Philly Tech Week 2018

Billimarie Lubiano Robinson is an interdisciplinary artist, developer, and activist. With over ten years experience as a designer and web developer, she is dedicated to building and maintaining inclusive tech solutions through an abolitionist lens.

Vidur S. Bhatnagar is the Founder & CEO at Keriton - a breast milk management & lactation analytics company launched in 2016. An MS in Robotics candidate at the University of Pennsylvania (on LOA), Vidur was earlier the youngest product owner, employee of the year and an international fellow at SAP (2013-2015). He has a deep passion for solving real-life process orchestration problems and with a background in computer science and an MBA in HR & MIS, Vidur has worked on several enterprise grade solutions - from building augmented reality platforms to writing algorithms to optimize in-memory database platforms.

Mike McCoy is part of ConsenSys' Ecosystem Development strategies where he helps build the teams involved in growing the Ethereum protocol around the world. Currently Mike has helped build the campus recruitment model, supports a number of ConsenSys teams such as uPort, Grid+, Linnia, Blockchain for Social Impact and D.C. Labs in their strategy to create efficient blockchain projects.

Before coming to ConsenSys, Mike helped start a software development bootcamp in Philadelphia, PA called Launch Academy, as well as working in technical sales and recruiting for a number of years before jumping into the blockchain space.

Christine Derenick-Lopez is the CAO (Chief Administrative Officer) for the City of Philadelphia. This office was created by the Kenney Administration, and works to modernize city government and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of City services. The CAO oversees 10 enabling departments and offices, supporting their operations to evaluate, plan, and continually improve service delivery. Prior to joining the Kenney Administration, Christine worked as a Sr. HR Business Partner with AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals. In this role, Christine provided strategic HR leadership for over 2,200 Diabetes Primary Care and Endocrinology Specialty employees and leaders.

Christine also served as Chief of Staff and Human Resources Director for the Philadelphia International Airport. She served on the Airport’s Advisory Board and spearheaded several Airport-wide projects, including the launch of new air service for Qatar, Virgin America and Spirit Airlines. Christine has more than 20 years of progressive public sector experience in Human Resources and served as President of the Society of Human Resource Management’s Philadelphia Chapter (SHRM). Christine has been recognized by the Women Transportation Seminar’s (WTS) Philadelphia Chapter with the Women of the Year Award (2011) and by SmartCEO receiving their Executive Management Award (2014).

Aniyia is a creator, inventor and tech changemaker. She started a fashion hardware company, Tinsel, in 2014, in response to the lack of tech products developed with women in mind. After coming up with the idea of an audio accessory that doubles as a beautiful piece of jewelry, she left her role in marketing at the tech company Voxer to pursue it fully. Aniyia Williams has background in the arts and tech, as well as a decade of training as singer of classical music and opera. She has held roles in marketing, community management, business development and non-profit fundraising. Alongside building Tinsel, Aniyia is a co-founder of Zebras Unite and serves as Executive Director of Black & Brown Founders, which provides vital resources to Black and Latinx entrepreneurs building tech companies with limited capital.

Sandra K. Johnson is the CEO, SKJ Visioneering, LLC, a fintech startup company based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. She is a “hidden figure” as one of the first African-American women to earn a Ph.D. in electrical engineering and she has obtained many firsts in her 30+ year career in technology. She had a 26-year career at IBM, with her last position as the CTO, IBM Central, East and West Africa. She is a Master Inventor with over 40 pending and issued patents and over 80 technical publications in computer hardware and software. Dr. Johnson earned B.S. (summa cum laude), M.S. and Ph.D. degrees, all in electrical engineering, from Southern University, Stanford University, and Rice University, respectively. Read more about her here and her company’s website.

Scott Vinkle is a Canadian front end developer and accessibility advocate living in Canada. He spends his days assessing, consulting, and fixing accessibility issues on all the things at Shopify. Find out what else Scott is up to at svinkle.me.

Karissa is the Manager of People Operations at Azavea. She provides a large portion of the administrative support that keeps the company running. Karissa manages the hiring process, provides daily accounting support, assists with marketing, and much more.

Karissa came to Philadelphia in 2009 to study Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania. In 2013, she graduated with a degree in Fine Arts instead, and took a job managing facilities projects at Drexel University. During her time at the University of Pennsylvania, Karissa developed a love for technology and also worked for four summers with Penn Hospitality Services supporting conferences and events.

Outside of work, Karissa loves to bake sweet things, read, and play fetch with her cat. She is also a prolific PC gamer and has played most MMOs on the market.