Guided by Practitioners, Built for the Community

Sahdev P. Zala is a Senior Technical Staff Member at IBM and an open source developer for over a decade. He has served as a maintainer or significant contributor to various open source projects with his current focus on PyTorch and Kubernetes. Previously, Sahdev was a core contributor to the OpenStack project and a Technical Committee Member of the OASIS TOSCA.

Sahdev's work has been published in the Journal of Grid Computing, International Journal of Computer Science and Information Technologies, cncf.io, Container Journal, and IBM Developer. He also owns multiple patents issued by the USPTO. Sahdev has served as a Track Chair and Program Committee Member for various KubeCon conferences. He has been a speaker at conferences such as All Things Open, KubeCon, Open Source Summit, OpenStack Summit, Open Source in Finance Forum, EGI, IBM Think, IBM TechXchange, and local open-source Meetups.

Sachin Solkhan is an Executive Technology Leader focused on building and leading AI product engineering teams. He is passionate about the application of Artificial Intelligence technologies, Software Engineering, and Agile practices.

Nithya A. Ruff is an Independent Board Director with deep expertise in AI strategy and governance, open source leadership, and technology policy. She is the Chair of the Linux Foundation Board, where she works to advance the mission of building sustainable ecosystems built on open collaboration.

Previously, Nithya served as Head of the Amazon Open Source Program Office, driving open source culture and coordination inside Amazon and engagement with external communities. Prior to Amazon, she started and grew Comcast and Western Digital's Open Source Program Offices. In the age of AI, the value of open and transparent AI is becoming critical to building trust — Nithya brings her decades-long knowledge of open source principles to the world of AI.

Nithya graduated with an M.S. in Computer Science from NDSU and an MBA from the University of Rochester, Simon Business School. She is a passionate advocate and speaker for opening doors to new and diverse people in technology.

Jon Reifschneider is the Founding Director of the Artificial Intelligence Master of Engineering program in Duke University's Pratt School of Engineering where he teaches graduate level courses in Machine Learning and Large Language Models. He is also the Co-founder and CEO of Inquisite AI, the AI platform for science teams that accelerates their knowledge-intensive workflows.

Prior to joining the Duke faculty, Jon spent 15 years building advanced analytics products in industry, most recently serving as Senior Vice President at the tech company DTN where he led the Weather Analytics division and developed predictive analytics systems in use by most major transportation, aviation and energy utility organizations across the US. Jon holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Virginia, a Master of Engineering Management from Duke University, a M.S. in Analytics from Georgia Tech, and a Global MBA from EBS (Germany).

Ben Heller is a Field CTO and GenAI Transformation Director at Microsoft, where he leads the design, scope, and transformation of AI and Generative AI solutions for enterprise customers.

Ben has partnered with Raleigh Founded to be a startup GenAI Advisor and has been a guest lecturer for the US State Department, North Carolina State University, Duke and the University of Central Florida. He received his Masters in Applied Analytics from Columbia University in New York and is triple certified in Google Cloud and double certified in Microsoft Azure. He graduated with a Bachelors in Marketing and a Specialization in Sales from University of Central Florida.

Previously, Ben served as a GenAI Transformation Manager for Google Cloud AI Services and as a Senior Advisor for Google Cloud Startups. Before that, he worked at SAS Institute managing the relationships for Citibank and the United Nations.

A dynamic leader at the intersection of product lifecycle strategy, emerging technologies and artificial intelligence, Marcia Olson brings decades of experience driving first-to-market solutions across defense, enterprise software, IoT, and AI. As an early organizer of the Raleigh Triangle AI Meetup — a community that has grown to over 2,500 members — she has played a pivotal role in advancing AI adoption across industries, driving transformative solutions, and inspiring a culture of technological excellence.

Her distinguished career spans Fortune 500 companies, high-growth startups, and venture-backed firms, where she has consistently leveraged her expertise to systemize product acceleration while mitigating risks. Currently serving as CEO and Chief Product Officer of her advisory firm, Marcia harnesses advanced technologies to drive the efficient delivery of products to market, helping organizations accelerate innovation while minimizing risk.

George Dohanich is a Principal Architect at Google Cloud with 30 years of experience on the front lines of the IT and Cloud industry. As a Principal Architect, he helps organizations bridge the gap between ambitious ideas and real-world implementation, and is a devoted advocate for building secure, responsible, and practical AI solutions.

His enterprise perspective and appreciation for the human impacts of technology was shaped by leading senior technical teams at T-Mobile and Sprint before joining Google. George holds multiple Google Cloud certifications including Professional Cloud Architect, Professional Network Engineer, and Generative AI Leader.

Jason Johns is a globally recognized SaaS and AI leader with over 20 years of experience specializing in building and scaling software companies to drive significant revenue growth. He is an 8x CRN Channel Chief and has served as GM and Global Channel Chief at multinational ISVs, growing partner ecosystems to $240 million at nearly 50% CAGR.

Jason is the Founder of ConnXions, an AI skills marketplace that was acquired in 2025 after securing key clients and partners within its first year. He is an adjunct professor in GTM strategy, a tech industry speaker, and a passionate advocate for practical AI adoption in the U.S. mid-market. He is based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Sakib Kadak is the Founder and CEO of Axiom Path and Cognifyd, and a Co-Founder of All Things AI. Based in the Charlotte metro area, Sakib leads two organizations at the intersection of AI strategy, consulting, and community building. Axiom Path is a minority-owned global solutions provider specializing in talent and technology transformation, while Cognifyd focuses on AI-first consulting for enterprises.

Sakib is the Creator and Chair of AI//FORWARD, Charlotte's premier AI community event, and was recognized as the 2025 AI Community Contributor of the Year at the AI Innovation Awards. He attended Harvard Business School Executive Education and holds a degree from UNC Charlotte. He is an angel investor, mentor, and passionate advocate for responsible AI adoption across industries.