In case you haven’t heard, Agile2024 is set for July 22 through 26 in Dallas, Texas! Behind every successful conference lies a team of dedicated individuals who work tirelessly to curate an unforgettable experience.
We are proud to introduce our exceptional program team, the driving force behind Agile2024: our conference chair Dana Pylayeva and our program chairs Chris Murman, Semira Allen, and Reese Schmidt.
These professionals bring diverse experiences and passion to the table, ensuring that every aspect of Agile2024 is finely tuned to perfection. We know the team is great – and since we’re confident you’ll want to know more about each one of them, we’re going to share a short Q&A with them here.
Our first team member is Chris Murman. Others will follow in future posts.
Start by telling us a little about you and your Agile career
I did not realize the career I was getting into as I was doing it. As an aspiring SME In the mobile technology space, my skills were being shaped to speak as a product leader there. When I was handed my first product team at the startup I joined, my boss told me, “This team uses Scrum for ways of working.”
After a few training classes and befriending the crew at DFW Scrum, I found out I was the only peer at my office with a predisposition to Agility. It sort of came naturally to me. A few years later, I was presenting at Agile 2016 in Atlanta, and I’ve been besties with the Agile Alliance since then.
What has prepared you for your role on the Agile2024 Program Team?
This conference has become about so much more than learning new trends in my professional community. It’s all about the people and connections I make over the course of a week every year. My favorite stories each year are about individuals and the interactions we have together.
When I first started attending the conference, I thought the main value of attending was the impressive amount of content presented. I sought to learn it all, and it’s still a worthwhile goal for an attendee. As the Agile community experiences new challenges to our work, the relationships I have formed in person at the conference are what carry me through those difficult times.
Why did you want to get involved in Agile2024?
The most important aspect of the conference is creating the right space for attendees. If there is a part of our community that isn’t as engaged as we wish, then the content needs to invite them in. If I can be part of a team that creates the most diverse, intelligent, compassionate, and fun environment for learning together … then I’ve done my job well.
What are you most excited about for this conference?
I’m a native Texan, for better or worse, and this conference is in my backyard. I want to show my friends and colleagues how fun Dallas is to visit, that every Agilist can feel welcome and safe in my town. I can’t promise I’ll be wearing boots and a cowboy hat, but I can guarantee you’ll have fun if you join us!
There are also sessions that always sing to my Agile soul. The Audacious Salon continues to advance the mission of challenging norms. Also, I loved that we brought back the Open Space in 2023. I think we can achieve even more this year!
