Meet the GitHub Universe hosts, and start building your schedule

Have you marked your calendar for GitHub’s annual developer conference, GitHub Universe, on October 27-28? We hope you will join us for an engaging (virtual) event that celebrates the collective accomplishments of the open source community and shines a light on how the best companies and developers in the world do their work on GitHub.

We sat down with this year’s Universe hosts, Lorena Mesa and Jarryd McCree, for a quick Q&A to help you make the most out of your conference experience this year. You’ll hear a little about them and their work, what to expect this year, and sessions to bookmark.

Tell us a little about your roles at GitHub and what product line you work on?

Lorena: I work as a Data Engineer with the fabulous dependency graph folks! We sit within the data security and productivity team—and it’s a jam! I also hang out with and serve on the leadership team of the Octogatos, our LatinX GitHubber community.

Jarryd: I am a Staff Product Manager and serve as the product lead for the identity and access management team.

What are some big themes for this year’s Universe that you’re most excited about?

Lorena: I’m most excited about developer productivity for sure, as this hits my day to day. However, I work a lot in open source as well and am really excited to hear more on the Communities track, as I often think about questions of governance, sustainability, and social impact in our work not only here at GitHub but as technologists in general. Technology is shaped in the image of the social world after all!

Jarryd: I’m always looking to improve my own work and efficiency, so the developer productivity track is right up my alley. I’m super excited about the new tips and tricks I’ll be able to learn and start using right away in my role.

What on demand sessions are you going to be bookmarking for later?

Lorena: As a Python nerd, I am excited to see some exciting things happening with Python in GitHub Actions! Also, I cannot wait to learn more about some of the continued improvements that make GitHub even more friendly to our open source contributors and users.

Session to bookmark:
Advanced GitHub Actions

Jarryd: I’m excited about all the content around Codespaces. At GitHub, we’ve moved the majority of GitHub.com development to Codespaces, which is a pretty amazing accomplishment, and we’re looking forward to sharing tips and experiences with the greater developer community.

Sessions to bookmark:
Getting started with Codespaces
Coding in the cloud with GitHub Codespaces and VS Code

What is the most interesting advancement for enterprise customers over the last year, and what are you excited about that is upcoming?

Jarryd: I am definitely biased, but I would have to say enterprise managed users (EMU). It gives the scalability and reliability of GHEC while also providing enterprise customers with the administrative tools they need to manage their users and code in the cloud.

Session to bookmark:
What’s new with GitHub Enterprise

While this may not seem enterprise focused, I’m pretty excited about the future of GitHub Mobile. At a time when so many companies are becoming remote-first, the added flexibility provided by GitHub Mobile is a game changer for developers.

Session to bookmark:
Discovery, productivity, and getting work done on the go with GitHub Mobile

What sessions should those most interested across security and productivity attend?

Lorena: That’s a great question! There’s been significant investment in our GitHub Enterprise Advanced Security work that folks should make sure to check out. I also think it is important to stay up-to-date with Codespaces.

Sessions to bookmark:
Enforcing information security policy through Github Enterprise
Modern application security: CISCO perspectives

We have more than 50 speakers this year. What advice would you give them as they are preparing?

Lorena: Hiccups happen during a talk! Especially as we are doing more and more things remotely, which while safe, can sometimes add some stress. Don’t sweat it if something goes a little differently than planned. Your audience came to your session because they want to hear what you have to say. You’ll do great!

Jarryd: Have fun! While preparing for a speech is a lot of work, it’s an amazing opportunity for growth. Public speaking also allows you to connect with so many people around the world. Enjoy it!

Any other tips you have for attendees and advice for how to get the most out of Universe?

Lorena: Don’t worry about taking copious notes while listening to talks. Enjoy the sessions as they happen. We have more than 40 sessions that are available on demand, so you can rewatch at your leisure. Absorb the content by being fully present. There will also be live audio translations in seven languages!

Jarryd: This year’s Universe is a bit different from the past where attendees will have on demand access to all of our speakers’ content following the day 1 keynote. I encourage attendees to take advantage of this “choose your adventure” format, and tune in to all of the amazing speakers we have lined up.

Head over to the Universe website to register, view, and bookmark sessions. See you on October 27-28!

Written by

Kelsey Bernius

@kelseybernius