A few weeks after joining Chef in 2014, I attended ChefConf for the first time. The introductory keynotes from Barry Crist (Chef’s CEO) and Adam Jacob (Chef’s CTO) really touched a nerve with the strong focus on empathy and delightful experiences.
As a speaker liaison and “Chefs on the Move” room captain, I had the opportunity to build stronger connections with people in the community. It also gave me a front row seat to the lack of diversity in speakers. Diversity is critical in having the view points that allow us to build truly delightful experiences.
The Chef community as a whole is one of the most encouraging, and helpful communities I’ve been a part of yet it shares the same problem that other technical communities have in terms of diversity. We recognize that it is important. As a company it is part of our core goals to address.
ChefConf 2015 is coming at the end of March. We are working towards improving diversity and in part that is why we are extending the proposal deadline to encourage a more diverse speaker lineup. We are looking into ways to improve the conference to make it more welcoming. If you have ideas about what we could do to help ensure you attend ChefConf let us know chefconf@chef.io.
We value the participation of each member of the Chef community and want all attendees to have an enjoyable and fulfilling experience. ChefConf 2015 has a code of conduct. Separately we also have a set of community guidelines.
We want to hear from you! Your view and experiences with Chef and implementing DevOps practices at scale have value to improve the ecosystem and help inform the direction of the Chef community as a whole.
Not a speaker? Think about nominating an Awesome Community Chef, and then think about someone you work with or see in the community that you want to hear from and reach out to them about speaking!
Here is some information to help you make the decision about putting together a proposal for ChefConf:
ChefConf 2015 will be held at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, California (right next to the Levi Stadium home to the San Francisco 49ers) from March 31 to April 2. Early bird pricing is $1095. After January 31, the conference is $1395.
We are expecting approximately 2000 attendees.
Most talks will be 40 minute talks but there may also be some 5 minute lightning talks.
You can check out the 2014 schedule for last years accepted talks. For other ideas, you can also take a look at the topics that were discussed at Chef Community Summit 2014 during the open sessions.
In general, we are looking for fresh, current, and unique talks that target a wide range of skill levels from beginner to expert on Chef technology, culture, and community.
All accepted speakers will receive a ticket to ChefConf, including all meals. Speakers also have special access to resources that will help make their talk go off well.
You will have access to a Speaker Liaison who will assist you onsite. For example if you run into problems like a forgotten laptop dongle, or your laptop breaks at the last minute, your Speaker Liaison is there to help. There will also be two assigned Room Captains who will introduce your talk.
We will connect you with a mentor to help you prepare for you talk, too.
Everyone who submits a proposal will be eligible for a discount on their ChefConf ticket.
Talks are reviewed, discussed, and voted on by a diverse group of Chef employees. Speakers will be notified of their acceptance by January 21.
We do get a large number of submissions which means that we cannot accept every talk. We encourage you to submit your proposal to other conferences and meetup groups in your area as well.
Need help with idea generation or your talk proposal? Contact Jennifer Davis, sigje@chef.io to schedule a 10-20 minute slot on Tuesday, January 13 from 2-5pm PST.
Is there other information you would like to know? Let us know chefconf@chef.io.
Submit your proposal by Thursday January 15. Thank you for helping make this the best ChefConf yet!