Tampa Bay Tech Archives : Global Nerdy

poweredUP, Tampa Bay’s annual tech festival organized by Tampa Bay Tech, takes place next Wednesday, May 17 at the Mahaffey Theater in St. Pete. It always features presentations and talks on top-of-mind topics for Tampa Bay’s tech leaders, and this year, the emphasis is on AI, cybersecurity, the metaverse, tech talent, and Web3.

I and some of my coworkers from Okta will be there — if you see us, come and say “hi!”.

Here’s the schedule of events:

Time	Event
11:00 a.m.	Doors Open HTB “capture the flag” competition begins
11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.	Food trucks will be available during this time
12:00 p.m.	Opening remarks Tampa Bay Tech’s Meghan O’Keefe
12:10 p.m.	Keynote: The metaverse mindset of Web3, AI, and the future of business Sandy Carter, Unstoppable Domains
12:50 p.m.	Industrial metaverse: Accelerating time-to-market with robotics simulation and extended reality Serge Haziyec, Softserve
1:15 p.m.	Transforming healthcare with AI: Opportunities and challenges A panel moderated by Tom Stafford, CDW, and featuring: • Dr. Alan Weiss, BayCare Health • Stephanie Lahr, Artsight • Scott Arnold, Tampa General Hospital • Pete D’Addio, Moffitt Cancer Center
1:55 p.m.	Immersive re-invention A panel featuring: • Jason Warnke and Stu Brown, Accenture • Tim Moore, Vu Technologies
2:20 p.m.	Technology & sports: A winning combination A panel moderated by Julie Souza, AWS, and featuring: • John Breedlove, Tampa Bay Buccaneers • Scott Gutterman, PGA Tour • Andrew McIntyre, Vinik Sports Group
3:00 p.m.	The good, the bad, the AI: Exploring the risks and benefits of ChatGPT Joseph Cortese, A-Lign
3:25 p.m.	The hacker’s duel: Red team vs. blue team live demo Jeremy Rasmussen and Micahel Mallen, Abacode
4:00 p.m.	HTB “capture the flag” competition ends
4:00 p.m.	Fireside chat: Building the next generation of innovators Featuring: • Melissa Fulmore-Hardwick, CSI Companies • Robyn Mussler, Connect-IT 360
4:45 p.m.	Happy hour and networking
6:00 p.m.	Event ends, but I’m sure people will go for dinner and drinks on Beach

Tickets are $50, and you can purchase them on Eventbrite. I’ll see you there!

Last Monday, a good number of the Tampa Bay tech scene got together for a good time for a good cause: the Tampa Bay Tech Golf Classic.

Golfers at the Tampa Bay Tech Golf Classic practicing on the driving range

Organized by Tampa Bay Tech — Tampa Bay’s non-profit technology council, whose mission is to make “The Other Bay Area” a flourishing tech hub — it took place at Carrollwood Country Club and the title sponsor was Okta, where I work (remember, Auth0 is now an Okta product unit)!

Golf carts lined up and filled with players ready to play in the Tampa Bay Tech Golf Classic

The proceeds from the tournament went to the recently-founded Tampa Bay Tech Foundation, whose purpose is to radically connect area students and job seekers to opportunities in the technology community. The Foundation’s initiatives include:

Internship development programs
Scholarships
Talent-focused programming
Workforce gap research

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I was there as a volunteer and got to see Tampa Bay Tech’s CEO Jill St. Thomas and Member Engagement Manager Karen Popp.

Since Okta was the title sponsor, it was only fitting that Chris St. Thomas, Strategic Account Director at Okta, gave a quick opening address:

Chris St. Martin giving the opening announcement at the Tampa Bay Tech Golf Classic

I sharpened my credit card-processing skills selling “super tickets”, which entitled the bearer to raffle tickets, extra drink tickets, entry into a couple of contests, and most importantly, a mulligan:

Joey deVilla on teh credit card machine at the Tampa Bay Tech Golf Classic

Here’s what Tampa Bay Tech’s Karen Popp posted in LinkedIn about the event:

Thank-you to all who participated in the Tampa Bay Tech Golf Classic presented by title sponsor Okta. We’ve got the best members, sponsors, guests and volunteers! It was a sensational event and raised significant funding for our Foundation. Save the date for next year, 4/17/23. Contact me if you’d like to reserve your sponsorship today! I appreciate the #radicallyconnected community we’re building in Tampa Bay!
#techforgood #techcommunity #golfevent