Super Meetup DC had a major comeback last night.

More than 500 technologists, entrepreneurs and meetup organizers alike from the #dctech community gathered at Mindspace Tuesday for one of Technical.ly’s biggest networking events of the year. For those who remember, Technical.ly last hosted Super Meetup DC in 2017. This year, we partnered with DC Startup Week to bring the prominent event back.

#DCSuperMeetup is underway and we already got @MindspaceME DC packed! Get here #dctech! pic.twitter.com/JlxNGoapqC

— Technical.ly DC (@TechnicallyDC) September 10, 2019

Super Meetup DC was sponsored by Sumner Furniture, Law IQ, Nava, Acquicore, Verizon 5G, Truss and Ordway Labs. We also had nine meetup groups onhand, including:

• DC Tech Meetup
• Startup Grind DC
• Startup DC 
• Finding CoFounders
• CDK: Coder/Designer/Keggers
• DC Aspiring Entrepreneurs
• Talented Tech Freelancers 
• DC Hack & Tell
• DC Deep Learning Working Group

If you were in the room last night, you know it was packed and the networking was never-ending. To push on highlighting technologists of color this month, here’s four people we met at Super Meetup DC:

Lindsey Parker, D.C. government’s CTO

Lindsey Parker, DC. government’s CTO. (Photo by Michelai Graham)

Parker was to nominated to be the District’s chief technology officer by Mayor Muriel Bowser and took on the role in March. She previously worked as Bowser’s chief of staff, but now she’s in charge of how the D.C. government leverages tech to connect with the community. Parker describes herself as a connector and she told Technical.ly that she came out to Super Meetup because she loves the idea, and wants to help facilitate more meetups of D.C. civic innovators.

“I have the best job in the world — because I get to help demystify technology in communities of color and help create an intentional pipeline for those communities to find and succeed in tech jobs in DC government and the regional tech ecosystem,” Parker said.

Sharif Merritt, developer and founder of Reveal

Sharif Merritt, developer, founder and CEO of Reveal. (Photo by Michelai Graham)

Merritt is a developer and the founder and CEO of Reveal, a SaaS startup creating a platform for small businesses to deploy AR experiences. He describes himself as resourceful, and he went to Super Meetup to get the word out about how his startup can help small businesses as he prepares to launch.

Renée Taylor, cofounder of Operation A.R.T.S.

Renée Taylor, cofounder of Operation A.R.T.S. (Photo by Michelai Graham)

Through Operation A.R.T.S, Taylor helps artists learn how to make a living with their crafts by connecting them with local businesses who need assistance from creatives in the area. Taylor, too, describes herself as resourceful and said she came to Super Meetup to connect with businesses who could use her service.

When asked if she felt like she fits in this community as a technologist of color, Taylor replied:

“Yes! D.C. is a place where I feel race doesn’t matter unless you make it matter. As a strong, mixed-race, multicultural woman, I find that I am welcome and can make an impact wherever I choose to engage myself.”

Eva Reid, senior analyst in geospatial technologies at OCTO

Eva Reid, senior analyst in geospatial technologies at OCTO.

Reid is a senior analyst in geospatial technologies at the Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO), and she also runs her own consulting business representing women in tech and other fields where women are underrepresented. Reid describes herself as a connector who attended Super Meetup to spread the word about two groups she’s a part of: DC Metro Women in GIS and DC Government Women in Technology.

“As a woman of color in tech, I often feel like I’m a tangent in the community,” Reid said. “I think it fuels my desire to help women navigate the tech space and create opportunities for visibility. And in the end, I really just enjoy connecting people to each other, whether for career, life, etc.”

This editorial article is a part of Technical.ly's Technologists of Color Month of our editorial calendar.