Live from Cloud City Seattle, this Just IN. This new Microsoft Reactor series is for developers, entrepreneurs and passionate technologists that want to build tech that’s game-changing, useful or just plain interesting

this Just IN: Learning technical job skills in today’s digital economy can be difficult. Education can be expensive…both in money and/or the time you invest in it. Likewise there are more learning resources out there than ever…from social platforms to universities to non-profit orgs to companies…so it’s getting harder to decide what you want and your best path towards career success.

So where to start? Come join Microsoft’s Cloud Advocates Justin Garrett, Gwyn Peña-Siguenza and Ornella Altunya as we share how we arrived at our job roles through our tech upskilling experiences. We’ll share why we chose the route we did, what we liked, and what was challenging at times in that journey. Share your own experiences with us in this inspiring discussion of the art of learning new skills!

Who is it aimed at?

• Professionals and students interested in skilling-up in tech
• Teachers, educators, and STEM volunteers
• Decision-makers that work with (or hire) software developers

Why should I attend?

• Learn from Microsoft engineers’ career paths and learning experiences first-hand
• Discuss the benefits and challenges associated with earning a CS degree (or equivalent)
• Explore the opportunities associated with credentials and bootcamps
• Share your perspective in where tech up-skilling is going
• Network within the community of those also interested in new skills

More learning / prerequisites:

• https://aka.ms/MSCertifications-Reactor
• https://aka.ms/MSLearn-Reactorlink
• https://aka.ms/MSEvents-ReactorLink

Speakers:
Justin Garrett is host of this Just IN and a Principal Cloud Advocate in Cloud + AI Engineering at Microsoft. Justin works closely with learner communities to help address the skills gap in cloud development and manages a team of Cloud Advocates from around the world that do likewise. You’ll find him leading workshops at Microsoft Reactors, mentoring Student Ambassadors, and helping engineers improve Azure, GitHub and Visual Studio. Justin’s career at Microsoft also spans 16 years across Analytics, Windows, Bing search, Edge browser, Web Platform and Cloud Computing. In his spare time, he enjoys gardening and is an avid Pacific Northwest mountaineer. Follow him on www.linkedin.com/in/justgar and https://twitter.com/justgar

Gwyn Peña-Siguenza has worked a range of roles in tech including, help desk, sysadmin, cloud engineer, training architect, and now Cloud Advocate at Microsoft. She has a passion for documenting her learnings and experiences on YouTube, and overall is a huge fan of all things serverless.

Ornella Altunyan is a Cloud Advocate for Microsoft based in San Francisco, California. She’s worked on multiple technologies during her time at Microsoft, including Mixed Reality and Visual Studio Code. She holds a BA in Computer Science and Digital Media Studies from Pomona College. Ornella is passionate about using technology and design thinking for social good, as well as making computer science education accessible to all communities. She mentors first-generation and low-income college students who want to pursue computer science careers.