Keynote Speakers
Lynn Root
Lynn Root is a Staff Engineer at Spotify and an adjunct professor at Columbia University's Graduate School of Engineering. She is a seasoned speaker on building and maintaining distributed systems & developer tooling, and is a tech lead on Spotify's ML/AI platform. She likes to refer to herself as an "engineer's engineer".
Lynn has been active in the Python community since 2012. She is the Chair of the PyLadies Global Council, a former Director and current fellow of the Python Software Foundation, and a global leader of diversity in the Python community. She is the author & maintainer (when she can) of the `interrogate` package.
When her hands are not on a keyboard, they are usually fussing with houseplants, holding a bass guitar, or trying to finish one of her many knitting projects.
Cory Doctorow
Cory Doctorow (craphound.com) is a science fiction author, activist and journalist. He is the author of many books, most recently PICKS AND SHOVELS and THE BEZZLE (followups to RED TEAM BLUES) and THE LOST CAUSE, a solarpunk science fiction novel of hope amidst the climate emergency. His most recent nonfiction book is THE INTERNET CON: HOW TO SEIZE THE MEANS OF COMPUTATION, a Big Tech disassembly manual. Other recent books include RED TEAM BLUES, a science fiction crime thriller; CHOKEPOINT CAPITALISM, nonfiction about monopoly and creative labor markets; the LITTLE BROTHER series for young adults; IN REAL LIFE, a graphic novel; and the picture book POESY THE MONSTER SLAYER.
He maintains a daily blog at Pluralistic.net. He works for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, is a MIT Media Lab Research Affiliate, is a Visiting Professor of Computer Science at Open University, a Visiting Professor of Practice at the University of North Carolina’s School of Library and Information Science and co-founded the UK Open Rights Group. Born in Toronto, Canada, he now lives in Los Angeles. In 2020, he was inducted into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame. In 2022, he earned the Sir Arthur Clarke Imagination in Service to Society Awardee for lifetime achievement. In 2024, the Media Ecology Association awarded him the Neil Postman Award for Career Achievement in Public Intellectual Activity. York University (Canada) made him an Honourary Doctor of Laws; and the Open University (UK) made him an Honourary Doctor of Computer Science.
Dr. Kari L. Jordan
Dr. Kari L. Jordan, is a leading figure in data science education, serving as the Executive Director for The Carpentries, a globally recognized nonprofit organization. Upon completing Bachelor's and Master’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan Technological University, she pursued a Ph.D. in Engineering Education at The Ohio State University, specializing in interventions to enhance belonging for people of color in STEM. Dr. Jordan's visionary leadership has propelled The Carpentries' mission worldwide, fostering exponential growth and impact across academia, industry, and government sectors. A sought-after speaker and advocate for diversity and inclusion, she champions accessible data literacy and bridges the digital skills gap through strategic initiatives and international collaboration. Dr. Jordan's dedication to empowering individuals and fostering inclusive learning environments has earned her widespread recognition and respect, shaping the future of data literacy for societal betterment.
The Marshall Project
Geoff Hing
Geoff Hing is a data reporter for The Marshall Project. He has worked as part of investigative, data and news applications teams in a number of newsrooms. At The Arizona Republic, Geoff covered demographic change in the state and contributed data reporting to enterprise projects on water use and prison labor. At APM Reports, he covered voting rights and analyzed police use-of-force data and records as part of a team investigating the efficacy of Tasers. And while at The Chicago Tribune, Geoff helped analyze and visualize police accountability and shooting data.
Tom Meagher
Tom Meagher is an investigative data journalist and a senior editor at The Marshall Project, the nonprofit newsroom covering the criminal justice system in the United States. For more than a decade, Tom has used Python, Django, pandas and other libraries in his reporting, including stories on long delays plaguing executions and how prison officers evade accountability for abusing incarcerated people in their custody. As an editor he oversees The Marshall Project's coverage of prisons, jails and the death penalty. Before joining The Marshall Project, he led an interactive team for the Digital First Media newspaper chain and was the data editor at the Star-Ledger in Newark, N.J.. He got his start in journalism covering night cops for a small daily paper in Kansas.
Moderated by Jackie Kazil
Python Steering Council
The Python Steering Council is a 5-person elected committee that assumes a mandate to maintain the quality and stability of the Python language and CPython interpreter, improve the contributor experience, formalize and maintain a relationship between the Python core team and the PSF, establish decision making processes for Python Enhancement Proposals, seek consensus among contributors and the Python core team, and resolve decisions and disputes in decision making among the language.
Diversity and Inclusion Panel: The Work Still Matters: Inclusion, Access, and Community in 2025
Alla Barbalat is a developer advocate with a passion for bridging technology and community. She began her career as a lawyer before transitioning into tech. Alla has delivered presentations on the legal challenges posed by artificial intelligence, and actively promotes the responsible use of AI in software development. She is also a member of the Python Software Foundation’s Diversity & Inclusion Working Group.
Cristián is is a serial conference and community organizer in many countries, and participates in different initiatives like the translation of the Python documentation into Spanish, PyLadies Berlin & Con, PyPI moderation, and a few more. He is one of the coordinators of the Python en Español initiative, that aims to gather all the Spanish speaking python communities in one place. Due to his contributions, he got awarded a PSF Fellowship in 2021 and got elected to the PSF Board of Directors in 2024. His day job is at The Qt Company, working as a team lead of the Qt for Python (PySide) project, and Qt Core (Berlin).
Jay is the Developer Manager at Aiven. Jay is also the founder of Black Python Devs where they work to extend the reach of Python communities, projects, and organizations to Black developers around the globe. Jay has served as a keynote speaker in the Python Community and when away from the keyboard can often be found cheering on their favorite baseball team.
Keanya is a Project Manager at Caktus, bringing a unique perspective shaped by a career transition into tech. With a background in software development and a passion for problem-solving, She thrives at the intersection of technology and collaboration. Driven by a commitment to diversity, inclusion, and mentorship, She actively contributes to the Django community, sharing knowledge and championing accessibility in tech. When not coding, she enjoys spending time with family, including her pitbull, Graham, and unwinding with music—especially house music and live music festivals.
Naomi Ceder has been learning, teaching, and writing about Python since 2001. An elected fellow of the Python Software Foundation, Naomi is a past chair of its board of directors. A founder of Trans*Code, a hackday centered on the trans and non-binary community, she also has spoken internationally about the Python community and inclusion and diversity in technology in general.