Tech It Out Archives

2023’s Keynote Speaker: Shane Portfolio

Keynote Topic & description: Cultural Transformation

Shane Portfolio joined Charter in 2022 as Senior Vice President, Network Engineering & Technology. He and his team are responsible for creating and implementing the company’s future network and engineering infrastructure with a focus on DOCSIS/PON access technologies, optical, core routing, data center/cloud and security. Shane also led the technical deployment of two company initiatives: high split and network convergence.

Prior to Charter, Shane rose through the ranks during a 26-year tenure at Comcast. He began as a customer representative and later served as Senior Vice President, Network Services, where he oversaw the health and reliability of Comcast’s network, as well as change management, deployment and capacity planning.

Shane is a doctoral candidate in organizational leadership with North Central University, and holds master’s degrees in telecommunications from the University of Denver and organizational leadership from Regis University. He also received a bachelor’s in computer information systems and management from Metropolitan State University of Denver.

Shane served in the United States Army for nearly 15 years, first as a platoon sergeant and then as a leadership instructor at the Officer Candidate School, where he trained officers to prepare for leading soldiers into combat.

2023’s Morning Keynote Speaker: Courtney Walsh

Keynote Topic & description: How Drones are Transforming the Night Sky into a Storytelling Canvas

Courtney Walsh is the Communications Director at Nova Sky Stories, a drone technology company that aims to bring awe to live audiences around the world with visual art experiences that are created to move the soul. In addition to this role, Ms. Walsh is an Advisor to Kimbal Musk, owner and CEO of Nova Sky Stories, The Kitchen restaurants, and Big Green non-profit. She is the new Lead Organizer of TEDxBoulder, a yogi, skier, and storyteller raising two children in Boulder, Colorado. 

 

 

 

 

 

2023’s Mid-morning Keynote Speaker: Sandy Howe

Keynote Topic & description: From Insight to Action: Aligning Trends, Investments, and Technologies to Drive Real Transformational Change in Organizations

Sandy Howe is a seasoned operating executive known for her leadership and proven results. Having led global B-to-B and B-to-C businesses, she has established herself as a trusted leader. Sandy currently serves on the NCTA – The Internet and Television Association Board and Past Chair of The WICT Network Global Board. 

Sandy is a technology leader with over 25 years of experience in the global telecommunications, consumer and media industries and has proven experience in business development and operations and leading marketing, sales and business unit teams to exceed company sales and profitability targets.

 

2023’s Tech It Out Speakers:

Katie Collins

Senior Director, Mobile Product

Charter Communications

Topic: Wireless communication technology evolution and impact on humanity

Samuel Cummings

Chief Executive Officer

Dataplant

Topic: AI + CX = Digital Empathy 

David Debrecht

Vice President

Wireless Technologies, CableLabs

Topic: Creating a User Centric Network

Nameet Dutia

Senior Solutions Architect

Amazon Web Services

Topic: Building Secure In-context Q&A applications with Generative AI on Amazon Web Services

Niamani Knight

Founder, S.T.R.E.A.M. Kids Expo™

Co-Founder, S.T.R.E.A.M.

Topic: EdYOUcation’s Role in Next-Gen Transformation

Barbara Nelms

Director, Digital Strategy & Operations

Charter Communications

Topic: Artificial Intelligence Panel Moderator

Jan Neumann

Vice President

Machine Learning, Comcast

Topic: Artificial Intelligence Panelist

MacKenzie Roebuck-Walsh

Principal Sales Executive

IntentHQ & AI Martech & Adtech

Topic: Artificial Intelligence Panelist

Kat Saks

Senior Principal, Global Digital Strategy

Slalom

Topic: Artificial Intelligence Panelist

Deirdre Toner

Managing Director

AWS, Go To Market

Topic: People, Process, and Technology in data transformation

Wendy Turner-Williams

Founder & CEO

TheAssociation.ai & Culstrata-ai

Topic: TheAssociation – The Practitioner led charge to ethical, quality AI and data!

2022’s Keynote Speaker: Christopher Lafayette

Christopher Lafayette is an emergent technologist, humanitarian, architect, speaker, and virtual worlds explorer. He is bringing thousands of communities and millions of people into the metaverse, humanely. He works for a more equitable culture of technology as a thought leader and advocate for greater inclusion and cross-cultural community building. He is the founder of GatherVerse and The Black Technology Mentorship Program. An expert on the metaverse, medtech, ai, education, Web3, and applied sciences, he has served with and advised companies, organizations, and universities around the world.

Jennifer Andreoli-Fang
Senior Manager
Service Provider Cloud Architecture – AWS

Tracy Baumgartner
Vice President
Business Process Effectiveness- Environment, Comcast

Jenna Ficula
Engineer
Slalom Element Lab212

Sheri Byrne Haber
Senior Staff Architect
Accesibility, VMare

Petr Kucheryavyy
Senior Accessibility Manager
Charter Communications

Amber Longtin
Student of Industrial/Organization Psychology

Bruno Sarda
Partner/Principal
Climate Change and Sustainability Services, EY

Evan Shapiro
Lead
ESHAP

Kat Stracquatanio
Senior Director
UX Engineering and Design Systems, Comcast

Carmela Stuart
Director
Future Infrastructure / CableLabs

Susie Tomenchok
Executive Coach

John Tomik
Managing Director
Slalom Strategy / Slalom Element

Rob Wilmoth
Senior Principal Architect
Red Hat

Sofia Rossato
SVP of Strategic Partnerships
TeamSupport

BJ Daisey
Vice President, Emerging Experiences
Comcast Product Experience

2020 Tech It Out Speakers & Topics

  • Rich DiGeronimo – Chief Product and Technology Officer, Charter Communications, & Cynthia Carpenter – VP/Human Resources and Employee Experience, Charter Communications
    • In Conversation: Cynthia Carpenter and Rich DiGeronimo: Charter execs Cynthia Carpenter and Rich DiGeronimo discuss what it took to survive and thrive during the extraordinary events of 2020 – including what positive developments arose from the worldwide shelter-at-home transition, and what innovations are helping to shape Charter for the future.
  • Jan Hofmeyr – Executive Vice President and Chief Network Officer, Comcast Cable & Leslie Ellis, Technology Writer
    • In Conversation: Leslie Ellis and Jan Hofmeyr: Comcast EVP and Chief Network Officer Jan Hofmeyr joins technology writer Leslie Ellis in a candid conversation about the year so far, innovations prompted by the pandemic, relevant new technologies, and what’s coming next.
  • Dana Filip-Crandall – Senior Vice President, Customer Experience and Call Center Operations, Comcast West Division & WICT Rocky Mountain’s 2020 Woman of the Year
    • Current Events at the Intersection of Customer Care & 2020: Dana Filip-Crandall speaks about what it’s like when you need to very quickly pivot thousands of care employees into home-based workflows. Also: How consumer behaviors and demands are changing, coincident with the freakish events of 2020 – and what’s working to adapt along with them.
  • Jana Henthorn –  President and CEO, The Cable Center, & Janice Silver, Vice President, Programs and Marketing, The Cable Center
    • MythBusters: Innovation Edition: Are entrepreneurs responsible for the majority of groundbreaking innovations? Are most innovations the result of that “light-bulb” moment? Are innovators born or made? Join us as the Cable Center duo, Jana Henthorn and Janice Silver, examine 6 common innovation beliefs, a la MythBusters style, to determine if they’re fact or fiction, and how intrapreneurship can be your key to success.
  • Rama Sreenivasan – Cofounder & CEO – Blitzz Inc.
    • TECH TALK: Part customer care evangelist, part scientist, part Zen master, Rama exudes a passion for service that is powerful and infectious. Hear how his company, Blitzz, is helping industries to adapt to mid- and post-pandemic customer realities using Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Reality.
  • Teresa Elder – Chief Executive Officer and Director, WideOpenWest, Inc., & Camilla Formica, Chief Revenue Officer of NCTI
    • In Conversation: Camilla Formica and Teresa Elder: Camilla Formica interviews Teresa Elder about her journey (so far!) as a female leader, pro tips for overcoming obstacles, and what it means to lead an organization heart-first – with compassion and kindness.
  • Joe Hunt – GVP, Software Development and Architecture, Charter Communications
    • TECH TALK: As a film enthusiast with a proclivity for “future-facing” themes, Joe shares what ideas from the movies made it into our day-to-day lives, and reflects on what’s coming next.
  • Rachel Beisel – Senior Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer, CableLabs
    • What COVID Is Teaching Us About Leadership: As CableLabs’ first-ever Chief Marketing Officer, Rachel Beisel is a powerhouse of ideas, action, and energy. Learn what the COVID pandemic taught her about the human side of leadership, how COVID gave new depth to the WICT Touchstones, and what matters when communicating during a global pandemic.
  • Ruha Benjamin – Education Equity Advocate; Sociology & African American Studies Scholar; Author; Princeton University
    • KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Ruha imparts actionable wisdom about biases in technology, and recommendations about challenging predispositions when building new products and services.
  • Dr. Jennifer Andreoli-Fang – Distinguished Technologist, CableLabs & WICT Rocky Mountain’s 2020 Technology Woman of the Year
    • TECH TALK: When she was growing up, Jennifer Andreoli-Fang thought it was normal to get to school an hour early to help her physics teacher get set up for class, and to attend science and math camps in the summer. Since then, she’s risen to become our industry’s leading technologist when it comes to the inevitable intersections between mobile and fixed networks. She’s also an artist, and will illustrate her journey with some of her own sketches.
  • Jessica O. Matthews – Founder and CEO, Uncharted Power
    • KEYNOTE SPEAKER: She invented a soccer ball that provides off-grid energy for the developing world – when she was 19. At 22, she founded Uncharted Power, a global, full-service power technology company that builds, owns and operates renewable power infrastructure. Jessica is a dynamo! Don’t miss this … powerhouse (ahem) of a keynote.
  • Revisit the highlights with access to all of the webinars, videos, and photos here.

2019 Tech It Out Speakers & Topics

  • WICT Champions – Shane Portfolio
    • How Tech can Leverage Diversity and Inclusion to Win
  • Morning Keynote – Dr. Davidson
    • Leadership/Facing Challenges Head On
  • Panel Discussion – Maria Rothschild (Moderator) with Kate Tummarello (Engine,) Debbie Fitzgerald (CableLabs,) Chris May (Comcast,) Manish Jindal (Charter)
    • Oh Gs! Wired and Wireless at the Edge
  • Tech Talk – Eilisa Reed, Woman in Technology Winner
    • Perspectives from the Engine Room: IT Operations at a Major Cable Operator
  • Tech Talk – Daisy Henderson, Young Woman in Technology Winner
    • Being a Young, Ambitious Woman in Tech
  • Tech Talk – Sarah Vergara
    • Near Future Video and Behind the Tech
  • Fireside Chat – Leslie Ellis interviewing Stephanie Mitchko
  • Show & Tech Demo – Jodi Robinson
    • Demo Tech House
  • Leadership Talk – Cynthia Carpenter
    • Dare to Shine
  • Tech Talk – Rebecca Rusk
    • Ethics in Design – How do we Keep Human-Centered Design Human?
  • Tech Talk – Mona Kessel
    • How to Communicate Effectively in Male-Dominated Fields
  • NextGen – Shreya Nallapati
    • Never Again Tech – Using Machine Learning Algorithms to Detect Markers of Mass Shootings
  • Tech Talk – Lisa Schwab
    • The Innovator vs The Entrepreneur: Why we Need Both
  • Keynote Speaker – FlyGirl