A Guided Tour of Full Stack
Welcome to our first series of Tech Training for Women. This is a space for junior and mid-level, self-identified women working in software development to learn together. We plan to host these events at least twice a year, with each event taking a deeper dive into one aspect of software development.
As full stack developers, you straddle two separate web development areas: the front end, and the back end. While you may only be working in one area of the stack, it’s likely you’ll connect with others working on the other parts. With A Guided Tour of Full Stack, we hope to give you a more in-depth view of what’s new and emerging in full stack development, and share best practices and advice.
Agenda & Sessions
Opening & Welcome
Opening remarks delivered by Tracey Welson-Rossman, CMO of Chariot Solutions, and CEO of Journal My Health.
About Tracey Welson-Rossman
Tracey Welson-Rossman is a sought-after expert, advisor and advocate for women in technology. She is co-founder and CMO of Philadelphia-based software consulting firm Chariot Solutions and founder of TechGirlz, which was acquired by Creating IT Futures in 2019. She is the founder and CEO of a new startup, Journal My Health, a digital platform for patients with chronic conditions. Tracey is a frequent commenter on women in technology-related careers and the future of work. She has shared insights and solutions from the stage at SXSW, as a contributor to Forbes, and as a speaker at the Philadelphia Women’s March.
10 Design Principles You Should Know
Pulling insights from over 4,200 hours of UX research and ongoing accessibility training, Sandstorm will walk through real-world scenarios that can improve or hinder the user experience. Why are auto rotators bad for usability and accessibility? Where should social sharing be placed for best engagement? Why is a button changing color on click not accessible? Participants will walk away with a tangible list of quick wins to make websites more usable and accessible.
About Janna Fiester
A design-thinker, gifted leader and passionate professional, Janna never stops imagining ways to make our clients’ work better. She sees the possibility in everything and excels at taking nuggets of good ideas and nurturing them into great ideas. An extraordinary Vice President who actively listens to clients’ challenges and uses them for inspiration, Janna is Sandstorm Design’s secret weapon. Janna elevates the agency’s work with her intuitive leadership skills. She knows how to ask the questions to unearth crucial insights that illuminate creative solutions for our clients. These solutions are always strategic, engaging and visually delightful. Janna’s award-winning work has been exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago and showcased in a number of design publications.
About Sandie Starr
Sandie’s favorite questions always start with, “Why..” or “How..”. As the UX Researcher & Designer for Sandstorm Design, she is tenacious in searching for the problem and strategizing for the journey forward. She is committed to enhancing customer experiences and designing for diversity. Catch Sandie rollerblading with her Miniature Pinscher – Mix, Gouda, jamming to some cool tunes and sprinkling glee along the way.
Survey of Popular Front-End Frameworks
This talk will address the current front-end trends, explore current and upcoming frameworks. We will focus on the features and weigh the pros and cons for the most popular ones. A review of common use-cases will follow and help identify which front-end frameworks are best suited. In the end, there is no one best front-end framework and that is why multiple front-end frameworks are able to be popular at the same time.
About Nadya Sultanik
Nadya Sultanik is a software architect at Arcweb Technologies, specializing in health and financial technology applications. She has over 20 years of professional experience and holds a Master of Science degree in Computer Science from Drexel University, with a thesis on Facilitating Mobile Intellectual Teamwork.
Best Practices of Modern Web Development
The world of web development is constantly evolving and it can be daunting keeping up with the latest trends and technologies. In this talk, we’ll go beyond the tech stack and dive into how to build great websites and web apps for the modern world. With a focus on the front end, we’ll cover standards for creating the best experiences for all of your users. We’ll also look at development practices to ensure you also have a great experience building and maintaining the software.
About Hannah Pinkos
Hannah is a consultant with Chariot Solutions, specializing in front end design and web development. An artist turned developer, she discovered a passion for finding the intersection of aesthetic design and intuitive functionality to create web apps that are both visually striking and easy to use. Hannah previously worked as a developer on an open source web-based 3D geospatial library and has presented at conferences including FOSS4G and SIGGRAPH.
Lunch Break
The Basics of RESTful APIs
REST APIs are a popular way to design and implement clear and meaningful APIs. What makes an API RESTful? Why would you want a RESTful API? This talk will go over a simple REST API to show the basics of how REST APIs are structured and highlight the benefits of designing APIs in a RESTful way.
About Alicia Bendz
Alicia is a Philadelphia-based software engineer with 10 years of experience in retail technology at companies including Nordstrom, Wayfair, and Amazon. Her focus is cloud-native application architecture primarily with Java or Kotlin Spring Boot applications. She helped found Women Who Code Philadelphia and continues to volunteer with that community.
DevOps for Developers
You may have heard the term DevOps before, but what does it mean for you as a developer? Learn the basics on how to implement DevOps in a project along with how it applies to each member of your team.
About Sheila Shahpari
Sheila Shahpari is the founder/CEO of Paritta Group Inc, a digital agency focused on delivering customer and employee engagement solutions built on Microsoft and other Open Source technologies. A software architect and Microsoft Business Applications MVP by trade, she has served in many roles within the professional services industry starting her career as a software engineer. Sheila also provides technical guidance and services to start-ups in the AI and business application space. She specializes in Enterprise Architecture, Delivery Leadership, Capability Development, CRM, Enterprise Search, AI, and Software Development. In her spare time, she is active in numerous technical communities, and is involved with various nonprofits. In addition, she is an active runner and musician (though not at the same time), and is currently attempting the title of whiskey connoisseur.
