Tech conferences that don’t address real-world problems are tech conferences not worth attending.

That’s why Technical.ly’s inaugural Introduced conference, happening Thursday, May 3, during Philly Tech Week 2018 presented by Comcast, has an entire room dedicated to just that: the Impact track with sessions around sharing solutions to big problems.

Get tickets ($100)

P.S. Wanna get in for free? Become a Technical.ly member by the end of Thursday, April 26, to be considered for our drawing. More details here.

Here’s a rundown of the big ideas and speakers taking them on. (Full disclosure: Many of these bios were pulled from the speakers’ LinkedIn profiles.)

Making the Web for All: Alt Image Tags and Other Accessible Habits

If your web isn’t accessible for users with disabilities, many of your users will miss out — and that means you’ll miss out, too. Learn how design inclusively, from daily habits to dev practices. This session will feature five lightning talks about what you can do to make the user experience great for all of your customers and clients, featuring:

• Adina Halter, chief technologist for accessibility with Comcast — It’s her job to ensure accessible user experiences across the Comcast product line for individuals with disabilities.
• Mikey Ilagan, accessibility specialist for Think Company — “Attendees should be excited to attend my talk on accessibility because I’m passionate about how we — as implementers — approach the topic. Accessibility should be an intention, not an afterthought. I hope that attendees walk away from my session better informed, enlightened and motivated to design and develop more inclusive digital experiences benefiting all.”
• Erin Newby, product designer for NASDAQ — As an advocate for accessibility, she’s worked for various companies, including B&H and FitBit.

School Doesn’t Suck: 3 Ways Classrooms are Changing

As technology grows and evolves, so does education. Innovative classrooms are not — and should not — be limited to elite schools. This inclusive session of case studies looks at specific programs being used in schools locally, focusing on goals, successes and shortcomings.

• Lori Aument, virtual reality program coordinator at Mercy Career & Technical High School — She creates immersive learning opportunities that incorporate virtual and other mixed reality programs in the areas of STEM and Mercy’s Health Occupations CTE program.
• Lisa DellaPorta, education manager at NextFab — As the curator of NextFab’s curriculum and course catalogue, she develops classes and educational workshops and is also a technical consultant for schools and K-12 makerspaces.
• Sylvester Mobley, CEO of Coded by Kids — You know him for heading an inclusive program with an educational philosophy that emphasizes project-based learning and mentorship, enabling students to develop meaningful projects while interacting with experienced industry professionals.
• Moderated by Jamira Burley of Global Business Coalition for Education

Building Talent Pipeline: Where Community Interests Meet Hiring Needs

Why do people come to a city, and what makes them stay and become a part of an ever-changing workforce? What’s a talent pipeline, and why is it vital? A panel discussion about attracting talent to the city and opening up opportunities for nontraditional workers. The panel is punctuated by the folks behind the City of Philadelphia’s workforce-development strategy, Fueling Philadelphia’s Talent Engine.

• Uva Coles, VP of institutional advancement and strategic partnerships at Peirce College — A professional speaker, poet and trainer, she focuses on the Afro-Latino experience, the power of authentic leadership and strategic career management.
• Keenan Corrigan, director of Philadelphia for Venture for America — She’s a manager of community partnerships, builder of relationships with donors and supporter of the (many) fellows in her city.
• Karissa Justice, manager of people operations at Azavea — She helps keeps the mapping firm by running by managing the hiring process.
• Nicole Pumphrey, deputy director at Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians — She leads the organization’s external engagement strategy, building collaborations and advocating for the valuable contributions of immigrants to the region’s social stability and economic prosperity.
• Moderated by Sam Glasberg, director of people operations at Stitch.

Company Responsibility: #MeToo, Black Lives Matter and Polarization

With so much going on in the world, does your company have a responsibility to act and react to the issues of the day? How does your reaction — or lack of one — impact a healthy, inclusive work environment? A panel discussion about the how and why companies may address polarizing issues of the day both internally or externally.

• Felecia Hatcher, founder of Code Fever and BlackTech Week — She’s a White House Award-winning entrepreneur, speaker and author who works to rid communities of innovation deserts and creates books, products and courses to help startups, creatives and broke entrepreneurs.
• Evan Lutz, CEO and founder of Hungry Harvest — A social entrepreneur from Baltimore and a frequent guest on NPR, the Washington Post and Maryland news stations, he’s been recognized in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list in the social entrepreneurship category. He was also featured on ABC’s Shark Tank, where he made a deal with Robert Herjavec.
• Jewell Parkinson, SVP and head of human resources for SAP North America — She’s an “insatiably curious humanitarian” providing HR leadership across the region.
• Dave Thomas, principle of content strategy for Think Company — His specialties include high-level digital strategy, especially in the areas of content, outreach and engagement, and creative problem solving at the bleeding edge of emerging trends.
• Moderated by Julie Zeglen, editor of Generocity

realLIST 2018: Growing Your Startup Outside of Silicon Valley

Who needs Silicon Valley? Tech companies can and do thrive on the East Coast, too — and our cities should support and encourage them. This panel discussion features five panelists representing some of the most promising startups in each of our markets, as drawn from Technical.ly’s annual realLIST.

• Vidur Bhatnagar, founder and CEO of Keriton (Philadelphia) — Keriton Kare is the first end-to-end, fully automated breast milk management platform with two HIPAA-compliant apps — one for moms and one for nurses/LCs/milk technicians.
• Nisha Garigarn, founder of Croissant (Brooklyn) — Croissant is a membership-based app that allows people to find workspaces wherever they go.
• Erin Janklow, founder and CEO of Entrada (DC) — Entrada ESL enables service industry staff to become fully conversational in English while they work.
• Margaret Roth, chief customer experience officer and cofounder of Yet Analytics, Inc. (Baltimore) — Yet builds software that helps our customers turn data into action.
• Mac Nagaswami, cofounder and CEO of Carvertise (Delaware) — Carvertise has introduced wrapped car advertising on the road in 30+ U.S. markets.
• Moderated by Zack Seward, editor-in-chief of Techical.ly

Smart Cities: Public, Private and You

Forget flying cars. Real cities of the future are going to be intelligent beyond the wildest dreams of what we could imagine just a decade or two ago. This panel will have a discussion about the realities of a futuristic smart city, what it will look like and how close we are to getting there.

• Lloyd Adams, managing director of the East region for SAP North America — He’s responsible for the strategic direction, customer success and profitability of one of SAP North America’s larger market units.
• Ruth Fasoldt, director of external affairs for Link at Intersection Co. — She’s an external affairs and programs executive who establishes key partnerships with community stakeholders, media, and decision-makers to impact long-term engagements, integrated strategy, and successful business initiatives.
• Abhi Nemani, founder of EthosLabs — Sacramento’s interim chief innovation officer’s EthosLabs is designed to accelerator good government through great technology.
• Caroline Samponaro, head of government affairs and public policy in the Northeast for ofo — ofo is the world’s leading “station-free” bike-sharing platform operated via an online mobile application; Samponaro is also cofounder of @NYC_SafeStreets.
• Christine Derenick-Lopez, chief administrative officer for the City of Philadelphia — She oversees 10 City departments and offices, innovating and strengthening their administrative functions and supporting their resident-facing operations to evaluate, plan and continually improve their service delivery.
• Ian Pilling, head of sales and biz development for machineQ at Comcast — machineQ leverages the latest in sensor, network and software technologies to gather, transmit and create actionable intelligence from the physical world.

Equity in Tech: Ensuring Everyone Wins, Online and Off

Tech jobs are for everyone, and we can’t allow opportunities to bypass people who have fewer systemic advantages. This roundtable is produced in partnership with Hopeworks ‘N Camden with a focus on actionable steps our city and others can take to ensure innovation is accessible, inclusive and diverse.

• Neha Agarwal, senior experience designer for Think Company — She’s a designer, educator and travel enthusiast “passionate about a mish-mosh of design thinking, communication design, user experience, service leadership and cultural exploration.”
• Adria Boultin, program assistant of information systems and technology for Camden Coalition — She’s a tech guru, social activist and graduate of Hopeworks ‘N Camden and Camden County College.
• Sekinah Brodie, marketing assistant at Penji — She’s an outspoken community leader and graduate of Hopeworks ‘N Camden and Montclair State University (and a sometimes-Generocity contributor).
• Michele McKeone, founder and CEO of Digitability — She launched a new model that fully prepares people with neurodiverse needs for our tech-driven and highly social workforce.
• Nate Nichols, founder of Palette Group — He’s the producer and subject of the short documentary “A STEM Story: Nate Nichols,” about how a kid from a first-generation immigrant who was raised in single-parent household pursued his dream of building a career in the digital space.
• Michael O’Bryan, director of youth and adult programs at The Village of Arts and Humanities — He’s a social practice artist and an advocate for human rights and social change in underserved communities.
• Moderated by Ryan Eppley of REC Philly

Amazon HQ2: The Good, the Bad and the Misunderstood

The whirlwind of the nationwide Amazon HQ2 pitch competition left many tired and cynical — even in cities like Philly that are still in the running. This panel will discuss whether Amazon HQ2 would be win for Philadelphia (or any other U.S. city), explore differing ideas and share a behind-the-scenes look at how the official proposals were created.

• John Grady, president and CEO of PIDC — He leads PIDC’s efforts to strengthen relationships with Philadelphia’s public, private and philanthropic sectors to attract and deliver resources that promote business growth, investment and development across the city and throughout its economy.
• Shannon Landwehr, president and CEO of the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore — She focuses on regional talent, workforce recruitment, understanding the needs of Baltimore’s regional businesses and working with them in partnership to identify areas of opportunity.
• Zach Phillips, creative director for Short Order Production House — He’s the filmmaker behind Delaware’s HQ2 pitch video, “Options in Delaware.”
• Aisha Glover, president of Newark Community Economic Development Corporation — Newark CEDC is the primary economic development catalyst for the State of New Jersey’s largest city; Glover was part of the Amazon HQ2 Team for Newark.

Moderated by Juliana Reyes of Philadelphia Media Network (and former Technical.ly Philly reporter)

Thank you to all our 2018 Introduced by Technical.ly sponsors:

• Comcast  
• University of Pennsylvania
• The Archer Group
• Saul Ewing
• SAP
• Vanguard
• Morgan Lewis
• WeWork
• Peirce College
• Salesforce
• Printfly
• Goldman Sachs
• CallTrackingMetrics
• Eastern Minority Supplier Development Council
• SPACES
• Think Company
• Hero Digital
• Weidenhammer
• Enradius
• Uber
• The Science Center
• Relay