Preparing for the Code for America Summit: Why I Love In Person Meetings and Conferences
At the beginning of this month, I had the opportunity to attend the Tech Superwomen Summit (TSWS) in San Francisco, and two weeks later, the NNIP Meeting held in Atlanta, GA. The Tech Superwomen Summit is a summit held by a tech superwoman herself, Cat Posey, with an aim to have a “conversation on data + culture for everyone”. NNIP, short for National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership, is a collaboration between the Urban Institute, a Washington D.C. based think tank, and 32 local organizations around the United States.
During the Tech Superwomen Summit, and the NNIP meeting, there were several great sessions that highlighted partner organizations’ projects. I attended a session around Communicating with Data to Advance Racial Equity, a keynote address at TSWS by Kamilah Taylor about Black Panther, Harry Potter and the SWAG of Tech Superwomen, and various other discussions. As I met people at these conferences, and gained loads of new knowledge, it got me thinking about the importance of in-person meetings and conferences, and how this could be applied to the Code for America Summit coming up at the end of May in Oakland, CA.
Summit is the foremost convening of folks working and influencing civic tech, and is a prime opportunity to gain a wealth of knowledge, meet players in the civic tech space in person, and walk away feeling excited and invigorated in the work that we all play a part in: whether working in civic tech is a full time job, as a committed and impactful volunteer, or simply as a community member looking to see positive change where you live.
Here are some tips for how to make the most out of Summit, based on my time at other meetings/events this month:
Networking!
What’s an in person meeting without networking, right? But where does one start? First thing to do is to take a deep look at the schedule before arriving at Summit. Look at sessions you are interested in, whether that be on the mainstage or in breakouts, and see who is presenting or leading these sessions. Find their pictures, so you can identify them, and then make sure to attend their talks. When roaming the halls or during downtime, make sure to head over and introduce yourself. Trust me, folks are just as eager to meet you as you are to meet them!
One person I’m excited to meet at Summit is Cecilia Muñoz, Vice President, Public Interest Technology and Local Initiatives. She is a former member of President Obama’s senior staff, and now leads awesome initiatives at New America. I look forward to hearing her speak and introducing myself.
Learning
Make sure to capture all relevant information during sessions. If projects are presented on or discussed, make sure you write down what those projects are, and how you can find them. Talk to others around you about these projects. Also, don’t be afraid to attend sessions that may not automatically seem like a fit. You never know what sessions might actually provide knowledge that you didn’t know you needed!
Social Media
During the NNIP meeting, I got to host a Twitter Takeover on Code for America’s twitter account talking about topics of the day and sharing the fun experiences I was having. Being able to share my experiences on social media allowed me to fully digest various speeches and discussions throughout the day, and also let other people know about some of the amazing things I was doing and learning. I would strongly encourage you to share your experiences on social media.
I look forward to the Code for America Summit and all it has to offer. I look forward to seeing everyone there, and hope that some of my lessons learned can help others!
