DrupalCon North America 2021: Keynote speakers making a positive impact in open source and beyond

PORTLAND, Ore., April 1, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The Drupal Association is planning a blockbuster event for DrupalCon North America, the most widely attended Drupal event, 12-16 April from 15:00 - 19:00 UTC daily. This year's all-virtual event brings together Drupal experts, enthusiasts, end-users, and the broader open source software community to connect, collaborate, and contribute to advancing Drupal - the world's leading open source digital experience platform (DXP).

Heather Rocker, executive director of the Drupal Association states, "Our global community of developers, marketers, and business leaders come to DrupalCon to connect, learn about the experiences of their peers, and share their own expertise. DrupalCon participants also benefit from the opportunity to learn from our keynote and featured speakers. This year, those topics include the role of open source in schools to close the digital divide, the importance of allyship in developing diversity and inclusion, building successful mentorship for people of color in tech, and understanding digital rights as human rights."

Featured keynotes will highlight inclusion, closing the digital divide, and the Drupal platform's future.

Sheree Atcheson, Global Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Leader
Allyship—the key to unlocking the power of diversity
Monday, 12 April 16:10-16:40 UTC
Atcheson, an industry-leading voice on diversity and inclusion in tech, will talk about the importance of intersectional allyship in creating inclusive environments and technology. She'll offer tips on how everyone in any role can actively consider, champion, and advocate for others in their work and be more inclusive in their day-to-day lives.

Atcheson has been named one of the UK's Most Influential Women in Tech and has received multiple international awards for her work to advance diversity and inclusion in the tech industry.

Dries Buytaert, Founder, Drupal
Driesnote
Wednesday, 14 April 16:30-17:50 UTC
A much-anticipated highlight of DrupalCon, Buytaert, Drupal's founder, will deliver his annual talk celebrating Drupal successes over the past year, outlining the state of the Drupal project now, and offering his thoughts on what's next.

Buytaert is the original creator and project lead for Drupal, an open source platform used around the world to build websites and digital experiences, as well as co-founder and chief technology officer of Acquia, a venture-backed technology company.

Stuart Keroff, Social Studies and Technology Teacher, Aspen Academy
School needs open source, now more than ever
Friday, 16 April 18:20-18:50 UTC
Technology educator Stuart Keroff, founder of the first two middle school Linux clubs in Minnesota, has spent the last 10 years guiding middle school students to use open source as a tool to close the digital divide in education. He and his students will share how they used open source software to recycle computers for their fellow students during COVID-19 school closures.

To date, he and his students have provided over 600 Linux computers, helping students learn while also saving money for their schools.

Additional Featured Speakers Include (confirmed as of 31 March):
Byron Woodfork, senior software engineer, Segovia Technology
Heather Meeker, founding portfolio partner, OSS Capital
Nani Jansen Reventlow, director, Digital Freedom Fund
Nuritzi Sanchez, senior open source program manager, GitLab, Inc.

The global pandemic has increased pressures around work-life integration, so DrupalCon 2021 is built with flexibility in mind. Rocker added, "Each day is streamlined with 4 hours of live content, and the virtual setting allows easy participation in the featured keynotes, small group discussions, and interactive skill-building sessions most relevant to you"

How to register
DrupalCon North America 2021 will be held 12 - 16 April 2021, with events held daily from 15:00-19:00 UTC. Tickets are $245 per attendee and include full access to the higher education, healthcare, nonprofit, and government summits held throughout the month of April. Registration details, additional speaker and session information, and scholarship applications are available at https://events.drupal.org/northamerica2021

DrupalCon is brought to you by the Drupal Association in collaboration with a team of dedicated volunteers and sponsors, including Diamond Sponsors Acquia, Pantheon, and Platform.sh.

About Drupal and the Drupal Association
Drupal is the open source digital experience platform utilized by millions of people and organizations around the world, made possible by a community of 100,000-plus contributors and equipping more than 1.3 million users with resources and support on Drupal.org. The Drupal Association is the nonprofit organization focused on accelerating Drupal, fostering the growth of the Drupal community, and supporting the project's vision to create a safe, secure, and open web for everyone.
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For more information contact Heather Rocker, [email protected]

Media Contact

Heather Rocker, Drupal Association, 503-405-1159, [email protected]

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SOURCE Drupal Association