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Speakers

Hallo, Ni hao, Bonjour and Hello in many other languages.

We have a few great speakers on our line up for this event. They are amazing at what they do, and very experienced speakers, so you can get practical tips and tricks from them, while getting inspired and having some fun. See you there!

Our speakers…

  • are knowledgeable and experienced,
  • provide practical takeaways and examples you can use in your own projects,
  • show how they work, not just talk about it,
  • can't wait to share their knowledge,
  • and are smashingly nice.
  • Ben Callahan

    Ben Callahan

    Sparkbox was founded in 2009 with a mission to build a better web. As President, Ben has helped lead and grow the organization while they work alongside clients like Gap, The Oklahoma City Thunder, and Stanford University.

    He’s focused his energy most recently on developing a maturity model for design systems, articulating the anatomy of design systems, and chronicling his findings about workplace culture in the tech space. When not knee-deep in these explorations with others, Ben is a father, partner, poet, and home barista. His personal motto is, “Stay in learning mode” and this helps him to remember that every interaction is an opportunity to grow.

    Talk
    Better Culture = Better System.
    On the web
    https://bencallahan.com
  • Samantha Gordashko

    Samantha Gordashko

    Sam is a Freelance Design Systems pro with a Design Tokens obsession.

    You might recognize her under the alias of Sam I am Designs, where she's well known in the design systems industry for making people laugh while she shares pro tips, workflows, and epic fails as a public speaker, host of design systems events, and educational content creator focused on Systems Thinking and Design Tokens.

    These days, Sam works with larger organizations that are scaling their design system, but she's spent most of her career as a "Design Team of One" at various tech innovation startups, working on everything from design tokens tools for designers to life-or-death design to genetic testing for psychedelic-assisted therapy. This range of experience has given her a unique perspective on ways of working in small teams to build big things while helping stakeholders appreciate the value of design processes.

    Talk
    Beats to Buttons, the Design System of DJ’ing
    On the web
    https://bento.me/samiam
    On LinkedIn
    Sgordashko
  • Geoff Graham

    Geoff Graham

    Blogger, teacher and senior editor for Smashing Magazine

    Geoff is lead editor and writer at Smashing Magazine. On top of that, he’s an independent contractor who teaches front-end design and development classes on the side. Geoff loves reading and writing about the web while helping others become better at all things front-end.

    Talk
    Panel Discussion
    On the web
    https://geoffgraham.me/