Tag Archives: Diversity

Guard rail along side empty road and green fields.

That Diversity, Continued

By Riley Major, 2018-09-12

Clark Sell opened That Conference up this year with a video about community, reminding us that they didn’t set out to be event organizers but rather to help bring us together. For them, these three days at a water park are just the spark to ignite year-round engagement with our fellow technologists. That’s what sets this event apart for me– its inspirational and encouraging vibe. Continue reading

Olson 9th Floor Entryway

JavaScriptMN Meetup on Web Accessibility

By Riley Major, 2018-04-26.

I attended the JavaScriptMN Meetup last night (video). Due perhaps to the larger attendance, it was on the 9th floor of the Olson building rather than the more common 6th floor meeting space. After plugs for sponsors Twilio, TrackJS, and FrontEnd Masters, Kelly Heikkila and Aaron Cannon from Accessible360 gave the main presentation on A Pragmatic Developer’s Approach to Digital Accessibility.

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NDC Minnesota Micro 2018

By Riley Major, 2018-04-04.

NDC has been “inspiring software developers since 2008”. Based in Norway, they host large conferences in Oslo, London, Sydney and for the first time this year, Minnesota. To introduce the Twin Cities to their conferences, they hosted a “micro” conference at the Saint Paul RiverCentre on Thursday evening, March 29, 2018.

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Midwest PHP 2018

By Riley Major, 2018-03-13

Radisson Blu and L.L. Bean at Mall of America

Midwest PHP — a Friday and Saturday $275 conference with three tracks of PHP-themed content — was hosted again at the Radisson Blu at the Mall of America on March 9th and 10th, 2018. In addition to 30 individual sessions, the conference opened and closed the event with keynotes highlighting community, inclusion, and accessibility.

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That Community

Riley Major – 2017-08-09

Buckets of bacon, piles of marshmallows, and fire (yes, real fire this year) await those in the queue snaking out the door into the hallway. Kids tired from days of water play wait to finally get mom or dad back. They dig into a giant bowl of Starbursts and bury their head in screens. “Can I have another one mom?” “I don’t care.” Continue reading

#MinneDiversity

by Riley Major on 2017-03-28

Jenessa White at Minnebar 12

Jenessa White leads a conversation on junior developers at Minnebar 12, 2017-03-25.

Technology has a problem, and we need to do something about it. To be fair, it’s a problem with society, but it’s worse in tech.

Despite our lip service, we do not celebrate and encourage diversity with our actions. Worse, we actively drive women and people of color out of our communities. Continue reading