror movies are proving to be much smarter than they seem. Because there's nobody in charge of public health, you and I have MORE responsibility. Worse yet, there are people in charge who are working hard to undermine public health.\r\n\r\nThe threat I'm focusing on in this session is airborne pathogens. COVID-19 is an airborne disease and is still raging. Worse yet, so many people have had their immune systems weakened by COVID that more diseases have become more prevalent. H5N1 bird flu has become a full-blown pandemic for birds and cows, and not enough is being done to prevent it from becoming a pandemic for humans as well.\r\n\r\nI believe that airborne pathogens are nastier than ingested pathogens. Unlike your stomach, your lungs and nasal passages do not have a strong acid that kills pathogens. You can wash your hands, but you CANNOT wash your lungs.\r\n\r\nFortunately, there are ways to protect yourself from airborne pathogens, and the world would be a much better place if these practices were the norm. In this session, I will focus on air purifiers and masks. Air purification and masking in tandem provide MUCH more protection than either one alone.\r\n\r\nPeople are more concerned about sanitizing surfaces, but sanitizing the air is MUCH more important. Air purifiers sanitize the air, and there are ways to build them on the cheap. Yes, it's possible to build your own air purifier that's just as effective as some commercial products that are at least 10 times more expensive. You can use the money you save to build more air purifiers. If you want a quiet air purifier that does not get in the way of conversations, music, TV shows, or music, you can build one using quiet PC fans or buy an air purifier from Clean Air Kits.\r\n\r\nIf you have abandoned wearing a mask, you should return to this practice. Just because you should wear a mask does NOT mean you have to suck it up and suffer from an uncomfortable one. In this session, I'll discuss the masks/respirators that I like because they offer comfort AND N95 or better protection. I'll discuss the masks I like best (such as my 3M HF-802SD and 3M Aura masks) and the masks that I hate (such as ear loop mask and 3M's N95 cup masks).\r\n",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 16:10:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Other"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 11,
"created_at": "2026-03-24 22:07:53 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1951,
"participant_id": 5309,
"presenter_name": "Jenn Czeck",
"presenter_bio": "- Accessibility Consultant and Developer\r\n- Cyberpunk witch engineer from the future\r\n- Loves code and sparkles\r\n\r\n**Links**\r\n\r\n- [jenn.dev](https://jenn.dev)\r\n- [Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/geekgalgroks.bsky.social)",
"session_title": "I'm Disabled & You Will Be, Too",
"summary": null,
"description": "According to the [World Health Organization](https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/disability-and-health) currently about 1 in 6 people experience a significant disability.\r\n\r\nWhile the numbers of disabled people vastly outnumber software engineers, software products are still being shipped that are not digitally accessible.\r\n\r\nCome learn some basics that everyone, no matter their role in the software development cycle, can use to make more accessible products.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 14:20:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Design",
"Community",
"Soft Skills"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 42,
"created_at": "2026-03-24 21:54:53 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1950,
"participant_id": 5309,
"presenter_name": "Jenn Czeck",
"presenter_bio": "- Accessibility Consultant and Developer\r\n- Cyberpunk witch engineer from the future\r\n- Loves code and sparkles\r\n\r\n**Links**\r\n\r\n- [jenn.dev](https://jenn.dev)\r\n- [Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/geekgalgroks.bsky.social)",
"session_title": "Crafternoon",
"summary": null,
"description": "BYOC - Bring your own craft (knitting, crochet, embroidery, cross stitch, etc)\r\n\r\nMeet other crafters and work on your craft.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 15:15:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Community",
"Other"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 30,
"created_at": "2026-03-24 21:05:55 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-27 16:15:44 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1949,
"participant_id": 6818,
"presenter_name": "Benjamin Schatz",
"presenter_bio": "**Ben Schatz** is a data nerd who loves digging deep to figure out how things work. After a career spent leading Analytics orgs at places like Google and Qualcomm, he’s now the Director of Analytics at Craig Frames, where he spends his time making good numbers go up and bad numbers go down. He’s more interested in the big levers than the individual gears and is dedicated to making insights actually lead to action. He is prone to hyperbole and metaphors and feels strongly that in order to be helpful, you need to be able to explain it to everyone. \r\n\r\nOutside of work, Ben is a dedicated motorcyclist, an avid DIY’er, and a chronic tinkerer who can't seem to stop picking up new hobbies.\r\n\r\n- [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminschatz/)",
"session_title": "Dr. BotLove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the AI",
"summary": null,
"description": "I’ll be blunt: AI is *really* cool, but also *really, really* dumb. It can build an app in an afternoon, design a VR videogame overnight, update your systems, and build an entire ETL system. It also can’t remember who you work for, has a habit of broadcasting your secure keys, and clutters your codebase with dozens of debug_duplicate.py files. \r\n\r\nAI is the best of the worst tools in our belt. **It’s brilliant, it’s broken, and I use it every single day**\r\n\r\nIn this session, we’re taking a frank look at where AI actually is right now, where it shines, and where it consistently falls apart. The critical topics of how to make it useful, where it shines, where it just won't work, and ways to make it less obnoxious. How to accommodate goldfish memory, terrible assumptions and tendencies to go on “adventures”. Strategies the average user to leverage these tools safely and sanely without a dedicated dev team or a complex setup.\r\n\r\nThere are various ways to integrate it into your work life without losing your mind (or your ability to think). Come learn how to interact with the bots recognizing they are like an overconfident, very smart, but completely chaotic junior dev.\r\n\r\n**Scope:** This discussion will be focused on commercially available AI tools like Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot. I’m sure some of y’all have custom fixes for all these issues, but for this we’re focusing on the out-of-the-box bots were stuck with.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 13:25:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Beginner",
"categories": [
"AI/ML",
"Product",
"Soft Skills",
"Wildcard"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 18,
"created_at": "2026-03-24 20:17:58 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1948,
"participant_id": 5387,
"presenter_name": "CJ Jensen",
"presenter_bio": "CJ is a 3x founder, UX designer, sewing machine repair technician, and textile educator. When not selling their labor under capitalism they are a mentor and executive council member with Be Bold Break The Mold, a mentorship program at North Hennepin Community College. They loves talking small business, micro economics, and feminist cities with anyone who wants to rap. \r\n\r\nQuilts often and loves to laugh with other humans. Can be found in their vegetable garden in the summer or playing Backgammon.\r\n\r\n**CJ is currently open to work.**\r\n\r\n**Links:**\r\n- Lets be peers [LinkedIn] (https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-jensen/) \r\n- check out [my work] (https://www.cjjensen.work/)\r\n- subscribe to my [substack] (https://substack.com/@cjjensen)",
"session_title": "Code, cloth, and your hands: How engaging in textile craft makes you a better technologist",
"summary": null,
"description": "The Jacquard loom gave us binary code and beautiful brocades. What else has the world of textiles given us and how to does engaging in textile craft make us better technologists? Turns out a lot. Spend 40 minutes engaging in hand quilting and Sashiko embroidery with your peers. Zero experience required. We are all here to learn. \r\n",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 16:10:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Design",
"Community",
"Soft Skills",
"Careers"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 41,
"created_at": "2026-03-24 14:36:33 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:15 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1947,
"participant_id": 4733,
"presenter_name": "Tor Flatebo",
"presenter_bio": "Tor Flatebo is an Engineering Manager at Meta with 25+ years in software engineering and technical leadership. He has built teams and platforms at companies like Meta, Best Buy, Medtronic, SPS Commerce, GovDelivery, and MPR. He focuses on developer experience, scalable internal tooling, and empowering engineers to do their best work. A community-oriented technologist based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, he enjoys practical engineering, collaboration, and building for fun.",
"session_title": "Owning your engineering career progression and some advice from Tom Hanks",
"summary": null,
"description": "Career advancement in engineering is often opaque. Promotion criteria is frequently unclear, inconsistent, or interpreted differently even across teams at the same company(!), making it hard to know whether you’re operating at the level required to grow, and whether or not anyone is recognizing your growth.\r\n\r\nI will introduce a practical, repeatable framework for taking ownership of your career progression. Drawing from experience participating in and also designing career ladders across organizations ranging from startups to large enterprises, I’ll walk through how to turn vague expectations into an actionable growth plan and create alignment with your leadership.\r\n\r\nYou’ll learn how to:\r\n\r\n* Translate ambiguous promotion criteria into concrete actions\r\n* Build a career roadmap aligned with your organization’s expectations\r\n* Have productive, low-friction conversations with your manager about advancement\r\n* Document your work and impact in ways that matter for promotion decisions\r\n* Shift from reactive career management to intentional proactive planning\r\n\r\nYou’ll leave with a system you can apply at any company to create clarity around growth and to advocate effectively for your own progression. While the examples focus on software engineering, the framework applies broadly to technical roles across the industry.\r\n\r\nAnd Tom Hanks has some great advice that I will share with you too!\r\n",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 16:10:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Intermediate",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Soft Skills",
"Careers"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 25,
"created_at": "2026-03-24 03:17:13 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:15 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1946,
"participant_id": 2622,
"presenter_name": "Minnestar",
"presenter_bio": "Minnestar is a nonprofit community organization that connects Minnesota’s tech ecosystem through free, inclusive, and community-led events. We’re best known for Minnebar and Minnedemo — spaces where technologists, founders, creatives, and curious minds come together to share ideas, demo projects, and support one another.\r\n\r\nAt Minnestar, we believe the best tech community is one that’s accessible, welcoming, and powered by the people in it.\r\n\r\n[Learn more about Minnestar](https://minnestar.org/)\r\n\r\nMeg Steuer is the Executive Director of Minnestar, where she leads efforts to build, nurture, and engage Minnesota’s vibrant tech community. With a passion for fostering connections and championing innovation, Meg brings years of experience in community building, economic development, and scaling initiatives.\r\n\r\nSince moving to Minnesota in 2014, Meg has made a significant impact in the community through her work with organizations like GREATER MSP, Forge North, BETA, Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation, and the Small Business Development Center.\r\n\r\n[Connect on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/megsteuer/)",
"session_title": "✱✱ Minnestar Town Hall: A Community Conversation on the Past, Present & What’s Possible! ✱✱",
"summary": null,
"description": "Minnestar has always been by the community, for the community — and that’s especially true as we look ahead to what’s next.\r\n\r\nAs we celebrate 20 years of Minnestar, we’ll take a moment to reflect on where we’ve been, share where things stand today, and open up the conversation about where we go from here.\r\n\r\nMost importantly, we’ll gather your ideas, hopes, and feedback to help shape what’s ahead.\r\n\r\nWhat do you want to see more of? What’s missing? What would make Minnestar — and spaces like Minnebar — even more welcoming, inclusive, and impactful?\r\n\r\nWhether it’s your first Minnebar or your twentieth, this is a chance to share ideas, ask questions, and help shape what comes next.\r\n\r\nCome be part of the conversation.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": null,
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Community"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 41,
"created_at": "2026-03-24 01:23:46 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-27 17:07:26 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1945,
"participant_id": 6026,
"presenter_name": "Cameron MacDonald",
"presenter_bio": "Cameron is a **front-end developer** who works on design systems. He finds joy in bridging the gap between visual design and software engineering; artistic creativity and practical problem solving.\r\n\r\nHe is also a **Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies (CPACC)** through the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP). He hopes to earn WAS and CPWA certifications in the future.\r\n\r\nWhen he's not ripping his hair out trying to fix bugs he *definitely didn't create*, you can find him doing one of his many hobbies that he can't seem to stop picking up. These include skiing, cycling, illustration, animation, 3D printing, smart home automation, playing guitar and piano, and more.\r\n\r\nYou can find all of his socials at [cdmacdonald.com](https://cdmacdonald.com)\r\n\r\nIf you're a reader, add him on [The StoryGraph](https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/bigheadcam) and recommend a book that he can put on his TBR and immediately forget about.",
"session_title": "3D Printing: Getting Started",
"summary": null,
"description": "Are you interested in 3D printing but don't know how to get started?\r\n\r\nThis session is to give aspiring 3D printing hobbyists a rundown of what it is, what it isn't, and how to start trying it out if you're interested.\r\n\r\nWe'll be exploring:\r\n\r\n- Types of 3D printers\r\n\r\n- Types of filaments / resin\r\n\r\n- Software for creating objects\r\n\r\n- Slicing software for prepping files for printing\r\n\r\n- Caveats, considerations, and drawbacks\r\n\r\n- Safety\r\n\r\nThere will be time for a Q&A at the end for anyone who has specific questions. 3D printing is an exciting, fun, sometimes frustrating, and extremely vast and deep hobby. I hope you'll join and find out more about one of my favorite hobbies!",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 13:25:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Beginner",
"categories": [
"Wildcard"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 40,
"created_at": "2026-03-24 01:22:30 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:15 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1944,
"participant_id": 2622,
"presenter_name": "Minnestar",
"presenter_bio": "Minnestar is a nonprofit community organization that connects Minnesota’s tech ecosystem through free, inclusive, and community-led events. We’re best known for Minnebar and Minnedemo — spaces where technologists, founders, creatives, and curious minds come together to share ideas, demo projects, and support one another.\r\n\r\nAt Minnestar, we believe the best tech community is one that’s accessible, welcoming, and powered by the people in it.\r\n\r\n[Learn more about Minnestar](https://minnestar.org/)\r\n\r\nMeg Steuer is the Executive Director of Minnestar, where she leads efforts to build, nurture, and engage Minnesota’s vibrant tech community. With a passion for fostering connections and championing innovation, Meg brings years of experience in community building, economic development, and scaling initiatives.\r\n\r\nSince moving to Minnesota in 2014, Meg has made a significant impact in the community through her work with organizations like GREATER MSP, Forge North, BETA, Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation, and the Small Business Development Center.\r\n\r\n[Connect on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/megsteuer/)",
"session_title": "\tMega Minne Multi Indie Mini Arcade",
"summary": null,
"description": "Stop by to play some locally made games!\r\n\r\nThis year the arcade will have:\r\n\r\n🎮 TVs running a selection of locally made video games\r\n\r\n🎲 Tables with locally designed board games\r\n\r\n🧠 Information about how to get involved with game development in the Twin Cities, including our chapter of the International Game Developers Association (igdatc)\r\n\r\n💪 Volunteers on-hand to talk about all of the above\r\n\r\nThis thing is going all day long!",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 09:30:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Wildcard"
],
"other_presenter_names": [
"Beth Korth"
],
"other_presenter_ids": [
1905
],
"attendance_count": 42,
"created_at": "2026-03-24 01:14:56 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1943,
"participant_id": 2622,
"presenter_name": "Minnestar",
"presenter_bio": "Minnestar is a nonprofit community organization that connects Minnesota’s tech ecosystem through free, inclusive, and community-led events. We’re best known for Minnebar and Minnedemo — spaces where technologists, founders, creatives, and curious minds come together to share ideas, demo projects, and support one another.\r\n\r\nAt Minnestar, we believe the best tech community is one that’s accessible, welcoming, and powered by the people in it.\r\n\r\n[Learn more about Minnestar](https://minnestar.org/)\r\n\r\nMeg Steuer is the Executive Director of Minnestar, where she leads efforts to build, nurture, and engage Minnesota’s vibrant tech community. With a passion for fostering connections and championing innovation, Meg brings years of experience in community building, economic development, and scaling initiatives.\r\n\r\nSince moving to Minnesota in 2014, Meg has made a significant impact in the community through her work with organizations like GREATER MSP, Forge North, BETA, Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation, and the Small Business Development Center.\r\n\r\n[Connect on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/megsteuer/)",
"session_title": "Newbie Table",
"summary": null,
"description": "New to Minnebar? Come find the Newbie Table outside of Sandy's Place (the cafeteria)!\r\n\r\nThe Newbie Table is your home base to ask questions, meet friendly faces, and get the lay of the land.\r\n\r\nWhether you’re flying solo or just want someone to chat with between sessions, stop by and say hi. We’ll have longtime community members on hand to help you navigate the day, make connections, and feel right at home.\r\n\r\nThis table is open all day.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 09:30:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Other"
],
"other_presenter_names": [
"Meg Steuer"
],
"other_presenter_ids": [
7085
],
"attendance_count": 12,
"created_at": "2026-03-24 01:13:44 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-26 22:31:53 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1942,
"participant_id": 4406,
"presenter_name": "John Eckhardt",
"presenter_bio": "[John Eckhardt](https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-eckhardt-b0271389/) has occupied roles in all levels of the SDLC. He founded [Code Pros](https://codepros.biz) in 2014 to maintain legacy software. He loves business + process + efficiency, and also playing games. Which are unsurprisingly similar.",
"session_title": "Don't Rip and Replace: how to avoid the shiny upgrade pitfall in long-term systems",
"summary": null,
"description": "\"But when we move off CodeIgniter and onto Laravel, that'll fix all the little bugs\"\r\n\r\n\"Check out this new JS Framework; it'll improve our dev productivity\"\r\n\r\n\"The vendor assures me the migration to this new ERP will be painless, and the ROI will pay off in 3 years\"\r\n\r\nFor long-running systems, **upgrades are often more painful than they're worth**. \r\n\r\nBut what's the alternative? Sticking with old, crusty code from yore?\r\n\r\nWe'll discuss why upgrading is painful, different options for upgrading, and finally, ways we've found to not upgrade.\r\n\r\nCome and share your upgrade experiences. Come and learn why we're still running a project on 2010's latest technologies - Grunt and Bower - and why we have forced ourselves to not upgrade.\r\n",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 15:15:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Intermediate",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Product",
"Other"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 26,
"created_at": "2026-03-23 22:39:35 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:15 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1941,
"participant_id": 6812,
"presenter_name": "Shannon Seaver",
"presenter_bio": "Shannon Seaver is the co-founder and CEO of RealPath Learning, an AI-powered edtech startup solving federal accessibility compliance for K-12 teachers. After 18 years in the classroom teaching math, CS, and engineering and a Tekne Award in Education, she traded lesson plans for a pitch deck — and won the SheBuilds Season 2 Buildathon out of nearly 2,000 global applicants along the way.\r\n\r\nShe also co-runs Tailoredu.ai. She builds automated workflows and agents with no-code AI tools and believes the best founders are the ones who've lived the problem firsthand.",
"session_title": "We Won a Global Hackathon. Then We Built a Real Company. Here's What Changed.",
"summary": null,
"description": "\r\nOne of us spent 18 years in a high school classroom. The other leads enterprise AI strategy at the University of St. Thomas. Together we built RealPath Learning — and won the SheBuilds Season 2 Buildathon out of nearly 2,000 global applicants.\r\n\r\nThe problem we couldn't stop thinking about: teachers spend 3 hours differentiating a single lesson — and a 2024 DOJ ruling just made that a federal compliance crisis for every K-12 district in America.\r\n\r\nSo we built something. Using Lovable, Claude, and a hackathon deadline, we went from idea to working product fast. Now we have a real company, district pilots , and a $500K seed raise in motion.\r\n\r\nThis session is the unfiltered story: what tools we used, what broke, what surprised us, and what we wish we'd known about building a compliance-driven EdTech startup as two non-traditional founders. If you've ever had an idea you thought required a \"real\" developer — or a \"real\" background — this session is for you.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 16:10:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Beginner",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Startups",
"Emerging Tech",
"AI/ML",
"Design",
"Community"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 31,
"created_at": "2026-03-23 21:54:24 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:15 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1940,
"participant_id": 5311,
"presenter_name": "Mark Capaldini",
"presenter_bio": "Business Advisor and Trustee | MESA Mentor | Red Cross Volunteer | 3x President and CEO\r\n\r\nCareer mostly in B2B SaaS, both in the Washington, DC metro area and in the MSP metro area. I have been a CEO, CEO Advisor, CEO Coach, and Board Director. My various past roles allow me to be a sounding board, peer, resource, coach, and confidential advisor. I've led companies with revenues $5-50 million. BS, Engineering & Applied Science, Yale. MBA, Harvard Business School.\r\n\r\nwww.linkedin.com/in/markcapaldini",
"session_title": "Entrepreneur Panel: Maximizing Value from a Mentor",
"summary": null,
"description": "Each member of this panel is currently using a mentor and has found it valuable. They will discuss their experience in a formal mentoring program and will address these issues:\r\n\r\n• Why consider having a mentor? • How does a mentor differ from other advisors and investors? • What should you look for in a mentor or in a mentoring program? • What is an example of your mentor’s impact on your decision making? • What does a good mentor do and not do? • How has your mentor changed how you think about your business? • What is your cadence for meeting with your mentor?\r\n\r\nA good mentor provides unvarnished, straight guidance and feedback shaped by experience and motivated by a pure desire to see the entrepreneur succeed.\r\n\r\nWe believe that this discussion will benefit any entrepreneur considering a mentor or mentoring program. We hope it will provide specific and actionable guidance. The panel moderator will conduct an “open Q&A” session for the final 10-15 minutes of the session.\r\n\r\nThis panel, with a different set of entrepreneurs, was well-received at Minnebar 18 and 19, with 40--50 attendees.. Mark Capaldini will once again serve as Moderator.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 12:30:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Intermediate",
"categories": [
"Startups"
],
"other_presenter_names": [
"Nick Gawreluk",
"Michael Petersen",
"Daniel Metcalf"
],
"other_presenter_ids": [
6187,
6989,
5464
],
"attendance_count": 31,
"created_at": "2026-03-23 21:43:01 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 17:02:29 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1939,
"participant_id": 6811,
"presenter_name": "Sean E. Williams",
"presenter_bio": "Sean E. Williams is an award-winning ecosystem innovator with 20+ years of experience in cross-sector collaboration, strategy, and innovation. He is passionate about creating opportunities for entrepreneurs and businesses for long-term growth and sustainability, with a mission of diversity, equity, and inclusion. He is currently the Executive Director of the Owatonna Area Business Development Center, as well as co-founder and COO of FanSpark. Sean is also a New York Times bestselling comic book writer.\r\n\r\n[Owatonna Area Business Development Center](https://owatonna.biz)\r\n[FanSpark](https://fanspark.pro)",
"session_title": "Early Stage Funding in Minnesota",
"summary": null,
"description": "With the launch of the Minnesota Angel Investor Network, there are new opportunities for funding in Minnesota! Learn how getting funding from angel investors works, as well as other funding options available within the state. Also, learn what makes a good pitch, and what to avoid.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 11:35:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Startups",
"Community",
"Marketing"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 24,
"created_at": "2026-03-23 19:45:54 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 17:02:29 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1937,
"participant_id": 4672,
"presenter_name": "Matt Meshulam",
"presenter_bio": "I'm a software engineer at the University of Minnesota, enabling scientific research at the Minnesota Supercomputing Institute. Previously I spent seven years at Reverb.com, the marketplace for musical instruments. \r\n\r\nOver my career I've worked as an engineer, product manager, and sales engineer at a variety of tech companies, from 10-person startups to financial software firms older than I am.\r\n\r\nA Chicago native, I live in Minneapolis with my spouse and dog. Outside of work I enjoy biking, gardening, and cooking.\r\n\r\n**Links:**\r\n\r\n- [Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/meshm.bsky.social)\r\n- [GitHub](https://github.com/meshulam)",
"session_title": "Gopher Supercomputing: Past, Present, and Future",
"summary": null,
"description": "The University of Minnesota has been a longstanding leader in scientific computing. It was the first U.S. University to buy a supercomputer, from Minnesota- and Wisconsin-based Cray Research in 1981. In the years since, the Minnesota Supercomputing Institute has offered on-campus computing resources and technical expertise to thousands of researchers around the state, enabling scientific discoveries in disciplines including genetics, chemistry, astronomy, and economics.\r\n\r\nAs an engineer at MSI, I've seen firsthand the value of this resource to the research community, and the interesting legacy quirks that come with operating a decades-old computing center. \r\n\r\nIn this session, I'll share an overview of MSI's history, a virtual tour of its current datacenter in the basement of a 100-year-old library, and get into the tech we use today and some examples of the computational research people are doing. And we'll touch on how things may change in the years ahead, as AI seeps into academia and hyperscalers eat the world's hardware supply.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 12:30:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Wildcard",
"Other"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 39,
"created_at": "2026-03-23 17:21:22 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 17:02:29 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1935,
"participant_id": 6261,
"presenter_name": "Mel Bernstein",
"presenter_bio": "Hello! I'm a Minneapolis-based UX engineer. I love biking, jazz, and sharing good food with friends and family!\r\n\r\nSince moving back to Minneapolis and getting involved in local advocacy groups, I've started to connect the pieces between digital and physical UX.\r\n\r\n\r\n[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-bernstein-ubc/)",
"session_title": "Don’t Blame the User—Fix the Design: The UX of Streets and Cities",
"summary": null,
"description": "Following up from last year’s deep dive into traffic signal technology, this talk shifts focus to the human side of our streets.\r\n\r\nWhy do people “break the rules”?\r\nWhy do some streets feel stressful, even when they’re technically safe?\r\nWhy do drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians seem to be in constant conflict?\r\n\r\nThe answer often isn’t (just) bad behavior—it’s design.\r\n\r\nIn this session, we’ll apply UX thinking to urban planning: interfaces, signals, mental models, and cognitive load in the real world. We’ll look at bikeways, intersections, transit, and accessibility—and how each user is making decisions based on incomplete, conflicting signals.\r\n\r\nCities are designed systems—and they’re constantly changing. This talk will give you a UX lens to better understand the streets you use every day, spot what works (and what doesn’t), and feel more confident engaging in the changes shaping your neighborhood.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 10:40:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Design",
"Wildcard",
"Other"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 64,
"created_at": "2026-03-23 10:05:12 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:15 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1934,
"participant_id": 1478,
"presenter_name": "Tamil Kadir Rajavel",
"presenter_bio": "Tamil Kadir Rajavel leads engineering at [Williams AV](https://www.williamsav.com/), where his team ships professional audio and assistive communication products across hardware, firmware, and software. That includes Bluetooth Auracast devices and AI-powered real-time translation solutions.\r\n\r\nWith 15+ years of experience spanning a venture-backed startup, a Fortune 500 multinational, and a PE-backed small business, he's been hands-on as an embedded engineer, owned roadmaps as a product manager, and now leads engineering teams as a director. He holds an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Minnesota.\r\n\r\nFirst-time Minnebar presenter, long-time attendee who finally decided to get on stage.\r\n\r\n**Links:**\r\n\r\n- [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamilkadirrajavel/)\r\n- [Personal Website](https://tamilkadirrajavel.com/)\r\n\r\n",
"session_title": "Shipping Atoms and Bits: What Building Physical Products Taught Me About Better Engineering Decisions",
"summary": null,
"description": "Most tech talks assume your product lives in the cloud. Mine ships in a box.\r\n\r\nI lead engineering at a small professional audio/video company where software, firmware, and hardware all have to work together on day one. Our products range from Bluetooth Auracast audio devices to AI-powered real-time translation, and all of them have to ship on time with a small team and a real budget. A hardware mistake means a costly respin, not a quick patch. That changes how you think about every decision.\r\n\r\nIn this session I'll share things that building physical products taught me that I think apply to anyone making engineering decisions:\r\n\r\n- **Coordinating teams that move at completely different speeds.** Hardware timelines don't bend to your sprint cadence. How we blend structured milestones with agile sprints so firmware, software, and hardware teams stay aligned without slowing each other down.\r\n- **Rolling out AI tools when you don't have an AI team.** Our actual strategy for adopting AI tools across the entire company, what stuck, what flopped, and how it's changed what we can take on.\r\n- **Your team isn't generic, so why is your tooling?** Enterprise software is either too expensive or too bloated for a small team, and the spreadsheet you've been nursing along is one pivot table away from collapse. I used Claude Code to build a custom resource planning tool in a week. No dev team, no six-figure license. I'll make the case that building your own tools is now a real option for any small company.\r\n- **Saying no to good ideas.** How constraints on time, people, and budget force better prioritization than any framework.\r\n\r\nWhether you're an engineer thinking about leadership, a founder wearing every hat, or a developer curious how the \"other side\" builds products, there's something here for you.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 09:45:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Development",
"AI/ML",
"Product",
"Careers"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 16,
"created_at": "2026-03-23 08:15:32 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 17:02:29 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1933,
"participant_id": 182,
"presenter_name": "Jeff Lin",
"presenter_bio": "I'm the founder of Pennant and Bust Out. I love ice cream.",
"session_title": "Deep Dives, Vulnerability, and Learning: The Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) Method of Self-Reflection",
"summary": null,
"description": "Personal reflection requires something most of us avoid: honesty and vulnerability. [Entrepreneurs’ Organization](https://eonetwork.org) (EO) members are trained to reflect regularly on their work, family, and personal life experiences through the “5% Reflection” practice, but consistency and depth can be very hard.\r\n\r\nIn this session, you will learn about the EO 5% Reflection methodology and I'll demonstrate a custom GPT that helps guide deeper, more vulnerable thinking about your experiences.\r\n\r\nWe’ll explore:\r\n\r\n* Why meaningful reflection is uncomfortable – and why that matters\r\n* How prompts structured by AI can encourage more honest thinking\r\n* A live demo of the custom GPT 5% Coach\r\n* How sharing your 5% reflection can benefit others through resonance\r\n\r\nThis will be part demo, part discussion. Come if you’re interested in thinking more clearly about your vulnerabilities, experiences, successes, and blind spots.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 15:15:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"AI/ML",
"Soft Skills"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 26,
"created_at": "2026-03-23 06:26:46 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:15 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1932,
"participant_id": 156,
"presenter_name": "Dan Lew",
"presenter_bio": "Dan Lew has code in his DNA and has been speaking since he was two years old. He's focused these skills on software development for the past two decades, working on many large mobile apps (FlightTrack, Expedia, Trello) as well as maintaining some open source libraries and applications. Currently he works on civic tech projects at [Mighty Acorn Digital](https://www.mightyacorn.com/).\r\n\r\nWhen not speaking, he's silent.\r\n\r\nYou can [contact him on Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/danlew42.bsky.social), [read his website](http://danlew.net/), or [stalk his commit history](https://github.com/dlew).",
"session_title": "What the fuck are passkeys and why are they everywhere now?",
"summary": null,
"description": "It seems like every time you login to a website nowadays, it asks you to create a passkey. If you’re like me, you initially assumed this was some sort of scam. But now that it’s everywhere, you’re beginning to wonder what it’s all about and why every website is pushing it constantly.\r\n\r\nThis talk will cover the basics of what a passkey is, how they came to be, and what you should do about them now that they’re here.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 11:35:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Beginner",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Emerging Tech"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 97,
"created_at": "2026-03-22 17:26:57 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:15 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1931,
"participant_id": 2382,
"presenter_name": "Katie Kodes",
"presenter_bio": "Once told, \"I've always imagined your brain is shaped like an old-fashioned library card catalog,\" Katie is thrilled by any chance to help others find -- and maintain -- order in their data and tech processes.\r\n\r\n**Links:**\r\n\r\n- [KatieKodes.com blog](https://www.katiekodes.com/)",
"session_title": "End-to-end tests considered harmful (securing credentials for E2E and synthetic testing)",
"summary": null,
"description": "Last summer, eager to show a team how easily they could author Microsoft Playwright tests to determine whether their site still works after each new vendor patch ... I came five seconds away from hitting \"send\" on a test run results report that would have included:\r\n\r\n1. screenshots of my bank account number, and\r\n2. browser history including a cookie that could have let them log in as me and reroute my next payments to themselves.\r\n\r\nMy impatient boundless enthusiasm is partly to blame, but it could happen to any of us, because the problem is inherent to the nature of automation:\r\n\r\n* **Credential** problems arise quickly when we take humans out of the loop and automate testing **authenticated systems**.\r\n\r\nThis session explores the security implications of common testing practices, and presents practical alternatives that maintain quality assurance and observability without compromising security.\r\n\r\nYou'll learn authentication and authorization patterns to improve test security across the software development lifecycle.\r\n\r\nProperly implementing mitigations like health check endpoints, synthetic data, and privilege separation likely involves more subject matter expertise than is reasonable to expect everyone to hold at once, so you'll leave this session with a shareable vocabulary you can use to align business, development, quality, identity, security, and monitoring teams as you work toward safer test automation against your most important systems.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 11:35:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Intermediate",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Design"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 15,
"created_at": "2026-03-22 17:22:26 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1930,
"participant_id": 917,
"presenter_name": "Matt Decuir",
"presenter_bio": "Matt (he/him) is a software engineer, entrepreneur, and Minnestar board member. Past projects include [Invisible Network](https://www.invisiblenetwork.com/), [Mpls Jr Devs](https://mplsjrdevs.com/), and [OMG Transit](https://omgtransit.com).\r\n\r\n**Links:**\r\n\r\n- [Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/experimatt.com)\r\n- [GitHub](https://github.com/experimatt)\r\n- [Personal website](https://experimatt.com/)\r\n",
"session_title": "The Good Years: Formative Tech Companies in the Twin Cities",
"summary": null,
"description": "In the Twin Cities tech scene, a handful of companies keep coming up - places like Code42, Sport Ngin, Refactr, Clockwork, JAMF, GovDelivery, etc. - where it was a genuinely great place to work *and* a cohort of really good people all happened to be there at the same time. If you were there during the right years, you know it, and you probably still keep in touch with those people.\r\n\r\nThis session is about those runs. For each company, we'll try to articulate three things:\r\n\r\n1. 📈 When was the golden era?\r\n2. ✨ What made it special?\r\n3. 📉 What changed?\r\n\r\n**‼️ Help me make this session great**: I put together a [very short form](https://airtable.com/appDlqhNpH88rwLYP/shrjGruz0U2jgVzyS) to gather data and stories for this session. You'll help me immensely by filling it out for one (or multiple) companies you've worked at that had one of these runs. Even better, share it with former coworkers who were there during the same era.\r\n\r\nI'll compile the results and share my findings during this session. It won't be about naming and shaming, more identifying patterns and themes to help us all recognize these special places when we see them in the future.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 15:15:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Startups",
"Careers"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 86,
"created_at": "2026-03-21 18:31:23 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:15 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1929,
"participant_id": 6805,
"presenter_name": "Sona Maniyan",
"presenter_bio": "Loves everything data and engineering\r\n\r\nLifelong learner\r\n",
"session_title": "Learning Together to Build LLMs at Scale with Open-Source Coursework",
"summary": null,
"description": "In this presentation, we will share our experience of bringing together a study group to learn how to build and scale language models from scratch using Stanford’s open-source CS-336 coursework.\r\n\r\nWhat started as a straightforward plan with weekly study sessions and hands-on homework, quickly came face to face with reality: varied skill levels, competing priorities, and schedules that didn’t resemble a university semester. Along the way, we discovered that organizing and sustaining the group was at least as challenging as understanding the trade-offs in scaling and optimizing the training of large language models.\r\n\r\nIn this session, we’ll discuss the motivations and tactics that helped us form and keep an engaged learning community. We’ll cover how we adapted the material for participants with diverse backgrounds, restructured expectations when the original plan fell short, and leaned into individual members’ expertise to create a more sustainable and rewarding experience.\r\n\r\nThe talk is practical, honest, and intentionally humorous. Attendees will leave with actionable insights for running their own technical study groups, learning effectively from open-source coursework, and navigating the inevitable “bumps in the road” that come with expanding their knowledge, especially when doing so alongside others.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 14:20:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"AI/ML",
"Soft Skills",
"Careers"
],
"other_presenter_names": [
"Jason A. Grafft"
],
"other_presenter_ids": [
6806
],
"attendance_count": 20,
"created_at": "2026-03-21 01:54:49 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:15 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1927,
"participant_id": 6429,
"presenter_name": "Beth Elliott",
"presenter_bio": "Beth Elliott has spent 20 years working with people and teams across Fortune 500, nonprofit, and tech organizations, helping them navigate change and make clearer decisions about what matters most.\r\n\r\nAs the founder of Tangled Rabbit, she works with people in job transition and early-stage founders who know they have something valuable to offer but struggle to stand out in a crowded market. Beth helps them clarify what they are uniquely positioned to do and connect it to real market needs, so they can build careers or businesses that work because they are unmistakably theirs.\r\n\r\nWebsite: https://www.tangledrabbit.com/\r\n\r\nLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/belliott17/",
"session_title": "Build a Business that Isn't Soul Sucking",
"summary": null,
"description": "Whether you're founder-curious or you've already taken the plunge, this one's for you.\r\n\r\nYou finally have the freedom to build something on your own terms. So why does the business you're planning look suspiciously like the job you just left?\r\n\r\nIn this session, we'll walk through real stories of people who started with the obvious idea and ended up building something far more interesting, far more profitable, and uniquely theirs. Along the way, you'll reflect on your own business idea, stress test it, and leave with a clearer sense of what you should actually be building.\r\n\r\nFair warning: You might walk out of here with a completely different business than the one you walked in with. That's kind of the point.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 09:45:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Beginner",
"categories": [
"Startups",
"Careers",
"Marketing"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 67,
"created_at": "2026-03-20 23:32:07 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:15 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1925,
"participant_id": 1793,
"presenter_name": "Ian Young",
"presenter_bio": "Ian is a professional web developer and an extremely amateur philosopher. He believes in keeping Minnebar weird.\n\n**Links:**\n\n- [GitHub](https://github.com/iangreenleaf)",
"session_title": "50 Ways to Leave Your Company in Ruins",
"summary": null,
"description": "A talk about farts. Wait, nobody's going to come to that. Forget I said that. It's not about farts.\r\n\r\n**A talk about the messes we make at tech companies**, which bear a *purely metaphorical* resemblance to farts.\r\n\r\nEvery company has them (messes, not farts). And, just like farts, each one is pungent in its own special, unique way. The holes we dig for ourselves are uniquely our own, though maybe with enough perspective we'll be able to spot some common characteristics. \r\n\r\nThrough 18 years in the tech industry, half of that freelancing, I've ridden a few sinking ships and some others that were taking on an awful lot of water. Come with me on a retrospective of all the different ways a tech company can flounder. We'll have some fun, and see if there's anything at all we can learn from it.\r\n\r\nBring a story about the most notable failure you've been a part of, and we'll have some time for sharing at the end.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 14:20:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Startups",
"Product"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 65,
"created_at": "2026-03-20 19:23:44 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 17:02:28 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1924,
"participant_id": 6208,
"presenter_name": "Kris Taylor",
"presenter_bio": "Educator, veteran, father, philosopher, intrapreneur among other things. Kris has over 15 years of experience within various fields of education. From infants to college students, working with people has shaped a philosophy of education in which human flourishing is the desired end. Currently, a job coach with Saint Paul Public School's Focus Beyond Transition Services. Kris coaches young adults with disabilities transitioning from their k-12 experiences to vocational and post-secondary opportunities. Kris runs the Fablab, with Peter Cozine, a fully accessible maker space where students learn transferable skills as they navigate novel problems while using the tools of the lab. The Fablab is currently in the first year of a 2-year $150,000 grant from MN DEED.\r\n\r\nInformed by his work with students participating in Ramsey County's Tech Squad program, Kris founded SaiNT LOGICA Gbc in mid-2025. Focused on building Blockchain solutions for workforce development, SaiNT LOGICA Gbc approaches the problems of all by first considering the needs of individuals with disabilities.\r\n\r\nKris earned his BA in History and Philosophy as well as an MEd in Counselor Education - Student Affairs from Clemson University.",
"session_title": "Whose Utopia? Restructuring the Digital Environment in an Age of Human - AI Relationships",
"summary": null,
"description": "Utopia did not originally imply a place of perfection. In fact, it means \"no land\" or \"nowhere\". The digital environment is such a place. It is at once nowhere, and a place in which we spend more of our time. It is far from perfect, but it is more malleable than the physical world. While the two are inseparable they need not be mirror images.\r\n\r\nThe rapidity of developments in artificial intelligence over the last decade are awe inspiring. Scale and influence has grown increasingly concentrated in a few corporations, and the structure of the digital experience appears to be a foregone conclusion. The confluence of narratives, digital and economic, can leave the individual feeling as if they are caught in a rip tide and being dragged out to sea. However, a rip tide is not inescapable. By swimming crosscurrent, we can restructure the human experience in the digital utopia. \r\n\r\nWhether you are a technologist, entrepreneur, enthusiast, skeptic, or some combination thereof, you are part of the digital environment. Join me for a brief presentation and rich discussion about the world we inhabit and the world we create. \r\n",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 11:35:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"AI/ML",
"Community",
"Wildcard",
"Other"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 16,
"created_at": "2026-03-20 19:07:47 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:15 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1923,
"participant_id": 3381,
"presenter_name": "Sharyn Morrow",
"presenter_bio": "Sharyn is an accessibility leader with 30+ years of experience across design, development, testing, and remediation. They specialize in turning accessibility standards into practical, human-centered solutions.\r\n\r\nAn AuDHDer and parent of an autistic adult, Sharyn brings lived experience to their work at the intersection of accessibility, systems design, and real-world use. They hold a CPACC credential from IAAP and are currently an Accessibility Manager at ablr 360.\r\n\r\nPreviously: iCIMS, U.S. Bank, Siteimprove, Clockwork, Fallon, Securian, Minnesota DHS, and Thomson Reuters (West Publishing).\r\n\r\n- [sharynmorrow.com](https://www.sharynmorrow.com)\r\n- [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharynm/)\r\n",
"session_title": "When Disability Is Misread: Safety in High-Stress Systems",
"summary": null,
"description": "Imagine you process information more slowly, avoid eye contact when overwhelmed, or shut down under stress. Now imagine being confronted by law enforcement during a large-scale enforcement operation like Operation Metro Surge here in Minnesota.\r\n\r\nWhat might be interpreted as defiance could simply be disability.\r\n\r\nThis session examines that moment, when behavior is interpreted quickly and often incorrectly. We will explore practical tools and community-informed strategies that help people with disabilities prepare, communicate clearly, and reduce risk in high-stress encounters. You will leave with concrete ideas you can apply in design, policy, and real-world interactions.\r\n\r\nIf you care about accessibility, dignity, and real human impact, join the conversation.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 13:25:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Wildcard",
"Soft Skills",
"Community"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 29,
"created_at": "2026-03-20 17:55:56 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:15 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1922,
"participant_id": 6802,
"presenter_name": "Jamie Ryan",
"presenter_bio": " Jamie Ryan spent nearly 15 years in Silicon Valley as an in vitro diagnostics innovator and technology scout, addressing the world’s most pressing problems. From creating tests for diseases such as swine flu and COVID-19 pandemics to drug-resistant “superbugs,” she learned that the path from prototype to market is full of surprises. Evaluating 100+ MedTech startups as a subject matter expert in strategic business development, mentoring, and pitch judging showed her that many of these “surprises” can be anticipated - and addressed - if you know where to look.\r\n\r\n She started JL Ryan Consulting LLC to improve medical device startup success rates by identifying and addressing risks early, before costly pivots are needed. She shares her feasibility-to-exit insights with early-stage entrepreneurs, empowering them to see the risks before investors do. Audience members walk away ready to assess their product investment readiness, plan the most efficient next steps, and nail investor meetings.\r\n",
"session_title": "Canary in a Gold Mine: De-risk Your Product with Quick & Dirty Experiments",
"summary": null,
"description": "Potential investors assess risk from the moment they open your pitch deck. This interactive session will give founders a framework for assessing and addressing some of their biggest unknowns - before they face a diligence panel. Sound expensive? It doesn't have to be! Learn how to zero in on the most impactful bang for your limited-resource bucks.\r\n\r\nAudience takeaways:\r\n- Overview of Design Thinking and founder self-assessment\r\n- Brief intro to identifying your biggest actionable risk\r\n- Examples of how quick and dirty experiments can be used to de-risk complex technology\r\n\r\nFormat:\r\n- 15-20 minutes interactive presentation\r\n- 20-25 minutes speed brainstorming (1:1 volunteer founder/speaker, 5 min each, open with identified risk and close with testing ideas)\r\n",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 16:10:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Startups",
"Design",
"Product"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 27,
"created_at": "2026-03-20 17:10:11 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1921,
"participant_id": 423,
"presenter_name": "Martin Grider",
"presenter_bio": "Martin Grider is a game designer and contract software developer (mostly native iOS). He releases games periodically at [Abstract Puzzle](http://abstractpuzzle.com), and writes about games and game development on his blog at [chesstris.com](http://chesstris.com/).\r\n\r\n**Links:**\r\n\r\n- Mastodon: [@grid@mastodon.gamedev.place](https://mastodon.gamedev.place/@grid)\r\n- GitHub: [github.com/mgrider](https://github.com/mgrider)\r\n- Resume/bibliography: [martingrider.name](http://martingrider.name/)",
"session_title": "MN Indie Gamedev Microtalks 2026",
"summary": null,
"description": "5-10 speakers who are game developers in some capacity, talking about their games and/or their experiences.\r\n\r\nWe'll update this description with short blurbs from each of the speakers as they are locked-in.\r\n\r\nFor example:\r\n\r\n**Martin Grider** will talk about his exploration of game design ideas related to hexagons with rounded (convex and concave) edges.\r\n\r\n**Chip Pedersen** What does a retired Game Executive do, when they retire? They make the games they always wanted to do with today's tools.\r\n\r\n**Samuel Fletcher** will be making a case for making games about making art, presenting some alternatives to gamification and showing his thoughts in practice in his music composition-based game Audionaut.\r\n\r\n**Jered Byford** will discuss the implementation, probability, and psychology of randomness in board games.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 16:10:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Wildcard",
"Other"
],
"other_presenter_names": [
"Chip Pedersen"
],
"other_presenter_ids": [
906
],
"attendance_count": 48,
"created_at": "2026-03-20 15:40:45 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:15 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1920,
"participant_id": 5384,
"presenter_name": "Chris Wodicka",
"presenter_bio": "By day I'm a UX/UI Designer at Livefront where I get to work on cool mobile apps and websites. By night I love to tinker with my home server and go camping in Minnesota's northwoods.\r\n\r\nFind me on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/ccwod/)",
"session_title": "📡🕸️ Preppers & Comrades Unite: Building a Decentralized Mesh Network for Resilient Communication",
"summary": null,
"description": "What happens when digital communication systems go down or simply aren't available?\r\n\r\nWhile that might sound like a worst-case scenario, it’s also a practical problem. Communication can become unreliable or inaccessible for all kinds of reasons, ranging from infrastructure outages and remote environments to situations where networks are congested, limited, or impeded.\r\n\r\nIn this session we’ll explore **Meshtastic**, an open-source, off-grid communication platform that uses low-power LoRa radios to create decentralized mesh networks. These networks allow devices to send text messages and share location data without relying on cellular service, Wi-Fi, or traditional infrastructure.\r\n\r\nYou’ll learn how Meshtastic works, what makes it unique, and where it fits into real-world use cases from outdoor adventures to emergency preparedness, as well as grassroots communication with privacy in mind.\r\n\r\nI’ll also demo a personal project I built which extends Meshtastic’s capabilities by bridging it with a modern messaging platform, opening up new possibilities for resilient and adaptable communication systems that can operate across network boundaries.\r\n\r\nWhether you're curious about off-grid tech, mesh networking, or building resilient systems, this talk will give you a practical introduction and a look at what’s already happening in Minneapolis and across the world.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 09:45:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Emerging Tech",
"Design",
"Wildcard"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 99,
"created_at": "2026-03-20 15:00:17 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 17:02:28 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1919,
"participant_id": 6801,
"presenter_name": "Jake Arntson",
"presenter_bio": "Jake Arntson is a software engineer with over 15 years of experience building across the full spectrum of the stack — from embedded systems and Android to web applications and cloud services.\r\n\r\nHe spent nine years at Amazon, rising to Principal Software Engineer, where he led large-scale efforts to modernize logistics infrastructure and consolidate complex distributed systems serving critical operations worldwide. In early 2026, he co-founded Coniferous to get back to what he loves most: building new things from scratch, with great people, on problems worth solving.\r\n\r\nHe holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from North Dakota State University and an M.S. in Software Engineering from the University of Minnesota.\r\n\r\n**Links:**\r\n\r\n- [Coniferous](https://coniferous.dev/)\r\n- [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jarntson/)",
"session_title": "Speak the Domain: How DSLs Help Humans — and AI — Model the Real World",
"summary": null,
"description": "What if instead of writing code to describe something, you could write a language about it? That's the idea behind domain-specific languages, and once you've built one, you'll never stop seeing where they belong. \r\n\r\nIn this talk, Jake introduces DSLs from first principles: what they are, why they're worth reaching for, and how they let you model messy real-world problems with surprising clarity. He'll walk through Tamarack, an open DSL he's building for video and image annotation, as a hands-on case study — showing how a well-designed language can describe scenes, sync media, and track annotations in a way that's human-readable, git-friendly, and built from the ground up to be understood by AI. \r\n\r\nThat last part matters more than ever. As AI becomes a collaborator in our workflows, the structure and intentionality of a DSL gives it something powerful: a constrained, meaningful vocabulary to work with — making its output more predictable, more trustworthy, and more useful. You'll also get a practical, beginner-friendly look at how to actually build one — from identifying the right domain to designing a grammar your team can read on day one. You'll leave with a new mental model and the tools to start speaking your own domain.\r\n",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 13:25:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Emerging Tech",
"AI/ML"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 21,
"created_at": "2026-03-20 14:52:37 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 17:02:28 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1918,
"participant_id": 1972,
"presenter_name": "Kelly Heitz",
"presenter_bio": "* Software Engineer\r\n* Former Arabic, Spanish, US History, and ESL teacher\r\n* A committed fan of remote ruins\r\n* Bookish\r\n* Tech Founder",
"session_title": "\"They'll take anyone - even English majors!\": Putting the Language in Large Language Models",
"summary": null,
"description": "The quote in the title was encouragement I received about a program in 2012, when I was deciding to enroll in an M.S. in Software Engineering. I was not an English major. I was something considered even more useless during The Great Recession; I was a Global Studies major with a world language addiction.\r\n\r\n* \"Delve\"\r\n* \"It's Not X, It's Y\"\r\n* Em dashes (-- RIP?)\r\n* Bulleted lists **with emojis**\r\n\r\nLet's review and discuss LLMs and code generation through a linguistic lens. Not just examples of the cues that tip us off that someone has sent us their Chat response unedited and our thoughts about the etiquette of that (although this is welcome!); but consideration of changing internet language norms. _Because language._\r\n\r\n“Language is humanity's most spectacular open source project.”\r\n― Gretchen McCulloch, Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language\r\n\r\nOne thing I love about software as an industry is it has given me greater opportunity for international collaboration than even my original major. My colleagues speak a multitude of mother tongues. A few coworkers have called into zoom from a new country every other week. But at the end of the day, we all produce code in languages that take their vocabulary mostly from English (our current business lingua franca). We'll explore exceptions, and look at how AI is also a language unto itself that is in turn shaping our human communication.\r\n\r\nIn the spirit of keeping Minnebar weird, come ready to experiment with LLMs and creative/collaborative output in a competitive race. I'll bring the markers and posterboard!",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 15:15:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Development",
"AI/ML",
"Community",
"Other"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 23,
"created_at": "2026-03-20 14:10:53 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1917,
"participant_id": 6799,
"presenter_name": "Sandeep Bhuiya",
"presenter_bio": "Presenting this session is Sandeep Bhuiya, Lead AI Engineer at Ride The Next Wave the engineer behind the machine asking the questions you didn't know you needed to hear. With an MS in Data Science from the University of Minnesota and a track record of shipping real systems (LLM fine-tuning, forecasting pipelines, autonomous agents), Sandeep builds at the intersection of frontier AI and products that actually matter.\r\n\r\nIn this session, we'll show you what happens when you build AI around a human problem most technology ignores: male silence. We'll talk about the architecture of trust, the philosophy baked into the model, and what it actually takes to build something a man will open up to at 11pm. Come ready to think differently about what AI can hold and who it can reach.\r\n\r\n",
"session_title": "What Does It Take to Build an AI a Man Will Trust at 11pm? The making of mrkos.ai and what silence taught us about designing for the hardest conversations.",
"summary": null,
"description": "\"Men Don't Need Better Listeners. They Need to Start Talking.\"\r\n\r\nThere are 17 veterans dying by suicide every day in America.\r\nMost of them never told anyone they were struggling.\r\n\r\nWe're not building a better therapy app. \r\nWe're not building a journaling tool. \r\nWe're not building another wellness chatbot with a calming color palette.\r\n\r\nWe're building an upstream intervention an AI that meets men in the silence before the crisis, and asks the question that cracks it open.\r\n\r\nmrkos.ai is a bet that the hardest problem in conversational AI isn't sentiment analysis or context windows. \r\nIt's this: how do you build something a man who doesn't want to talk will actually talk to?\r\n\r\nThis session is the honest answer. \r\nThe philosophy behind it. The psychology inside it. \r\nThe engineering decisions that kept us up at night. \r\nAnd what 571 questions taught us about what men actually need to hear.\r\nLive demo. Real conversation. Bring your skepticism.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 16:10:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Startups",
"AI/ML"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 9,
"created_at": "2026-03-20 11:59:42 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:15 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1916,
"participant_id": 6798,
"presenter_name": "Ryan Wold",
"presenter_bio": null,
"session_title": "What should I do while AI is working? answer will shape the future of humanity",
"summary": null,
"description": "90 seconds here. Five minutes there. All those moments while you wait for AI to generate a response to your prompts add up. A new genre of free time now exists. Humans need to decide what to do with it\r\n\r\nIn this session we’ll explore the various ways we can respond to this new-found free time and discuss how these micro moments will shape the future of how humans work and live with AI. ",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 14:20:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"AI/ML",
"Soft Skills"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 31,
"created_at": "2026-03-20 02:12:22 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1915,
"participant_id": 2899,
"presenter_name": "Rick Ellis",
"presenter_bio": "Rick Ellis is the founder of AllYourScreens.com and the newsletter TooMuchTV. He's a former stand-up comic, syndicated talk show host & award-winning news journalist. His reporting led to an appearance in the documentary \"The Dark Side Of Kids TV,\" and he has won awards for investigative reporting. He's a member of the National Press Club and was the winner of the 2025 National A&E Journalism Award for \"Best Entertainment News Site by an Individual Not Tied to an Organization.\"\r\n\r\nEmail: rick@allyourscreens.com\r\n\r\n**Links:**\r\n\r\n- Bluesky: @toomuchtv.substack.com",
"session_title": "Building A Profitable Independent Newsletter",
"summary": null,
"description": "I am a longtime journalist that founded the web site AllYourScreens.com and its sister newsletter Too Much TV.\r\n\r\nTooMuchTV is a five day a week newsletter with a current free subscriber base of around 175,000 and a paid subscriber base of just under 9,000 paid subscribers. In the past several years, the newsletter has won several national journalism awards and broken a number of big stories. It's been mentioned in a number of other publications, including in the Associated Press, The Independent, The Verge, CNET, The Minnesota Star Tribune, Slate, Marketwatch, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, The Guardian and many more.\r\n\r\nI'll talk about the journey that led to me running a financially successful newsletter and the lessons I learned along the way. It's not easy to accomplish, but it is possible and if nothing else, perhaps I can inspire a few people to give their idea a serious shot at success.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 10:40:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Startups",
"Wildcard",
"Other"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 30,
"created_at": "2026-03-20 01:39:06 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:15 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1914,
"participant_id": 3081,
"presenter_name": "Shawn Seymour",
"presenter_bio": "Shawn Seymour is a distributed systems engineer and builder exploring how great software is shaped by architecture, judgment, and leverage. His work centers on real-time systems, event-driven design, and building resilient platforms that turn technical complexity into something usable, scalable, and meaningful.\r\n\r\n**Links:**\r\n\r\n- [Website](https://shawn.mn)\r\n",
"session_title": "🚀 AI Is Changing What Matters in Software",
"summary": null,
"description": "AI can generate code faster than most teams can think. That does not mean the hard part is over. The software industry has spent years overvaluing output: more tickets closed, more features shipped, more code written, more visible motion mistaken for progress. AI supercharges all of that. It also reveals how incomplete that view always was. In enterprise software especially, the hardest part was never just making more things. It was deciding what matters, what is noise, what to preserve, what to cut, and how to keep systems and products coherent under real-world pressure.\r\n\r\nAI is compressing the value of output and exposing the value of decision quality. It is exceptional at generation and acceleration, and increasingly useful in analysis and recommendation. But the highest-leverage work in software still lives in framing the problem well, setting the right constraints, making sound tradeoffs across technical and business realities, and staying accountable for the consequences over time. This talk argues that AI is not reducing the value of great engineers, product thinkers, or technical leaders. It is making their highest-value work easier to see. In a world of abundant generation, the differentiator is increasingly judgment.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 16:10:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Development",
"AI/ML"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 24,
"created_at": "2026-03-20 01:32:36 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1913,
"participant_id": 1910,
"presenter_name": "David Duccini",
"presenter_bio": "Founder and CEO of Silicon Prairie, a collection of regulated financial technology companies centered around the formation of capital publicly or privately. The group includes Silicon Prairie Capital Partners (SPCP) an SEC registered / FINRA reporting Broker-Dealer with an Alternative Trading System (ATS) license, Silicon Prairie Registrar & Transfer, an SEC regsitered Transfer Agent, and Silicon Prairie Portal & Exchange (SPPX) a technology holding company that builds and manages platforms, marketing, and smart documentation automation technology.\r\n\r\nIf you're curious about our master plan for Global Domination, check out [the 2017 TECHdotMN 'Minnesota Moonshot' article](https://sppx.io/moonshot) to see where we've been and where we're going!\r\n\r\nConnect with David: \r\n\r\n- [LinkedIN](https://linkedin.com/in/dvduccini)\r\n- [The Big Idea Podcast](https://shows.acast.com/thebigidea)\r\n- [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@TheLittleDuke)\r\n- [X/Twitter](https://x.com/TheLittleDuke)",
"session_title": "How to Go Public in 2026 Using an Initial Crowd Offering",
"summary": null,
"description": "Wall Street doesn't want you to know this exists.\r\n\r\nThere's a legal, fully-regulated path for founders to become publicly traded —without venture capitalists, and without surrendering control of your company. It's called an Initial Crowd Offering (ICO), and in 2026, it's more powerful than ever.\r\n\r\nIn this session, David \"The Little Duke\" Duccini breaks down the securities \"jujitsu\" that lets founders combine existing exemptions — MNvest, Reg CF, Reg D, and Reg A+ — to raise capital directly from the public. Stack them right, and you can unlock unlimited capital while keeping VCs completely out of the equation. (Yes, the ones who fund less than 1% of what crosses their desk. The vampire clan, not just the vultures.)\r\n\r\nBut raising money is only half the story.\r\n\r\nBy linking your offering to an Alternative Trading System (ATS) like SPPX, you don't just raise — you go public. Early investors get liquidity. Your cap table gets cleaned up through smart lot-size mechanics. And you build a private secondary market that works for you — one that doesn't allow short-selling.\r\n\r\nYou'll also learn the single most important insight repeat founders already know: sell the exit first. It's why they keep getting funded on worse ideas. Because investors don't care about your vision — they care about cashing out. Master that, and you raise 150–300% more, right out of the gate.\r\n\r\n\"An investment without an exit is just a donation.\"\r\n\r\nAnd stick around for the closer: a clever successive-offering hack — borrowed from the Reg A+ \"30% selling-shareholder rule\" — that lets you create a stabilizing bid in your own private market. Founders getting paid. Early investors getting liquid. The crowd winning alongside you.\r\n\r\nThis is the blueprint.\r\n\r\nListen to the episode that breaks it all down on [The Big Idea Deep Dive Podcast](https://shows.acast.com/thebigidea/episodes/69b031ec738d6fbbf20bd696)",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 15:15:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Startups",
"Other",
"Emerging Tech",
"Marketing",
"Wildcard"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 14,
"created_at": "2026-03-19 22:27:59 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:15 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1911,
"participant_id": 2481,
"presenter_name": "Lou Abramowski",
"presenter_bio": "Lou Abramowski or -- as he's known to many -- \"Hot Lou\" has spent the last 20 years building startups from OurFamilyWizard.com (the biggest family management tool on the web, acquired in 2020) to 8thBridge (MN Cup 2009 Grand Prize winner, acquired in 2014) to today [Evergreen](https://evergreen.app) (a social media automation tool for SMBs) and [Combat Candy](https://combatcandies.com) (a creatine gummies supplement DTC brand). \r\n\r\nHe's also helped build gigantic social media communities on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Reddit, TikTok, etc. for billion dollar brands like Jack Link's Beef Jerky and the Minnesota Vikings, to just a couple thousand for small non-profits like Simon Says Give, to hundreds of thousands for obscure children's entertainers like Twig the Fairy.\r\n\r\nOutside of the software startup and marketing world, he's a national and world championship ultimate player and coach.\r\n\r\n**Links:**\r\n\r\n@hotlou everywhere on social media",
"session_title": "AI Told You So Again: How I Built a $1B Unfair Advantage ... And So Can You (Meet OpenClaw)",
"summary": null,
"description": "Two years ago at Minnebar I said I could build a $1M business in 30 minutes using ChatGPT. You were skeptical. I did it anyway. \r\n\r\n[Combat Candy](https://combatcandies.com) now has half a million in seed capital, five-figure monthly sales, and a Shopify store so effective it makes even Chatgpt question free will.\r\n\r\nSo naturally, I raised the stakes. Because apparently I have something to prove. To you. Repeatedly.\r\n\r\nThis year I’m going to show you how a two-person supplement company is chasing $1B ... not because we’re delusional, but because we built something that makes the math actually work. \r\n\r\nIt’s called OpenClaw, and if you haven’t heard of it yet, you will because your LinkedIn feed is about to bombard you with it. \r\n\r\nOpenClaw is an open source multi-agent AI framework that’s quietly becoming one of the most powerful unfair advantages available to anyone with a MacMini and something to prove. I’ve deployed it across [Combat Candy](https://combatcandies.com) like a very ambitious, extremely underpaid intern army. \r\n\r\n* It runs our email marketing. \r\n* It optimizes our paid social spend. \r\n* It manages and grows our CRM. \r\n* It finds, inspires, and literally pays our affiliates. \r\n\r\nAnd that **genuinely** is just the tip of the A-Iceberg.\r\n\r\nTwo people. One framework. Zero chill about what’s possible.\r\n\r\nI’ll show you exactly how I built it into our stack, what it’s doing right now, and how you can steal the whole playbook before you leave the room.\r\n\r\nBring your skepticism. I brought receipts. Again.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 13:25:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Startups",
"Emerging Tech",
"AI/ML",
"Marketing",
"Wildcard"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 43,
"created_at": "2026-03-19 22:06:17 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:15 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1910,
"participant_id": 4430,
"presenter_name": "David Koerner",
"presenter_bio": "David is a marketing nerd. He spent the last 8 years working in cleantech for a Bill Gates backed teck company, 75F, and speaks about the many marketing and messaging problems of climate change and the sustainability movement.",
"session_title": "The Future of Energy and the 30X Problem",
"summary": null,
"description": "In the next decade, it is predicted that the rising energy demands of AI and electrification will require millions of new tech workers and thousands of new, billion dollar companies. Thats because the transition to sustainable, carbon free energy requires 70TW of clean energy by 2050. To accomplish this, the US power grid will have to be almost completely reimagined and rebuilt. New energy sources must be found, developed, and dispatched, and doing so requires hardware, software, and business models that do not exist today.\r\n\r\nThis is called the 30X problem.\r\n\r\nBack for a fourth year at Minnebar, this rapid-fire summary will highlight the leading startups and discoveries in the world of solar, wind, nuclear, hydrogen and geo power. It will suggest what the future of energy might look like for technologists here in Minnesota: founders, engineers, designers, investors, policymakers, and anyone interested in clean energy.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 11:35:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Emerging Tech"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 46,
"created_at": "2026-03-19 21:23:28 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 17:02:28 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1909,
"participant_id": 6793,
"presenter_name": "Jonathan Spaulding",
"presenter_bio": "Jonathan writes software by day and runs a tiny 3D-printed manufacturing empire by night. He enjoys creative side projects like building campers, wiring up LED games with Raspberry Pis, and turning random ideas into things that actually exist. Known to juggle, dance, and talk to strangers.\r\n",
"session_title": "Bootstrapping Your E-Commerce Empire Side Hustle With No Money",
"summary": null,
"description": "This session is a tactical walkthrough of bootstrapping a micro e-commerce business using 3D printing and eBay. We’ll cover niche selection, rapid product iteration, demand validation and fulfillment, all without spending a nickel. Whether you’re a maker, a marketer, or just side-hustle curious, you’ll leave with a clear path to launch something small, scrappy, and profitable.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 11:35:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Intermediate",
"categories": [
"Startups",
"Design",
"Marketing"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 23,
"created_at": "2026-03-19 21:04:38 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:15 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1908,
"participant_id": 2296,
"presenter_name": "Rob Weber",
"presenter_bio": "[Rob Weber](https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertjweber/) is Managing Partner of [Great North Ventures](https://greatnorthventures.com/), an early-stage venture fund focused on helping founders launch and scale companies in Minnesota and across the U.S. Prior to Great North Ventures, Rob co-founded NativeX (formerly named W3i/Freeze.com) in 2000. Rob has been a successful entrepreneur since the age of 16 when he, along with his brothers, launched their first consumer app and media tech business. By the age of 20 the Weber brothers had turned their basement endeavors into a multi-million dollar business, and Rob became CEO. \r\n\r\nIn 2006, Rob shared the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award with his twin brother, and business partner, Ryan Weber. Rob was also named to the 2007 Inc. 5,000 CEO’s Under 30 list.\r\n\r\nRob received his B.S. in Entrepreneurship from St. Cloud State University. Rob has been one of the most active regional angel investors since 2005 when he co-founded the 32 Degrees angel fund. Rob previously served on the Board of Directors for Minne*, the 30,000+ member community of Minnesota tech enthusiasts.\r\n\r\n- Twitter: [@robertjweber](https://x.com/robertjweber)",
"session_title": "Lessons from Two Decades of Angel Investing",
"summary": null,
"description": "My brother Ryan and I have been investing in the early stages for 20+ years. Since we started investing together back in 2005, we’ve been involved with 60+ companies. I am going to pull back the curtain on what those two decades have actually looked like—beyond just the headlines.\r\n\r\nWhether you are an active angel investor or someone just starting to explore the space, I’d love to have you join me. \r\n\r\nI plan to cover several practical topics, including: \r\n- The Long Game: Reality checks on how long exits actually take. \r\n- Post-Investment: How to manage and support your portfolio after the check is signed. \r\n- Deal Flow: Strategies for building a high-quality, consistent pipeline. \r\n- The Founder Perspective: What founders actually value most from their angel investors. \r\n\r\nI want this session to be a great resource for our Minnebar community, so if you know of other angel investors or colleagues thinking about getting into the space, please help spread the word of my session. \r\n\r\nHope you can make it! \r\n\r\nBest, \r\n\r\nRob Weber \r\nManaging Partner \r\n[Great North Ventures](https://greatnorthventures.com/) ",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 14:20:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Intermediate",
"categories": [
"Startups"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 52,
"created_at": "2026-03-19 20:59:52 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:15 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1907,
"participant_id": 6794,
"presenter_name": "Savannah Boedigheimer",
"presenter_bio": "Hello! I'm Savannah Boedigheimer, a first year graduate student at Southwest Minnesota State University working towards my MBA with a emphasis on event coordination, marketing, and entrepreneurship. I strive to continue working in social media marketing and event coordination, and am excited to explore more job opportunities in the business and marketing sectors.\r\nI currently work as a consultant for the SW MN SBDC focused on content creation through Unauthorized LLC. I have nearly a decade experience in public speaking, being a presenter and at conferences such as THAT Conference, as well as nationally award winning competitive public speaking through FBLA-C.\r\n",
"session_title": "Writing the Video Game Narrative ",
"summary": null,
"description": "Beyond the skills to program and create your own video game, there is a process to create a unique story to base it on. In this session I will be teaching how to write the plot of your own video game. It will give you a step-by-step tutorial to begin your journey into writing an in-depth storyline that your players will love.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 11:35:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Beginner",
"categories": [
"Soft Skills",
"Careers",
"Wildcard"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 34,
"created_at": "2026-03-19 20:53:41 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:15 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1905,
"participant_id": 6038,
"presenter_name": "Jenna Redfield",
"presenter_bio": "Jenna Redfield is a Notion Ambassador, digital organization specialist, and founder of **Red Thread Studio** and **Red Thread Systems**. Jenna helps entrepreneurs turn scattered digital “stuff” (screenshots, meeting notes, saved links, and half-formed ideas) into simple systems they’ll actually use—so great insights don’t get buried and people stop starting from scratch.\r\n\r\nWith 10+ years in marketing, video, and content strategy, Jenna has supported hundreds of small businesses in building workflows that reduce overwhelm and turn raw inputs into real outputs like clear next steps, client deliverables, and consistent content. Through **Red Thread Studio’s VIP Video Day**, Jenna helps business owners capture high-quality video content efficiently, then repurpose and organize it into repeatable content systems.\r\n\r\nJenna shares practical strategies for digital organization, content, and business optimization through **The Optimization Toolbox** on **YouTube** and **Substack**, and is a frequent speaker on helping entrepreneurs build systems that make follow-through easier.",
"session_title": "Escape the Screenshot Graveyard: Using Notion AI to turn notes, memos & screenshots into action, content, and next steps",
"summary": null,
"description": "Most people don’t have an organization problem.\r\nThey have a “saved it… never used it” problem.\r\n\r\nScreenshots. Saved posts. Notes. Ideas.\r\nYou save everything… and use none of it.\r\n\r\nIn this session, you’ll learn a simple system using Notion AI to turn what you capture into something useful—fast.\r\n\r\nThink:\r\n\r\nturn notes into clear next steps\r\n\r\nturn screenshots into content ideas\r\n\r\nturn old thoughts into actual drafts\r\n\r\nfinally follow up instead of forgetting\r\n\r\nWe’ll also use custom AI agents + personalities trained on your saved content—so your ideas don’t just sit there, they actually get applied to your workflow.\r\n\r\nNo complicated “second brain.”\r\nJust a clean system: Capture → Organize → Apply\r\n\r\nIf your camera roll and notes app are a graveyard of good ideas… this is for you.\r\n",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 09:45:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Beginner",
"categories": [
"Emerging Tech",
"AI/ML",
"Design",
"Soft Skills"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 37,
"created_at": "2026-03-19 20:41:03 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:15 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1904,
"participant_id": 4390,
"presenter_name": "Kellen Baker",
"presenter_bio": "I'm a musician and software engineer living in the Twin Cities\r\n\r\n**Links:**\r\n- [My website](https://www.kellenbaker.com)\r\n- [GitHub](https://github.com/mkbaker)",
"session_title": "All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace",
"summary": null,
"description": "What happens when machine intelligence surpasses human intelligence? We're finding out in real time -- in the coming years, this technological revolution will reshape not only our economic and political world, it will reshape all of us. But what happens _after_ the dust settles? \r\n\r\nThis talk will summarize and synthesize ideas from [Novacene](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novacene), by James Lovelock (2019) and [The Age of Spiritual Machines](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Age_of_Spiritual_Machines), by Ray Kurzweil (1999). Both of these books offer a prescient vision of the near future as well as predictions of where all of this is headed. \r\n\r\nWe'll talk about science fiction, consciousness, the human condition, and what life looks like when the machines become our caretakers.\r\n\r\n\r\nTitle taken from [the poem of the same name by](https://www.poemist.com/richard-brautigan/all-watched-over-by-machines-of-loving-grace) by Richard Brautigan.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 16:10:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"AI/ML",
"Wildcard"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 12,
"created_at": "2026-03-19 20:33:43 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1903,
"participant_id": 6789,
"presenter_name": "Jackson M Tomlinson",
"presenter_bio": "Jackson has been exchanging keystrokes for cash for 20 years. As principal at [{middle/out}](https://middleout.dev), a software consultancy based in Minnetonka he builds web, mobile, and AI-enabled applications for enterprise clients. By night he burns the rest of tokens building home automation, life automation, and 11+ active projects.\r\n\r\n[Github](https://github.com/toml0006)\r\n\r\n[{middle/out}](https://middleout.dev)\r\n\r\n[Alarming](https://alarming.middleout.dev)\r\n\r\n![\"Local](\"https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/34890\")
\r\n\r\n",
"session_title": "git commit -m \"I didn't write this\"",
"summary": null,
"description": "For the past year, AI tools have fundamentally changed how I write software. In this session, I'll live-build something from scratch using the AI-powered development workflow I use every day — no slides, no deck, just a terminal and 40 minutes on the clock.\r\n\r\nWhether you're a seasoned dev curious about AI-assisted workflows or a skeptic who wants to see it break, come watch and find out how far we can get. The product **will** get shipped at the end of the session!",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 16:10:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"AI/ML",
"Development",
"Wildcard",
"Startups"
],
"other_presenter_names": [
"Ben Bakken"
],
"other_presenter_ids": [
6834
],
"attendance_count": 23,
"created_at": "2026-03-19 20:08:31 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 22:49:03 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1900,
"participant_id": 6791,
"presenter_name": "Jay D Haase",
"presenter_bio": "Jay Haase is Director of Software Engineering at Clockwork and has spent more than three decades building a career at the intersection of technology, leadership, and service.\r\n\r\nHe is passionate about advocating for systemic change and inclusivity in tech.\r\n\r\nHis experience spans a wide range of roles, industries, and countries, and includes several years in Southern Africa supporting governments and nonprofits in strengthening their IT capacity.\r\n\r\nJay cares deeply about learning, helping others grow, and using technology to create more inclusive spaces.",
"session_title": "Where is Maldo? An LLM Adoption Journey for Software Engineers",
"summary": null,
"description": "LLMs and agents are changing the ways we build and maintain software.\r\n\r\nAs a result, a skill becoming increasingly relevant is the ability to guide and govern LLMs and agents.\r\n\r\nIn this session I will share a set of LLM adoption levels, and what tends to show up at each level. My hope is that this gives software engineers a practical way to:\r\n\r\n- see where they are today\r\n- understand what it might look like to grow\r\n- take the next step\r\n\r\nThis matters for us, and for those we lead. Understanding where our colleagues and direct reports are on that journey can help us create safer, wiser, and more effective ways of adopting these tools together.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 14:20:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Intermediate",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Emerging Tech",
"AI/ML",
"Soft Skills"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 13,
"created_at": "2026-03-19 19:43:59 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1899,
"participant_id": 6790,
"presenter_name": "Brent Anderson",
"presenter_bio": " I am a technical co-founder who builds teams & crafts software. Currently, I am a founding software engineer @ [Knock Labs](https://knock.app) 🖖.\r\n\r\n👨💻 Past roles include founder, engineering manager, full-stack software engineer, mobile developer, and non-profit board member. I have lead teams across a variety of industries, including tech startups, hospitality, education, entertainment, and logistics.\r\n\r\n- [Brent's website](https://brentjanderson.com)\r\n\r\n\r\n\"We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery, we need humanity; more than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost.\" \r\n~ Charlie Chaplin\r\n",
"session_title": "Multiplayer Interactive Fiction on the Elixir VM",
"summary": null,
"description": "This session aims to answer the age-old question: \"What would happen if you mixed the modern Elixir programming language with interactive fiction in the style of Zork or 'Choose-your-own-adventure' stories?\"\r\n\r\nWhile it may seem an unlikely mashup, the actor-based model of [Elixir](https://www.inklestudios.com/ink) combined with the non-linear workflows possible in the [Ink scripting language](https://www.inklestudios.com/ink) for narrative fiction fit together to create an interesting, fun environment.\r\n\r\nA few things that may come out of this session include:\r\n\r\n* A more humane alternative to forcing AI automation into flows that demand a human touch\r\n* How to design dynamic, complex, multiplayer entertainment experiences\r\n* Incorporating complex consequences into non-linear workflow engines\r\n* The sheer fun of messing with storytelling while learning about the actor model of programming\r\n\r\nCome for the storytelling, stay for the drama of Actors with Inky scripts!\r\n\r\nRegarding topic level: Although we will be engaging with topics that are themselves extremely deep (narrative fiction, actor-based programming models), this session will aim to be accessible to a general audience.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 11:35:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Beginner",
"categories": [
"Development",
"AI/ML",
"Wildcard",
"Other"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 22,
"created_at": "2026-03-19 19:42:15 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 17:02:28 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1896,
"participant_id": 6164,
"presenter_name": "Jeff Eddy",
"presenter_bio": "I'm a corporate Customer and Product Operations ex-pat, loving the heck out of working for myself and building the sort of things I want to see in the world.\r\n\r\nMy primary passion is expanding my 25+ year old full-service niche publishing company, Sofawolf Press INC, from a part-time passion project into a full-time business focusing on helping mid-to-emerging genre storytellers maximize the footprint of their IP. We are part traditional publisher, part agent, part marketing team, and part operations consulting... allowing storytellers and visual creators to focus on their art rather than how to maximize the visibility of it.\r\n\r\nMy secondary passion is Notion and introducing it to creators as a solution to keeping their business operations organized and out of their way. I use Notion exclusively for my own business, have been using it personally for almost 6 years, and am a Notion Ambassador and community educator.\r\n\r\nFeel free to connect with me on [LinkedIn] (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffery-eddy/) to learn more about me, my services, and my passion for Minnesota, creatives, and Notion.",
"session_title": "How I Use Notion to Run my Publishing Company",
"summary": null,
"description": "I have been running Sofawolf Press INC, a four-person full-service publishing company, for over 25 years. A lot of software solutions for managing day to day operations have come and gone from our tech stack, and none of ever held a candle to what I have been able to do using Notion.\r\n\r\nNotion is our CRM, our ERP, our Product Development and Event Planning System, our Royalty Reporting system, and a web-facing solution for our Sales and Marketing Efforts. All for <$1,500 a year.\r\n\r\nIn this session I will describe the challenges we faced trying to run a small but complex business \"in the old days\" and how Notion has been a cost-effective solution to most of them, allowing us to run lean and still be a fully functional business.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 12:30:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Intermediate",
"categories": [
"Startups",
"Emerging Tech",
"Design"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 30,
"created_at": "2026-03-19 19:16:25 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 20:56:16 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1895,
"participant_id": 1184,
"presenter_name": "Mike Benkovich",
"presenter_bio": "Mike Benkovich is a former Microsoft evangelist, entrepreneur and current Improver who has spent his career helping developers explore and apply new technologies to solving information challenges. His website www.benkotips.com provides developers with resources to get started and work with technologies including cloud, data and devices. Follow him on twitter @mbenko\n\n**Links:**\n\n- [GitHub](https://github.com/mbenko)\n- Twitter: @mbenko",
"session_title": "Building a Tech Community",
"summary": null,
"description": "We started TechMasters 17 years ago with the promise of helping grow presenters for the Developer Community. Since then we've evolved to a hybrid tech focused meeting every Tuesday where people are able to learn and practice the skills necessary to evolve their careers and chase dreams of keynoting conferences. In this session we'll look at the key ingredients that helped spark the group and keeps it going, the story of TechMasters, Twin Cities.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 15:15:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Intermediate",
"categories": [
"Startups",
"Soft Skills",
"Careers"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 34,
"created_at": "2026-03-19 19:14:13 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 17:02:28 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1894,
"participant_id": 6003,
"presenter_name": "Caroline Swift Holden",
"presenter_bio": "Caroline Holden is a creative technologist with a background startups, AI, venture, advertising, comedy, and film. She has helped sell a data / AI startup in four months as head of marketing, scaled a grocery delivery app 10,000%+ YoY in the first three months of the pandemic, built and shut down her own social real estate app, and worked in NYC in venture capital and as a freelance comedian. \r\n\r\nThese days, she runs MN Women in AI, and creates content about AI, Creativity, and the Future of Work with her brand Swift Start Go.",
"session_title": "The Rise of the Creative Technologist: How & Why Artists and Creatives Are Shaping the Future of AI",
"summary": null,
"description": "Last year at Minnebar, we discussed why GenAI will help creative technologists become the world's future tech giants. \r\n\r\nThis year, we're giving a major update, once again sharing WHY Creatives are uniquely positioned to take advantage of the AI revolution and HOW they are already changing the landscape in MN and beyond!\r\n\r\nCaroline Holden, a creative technologist, content creator, and founder of MN Women in AI with 8 years experience in startups, AI, and venture capital explains why creatives are uniquely positioned to become the tech leaders of tomorrow.\r\n\r\nThis session is ideal for anyone interested in the intersection of creativity and technology or anyone interested in how Generative AI may fundamentally change what it means to be a stellar employee, founder, or innovator.",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 12:30:00 -0500",
"level_name": "All levels",
"categories": [
"Startups",
"AI/ML",
"Marketing"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 71,
"created_at": "2026-03-19 19:12:02 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:15 UTC"
},
{
"id": 1893,
"participant_id": 3712,
"presenter_name": "Robert Boedigheimer",
"presenter_bio": "Robert Boedigheimer provides business solutions with web technologies. He is a Progress Champion (Fiddler), an ASPInsider, a Pluralsight author, and a 3rd degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. Robert regularly speaks at national and international events.\r\n\r\n- Twitter: @boedie",
"session_title": "Capture the Flag",
"summary": null,
"description": "We’re not talking about the outdoor game where you are trying to steal a physical flag and bring it back to your base, this capture the flag is a series of computer security challenges you solve to retrieve a flag and get points! Solving these challenges require various skills including decrypting content, SQL Injection, reverse engineering and more. Learn about how capture the flag works, where you find challenges/competitions, and some techniques required to solve them. I went from never having tried one to winning a competition the next year. The challenges are not only interesting, they helped change my perspective about how web sites are attacked and how I could better protect them. \r\n",
"room_name": null,
"panel": false,
"projector": false,
"starts_at": "2026-05-02 13:25:00 -0500",
"level_name": "Intermediate",
"categories": [
"Development",
"Emerging Tech",
"Wildcard",
"Other"
],
"other_presenter_names": [],
"other_presenter_ids": [],
"attendance_count": 37,
"created_at": "2026-03-19 18:48:40 UTC",
"updated_at": "2026-04-24 02:47:15 UTC"
}
]