Save the date: Nov. 6th 2025 on Zoom!

GenAI Day

Exploring Generative and Agentic Capabilities

Join us for the 6th consecutive GenAI Day virtual conference.

9am - 5pm ET

Get the Early Bird Discount

Lineup of Speakers

Meet the GenAI Experts
Z. Medina-1
Zaki Medina
AI CONSULTANT

Zaki Medina is a passionate technologist and AI strategist with 17+ years of experience helping businesses harness the power of AI, cloud, and data to drive real-world impact. He’s worked with Fortune 100 companies, startups, and industrial giants, shaping AI-driven strategies that have generated $1B in value. Zaki has a knack for making complex AI concepts accessible and actionable, whether he's advising executives, training sales teams, or speaking at global events. As a former Microsoft AI Business School Instructor, he’s helped healthcare, energy, and manufacturing leaders integrate AI into their operations. Zaki is always at the forefront of Generative AI, AI-driven automation, and intelligent systems. He’s not just about theory—he’s about making AI work for people, businesses, and industries in a way that delivers results. 

B. Sykes
Brian Sykes
AI CONSULTANT | AI CATALYST

With nearly 30 years of experience in branding and marketing, Brian Sykes empowers creative professionals to leverage Generative AI for innovation and transformation. As an AI business strategist, he provides tailored AI integration solutions for creative teams ready to advance. Brian is dedicated to partnering with forward-thinking organizations to unlock new opportunities with AI.

G.Churchwell
George Churchwell
DIRECTOR GENERATIVE AI SOLUTIONS | MT. TAM INNOVATIONS LLC

As a visionary in AI LLMs, Prompt Engineering, and AI for Excellence, George has used AI to create new and innovative solutions, including purpose-built GPTs. His creation of AI applications, from sales intelligence scripts targeting a $1 billion market to AI-assisted eLearning content for Cisco, underscores a unique blend of technical prowess and strategic insight. His journey from launching startups to guiding them to successful exits is a testament to his unwavering passion for strategic innovation and steadfast commitment to team building.

A. Townsend
Alex Townsend
AI AUTOMATION STRATEGIST | CO-FOUNDER OF PRAIRIE

Alex Townsend is a digital strategist and AI automation consultant. As co-founder of PrAIrie, he helps businesses refine processes, streamline marketing, and unlock growth with practical automation. With a background in web development and SEO, Alex brings a hands-on approach to showing how tools like WordPress, n8n, and generative AI can be combined to drive real results.

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Chris Knotts
PRINCIPAL CONSULTANT | TECHNOLOGY TRANSFORMATION STRATEGIES

Chris is an experienced leader in enterprise technology with over two decades in training, coaching, and emergent technology enablement, particularly in project management. He excels in creating transformative technology training programs focused on software development, data environments, and agile methodologies. His expertise encompasses enterprise software engineering, advanced analytics, data engineering, and the application of AI and machine learning in business. Chris combines design thinking and lean technology management to innovate in product development and operational strategies, impacting various sectors such as government, education, and multinational corporations.

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Marc Balcer
KNOWLEDGE ENGINEER | SOFTED

Marc is a recognized expert in information technology and software development, with notable contributions including the creation of TAME, a platform for software test specification and generation. He's also co-authored seminal books on software design and architecture. Marc's agile journey began in 1998, leading a groundbreaking project for a major financial services firm that emphasized adaptability and customer-centricity. Believing in the agile philosophy of experimentation and continuous learning, he remains hands-on in putting theory into practice.

Jessica Katz
Jessica Katz
FOUNDER | LIBERATED ELEPHANT

A highly experienced and passionate Agile coach and trainer, currently working as a Senior Agile Coach at SoftEd in the United States. With over 20 years of experience in the IT industry, Jessica has a proven track record of delivering successful Agile transformations for numerous Fortune 500 companies across various sectors. She has trained and coached thousands of individuals, teams, and organizations on Agile principles and practices.

J. Plawner
Jordan Plawner
EMBEDDED AI EXECUTIVE | FOUNDER PACIFIC AI ADVISORY

Driven by the belief that AI should amplify what makes us most human, Jordan Plawner helps leaders shape AI to power their business strategy and unlock organizational potential. As founder of Pacific AI Advisory and formerly an AI strategy executive at Intel, Jordan acts as an embedded AI partner, guiding non-technical organizations to cut through hype, build literacy, and adopt AI that is responsible, practical, and measurable. His work is rooted in the philosophy that AI’s highest value comes from freeing people to focus on creativity, collaboration, and solving their most complex challenges.

Through hands-on advisory, interactive workshops, and inspiring keynotes, I empower leaders and teams to develop a vision, strategy, and culture where AI enhances, rather than replaces, human ingenuity. My mission: Help organizations approach AI with confidence and clarity, build trust, and drive lasting results by embedding learning and adaptability from the start.

Lara Hill
Lara Hill
VP Marketing | SOFTED

Lara has spent 15 years leading marketing strategy for various ecommerce and tech startups, emphasizing adaptability and value delivery. Her focus extends to advocating for AI literacy and ethical AI practices, ensuring a balanced integration of technology with a human touch in marketing strategies. She consults with organizations to assist leaders in strategically enhancing their digital presence through personal branding and content creation.

David_circle
David Mantica
MANAGING DIRECTOR | SOFTED

Fueled by his passion for developing empowered knowledge workers, David helps companies develop their teams through training and coaching, equipping them with the critical skills needed to work effectively in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) world. 

Drawing from his experience in successfully building a B2B training firm (growing it to $13M in seven years), David speaks on the impact of technology on leadership and management, helping organizations cope with the ever-changing demands and complexities of modern business. 

With over 30 years of experience and more than 700 speaking engagements, he has inspired better work practices in marketing, product management, project management, software development, executive management, and other key areas of technology and business operations. 

S. Davis
Steve Davis
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT | TYFOOM

Steve Davis is Executive Vice President at Tyfoom, where he leads the company’s growth initiatives – including overseeing the company’s growth and customer success – during a time of significant expansion and innovation. Steve has built and led high-performing teams across startups and Fortune 50 companies, including two successful exits and a global leadership role at Accenture, where he scaled a $1.4B practice.

Prior to joining Tyfoom, Steve co-founded and led ventures dedicated to helping leaders and teams thrive in times of relentless change. That experience fuels his passion at Tyfoom—helping organizations connect, align, and energize their people daily. He believes when employees are connected and engaged, companies unlock execution excellence, build change as a lasting capability, and accelerate results.

Steve earned both a B.A. in Economics and an MBA from Brigham Young University. He and his family live in Mapleton, Utah, where they take full advantage of the outdoors and enjoy traveling together.

Early Bird Registration is Open!

Full agenda and details will be posted soon. Email info-us@softed.com if you have any questions.

$47

Early bird price through Oct. 24th

Register

Registration includes access to recordings and slide decks presented during the live virtual conference. Those who attend live will earn 7 PDUs/CDUs. 

Price will increase to $59 on Oct. 25th, so get your tickets early!

 

9:00AM
Welcome
with Lara Hill and David Mantica
9:10AM
Chris Knotts
Principal Consultant, Technology Transformation Strategies
9:40AM
Zaki Medina
AI Consultant

AI Agents 101: Building Your Foundation in Autonomous Workflows

Get a clear, hands-on introduction to AI agents and how they are reshaping the way work gets done. This opening session will give you a solid foundation in what AI agents are, how they differ from chatbots and traditional automation, and the core concepts that make them autonomous, goal-oriented, and capable of reasoning and tool use, Through interactive discussions, real-world examples, and practical exercises, you’ll learn the building blocks of AI agents, explore tools and frameworks for designing workflows, and gain the confidence to start prototyping and experimenting with intelligent agents in your own organization.

What You Will Learn:

  • The key differences between AI agents, chatbots, and traditional automation (RPA)
  • Core concepts of agentic workflows: autonomy, reasoning, tool use, and goal orientation
  • The building blocks of AI agents: memory, planning, execution, and feedback loops
  • Real-world use cases across operations, sales, research, and project management
  • How to select the right tools and frameworks for building AI agents
  • How to start prototyping and piloting AI agents in your organization
10:40AM
Break

 

11:00AM
Alex Townsend
AI Automation Strategist and Co-Founder, PrAIrie
11:30AM
Jessica Katz
Founder, Liberated Elephant

AI for Business Communication: Clarity, Alignment, and Responsible Practice

AI is changing how we plan, write, and share messages at work. In this practical webinar, you will see how AI can improve clarity, speed up drafting, and tailor communication for different audiences without losing your authentic voice. We will cover simple prompt patterns, real use cases for leaders and team members, and the guardrails that keep communication accurate, ethical, and trustworthy. Expect a short live demo, a quick hands-on practice using a prompt recipe, and concrete takeaways you can apply the same day. This session is a preview of our 1-day courses for leaders and individual contributors, with clear guidance on which option fits your role and goals.

You will learn:

  • Where AI helps most in daily communication and leadership messaging
  • A simple prompt recipe for clarity and audience tailoring
  • Practical guardrails to reduce bias, error, and over-reliance on AI
12:00PM
Jordan Plawner
Embedded AI Executive & Founder, Pacific AI Advisory

Leadership with Trust and Purpose in the Age of Agentic AI

Guiding Teams Through Change with Confidence and Clarity

In the emerging era of agentic AI, leaders face a dual imperative: preserve purpose and human identity while achieving real, measurable outcomes from intelligent system adoption. This keynote explores how organizations can build cultures of trust, creativity, and purpose, while also learning from the failures and critical lessons of past AI adoption. Drawing on proven frameworks and cautionary tales, this session offers practical guidance on aligning projects to authentic business needs, investing in people, and orchestrating “human + agent” collaboration. Crucially, the presentation highlights how organizations can avoid the trap of sameness and ensure they do not lose their unique identity and strengths in the pursuit of efficiency. Attendees will gain actionable strategies for sustaining distinctiveness and mission-driven innovation, so AI adoption remains transformative, human-centered, and true to what makes their organizations thrive.

12:30PM
Lunch Break
1:00PM
George Churchwell
Director Generative AI Solutions, Mt. Tam Innovations

95% of Companies Have Seen Zero Return on In-House AI… Become the 5% Who’ve Seen Tremendous Gain!! I’ll Take You There!

Tired of hearing how AI will “change everything” while your company sees zero results? In this high-energy, no-fluff session, you’ll uncover why 95% of organizations are missing out—and how to join the 5% driving real transformation. You’ll learn how to control the 3 pillars of AI—Bias, Rules, and Content—to build purpose-driven agents that replicate your expertise and scale your impact. Together, we’ll create a working AI that generates a PowerPoint onboarding deck in minutes, proving that success isn’t about prompts—it’s about precision, process, and purpose. Leave inspired, equipped, and ready to turn your AI vision into measurable ROI.

1:30PM
Alan Armstrong
Mt. Tam Innovations

Vibe Coding - Rapid Prototyping with Gemini & VS Code

Teach viewers a fluid workflow for turning an idea into a functional web prototype by using Gemini for brainstorming and code generation, and VS Code for testing, refinement, and final implementation.

2:00PM
Marc Balcer
Knowledge Engineer, SoftEd

Prompt Templates: Heroes or Villains?

Prompt templates promise consistency, efficiency, and ready-made shortcuts for getting perfect results from generative AI. But spend any real time with ChatGPT, Copilot, or similar tools and you quickly discover they aren’t databases or search engines — they’re conversation partners. And conversations rarely stick to a script.

In this talk, I’ll share why templates can be handy sidekicks but lousy stand-ins for real back-and-forth dialogue. We’ll look at the “greatest hits” of template design — role prompts, few-shot examples, formatting tricks — and ask when they save the day and when they slip into villainy: rigid, brittle, and misleading.

Understanding when templates help and when they hinder is key not only to working with generative AI today, but also to designing the agentic systems that will rely on adaptability tomorrow. The takeaway? Prompt templates have their place, but the real magic happens in the follow-ups, the clarifications, and the “huh?” moments. Come ready to rethink whether your prompts should follow rigid structures— or whether you’d rather just have a good conversation.

2:30PM
Break
2:50PM
Steve Davis
Tyfoom

AI Won’t Transform Your Business — Your People Will

Learn more. Do more of what matters most. Become more.

Artificial intelligence is reshaping how we work, lead, and compete. The biggest multiplier of AI’s potential isn’t the technology. It’s your people. In this energizing session, Steve Davis reveals why the real advantage in the age of AI comes from human adaptability, how fast your people learn, apply, and evolve.

You’ll explore the science behind learning velocity, how curiosity, experimentation, and reflection accelerate results and turn AI from a tool into a trusted partner. You’ll leave with practical ways to help your teams focus their energy on what matters most: learning faster, adapting sooner, and executing better together.

Key Takeaways:

  • Why most AI initiatives underperform without human adaptability
  • How to amplify AI’s impact through people-first learning systems
  • Practical actions to help your teams do more of what matters most
3:20PM
Brian Sykes
Founder, AI Catalyst

Learning to See & Describe: The Hidden Skill Behind Effective AI Prompting

 

This isn't about making people into graphic designers. It's about a fundamental skill gap I see constantly: most business professionals can't clearly articulate what they want from AI tools because they've never learned to describe things precisely.

My '12 Essential Prompt Elements' framework teaches structured observation and description - skills that transfer directly to:

  • Writing better prompts for ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Copilot
  • Creating clearer requirements documents
  • Communicating more precisely with stakeholders and vendors
  • Understanding how to evaluate AI outputs critically

I use Midjourney as the teaching tool because visual feedback is immediate - you see instantly whether your description worked. But the real value is the transferable skill of precise communication with AI systems.

We'll talk about 70% of the session on the framework and practice, and 30% showing how these same principles improve their daily AI interactions for reports, analysis, and communication.

3:50PM
Panel Discussion
Speakers and Topic TBD
4:10PM
Closing Remarks & Q&A
Lara Hill and David Mantica

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