Agenda/Schedule

The central hub for AfroTech badge pick-ups. Attendees can also get assistance with schedule access, venue navigation, and general event questions.

Join us for the first ever AfroTech Policy Breakfast. We are gathering together some of the top  minds in social justice, civic engagement and public leadership to trade notes and empower one another. The decisions that will define the next decade of technology are being made by major companies and this is an opportunity for our public leaders to connect with them.

AfroTech is taking place during an election week, and it will be Forty-eight hours after the mid terms, this will be an opportunity for us to debrief the results and plan what is happening next. 

Participants include mayors and members of Congress, chief executives and senior operators from the companies building artificial intelligence, healthcare, and financial infrastructure, and research directors from the institutions shaping the terms of the debate.

Attendance is by RSVP only. RSVP here:(https://posh.vip/e/afrotech-policy-breakfast)

As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms healthcare, organizations face important questions about innovation, ethics, access, and trust. In this fireside chat, Planned Parenthood will explore the opportunities AI presents for expanding health information and care, alongside the risks of bias, misinformation, privacy concerns, and unequal access. Together, we'll discuss the moral responsibility brands have to engage in these conversations, advocate for equitable outcomes, and help shape a future where technology serves all communities—not just a select few  

Emerging technology, like artificial intelligence, is reshaping healthcare at record speed with great potential to advance health equity, but for communities that have long faced barriers to quality care, the promise of AI comes with urgent questions: How do we build trust in emerging technology?  Who is the technology built for? Whose data trains it?
At its core, this discussion will focus on a critical question for patients, practitioners, technologists, and communities: Will AI close, or widen, longstanding health disparities? Leading voices in health equity, technology, and policy will explore how to build trustworthy AI systems, ensure representative data, and hold institutions accountable for equitable innovation. 

Join us for a candid conversation about power, progress, and the future of healthcare access in the age of artificial intelligence and what it will take to get it right for underserved communities.

This session delivers a practical blueprint for building a future ready workforce by aligning culture, leadership, change management and technology to drive measurable business and talent outcomes. Participants will learn how to boost employee engagement, accelerate AI ready reskilling, and unlock innovation through scalable. The session also demonstrates how purpose driven philanthropic partnerships are expanding access to talent – strengthening pipelines and creating lasting social impact alongside business value. 

AI is reshaping how nurses work across inpatient, ambulatory, and virtual care settings. This session examines practical applications, including clinical documentation automation, decision support tools, patient monitoring, and workforce optimization. Vanessa Riley covers how AI can reduce administrative burden and improve care coordination, and what nurses and healthcare leaders need to know to integrate these tools responsibly.

Larry Jones started driving Uber in 2016 to build a stake he could invest with. Today, nearly 700,000 people follow his market breakdowns, and his Traffic Trader system is taught to thousands through Money Moves. . This is not a lecture on why you should invest. Larry will explore how he reads charts while walking the room through the exact reads he makes before entering a position: where momentum is real, where it is noise, and how he sizes risk. Attendees leave with a process they can run themselves.

NVIDIA GB10 + Lenovo ThinkStation PGX 

From experimentation to real business outcomes

Explore how NVIDIA GB10 is enabling practical AI innovation, from local LLMs and intelligent agents to computer vision and robotics.

The operating role built your expertise. Now build with it. Larry Quinlan spent decades running global technology strategy at one of the world's largest firms, then turned that knowledge into advisory work, coaching, and a multi-industry portfolio of influence. This session is the playbook for executives ready to move from one title to many.

Maternal morbidity in the United States continues to rise, and clinical interventions alone have not closed the gaps. Dr. Dineo Khabele will explore real-world examples of how inclusive design principles, applied through culturally responsive care models, multidisciplinary collaboration, and data-informed redesign, can improve detection, engagement, and outcomes in obstetric care across diverse patient populations.

With most AI tools, you work with one assistant in one chat. Buzz offers a different model: people and specialized AI agents working together in the same room.

In this hands-on lab, you’ll assemble an AI team with several different roles, then guide it through a practical challenge. You’ll set the direction, follow the handoffs, review each agent’s contribution, and decide what to move forward with. Along the way, you’ll learn how to give agents clear responsibilities, share context across a team, and keep human judgment at the center of the work.

Buzz is an open source, self-hostable workspace built by Block, where humans and agents collaborate with visible identities and shared history. No prior AI experience is required. Whether you’re an engineer, designer, founder, student, or AI-curious builder, you’ll leave with a practical approach to turning a group of agents into a team.

Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley has spent her career making sure policy reflects the people most affected by it. Now she turns that lens on AI: from data center environmental impact and bias in financial services to workforce displacement and the race to adopt AI without guardrails, this fireside examines who governs these systems and what leaders in the room are responsible for right now.

Discover real-world enterprise use cases where private, high-performance AI compute delivers measurable business value.
See what’s possible today, what challenges remain, and how GB10 bridges experimentation and production-ready AI.

 Health equity in AI isn't something companies can check once and move on from. It depends on AI developers and physicians working side by side. Dr. Félix Manuel Chinea takes attendees inside Doximity's approach to evaluating bias in Doximity Ask. He covers how Doximity's physicians and the teams developing the models defined bias together, created a daily Health Equity Score, and turned findings into model improvements. Real case studies show what gets caught, why it matters and how it gets fixed. Attendees leave with a framework any health tech company can adapt.

A focused networking experience crafted for emerging founders and small business owners navigating growth and innovation. This session offers an opportunity to exchange insights on brand development, funding, and scaling with intention. Designed for entrepreneurial minds ready to build and collaborate.

Care delays are among the most consequential and preventable drivers of poor health outcomes. In this fireside conversation, Tamiko Foster and Aparna Ahuja examine how operational workflows, prior authorization bottlenecks, reimbursement constraints, and regulatory complexity contribute to patient harm, and where redesign and policy reform are already improving timeliness and equity of care.

Michellene Davis moved a $30 billion state budget before she took over National Medical Fellowships, which funds underrepresented students through medical school. Brandi Freeman leads the National Medical Association. Money, credentials, access to patients. Attendees will leave knowing what each institution funds, endorses, or adopts, how those calls get made, and who to contact first.

The AFROTECH™ Insiders Meetup is an exclusive gathering for members of the AFROTECH™ Insiders community. This event creates space for meaningful connections, authentic conversations, and collaboration among some of the most innovative leaders in tech and culture. Attendees will gain access to unique insights, resources, and opportunities designed to elevate their careers and ventures. More than a networking event, the meetup celebrates community, innovation, and the collective power of AFROTECH™ Insiders.

Join Earn Your Leisure for a live podcast recording featuring Morgan DeBaun as they reflect on a decade of building, funding, and scaling AFROTECH™. Through candid stories and hard-earned lessons, they'll share how they've created opportunities, built a thriving ecosystem, and expanded access for the next generation of builders and founders. As AFROTECH celebrates 10 years of innovation, this conversation offers a look back at the milestones that shaped the journey and the opportunities that lie ahead

Every family has stories worth preserving, but many begin with only a few names, photos, or memories. In this session, attendees will learn how to transform what they already know into a living family history using Ancestry's powerful genealogy tools and AI-powered discovery experience.

Led by Ancestry CTO Sriram Thiagarajan, VP & Chief Legal Officer Lisa Garden Glover, and Principal Product Manager Breana Jones, this session will guide participants through building the foundation of a family tree, uncovering historical records with AI, and preserving family photos, documents, and stories for future generations. Along the way, attendees will gain insight into the importance of responsible AI, privacy, and trust when preserving their family's legacy.

The future belongs to people who can learn as fast as technology evolves.

Join Microsoft for a live demo of AI Skills Navigator and Learning Agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot, and discover a new way to build skills for an AI-powered world. See how personalized guidance can help you identify opportunities, uncover the skills that matter most, and take meaningful steps toward your career and learning goals.

Whether you're exploring AI for the first time or building on existing expertise, you'll experience how AI can transform learning from a collection of courses into a personalized journey of growth.

Come curious. Get inspired. Leave with a plan.

Tamira Chapman, CEO of Storehouse In A Box and Publisher of Storehouse Voices, and Associate Publisher Porscha Burke discuss pathways for writers ready to pursue traditional book publishing projects. Whether you're just beginning to chronicle your story or have self-published several titles, you'll hear insights on preparing and positioning your work, identifying optimal publishing partners, and what to expect along the way. One of the newest imprints under the Penguin Random House umbrella, Storehouse Voices is a dynamic publishing outlet offering unrepresented and over-worthy storytellers opportunities for a traditional publishing experience, and in this session, you’ll learn how the imprint came to be and how it hopes to serve the world of culturally resonant storytelling.

Medical AI is being trained on data that too often leaves Black patients out. Clinical trial participation, representative datasets, and accountable research infrastructure are not optional equity measures. They are the foundation for AI that can accurately diagnose, treat, and save Black lives. With Sickle Cell Disease and Multiple Myeloma as anchors to his argument, Travis Cleaves breaks down how EHR systems and trial pipelines feed medical AI, where Black patients go missing, and what the gap costs. 

Trust is the foundation of effective healthcare delivery, yet it remains fragile across patients, providers, and systems. In this fireside conversation, Dr. Vindell Washington shares how healthcare leaders can sustain trust while scaling data, technology, and new care models. He covers transparency, data stewardship, interoperability, and patient engagement as pillars for confident adoption of AI and digital health tools.

Small businesses are where AI's promise gets tested. This conversation brings together the organizations, investors, city and community leaders who back founders every day to discuss what's keeping small businesses from adopting AI, what they actually need from these tools and how to make sure the economic opportunity reaches the communities that need it most.

Facilitator: TBD

An elevated networking experience celebrating the legacy, leadership, and cultural impact of HBCU alumni. This gathering creates space for connection, recognition, and community among those shaping the future of tech and more through historically rooted excellence.

Afrotech Conference Badge Required

Julia Weber, Space Manufacturing Engineer at Planet Labs, will bring a real SuperDove satellite to the AfroTech stage, giving attendees a rare, hands-on look at the hardware behind the world’s largest commercial Earth observation fleet. Drawing on her background as a Space Systems Engineer, where she managed orbital health and real-time execution in space, Julia will break down how satellites are controlled from Earth to capture daily imagery for climate monitoring, disaster response, and food security. Now helping build Planet's next-generation manufacturing capabilities, she brings an end-to-end perspective from cleanroom build to orbital operations, inspiring greater representation and highlighting the wide range of careers shaping the future of space

Using Haiti as a global case study, this session examines how culture can become market power. The conversation moves beyond crisis narratives to examples in film, sports, fashion, Marvel storytelling, World Cup qualification, and digital media, showing how creators, technologists, athletes, and diaspora networks can turn visibility into investment, partnerships, ecosystem growth, and more informed engagement with emerging markets.

You'd never book a planner just to ask "is this normal?" In this room, that's the whole point. 300 people in tech, at your level and the next one up, saying out loud what they're doing with their money and what they're still figuring out. Evol Greaves, Betterment's VP of Engineering, hosts and goes first with his own story: how his thinking about money changed as his career grew, and the questions he still has. Kyle McBrien, CFP, brings the five things he thinks about for everyone. Your questions go in at check-in and get asked for you, no names attached. Then small groups with the planners.

Kyle's five: what a CFP always thinks about

1. What comes first. Debt, emergency fund, 401(k), investing. The order, and why getting the order right matters more than getting the amounts perfect.
2. Where to keep it. Which account for which money: cash, taxable investing, IRA. Matched to when you'll actually need it.
3. Equity comp. RSUs, vesting, and the risk of sitting on a pile of your own company's stock.
4. Taxes. Why the bonus or the RSU vest cost more than expected, what to do about it before the next one, and how charitable giving can cut the bill.
5. Am I behind? What the benchmarks actually say for your age and income. Usually less alarming than the group chat.

How the session runs

1. Check-in. Everyone fills out a short intake on an iPad: name, email, title. Then scans a QR code to submit questions they'd ask a CFP for the live Q&A.
2. Part one, ~45 minutes. Evol introduces himself and tells his career story: where he was in his career and what he was and wasn't thinking about in terms of money at each stage. He introduces Kyle to go over the five things he always thinks about and walks through the list above. Then Q&A. Evol opens with the questions from his own story. Betterment team member feeds him the audience's intake questions.
3. Part two, Breakouts. Small groups form around each of the three CFPs for general questions. The 6-8 Betterment colleagues in the room float: they introduce themselves, talk about Betterment with anyone who asks, and keep the conversation going while people wait for a planner. Non-CFP staff don't give personal financial advice.

Africa's fintech ecosystem is building financial infrastructure the rest of the world is watching. Mobile money, digital lending, and cross-border payments are being reimagined at scale, and the builders driving it are redefining what's possible. Zekarias Amsalu has accelerated 100+ African startups and helped unlock $400M in growth capital. This session explores what's being built and how diaspora professionals can actively participate.

Knowing how the rules around money are made gives you an advantage most people never develop. Pierre Whatley has spent his career inside those decisions at the Federal Reserve, on the House Financial Services Committee, and as Staff Director of a Senate subcommittee. Then he went from advising candidates to being one. This conversation breaks down how financial policy shapes your access to capital and your ability to build wealth, and what it takes to move from understanding the system to shaping it, including running for office while holding a corporate career.

The skills that made a great clinician in 2015 are not the same ones needed in 2030. Dr. Shannon Barnes Martin examines the emerging competency stack healthcare professionals will need to navigate AI, digital transformation, and shifting care models, covering digital fluency, data literacy, clinical expertise, and leadership, and offers a practical framework for building those competencies into workforce development.

A collaborative meetup for HR leaders and People Ops professionals passionate about building equitable, inclusive workplaces. Attendees will connect over real-world challenges, share strategies for organizational growth, team culture, and employee engagement, and exchange practical ideas in a supportive, solutions-driven space. Perfect for those who want to network, learn, and lead the way in shaping the future of work.

A city isn't smart simply because of the technology it deploys. It's smart because of what that technology enables people and communities to do.

Smart Cities 101 explores how aligning community priorities, technology, entrepreneurship, and capital can transform municipal challenges into economic opportunities.

Join Kasheef Wyzard, National Director of Economic Opportunity at Dream.Org; Jordan Taylor, CEO of SynergyGrid; and Dr. Reginald Parker, CEO and Founder of Green Power Ventures—pioneers of the Smart Cities Alliance—as they introduce a practical framework for building smarter cities that create jobs, attract investment, strengthen local economies, and expand community ownership.

Because building smarter cities isn't just about adopting technology. It's about organizing the people, partnerships, and resources needed to move from conversations to deployable projects—and ensuring communities share in the value created.

Profitable is not the same as venture-backable. Investors who have backed some of the most category-defining companies in tech break down what they are actually looking for at the earliest stages: how they evaluate founders, why most companies cap their own upside, and how creators and bootstrappers can build for scale without giving up their edge. Walk away with a capital strategy that meets you where you are.

Bermuda’s transformation into a critical hub for global digital infrastructure offers a blueprint for competing on the world stage. Minister Lightbourne will share how regulatory clarity, technical excellence, and strategic positioning helped secure Google’s Nuvem and Sol subsea cable infrastructure projects. The session highlights how smart governance accelerates trust, attracts billion-dollar investments, and enables small nations and underrepresented communities to win major tech partnerships through transparency, strong systems, and community engagement.

This HealthStack Solutions Showcase will convene senior leaders across healthcare, technology, policy, and investment for a curated solutions showcase and executive feedback forum.

This session will spotlight six sponsor-supported grantees, each presenting innovative approaches to addressing systemic health disparities in Black communities.

You're building a career, a business, a side venture, or maybe all three. Is your financial strategy built for you?  Vision First. Strategy Second. is a pratical conversation and Q&A about creating greater access to the financial knowledge, perspective and resources that can support wealth building on your terms.  Join experienced financial planners Achu Akum and Matthew Bennett with moderator Darin Florenz to explore how income, equity, benefits, taxes and life priorities can work together.  Walk away with 10 practical questions for navigating opportunities and trade-offs and creating a financial roadmap shaped by your vision, your circumstances and what matters most to you. 

As cities adopt public-safety technologies, their decisions shape policing and community trust. Featuring René Peters Jr., Sr. Product Manager, AI/XR/Telecom at NVIDIA, and moderated by Kandia Milton, Dream.Org’s Government Affairs Director, this fireside chat explores how cities approach these tools, what safeguards deployment requires, and how to balance innovation, public safety, and community trust.

Ryan Wilson and TK Petersen, co-founders of The Gathering Spot, share how they built one of the country's most influential membership communities and why intentional third spaces are essential for career growth, creative collaboration, and surrounding yourself with people who elevate you.

Customer-facing AI is scaling fast. Trust is becoming the limiting factor. In this fireside chat, Zendesk Chief Legal Officer Shana Simmons breaks down what it takes to build AI that customers and frontline teams will actually adopt, built around three requirements: mandatory transparency, operational explainability, and real accountability. For technical leaders deploying AI in high-stakes customer moments.

Relationship coach Anwar White (1.5M+ followers) on dating with intention in the age of apps, built on discernment and authenticity.

What should communities expect from the infrastructure powering AI? Join Mayor Derrick Rainey of Wrightsville, Arkansas, representing the African American Mayors Association (AAMA); Walter Powell, CEO of Unity Cloud; and Alexis Cureton, E2 Fellow and Consultant, with Jonathan Polo, Sustainability at CoreWeave, moderating. Together, they'll explore how cities and industry can navigate data center growth, energy affordability, environmental impacts, and community ownership—while ensuring infrastructure investments create jobs, expand economic opportunity, and deliver lasting benefits to the communities hosting them.

Vic Mensa has never separated the music from the business, the activism, or the ownership. From building 93 Boyz to reclaiming his story through Halfrican, he turns culture into equity, at home and across borders. This conversation unpacks what it takes to own your work, own your narrative, and build something that lasts.

Reesa Teesa on turning a single viral story into a platform, a brand, and a book, and what it takes to own an audience.

As Director of NASA's Johnson Space Center, Vanessa Wyche leads the teams shaping the future of human spaceflight while advancing innovations that improve life on Earth. From developing technologies that strengthen sustainability and resilience to inspiring the next generation of leaders, she'll share how purpose-driven leadership, bold thinking, and collaboration fuel breakthroughs that reach far beyond space.

With dating apps everywhere, why is finding the right person still so hard? Two voices on discernment, vulnerability, and trusting yourself.

As billions flow into clean energy, AI infrastructure, and the modernization of our cities, a critical question remains: Who owns the upside? How do we ensure communities aren't simply hosting infrastructure investments, but sharing in the wealth they generate?

Dr. Reginald Parker, President of Freedmen Green Bank & Trust; Jordan Taylor, CEO of SynergyGrid; and Kasheef Wyzard, National Director of Economic Opportunity at Dream.Org, will facilitate a conversation exploring how Community Benefit Agreements, Community Benefit Trusts, and innovative ownership models can transform infrastructure investment into lasting economic opportunity.

From local jobs and entrepreneurship to community ownership and wealth creation, the discussion will examine how cities, developers, and capital partners can build projects that deliver returns for investors and the communities they serve.

Blavity House Party Block Party is back for its third year, delivering an unforgettable celebration of community, music, and good vibes. This year’s musical lineup is centered around nostalgic hits that bring everyone back to college days and early favorites. Get your tickets HERE. https://posh.vip/e/the-blavity-house-party-block-party

Building on an incredible legacy featuring past celebrity guests like Jidenna and LeToya Luckett, Ancestry returns to AfroTech with Black Tapestry, its premier annual activation. An unforgettable, high-energy space where culture, heritage, and tech collide—bringing together visionaries, builders, thinkers, and creators to celebrate Black diasporic identity, uncover untold histories, and shape the future of modern innovation.

RSVP Here

This mixer is invite only. For more information, please visit the AbbVie booth.

Blavity House Party is hosting an unforgettable all-R&B celebration for its second year, paying tribute to its roots with an exciting return to the R&B theme. The event promises a high-energy, soulful sing-along under the stars, bringing together music lovers to indulge in smooth vocals, unforgettable hits, and vibrant community vibes. Attendees can expect an electrifying atmosphere filled with nostalgia, live performances, and collective singing—all designed to honor the essence of classic and contemporary R&B.

Get your tickets HERE: https://posh.vip/e/afrotech-conference-rb-edition-part-ii

See a list of all Official AFROTECH™ Event Partners HERE