In 2014, FullConTech was just an idea that lived in the minds of a few WTIA employees who saw the need for a different kind of tech conference—one that was interactive, people-oriented, and provided a space for cross-sector professionals to problem solve together. Five years later, WTIA has held five different conferences and our attendees have completed seven different projects or “plays,” from organizing job interviews that take educational bias out of the equation, to helping tech-trained refugees get jobs in the U.S., to creating an easy-to-understand document that breaks down exactly why diversity in tech is so important. And much more.

The evolution of FullConTech from ambitious idea to the origin of projects that tackle our region’s top challenges has required a multifaceted collaborative effort between WTIA and FullConTech attendees, as well as among the attendees themselves. It’s something that Brianna Rockenstire, director of industry outreach at AppConnectNW and 2018 FullConTech participant, has become familiar with through her involvement in Play 13: organizing tech talks for high schoolers in the Lake Washington School District.

“The idea came out of a brainstorming session at FullConTech,” Rockenstire said. At the conference, attendees participate in break out sessions and come up with solutions for specific problems. These solutions are what make up the playbooks. The idea for Play 13 came out of a discussion focused on how to educate people about alternate pathways to a tech career.

“[The play] seemed like the perfect fit,” Rockenstire, who spends her day job maximizing the impact that local technical and community colleges have on the Washington tech industry, said. “The theme of last year’s FullConTech really overlapped a lot with AppConnect because it fit well with what we’re trying to do with community colleges.”

Jonathan Heuer, founding partner at HomeSquare, joined Rockenstire to take on the play. “This project checked a few boxes for me. I have a couple children in the Lake Washington School District; one high schooler and one middle schooler,” he said, explaining that he was relatively new to the area and wanted to get to know the district a little better. “I also have an ongoing project that’s in the early phases. It’s a series of adulting workshops mostly to be presented to high school students around a variety of topics that include career readiness.”

Once Rockenstire and Heuer signed up to execute the play, WTIA sent them a list of potential speakers they could contact that included people who had expressed interest at FullConTech.

“Once we had the list it was just a matter of doing the leg work,” Heuer said. The leg work involved matching speakers to high schools, taking into consideration each school’s strict schedule and what exactly they were looking for in a speaker.

“I managed contacting the schools and [Jonathan] contacted the speakers,” Rockenstire said.

Right now, they’re working with student developers at Green River College to automate the complicated matchmaking process.

Both Heuer and Rockenstire are pleased with the impact working on Play 13 has had on their professional lives and projects.

“WTIA has connected me to a few folks who may end up with the adulting project,” Heuer said.

“FullConTech and the theme really made the stars align,” Rockenstire added.

Interested in collaborating on plays like these at FullConTech 2019? This year we take our usual action-oriented process to the theme Re-envisioning Engagement.  The most meaningful solutions are created when people of different backgrounds, strengths, and skill sets put their minds together. This year, we’re focusing on how those strategies are generated and what it takes to implement them successfully.

When it’s over, you’ll leave with new connections, fresh perspectives, and ideas for impact. You may be inspired to join with others to create a whole new program, or you may meet someone who has had success with a new approach that you’d like to try within your own team. Register today to attend, and if your organization would like to sponsor a topic for one of our collaboration tracks, please contact choover@washingtontontechnology.org.