In case you haven’t heard, Agile2024 is set for July 22 through 26 in Dallas, Texas! Behind every successful conference lies a team of dedicated individuals who work tirelessly to curate an unforgettable experience.
We are proud to introduce our exceptional program team, the driving force behind Agile2024: our conference chair, Dana Pylayeva, and our program chairs, Chris Murman, Semira Allen, and Reese Schmit.
These professionals bring diverse experiences and passion to the table, ensuring that every aspect of Agile2024 is finely tuned to perfection. We know the team is great – and since we’re confident you’ll want to know more about each one of them, we’re going to share a short Q&A with them here.
Our second team member is Semira Allen. More will follow in future posts.
Start by telling us a little about you and your Agile career
My original career aspirations had nothing to do with technology, and Agile seemed like a faraway concept I had heard my dad mention once or twice. I was on the medical track, premed biochemistry major, doing every lab internship I could manage until I realized the cost of medical school was more than the average condo in my area.
As I was experiencing my little crisis, being unsure of my career, my dad suggested I check out some tech and Agile meetups to get a feel for this as an alternative career. As I was absorbing this new information and applying Agile software development methodologies to my learning in school, a technical career path seemed much more approachable to me.
Once I became settled in my career, it was helpful to have that Agile foundation while solving technical challenges.
What has prepared you for your role on the Agile2024 Program Team?
Definitely getting involved with planning and speaking at meetups. Getting that behind-the-scenes look at what goes into planning a meetup, like selecting speakers, finding sponsorships, finding locations, building the schedule of events, etc., really prepared me for being on the program team.
Why did you want to get involved in Agile2024?
I wanted to get involved with Agile2024 because of the amazing community that this conference revolves around. I worked hard with my awesome track chair, ‘Tine Zekis, to bring back the Technology track last year. This year, we want to continue to expand the track and bring new voices into this community!
What are you most excited about for this conference?
This year, I’m excited about (hopefully) seeing many new faces! As well as learning from the many great talks and workshops I’m sure we’ll have. And of course, the conference party is always something to look forward to!
