Speakers

Eytan Mirsky is a New York City-based singer/songwriter best known for the songs he contributed to the indie films "Happiness," "American Splendor" and "The Tao of Steve."

DESIGN THINKING! is a weekly webcomic about being a creative in an increasingly uncreative tech-first world.

Marc leads content strategy, content design and copywriting at U.Group. His team cuts through the cruft to drive action and simplify services.

Colleen is passionate about collaboration, human-centered research, and a holistic approach to creating products. She’s currently a UX Researcher at Groupon; bringing a customer-focused lens to teams and initiatives across the organization with a fiery heart and quick wit.

Adam’s passion is the exciting world of Tabletop Gaming! In 2016 he co-founded XYZ Game Labs and created the card game called RobotLab with his team. He currently spends most weekends playing, talking about or designing tabletop and board games.

Romke de Haan has been in the DJ world since he was 13 years old. First under DJ greats like DJ QuickMixx and Opie Cuttingham of Illinois Mixx Mob. Romke became more of a performing DJing in his late 20s after the passing of his friend DJ Roc Dee.

Beth has been drawing since her mom placed a crayon in her hand. Over the years, she picked up passions for drawing, painting, animation, special effects makeup, and fabrication. She earned a B.A. in Film/Video with a concentration in Traditional Animation from Columbia College Chicago.

Julia Keren-Detar is a game designer and developer based out of Chicago, IL. Currently she is the Creative Director for Untame, a studio shared by her and her husband.

Nicole Maynard is the Head of User Experience at Hyatt leading a team of researchers, interaction and visual designers, creating solutions that elevate Hyatt’s digital footprint and enhance the guest experience. She has taken the helm as president of the Chicago chapter of UXPA (User Experience Professionals Association).

Kathi Kaiser is co-founder and partner at Centralis, a Chicago-based UX consultancy. She leads a top-notch team in creating great user experiences for global clients, start-ups, and cultural institutions.