The Real Work: How managers are leading teams through AI (Human-centered AI)

About this event

Food and drink from 5:30-6. Come early!

Please join us for a panel with experienced managers who are guiding teams through AI Adoption. They'll tell nitty-gritty stories about the realities of adoption, rather than just pitching a success. Come hear about the real work.

Panelists: Melissa Tondi, Director of AI Engineering at Cover Whale. Melissa brings the perspective of a growth-mindset technology and operations leader who has navigated many waves of technology adoption. She has deep experience operationalizing AI with frameworks that make AI-augmented delivery safe at scale. Geoffrey Armstrong , Ph.D., Director, World Wide Technology. Geoffrey is a chemist-turned engineering director, with a long career of development and management in a one of the healthiest software cultures I’ve had the pleasure to work with. He now manages over 200 full-stack developers across 50+ projects. His focus for a couple of years has been how to get skeptical engineers to adopt AI. Sumaiya Shrabony , Technical Program Manager, UC Denver. She is the program manager in the group, with a focus on business analytics. Sumaiya speaks widely on AI, enterprise data, and business intelligence. She publishes a weekly newsletter called “Ground Truth” on Substack and @fieldnotesbyshrabony on Instagram. Aparna Shastry , Lead QA at One Call. She has led AI-driven transformation initiatives with the sensibility of an experienced QA leader. She blends hands-on building with AI strategy, automation, and release governance, and is also a frequent speaker on AI-driven quality.

Moderated by Erika Lenz.

About the Human-Centered AI group:

Navigate AI's Impact — Without the Hype For busy software and product leaders, staying ahead of AI means more than chasing tools. Our monthly AI Special Interest Group cuts through the noise to explore what actually matters: how AI is reshaping collaboration, product strategy, leadership, and organizational change.

This isn't a technical meetup. We skip the algorithms and implementation details to focus on the human systems that determine whether AI adoption succeeds or fails — collaborative learning, strategic thinking, ethical design, cross-functional alignment, and adaptive leadership.

What to expect: Each session features an expert speaker, small-group discussions, and practical takeaways you can use immediately. Connect with experienced peers who share your challenges. Leave with new ways to think, not just tools to buy. Build the confidence to lead responsibly through uncertainty.

Our sponsors

Food: Currently looking for food sponsors. Please contact us if you're interested in reaching some of our 2500+ Agile Denver members. More information here .

From Agile Denver