Category: Professional Development

Speaking at #DataWeekender 6.5

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Super excited to share that I have been selected to speak at Data Weekender 6.5 on Saturday, November 4, 2023. I will be presenting my session, Can Microsoft Purview Answer All Your Data Governance Needs?

Data Weekender is a free virtual conference that was born out of the global pandemic and is still going strong. I am super excited to be involved with it again. It’s run by a great group of folks that are super passionate about data, just like I am. There are tons of great sessions by some wonderful speakers, you can check out the schedule here.

I hope you’ll come join us, there’s still time to register. I’d love to see you there.

..And The New Adventure Has Begun

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I am so happy to announce that I have joined the team at Fortified Data. I have just completed my first week (well, four days) and I feel like I have found my work home. Everyone is so genuine and happy. It’s a nice breath of fresh air.

Fortified’s core values align with mine and I look forward to working with clients to create solutions that will enable them to be successful on their data journey.

My onboarding consisted of unique challenges that promoted teamwork, paperwork (of course!), and some unique experiences, including getting stuck in an elevator (not part of the actual onboarding, but we worked as a team to get unstuck), discovering an awesome French bakery, and going the wrong way on a one-way street (again, not part of the actual onboarding, but we worked as a team to get turned around).

Can’t wait to see what other unique experiences come next.

Speaking for Future Data Driven Summit 2023

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I am excited to announce that I have been selected to speak for the Future Data Driven Summit 2023. This is a free online conference, on Wednesday, 27-September-2023, for data folks focusing on the Microsoft Data Stack.

I will be delivering my new Getting Started With Governance For Your Power BI Estate session. This is a new session, and super excited to be able to deliver this.

There is still time to register for this event. Did I mention it’s free? What are you waiting for, go register and I’ll see you on the 27th.

Speaking at Live! 360

~ sqlswimmer ~ 2 Comments

I am super excited to announce that I have been selected to speak at SQL Server Live! in Orlando in November. I have selected to present two sessions, which are completely new.

I will be presenting Power BI Data Wrangling – Choosing the Best Feature for the Job and Getting Started with Governance for Your Power BI Estate. Both are currently scheduled for Tuesday, 14-November-2023, though schedules are always subject to change, so be sure to double check the schedule as the event gets closer.

While this is super exciting, it’s also bittersweet. This will be the first time in over 15 years that I have not attended PASS Data Community Summit, because Live! 360 runs the same week. It was a tough decision for me, but due to my recent physical limitations, I decided to opt for Live! 360 because travel will be significantly easier (and honestly, the weather in Orlando in November is much better than Seattle in November).

Please stop by and say, “Hi” if you’re in Orlando, I’d love see you.

Bits Buddies

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SQLBits is fast approaching, in fact, Training Days start 2 weeks from today, on March 8, 2022.

I’ve attended SQLBits before, as well as other large conferences, but I still remember the first conference I attended. I was attending on my own and didn’t know anyone at the conference. I’m sure I’m not alone when I say that I felt a bit ill at ease. Just seeing one friendly face would have made a world of difference.

With this in mind, the good folks at SQLBits have created a program called Bits Buddies. It’s a program where first timers or those thinking about attending but aren’t quite sure yet, can reach out to a few folks who are not affiliated with SQLBits to provide insight into what SQLBits is about. It also gives you an opportunity to meet someone BEFORE you attend, so once you arrive, you will see at least one friendly face (actually we are all very friendly, but this is someone you will know!).

I have volunteered to be part of the Bits Buddies program and would love to be that one friendly face for those that may be ill at ease. We are holding a few virtual drop-in sessions and would love to chat with you, so stop by and meet some friendly faces.

I hope to see you there.

Cheers.

Data Saturday #8–Southwest US

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I am very excited to announce that I will be speaking for Data Saturday #8 – Southwest US, coming up on Saturday, May 15, 2021.

I will be delivering my Profiling Your Data session.  I love this session, data profiling is a passion of mine and is too often overlooked.  Come join me to find out why you should be profiling your data and how to do it.

This is a free virtual event with lots of great sessions by wonderful speakers, so come join us, I’d love to “see” you.

Data Weekender v3.1

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I am super excited about this new version of Data Weekender, coming up on Saturday, May 15, 2021.  This will be the third time I have been selected to speak for this event.  It is truly humbling that the organizers have selected me once again.

I will be delivering my Getting Started with Data Modeling session.  So, if you are interested in how to get started with modeling data for analysis and/or building out a dimensional model, this is the session for you.

Data Weekender is a free virtual event and there are some really great sessions being offered by some fantastic speakers, so what are you waiting for?  Go register now and I’ll see you on Saturday, May 15, 2021.

I hope to “see” there. 

I’m Speaking at #DataWeekender

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With all our in-person events cancelled for the foreseeable future, I was so excited to find that some community folks are not sitting back and waiting for the social distancing to end in order to have a technical conference.  There is a new virtual technical conference created by some wonderful community folks in Europe, called Data Weekender.

I am so excited and humbled to have been selected to speak at this conference.  I will be presenting my Data Types Do Matter session on Saturday, May 2, 2020.

There are so many great sessions being offered by so many brilliant community people, take a look at the schedule and see for yourself.

If you’re not too busy washing the car in the drive or removing gum from that tangled mess of toddler hair, come join us.  I’d love to “see” you.  There is still time to register, so what are you waiting for?  Register now!

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September on the Road

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I am so excited for the next three weeks.  This is a trip that has been in the planning for nearly 2 years.  I have always loved travelling and wanted to go to Africa, now I have the opportunity of a lifetime:  I get to combine my love of travel with my love of SQL Saturdays.

My first stop will be in Johannesburg, where I will have the honor of presenting my Power BI pre-con session, Zero to Dashboard, for SQL Saturday Johannesburg on Friday, September 6, 2019.  I am super excited and can’t thank local organizer & fellow Data Platform MVP, Michael Johnson (B | T) enough for this opportunity.  Then I get to do two of my favorite sessions, Data Types Do Matter and Profiling Your Data, on Saturday, September 7, 2019.

Second stop on this tour will take me to Cape Town, where I will present my Zero to Dashboard pre-con again on Friday, September 13, 2019.  I am super thankful to another fellow Data Platform MVP, Jody Roberts (T), for giving me this opportunity.  I will then present the same two sessions as Johannesburg, Data Types Do Matter & Profiling Your Data, on Saturday, September 14, 2019, at SQL Saturday Cape Town.

I will spend about 10 days in Cape Town, visiting friends that are like family before I head back to Johannesburg.  From there I travel to Prague for SQL Saturday Prague on Saturday, September 21, 2019.  I am still pinching myself because I can’t believe I was selected to speak at this event.  I will be presenting my Profiling Your Data session.

I think there are still tickets available for both pre-cons and there are still open registrations for all three events.  If you are in any of these areas, please stop by and say, “Hi”.  I would love to see you and chat.