The Central Ohio Agile Association presents:

The Path to Agility

and featuring The Path to Craftsmanship

May 24 + 25, 2023
Columbus, Ohio

Speakers

Keynote Speakers

Featured Speakers

Speakers

Julie Bohn

Getting started in the awesome field of Business (Systems) Analysis

Mom to 6 cats and 2 beautiful daughters, enthusiastic (but not yet skilled) gardener, Senior Business Systems Analyst and Adjunct Professor in Computer Science. I love being an analyst. I have 28 years in IT in a variety of roles. In my non-linear career path, I keep coming back to the BSA role. Julie is a Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP), Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP), Project Management Professional (PMP) and Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP).

Wendy Jacobs

2 Stories Walk into the Alphabet Store….

Wendy Jacobs, JD, is a Product Management Leader, Coach, Mentor and Trainer. She has over 25 years of product development experience, specifically in Product Management. When not working or presenting on Product Management topics, Wendy spends her time with her two doodle pups Lily and Murphy or at Cleveland Guardians baseball games.

Kyle Jenkins

What Is Your Working Genius?

From Blind Trust to Real Trust: Practical Steps for IT Teams

Kyle Jenkins is a full stack developer, avid video gamer, and senior consultant with Improving, a software development consulting and training company in Columbus, Ohio. He assists with organizing the DevOpsDays Columbus conference. While working directly with clients to accomplish projects, he always strives to improve the quality of code and life for the team.

Richard Jolly

Beyond Kotter: Is It Time to Change How We Change

For the past 22 years, Richard has been a Director of the consulting firm, Stokes & Jolly Ltd, with offices in the UK and, recently, the US. He coaches senior leaders; facilitates  senior group processes; delivers keynote addresses; runs senior development programs; and works on a diverse set of consulting assignments. His clients are located in a broad range of geographies and industries, and he has consulted with leading companies in 41 countries. His main focus is working with professional and financial services firms, family-owned businesses, technology firms, creative industries on external projects around more effective client relationships and internal projects around strategy, leadership, culture, resilience, organizational change and succession management.

Richard joined the full-time faculty at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University 2 years ago, where he lectures on leadership, power and politics, and organizational change. He was a core faculty member at the London Business School (LBS) for 22 years during which time he was consistently one of its highest rated, most innovative and award-winning teachers. He has taught for Columbia Business School for 13 years and over 20 other business schools around the world.

Across his time in academia, he has taught core organizational behavior and leadership courses, electives on organizational change, power and politics, and inter-personal dynamics as well as on flagship Executive Education open programs and custom programs for more than 90 Kellogg and LBS global clients in the UK and across Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, Africa and Asia, focusing on leadership, organizational change, culture, power and politics, team dynamics and building resilience.

Richard has also been identified as one of the most entrepreneurial course creators having created two, highly successful electives (‘Paths to Power’ and ‘Inter-Personal Dynamics’); student field trips to UK, France, Peru and Mexico; and the London Core Application Practicum consulting program for technology, media and telecoms, and government, healthcare and the third sector. He has also designed, launched and co-directed two Executive Education open programs, ‘Professional Services: Strategic Client Relationships’ and ‘Leading Change’.

Amanda Lange

The Power of Listening : Improving Communication in the Tech Industry

Scrum master/ Product Owner with a demonstrated history of working in the computer software industry and using communication to elevate teams. Skilled in Negotiation, Enablement, Communication, Evangelism, Autonomy, leadership, management, Scrum.org skills, project management, GSuite products, Microsoft stack, Sales, Networking and Management. I am a Technology and Business Liaison with a passion for empowering and supporting talented Women in technology.

Art Lashchonau

Sustainability in Coaching at Scale: the Dilemma Between Burning Out and Missing Out

Art is a National Agile Coach with Insight and Professional Scrum Trainer (PST) with Scrum.org. He has broad experience working as a team, program, platform, and enterprise Agile Coach. He is passionate about helping people achieve their best potential, building high-performing teams, and growing organizational agility. Right now Art is primarily focused on supporting agilists and agile coaches in their growth and helping companies transition to Agile ways of working and maximize the value they deliver.

Brian Link

Using Storypoints and OKRs Helps Adopt The Agile Mindset Because Everyone Sucks at Estimating!

Brian is an Enterprise Agile Coach who learned how to be agile and help others be agile through a myriad of consulting and CTO jobs at Internet startups. Once a software engineer but now just a passionate coach helping individuals, teams, and whole companies embrace Business Agility and all aspects of the Agile Mindset. Brian has helped three large Agile Transformations and most recently has led the team of coaches in the Agile CoE of M&T Bank, building workshops and helping coach ~300 teams and the leadership of and above the teams-of-teams, both inside and outside of technology. He is a word nerd, a Scrabble fan, a juggler, and obsessed with dystopian science fiction.

Brad Nelson

The Velocity Trap

Sustainability in Coaching at Scale: the Dilemma Between Burning Out and Missing Out

Brad Nelson is an industry-recognized product strategy and agility professional within Insight Consulting Services. His range of expertise brings people together to enhance Insight’s capabilities as a Solutions Integrator that partners with organizations to achieve their business goals. Brad has repeatedly demonstrated his ability to grow high-performing teams across domains and industries and has instructed countless people from kids to seasoned professionals. He is a creator of content marketing and offerings for Insight in Agile, DevOps, and Product. He co-hosts The Agile For Agilists Podcast, is an experienced public speaker, and has instructed countless people from children to seasoned professionals.

Brian Watson

Unleashing Organizational Potential: Harnessing Flow Metrics and the Project to Product Approach

Brian is an experienced Consultant, Agile Coach, and Trainer with over 22 years of expertise in software development and 19+ years of dedicated practice in agile methodologies. He has worked with a diverse range of enterprise clients across industries, including government, insurance, utilities, consulting services, financial services, retail, and manufacturing.

Throughout his career, Brian has demonstrated his ability to build and lead teams in various delivery models, including Staff Augmentation, Statement of Work (SOW) based projects, and product services. His extensive background in professional services has enabled him to consistently drive value for his clients. Currently serving as the Customer Success Strategist for VSM and Agile at Planview, Brian leverages his skills and knowledge to help organizations succeed in their agile and value stream management initiatives.

He holds a Master’s degree in Education, specializing in adult instructional design from Purdue University. Leveraging his educational background, Brian has developed numerous courses centered around Agile, project management, and business
analysis, benefiting thousands of students throughout his career.

Brian is a sought-after speaker and has shared his insights at various conferences, including Better Software West and East, Building Business Capability, Cincinnati Day of Agile, Path to Agility, Agile Day Atlanta, Keep Austin Agile, Disney, and Central Ohio PMI Professional Development Day,. Additionally, he serves as the President of the Columbus Chapter of the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA).

Outside of his professional pursuits, Brian enjoys golfing, exploring different bourbon varieties, and appreciating craft beer.