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Agenda

Whether you want to grow your technology business or learn more about a wide variety of tech topics, Valley TechCon.23 has you covered. Hear about exciting advances in artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, and cybersecurity from the minds of leading practitioners, entrepreneurs, and faculty from across Virginia and beyond. Valley TechCon.23 is the technology and business development event to attend in 2023.

The TechCon.23 agenda will be announced soon. Below is the lineup from TechCon.19.

Early Morning – Sponsored by Silver Sponsor Digital Minerva Web/Marketing (former James Carter Web)

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7:30am – 8:30am

Main Ballroom

Registration, Breakfast and Vendor Tables

Sponsored by Silver Sponsor, Digital Minerva Web/Marketing.

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8:30am – 8:45am

Main BalLRoom

Welcome 

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8:45AM – 9:15AM

Main Ballroom

Breakfast Speaker

By Tracy Gregorio, President, G2 Ops

Tracy Gregorio leads G2 Ops, a successful government contractor providing cybersecurity and systems engineering services...
She was appointed by Governor Northram to serve on the executive committee of the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative. Coming from both these perspectives, Tracy will provide her thoughts on what future public/private collaborations will look like in order to build the modern workforce.

Breakout Session I

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9:15am - 10:00am

Appalachian Room A

Growing Your Technology Business

Ideas Are Just That

By Jared Burden, Partner, GreeneHurlocker PLC

Ideas are worthless. By themselves. Entrepreneurs often confuse "ideas" with "innovation"...
But you can’t patent an idea, you can’t trademark an idea, you can’t copyright an idea, and a mere idea isn’t a good trade secret because it’s not ready to be used in any trade, including your own. Few people are going to pay you for a mere idea — you won’t get past the first meeting. What matters is what comes after the idea. I’ll talk about what that 1% — the compelling idea — is in relation to everything that needs to come after, and we’ll focus in on the five things that the entrepreneur needs to do, quickly, to take it from the whiteboard to a place where it might actually bring value.
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9:15am - 10:00am

Appalachian Room B

Business Impact of Technology

Conversational Software and What it Means for the User Interface

By Michael Szul, Principal Software Engineer, University of Virginia School of Medicine

Artificial intelligence. Machine learning. Chatbots… We have all heard the hype of the next computational and digital revolution, but what does it mean for your business today?...
This session moves beyond the hype to discuss the practical application of artificial intelligence, and where you are most likely to see the impact in your business. We will present real-world examples of the application of natural language processing and understanding to business problems, and talk about how the advent of conversational approaches to software and devices is reshaping how we thing about user interfaces… which in turn, is reshaping how we work with our customers.
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9:15am - 10:00am

Appalachian Room C

Technical Topic for Practitioners

SQL for Data Science

By Renee M. P. Teate, Data Scientist, HelioCampus

Most Data Scientists report that 60-80% of their day-to-day effort is spent on cleaning and preparing datasets for machine learning projects. There is also a growing number of high-paying careers in the field of data engineering for data science teams...
If you know some SQL (Structured Query Language) and want to grow your career in the direction of data science, or you’re a data analyst/data scientist who wants to find out what SQL dataset preparation techniques you should be learning to enhance your marketability, come to this presentation by SQL-Data-Analyst-turned-Data-Scientist Renee Teate in order to learn which SQL concepts she uses most often as a Data Scientist at HelioCampus.

You should be familiar with basic SQL SELECT syntax in order to follow along (an online tutorial should be enough prep), but this presentation will be beginner-friendly.

10:00am Mid-morning snack – Sponsored by Silver Sponsor Advanced Network Systems, Inc.

Breakout Session II

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10:15am - 11:00am

Appalachian Room A

Growing Your Technology Business

How to Launch a Software Startup Without a Tech Co-founder

By Mike Forster, COO Chiedo Labs

A talk to help non-technical founders understand the startup space, so they put their ideas on the path to becoming successful software startups.
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10:15am - 11:00am

Appalachian Room B

Technical Topic for Practitioners

Shifting Security Left – The Innovation of DevSecOps

By Tom Stiehm, CTO, Coveros, Inc.

DevSecOps uses application security practices that have been around for a while. The innovation of DevSecOps is incorporating security into the daily workflow of the team rather than leaving them to the end of a release like many legacy processes do...
Shifting security left is made possible by the ability to automate many aspects of security testing and verification. DevSecOps leverages DevOps practices to make application security a first-class citizen in the practices of modern software product development. DevSecOps starts with a culture change mindset of cross-functional teams creating software through collaboration and fast feedback cycles.

The security in DevSecOps starts before the code is written by using techniques like threat modeling and risk analysis to help figure out who might want to attack you and how they might do that. This often ignored security practice can be enabled by following the DevSecOps practices of having a cross-functional team involved in the process from the beginning, including security professionals.

Next, DevSecOps maps application security practices into the build pipeline for a project in order to provide quick feedback about the security posture for any change made to the software. By using automation to allow the team to move quickly while maintaining confidence in the health of the code base, DevSecOps extends that health check to include application security checks. While automation can be used to make security data collection easier it is important to understand what security practices still require a human being.
This talk focuses on how, when, and where practices should be incorporated into a build pipeline to get the most value out of your security practices through automation. It explores what manual security work still needs to be done by a person and how to maximize value while minimizing the effort of human beings.

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10:15am - 11:00am

Appalachian Room C

Business Impact of Technology

Innovate, Enhance Brand & Avoid Lawsuits by Embracing Web Accessibility (a11y)

By Chris O’Brien, UX Team Lead & Senior Designer, Jenzabar

Want to create a more innovative website that better represents your brand? Web accessibility (a11y) is a great place to start...
Come learn about recent accessibility guidelines (WCAG 2.0 & 2.1), and how following them will make your website more engaging and easier to use for everyone.

Breakout Session III

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11:15am - 12:00pm

Appalachian Room A

Technical Topic for Practitioners

The “Offline First” Approach to Cross-Platform App Development

By Morgan C. Benton, Associate Professor, James Madison University

Modern app development is dominated by the assumption that our apps enjoy a stable, continuous, strong, and ubiquitous connection to the internet...
Sadly, we know from our daily lived experience that this is NOT the case. We’re not always near a Wi-Fi hot spot, and even a physical, wired connection to our cable modem doesn’t guarantee 100% uptime. “Offline First” (http://offlinefirst.org) is a relatively new approach to the analysis, design, and implementation of apps. It begins with the assumption that internet connectivity is, at best, flaky and unreliable, and then proceeds to develop user experiences (UX) that are robust–allowing people to use your apps effectively regardless of whether or not they currently happen to have a solid connection to the network. While the tech demos in this talk will feature PWA’s (progressive web apps) built with VueJS, this philosophy can be applied to app development in any scenario: web or native, mobile or desktop. Anyone who is involved in the analysis, design, or implementation of any kind of modern app will benefit from the principles to be explored in this talk. It really boils down to the question: How can we build apps that allow our users to have fantastic, productive experiences, even if they may lose internet connectivity from time to time?
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11:15am - 12:00pm

Appalachian Room B

Growing Your Technology Business

The Art of the “Killer” Pitch

By Precious Williams, CEO Perfect Pitches by Precious, LLC

This session is for those looking to improve their written and speech communication skills in an explosive way...
I teach the art and science of the “killer” pitch that will help you #slayallcompetition. Ready for your prospects to seek you out and buy right now? All you need is the tools from the session in getting you prepared to step out of fear and embrace your inner extraordinary!
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11:15am - 12:00pm

Appalachian Room C

Business Impact of Technology

Can Software Change a Corporate Culture?

By Dr. Eric Korn, Jared Mullenax and Parker Dell, Innovative Refrigeration Systems

The three presenters have been integral in the development, deployment, and finding of market fit for a safety software company headquartered in Waynesboro...
In the first 8 months of sales, the company sold their safety culture supporting software to a wide variety of corporate, nonprofit, and government customers, including two Fortune 400 companies. The software’s main proficiency is the ability to support the growth of a durable and sustained safety culture through a variety of tools and best practices. This talk will discuss the cultural deficit in the presenters’ parent company that spawned the concept, the trials and failures of precursor solutions, the software tools that build momentum, and the results that users see (employee retention, less injury, insurance savings, etc.). Workplace safety is a noble pursuit, and the presenters are proud to share the journey of the company from concept through failure to market fit, and into the cultures of massive, multinational companies.*

*This talk is NOT an advertisement for the company, rather is designed to answer the question posed in the title. Chief among the talking points for the proposed presentation are the genesis of the idea of using software to promote pro-safe culture at OSHA beholden companies, the difficulties encountered when developing and deploying software to change a culture, the technology used, the theoretical underpinnings of cultural change as addressed by a software suite, and a variety of tangential topics.

Lunch Keynote – Sponsored by Platinum Sponsor Shentel

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12:15pm - 1:15pm

Main Ballroom

Lunch Keynote

Preparing the Technology Workforce of Tomorrow Today

By Bud Ritchie, Massanutten Technical Center and Dan OBrien, Blue Ridge Community College

K-12 education is taking major steps to train and prepare students for jobs in cybersecurity. The need for skilled workers is at an all-time high and waiting for students to finish college may be detrimental to the field.
Hear about the groundbreaking training Security Operations Center (SOC) under construction at Massanutten Technical Center (MTC). This will be the first SOC in the nation aimed at training high school students. The SOC will compliment the new cybersecurity curriculum at MTC, featuring classes in networking, risk analysis and assessment, threats and threat actors, and penetration testing.

As the career pathway continues, Blue Ridge Community College (BRCC) is breaking new ground with a unique public/private partnership to train and employ 50 Tier I Cyber Security Analysts by July, 2020. The effort was kicked off with a $200,000 competitive grant awarded from the state’s GO Virginia program. Hear about the success of the program midway through its progress and learn what’s next for the cybersecurity curriculum at BRCC.

Breakout Session IV A&B

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1:30pm - 2:15pm

Appalachian Room A

Technical Topic for Practitioners

The Next Generation of Visualization in the Workplace

By Bernadette Gagnon,CEO/CTO, Bluemont Technology & Research, Inc.; and Dr. Edward Stoker, V.P. of Innovative Technology, Bluemont Technology & Research, Inc.

The concepts we use today for visualization have not evolved since the beginning of the Industrial Age...
Virtual Reality / Augmented Reality / Mixed Reality (VR/AR/MR) are on the verge of changing our view of data, tools, and instructional materials. The visualization power provided will radically change our daily business lives. Examples of the changes for network analysis/cyber, software development, and hardware development will be reviewed.
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1:30pm - 2:15pm

Appalachian Room B

Business Impact of Technology

Autonomous Shuttles: Solving Real-World Micro-Transit Problems

By Michael Raschid, Chief Legal Officer & Vice President of Operations, Perrone Robotics, Inc.

The session will present, at a high-level, the business, technological and legal/policy implications of the introduction of autonomous shuttles for micro-transit applications...
The session will focus on the promise of autonomous shuttles, including congestion reduction, a greener footprint, costs savings (in not having to build parking structures), revitalizing downtowns, and making transit easier for the community, including the elderly, and the differently-abled. The session will also highlight some of the challenges, at both the business and policy level, in implementing autonomous shuttle service operations in Virginia communities.

Breakout Session IV C

This will be an extra-long session that will run concurrently to the standard length sessions

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1:30pm - 3:00pm

Appalachian Room C

Growing Your Technology Business

Extended Session – Building a Marketing Machine

By Evan Pettrey, Founder, Converge Local; Sam Johnson, Lead Digital Marketing Specialist, Immerge; and Lily Maley, Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Brand, Visme

Marketing your business effectively is an ever-changing endeavor...
In this extended time panel discussion, attendees will learn about: 1. Growing Your Search Opportunities with Rich Search Results. Learn about the ever growing SEO opportunities that JavaScript structured data and schema markup offer business. 2. Brand-Building Online, In-App, and Offline: how marketing, tech, and sales teams can work together to craft and embody a single brand narrative. 3. Marketing strategies and getting into the mind of your ideal buyers/clients.

Breakout Session V A&B

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2:30pm - 3:15pm

Appalachian Room A

Growing Your Technology Business

Design Thinking for Innovation

By Elaine Cheng, Chief Information Officer, Shentel

Design Thinking is a proven method to create innovation in your business. Leveraging easy to use techniques, business owners...
can leverage a design thinking approach for business development or to solve complex problems that inhibit growth. During this session I will teach the basics of Design Thinking by facilitating a Design session. Participants will learn while doing.
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2:30pm - 3:15pm

Appalachian Room B

Business Impact of Technology

8 Roles in IT Support You Must Fill to Get Business Results

Ian MacRae, President, E-N Computers

Is your IT support team overworked and leaving you exposed? Learn effective IT department and team structures from the CIO down...
This presentation will dive into the 6 operational roles and 2 leadership roles you need to keep your organization productive and secure. This is a must for CEO, CFO, and IT Managers who are responsible for building IT service teams for organizations of 20 employees or more.

Closing and Networking Event

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3:30pm - 4:00pm

Main Ballroom

The Business Impact of Technology

By Todd Waldo, Founder and Principal Consultant, Hugh Helen, LLC

Mr. Waldo will discuss working closely with corporate leaders to help them...
understand their current and future needs, as well as to develop and champion an enterprise-wide strategy. The closing session will provide a cap to the Business Impact of Technology. Attendees will hear how Mr. Waldo’s clients have used technology to better deliver their products or services.
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4:00pm - 5:30pm

Pale Fire Brewing Company

The ice house
217 s. liberty street

Post-Conference Networking at Pale Fire Brewing Company

This is a limited capacity event. You must register for the networking event to receive a drink ticket.

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