Karen Lopez is a Senior Project Manager and Architect at InfoAdvisors. She has 20-plus years of experience in project and data management on large, multi-project programs. Karen is a popular speaker known for her highly interactive, practical, and sometimes irreverent presentation style. She is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP and MCT. Karen wants you to love your data as part of #TeamData. 

Thomas LaRock is a Head Geek™ at SolarWinds and a Microsoft® Certified Master, Microsoft Data Platform MVP, VMware® vExpert, and former Microsoft Certified Trainer. He has over 20 years of experience in the IT industry as a programmer, developer, analyst, and database administrator. LaRock has spent much of his career focused on data and database administration, which led to his being chosen as a Technical Evangelist for Confio Software in 2010, where his research and experience helped to create the initial versions of the software now known as SolarWinds® Database Performance Analyzer. LaRock has served on the board of directors for the Professional Association for SQL Server® (PASS) and is an avid blogger, author, and technical reviewer for numerous books about SQL Server management. He now focuses on working with customers to help resolve problems and answer questions regarding database performance tuning and virtualization for SQL Server, Oracle®, MySQL®, SAP®, and DB2®. He’s made it his mission to give IT and data professionals longer weekends.

Mark is a Data and IT professional with over 20 years of experience and is the Data Evangelist for DATAVERSITY's educational and training services. Mark moved into Data Quality, Master Data Management, and Data Governance early in his career and has been working extensively in data management since 2005. Previous to his work at DATAVERSITY, Mark led Information Management initiatives in both private and public sector organizations. His experience and desire for life-long learning led Mark to get his CDMP designation at the Masters level, and he teaches DATAVERSITY's CDMP and DMBoK Preparation course, as well as leading regular CDMP study groups to help other data management professionals obtain their professional certification. Mark is a peer contributor to DATAVERSITY's new Applied Data Governance Practitioner (ADGP) certification, and the lead instructor of the ADGP prep course. 

Brendan is a seasoned IT consultant with over 27 years of experience, serving both public and private sectors, mainly in business information systems, in architecture, design, development, testing, documentation, training/mentoring, and automation – to name a few. The last decade has been spent increasingly in architecture – data, enterprise, solutions, integration, and reporting/analytics. Data is typically at the heart of any system and Brendan has made a conscientious effort to ensure it tells a story that delivers business value, is trustworthy, and is secure.

Brendan also enjoys hiking, personal fitness training, and composing songs as a hobby.

Here are some notable projects Mr. Newman has held:

• Lead Data Architecture consultant at Shared Services Canada to renew its enterprise Data Strategy 2023-2025 (in process)
• Lead transition for the Networks and Security Services Branch at Shared Services Canada to leverage Azure cloud services to develop a sustainable architecture for their integration reporting/analytics platform (in process)
• Lead Data Architecture consultant at Fujitsu for Employment and Social Development Canada to develop high-fidelity data management guidance for their $1.5B investment in Benefits Delivery Modernization (BDM) (2020)
• Lead Data Architecture at the Department of National Defence, with recommendations to (and approval by) the Assistant Deputy Minister to integrate multiple sources, such as personnel and financial data, to better manage recruitment processes and track associated costs (2022)

I have been concerned with the social and business implications of computers since I graduated from Harvard in 1966. I worked as a systems analyst and designer (aka programmer) for a number of companies where I learned and implemented formal analysis and design modeling methods (In the 1970’s they called it "Software Engineering" and it worked). Socially, I helped win the argument against the adoption of butterfly ballots in Portland Oregon in the early 1970s and lobbied locally for the ill-fated Privacy Act of 1974.

In the early 1980s, I started teaching Matt Flavin’s Information Modeling seminar for Yourdon Inc. Ever since, I have been practicing and preaching Information Modeling in its various incarnations. It remains the most effective tool for capturing business information requirements. And it provides a sound basis for managing information systems including planning and governance as well as design and development. There is an ongoing tension between the Information Modeler (me), the DBA (me), and the Developer (me).

Gail McAuliffe has over 20 years of experience in Data Management, in multiple industries, health care, finance, and government. Prior to Data Management, Gail was a Software Business Analyst and began her career as a Property Casualty Underwriter.

Gail has a Master of Science in Communication & Information Management and is a CDMP. She has been a Project Manager, Director of Global Business Intelligence, and is now Data Management Lead for a Canadian Government Agency focused on physical security. She is a former Board member and current member of the DAMA NCR-RCN (Ottawa -Gatineau) Chapter. Passionate about getting data right, Gail believes before implementing any business or data tool, you must first define your processes.