South Sound Technology Conference

South Sound Technology Conference 2024

The 2024 South Sound Technology Conference was held on Friday, March 8, 2024.

Honorary Co-Chairs 

• Congressman Adam Smith
• Congressman Derek Kilmer
• Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland

2024 Sponsors

9:00 AM Welcoming Remarks

• Andrew Fry, Director of Industry Partnerships, School of Engineering & Technology
• Tamsin Bell, Vice President of Business Development, Economic Development Board for Tacoma-Pierce County
• Sheila Lange, Chancellor, University of Washington Tacoma (video)

9:25 AM Morning Keynote

• Bradd Busick, Senior Vice President, Chief Information Officer, MultiCare Health Systems
• Florence Chang, President, MultiCare Health Systems

9:50 AM "Machine Learning, AI and Healthcare"

• Katalina Biondi, UW Tacoma Alumnus and Machine Learning Engineer (DevOps), The Cigna Group
• Christian Reed, Talent Pipeline Manager, Workforce Central

10:40 AM Networking Break

• Showcase Tables

11:10 AM Midday Remarks

• Introduction by Pierce County District Representative Courtney Acoff and Congressman Derek Kilmer (video)

11:30 AM "Industry in Machine Learning an AI"

• Andrew Fry - Directory of Industry Partnerships, School of Engineering and Technology
• Brandon Berg, Sr. Staff Program Manager, Strategic Business Initiatives, Infoblox
• Karina Martija-Harris, Program Manager, Tacoma Maritime Innovation Incubator
• Don Morrison, Founder & CEO, TractionSpace
• Michael Turek, Director and Lecturer, Milgard Center for Business Analytics

12:20 PM Midday Remarks

• Congressman Adam Smith (Video)

12:30 PM Lunch and Keynote

• Jennifer Webster, Cyber Analysis and Analytics Group Lead, Pacific Northwest National Labs

1:00 PM "Infrastructure and Research for Machine Learning and AI"

• Joshua Berger, Founder & President/CEO, Maritime Blue
• Martine De Cock, Professor, School of Engineering and Technology; Researcher in Privacy-Preserving Machine Learning
• Juhua Hu, Assistant Professor, School of Engineering and Technology; Director, Center for Data Science
• Chris Lloyd-Jones, Head Architect & Strategy, Office of the CTO, Avanade

1:50 PM Networking Break

• Showcase Tables

2:10 PM Midday Remarks

• Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland (Video)

2:15 PM "Machine Learning AI in the Arts"

• David Fischer - CEO, Tacoma Arts Live
• Erik Hanberg - Director of Audience Development, KNKX
• Mark Monlux - Freelance Illustrator and Cartoonist, Monlux Illustration
• Allyson Turk - ACE Program Coordinator, Tacoma Arts Live

3:00 PM Birds of a Feather - Pitch Competition

Center for Urban Waters
326 D St
Tacoma, WA 98421

South Sound Technology Conference 2023

The 2023 South Sound Technology Conference was held on Friday, January 27, 2023.

9:00 AM Welcoming Remarks

• Andrew Fry, Director of Industry Partners, School of Engineering and Technology
• Sheila E. Lange, Chancellor, University of Washington Tacoma

9:30 AM Morning Keynote

• Jill Purdy, Executive Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs, Milgard School of Business

10:00 AM "DEI in the Technology Industry Sector"

• Trish Millines Dziko, Executive Director, Technology Access Foundation
• Chaitra Vedullapalli, Founder and President, Women in Cloud
• Neetal Parekh, Founder and CEO, Innov8social
• Ka Yee Yeung, Professor, School of Engineering and Technology
• Jaleesa Trap, Tacoma Clubhouse

10:50 AM Midday Remarks

• Introduction by Congressman Derek Kilmer

11:00 AM "Technology Sector Response to Sustainability and Climate Change"

• Makoto Eyre, Founder and CEO, Homeostasis
• Nigel Sharp, Chief Executive Office and Co-founder, Aquagga
• Jim Parvey, Chief Sustainability Officer, City of Tacoma
• Jeff Walters, Assistant Professor, School of Engineering and Technology

12:00 PM Lunch and Keynote

• Rod Rassmusen, Principal, R2 Cyber

1:00 PM "Entrepreneurial Ecosystem - Innovation, Incubation, Acceleration"

• Karina Martia-Harris, TMII
• Don Morrison, Partner, Traction Space
• Tim Stege, Executive Director, William Factory
• Michael Laing, Spaceworks
• Pat Beard, Business Development Manager, City of Tacoma

2:00 PM "Founders, Funders, Doers, & Dreamers"

• Elizabeth Scallon, Founder and Board Chair, Find Ventures
• Eric Ide, Flying Fish
• Rod Rassmusen, Tacoma Venture Fund
• Matt Tolentino, Founder and CEO, Namatad

3:00 PM Birds of a Feather and Conference Close

• Ston Nguyen, Director, Startup 253

South Sound Technology Conference 2018

The 2018 South Sound Technology Conference was held on Friday, March 9, 2018. 

Honorary co-chairs:

• Congressman Denny Heck
• Congressman Derek Kilmer
• Congressman Adam Smith

2018 Sponsors

8:15 AM Registration and Breakfast

8:45 AM Welcoming Remarks

• Raj Katti, Dean, Institute Technology
• Andrew Fry, Director of Industry Partnerships, Institute of Technology

9:00 AM Morning Keynote

• Congressman Derek Kilmer

9:15 AM "Protecting the Enterprise Roundtable"

• Matt Know, CIO of Sound Physicians
• Terry Gifford, Manager of Operational Systems and Critical Infrastructure, TPU
• Eric Eid, CTO Columbia Bank

9:50 AM "Cyberdefense as a College Sport - The Pacific Rim Cybercollegiate Defense Competition"

• Daniel Massie, Security Manager, Continuant
• Mary Jane Kelly, Privary Engineer, HP
• Don Mclane, Lab Support Engineer
• Amelia Phillips, Retired Faculty, Highline College
• Peter Chu, Secretary, Grey Hat Group
• Bryan Goda, Professor, Founder of MCL, Institute of Technology

10:45 AM Break

11:00 AM "Makers Spaces, Robotics and the Internet of Things"

• Stephen Tibbits, CEO, FabLab
• Clarissa San Diego, Founder and CEO, Makerologist
• Randy Steele, K-12 STEM and Robotics Expert, Olympia School District
• Andrew Sloss, Senior Principal Research Engineer, Arm Research
• Matt Tolentino, Professor, Institute of Technology

11:55 AM Midday Remarks

• Congressman Denny Heck

12:00 PM Lunch and Keynote - "Recruiting and Retaining Women in the Technology Industry"

• Sharon Wong, Former Director of Business Development, Cisco Systems
• Patty Thumann, Project Manager and Former Director of Systems Integration, MorphoTrak
• Beth Whitezel, Lead Developer, SouthSound911
• Jami Goers, Branch Head and Computer Scientist, NUWV Division Keyport
• Michelle Su Shan Lee, Student, Institute of Technology

12:50 PM Workshop Breakouts

1:30 PM "Launching your Entrepreneurial Initiative in the South Puget Sound"

• Thomas Kuljam, Director, VIBE
• David Hirschberg, Founder and CEO, RAIN
• Amy McBride, Arts Administrator, City of Tacoma; Co-chair, Spaceworks Incubator Steering Committee
• Stasha Moreno, Operations Manager, Union Club Tacoma
• Lee Reeves, Co-founder, Startup253
• Andrew Fry, Director of Industry Partnerships, Institute of Technology

2:00 PM Birds of a Feather and Conference Close

South Sound Technology Conference 2017

The 2017 South Sound Technology Conference was held on Friday, March 3, 2017. 

Honorary co-chairs:
Congressman Denny Heck
Congressman Derek Kilmer
Congressman Adam Smith

Sponsors

Microsoft
Infoblox

Vendors

• City of Tacoma
• Infoblox
• Pierce County IT
• SURGE Tacoma
• UW Tacoma Institute of Technology
• FabLab

9:15 AM Welcoming Remarks

• Mike Wark
• Cong Adam Smith
• Raj Katti, Interim Dean, Institute of Technology
• Andrew Fry, Assistant Director of Industry Partnerships, Institute of Technology
• Dana Son

9:30 AM Morning Keynote

• Congressman Derek Kilmer

9:45 AM "Cyber Resiliency - Preparing for Before and After a Cyber Attack"

• Kurt Hermanns, Gordan Thomas Honeywell LLP
• DC Grant, CISSP, CISMP, MIPM, Institute of Technology
• Paul Aquino, Major, National Guard Cyber Unit
• Eric Eid, SVP, Chief Information Office Columbia, Bank
• Bryan Goda, Professor, Institute of Technology

10:45 AM Break

11:00 AM "Machine Learning and the Internet of Things"

• James Duggan, Fire Chief, Tacoma Fire Department
• Vadym Tymchenko, Infoblox
• Sharon Wong, Former Director of Business Development, Cisco Systems
• Matthew Tolentino, Assistant Professor, Institute of Technology

12:15 AM Lunch and Keynote

• Congressman Denny Heck
• Cricket Liu, Chief Infrastructure Architect, Infoblox
• Chief DNS Architect and Senior Fellow

1:15 PM "South Puget Sound Technology Company Sampler: Getting to Know Tech in the South Sound"

• Guy Reim, CEO, Adaptive Energy NDT Solutions
• Even Brubaker, Co-Founder and CEO, Accumula
• Shadrach White, Founder and CEO, cloudPWR
• Jared Potter, Co-Founder, RedQuarry
• Linda Rix, CEO, Avue Technology
• Andrew Fry, Assistant Director of Industry Partnerships, Institute of Technology

2:15 PM Breakout Workshops

• "Hiring and Retention in Tech Industries"
  • Shannon Swift, CEO, Swift HR Solutions Inc.
  • Zachary Neiman, Corporate Recruiter, Infoblox
  • Dawn Williams, Assistant Director, Career Development and Education
  • Sarah Champion, Director of HR and Operations, SiteCrafting
  • Andrew Fry, Assistant Director of Industry Partnerships, Institute of Technology
• Student Works
  • IT Senior Projects
  • Winter Colloquium

3:15 PM Birds of a Feather and Conference Close

South Sound Technology Conference 2016

The 2016 conference was held on Friday, March 4.

Honorary co-chairs:

• Congressman Denny Heck
• Congressman Derek Kilmer
• Congressman Adam Smith

Topics:

• Drones, Drones, OMG Drones
• Women and the Technology Industry
• Building the South Sound Technology Hub
• Little Kids are Coding
• Student Research and Poster Sessions

Sponsors

Microsoft

Vendors

• City of Kent
• City of Tacoma
• FabLab Tacoma
• Highline College Bachelor of Applied Science in Cybersecurity and Forensics
• Pierce County IT
• Surge Tacoma

Speakers

• Chris Anderson, 2Bridges Technologies
• Paul Applewhite, President, Applewhite Aero
• Marek Brejl, Founder, Coding with Kids
• Trisha Canzler, Mobility Coordinator, ADA Eligibility
• Shane Clarke, City Government Solution Engineer
• Heavenly Cole, Microsoft TEALS Program, Lincoln High School
• George Comollo, Director of the Aviation Program, Green River College
• Dominic Cristomo, Math, Science & Leadership Camp
• Michaela Eaves, User Experience Designer
• Andrew Fry, Assistant Director of Industry Partnerships, UW Tacoma
• Linda Gerull, IT Director, Pierce County
• Heather Glock, Government Account Manager, Esri
• Kirsten Grace, Software Engineer, Microsoft IT
• DC Grant, Lecturer, UW Tacoma
• Ed Greutert, Regional Manager/Principal, Alta Vista Solutions
• Tom Hagen, CEO, Enterprise Initiatives
• Denny Heck, Congressman
• Mike Henson, NoaNet
• Tania Johnson, Software Engineer, Washington State Patrol
• Derek Kilmer, Congressman
• Kurtis Kingsolver, P.C. Public Works Director and City Engineer, City of Tacoma
• Emily Linniman, Coding with Kids
• Chris Lum, Research Scientist, University of Washington
• Scott McQueen, GeoEngineers/Smartmine
• Fred Morris, IID an Infoblox company
• William Mounts, Northwest Innovation Collaborative
• Adam Smith, Congressman
• Cynthia Tee, Executive Director, Ada Academy
• Sarah Wilkes, STEM College and Career Readiness Program Manager, TAF Academy
• Sharon Wong, Director of Business Development, Cisco Systems
• Morgan Zantau, CREATES Architect, UW Tacoma