Members from about two dozen of the region’s tech-related meetup groups – which collectively represent about 16,000 technology professionals and enthusiasts – will convene for an “all tech meetup” in Milwaukee on May 14.
Matt Cordio, founder and president of Milwaukee-based technology talent recruitment company Skills Pipeline and Startup Milwaukee, announced plans on Monday for “Meet the Meetups,” a networking event that will feature tech talks from speakers representing the region’s tech employers, K-12 and higher education institutions and workforce development programs.
It will be held from 6-8:30 p.m. on May 14 at Radio Milwaukee, 220 E. Pittsburgh Ave.
The event will bring together members of 23 tech Meetup groups, which serve as informal professional development groups in the tech community that focus on various topics, ranging from software development programming languages to emerging technologies like data science, machine learning and cloud hosting.
“What we’re trying to do is provide a platform for those groups to come together and start to collaborate and really talk about the intersection between all these technologies, how we can celebrate technology here in Milwaukee … and how we can shine a light on programs that are developing the next generation of tech talent,” Cordio said.
The event will feature tech talks from various speakers including:
- Josh Gall, director of marketing technology at Aurora Health Care
- Ray Cole, chief technology officer at West Bend-based Delta Defense
- David Vasko, director of advanced technology at Rockwell Automation
- Derek Riley, associate professor and program director of computer science at Milwaukee School of Engineering
- Joni Theobald, program director for TechHire at UMOS, Inc.
- Shion Guha, assistant professor of computer science at Marquette University
- Caroline Hardin, regional manager for southern Wisconsin at TEALSK12, a Microsoft-backed computer science education program.
Organizers from each of the represented meetup groups will also give 60-second speed pitches on the mission of their groups.
“You don’t go to a city anywhere in the country that has a strong startup ecosystem and not find a lot of talented technologists working with leading-edge technology. And you don’t go to a tech ecosystem where there aren’t startups,” Cordio said. “So we’re working on both sides of the equation to try to build a more robust and dynamic economy here in southeastern Wisconsin.”
The event is free and open to the public.
