Olivia Barrow is a writer, a runner, and a creative problem-solver. She graduated from the University of North Carolina and began her career as a newspaper reporter. In 2016, she pivoted into marketing and moved to Madison to launch her own business. As the founder of Olivia Barrow Communications, she helps her clients develop and execute effective content marketing strategies. She is passionate about racial justice and collective liberation and healing. She loves being outside, chasing big athletic goals, and reading novels that expand her understanding of what it means to be human.

Hi, I'm Steven! I'm a QA Automation Engineer based in Door County, Wisconsin. I've been in QA since 2020 when I worked for Fetch, and I've been using AI since ChatGPT came out in 2023. For the past year, I've been using Cursor to help me with various testing tasks.

My wife and I have 2 black cats, and we like to travel and go to state parks. Outside of work, I am leaning into my passion for education and parkour and will be teaching my first parkour class this fall at the Sturgeon Bay YMCA!

Holly Anne Burns, MPS, LEED Green Associate, is the founder of Burns Design Strategy and a master connector who helps people find clarity in complexity. With Australian-American roots and a master’s degree in design management from Pratt Institute of Design, Holly has spent many years leading cross-functional teams across the globe, while living in New York City and Madison, WI. She specializes in bringing people together to solve tough challenges with integrity and purpose. Holly loves exploring how design thinking and human-centered design can drive innovation, improve collaboration, and deliver real impact. She blends a growth mindset with a down-to-earth approach, making problem-solving both strategic and engaging. Beyond design leadership, Holly is an artist, children’s book author and illustrator, outdoor enthusiast, and mom.

Ryan Etten is a Senior Architect and Team Lead at Red Hat, guiding the West North America Sales & Adoption Launch team. A Red Hat Certified OpenShift Architect, he helps enterprises adopt Kubernetes, GitOps, and Zero-Trust architectures that accelerate secure, agile transformation. Before joining Red Hat, Ryan led award-winning cybersecurity programs that safeguarded community-owned utilities, work recognized by the American Public Power Association for advancing prudent energy policy and critical-infrastructure protection.

Ryan shapes industry best practices through active roles with OpenGitOps, CNCF TAG Security, and the Cloud Security Alliance, and is the Founder & Chair of the Red Hat Cloud Native Security Community of Practice. He has shared his insights on stages worldwide, including Red Hat Summit and GitOpsCon Europe, and authored content for the Linux Foundation’s Certified GitOps Associate exam. Closer to home, he revitalized the CNCF community in Madison, Wisconsin, helping to foster the next generation of secure cloud-native adopters.

Jeff Kritzman is a Senior Consultant at Keyrus. Prior to consulting, Jeff working in Healthcare Analytics. Jeff has deep knowledge across the analytics discipline, including data visualization, data engineering, and data science. He has a background in process improvement and applied math, and is currently having fun exploring what AI can bring to the analytics world!

Ross Larson became a software developer through the nontraditional path of obtaining a double major in Psychology and French from Luther College. He later obtained a software development degree from Fox Valley Technical College. He works as a Software Developer for Paradigm in Middleton, WI. He currently serves on the board of the Forward Festival. He has volunteered teaching computer science at a local high school through the TEALS program. He enjoys indie and retro video games, board games, the NFL Draft, creating obscure fantasy leagues, and making charts.

I am a scrum master and employee of Trustage for the last five years. I am also passionate about making those around me and myself a little bit better each day. In my spare time I enjoy volunteering, reading alone in my basement and coaching my children's various activities.

Shawn Spartz is a multidimensional systems thinker, technologist, and intuitive strategist exploring the intersection of human consciousness and artificial intelligence. With over 25 years of experience in tech and transformation leadership, she guides individuals and organizations in designing technologies—and teams—that reflect deeper intelligence, empathy, and inclusivity.

Her work blends intuitive resonance with practical design, often engaging AI as both a tool and a mirror for self-awareness, feedback, and evolution. Shawn serves as a bridge between structured logic and living intelligence, inviting technologists to approach innovation not just from efficiency, but from reflection, resonance, and relational wisdom.

Samantha Spaulding has a background in IT procurement and has spent the last few years focusing on AI - specifically in the Public sector. Samantha is dedicated to transforming how agencies serve the public through ethical, secure, and effective use of AI. She serves on multiple AI workgroups for the State of Wisconsin and Tax agencies across the US.