On October 18–20, 2019, Code for America and the National Advisory Council hosted the third annual Brigade Congress in Cleveland, OH.
Join us for the third annual Code for America Brigade Congress where we’ll convene civic tech enthusiasts from across our Network. At the event, you'll connect with Brigade Network volunteers, government and community partners, as well as civic tech professionals from across the country. Together, we'll learn the skills we need to level-up our work in the civic tech ecosystem and our local communities. With a packed agenda filled with training sessions, free-form unconference sessions, and lightning talks, attendees will share their vision of what’s next for our national Brigade Network.
With a packed agenda filled with training sessions, free-form unconference sessions, and lightning talks, attendees will share their vision of what’s next for our national Brigade Network.

Keynote Speakers
April Urban
April Urban, MSSA from Case Western Reserve University, is a research associate with a passion for building Cleveland’s capacity to use data to solve civic problems. April oversees the Poverty Center’s NEOCANDO data tools, aids in research and community consultation on projects related to the built environment, and often works with community groups seeking the Poverty Center’s help in using community indicators in their work. She is the Poverty Center’s liaison to the National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership at the Urban Institute and served on the Executive Committee from 2016-2018. She is the co-creator and co-lead organizer of Data Days CLE, and is a part of the Cleveland Civic Tech and Open Data Collaborative
Ariana Waller
Ariana Waller was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. She has an educational background in Electrical Engineering and software development. After deciding that entrepreneurship was the best path for her success, Ariana moved from Tuskegee, Alabama to where she now resides in Grand Rapids, Michigan with her husband, Omar Waller. Wanting to continue her education, Ariana jump-started her tech career in software development by joining one of Michigan’s leading coding boot camps, Grand Circus, in which she became fluent in C-Sharp. In 2018, Ariana Waller launched Adoraa Company, an innovative cosmetics brand that’s developed a method to up-cycle pre-owned cosmetics, saving beauty consumers on average more than 50% off high-end cosmetic products. Ariana is also CTO and co-founder of Dalilah Cann. An all-female tech team, developing Michigan’s first Amazon-style, digital marketplace and delivery service that connects consumers to local cannabis products.
Ariana is passionate about social justice and ensuring that black and brown communities have access to resources. She is the co-founder of the Black and Brown Cannabis Guild, an organization that focuses on advocacy, networking, and guidance for communities of color in the cannabis industry. Ariana is the founder of the global podcast, Women in TECH with Ariana. In less than a year, Ariana launched her podcast, was named one of the top podcasts for women in tech and entrepreneurship by Medium, has over 2,000 consistent listeners, representing 8 countries.
Jennifer Pahlka
Jennifer Pahlka is the founder and executive director of Code for America. She served as the U.S. Deputy Chief Technology Officer in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy from 2013–2014, where she architected and helped found the United States Digital Service. She currently serves on the Defense Innovation Board in her personal capacity. She is known for her TED talk, Coding a Better Government, and is the recipient of several awards, including the National Democratic Institute’s Democracy Award and being named by Wired as one of the 25 people who has most shaped the past 25 years. She previously ran the Game Developers Conference, Game Developer magazine, Gamasutra.com, and the Independent Games Festival, followed by the Web 2.0 and Gov 2.0 events. She is a graduate of Yale University and lives in Oakland, California with her daughter, husband, and seven chickens.
Agenda
Friday, October 18
12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Registration
Lunch will be provided.
1:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Welcome & Unconference Pitching
1:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Mainstage
Keynote from April Urban.
2:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m.
Break
2:15 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Breakout Session 1
View Sessions
3:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Break
4:00 p.m. - 5:15 p.m.
Breakout Session 2
View Sessions
5:15 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Wrap Up
5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Dinner
Consult this guide to Cleveland created by OpenCleveland and Code for America.
7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Reception & Bowling (Snacks and beverages provided)
The Corner Alley
402 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44114
Saturday, October 19
8:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.
Breakfast
9:00 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.
Mainstage
Includes Fellowship Panel, Keynote from Jen, and Lightning Talks
10:45 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.
Break
11:15 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Breakout Session 3
View Sessions
12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m
Lunch
2:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Group Picture
2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m.
Breakout Session 4
View Sessions
3:45 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.
Break
4:15 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Breakout Session 5
View Sessions
5:30 p.m. - 5:45 p.m.
Wrap Up
Sunday, October 20
8:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.
Breakfast
9:00 a.m. - 9:45 a.m.
Mainstage
Keynote from Ariana Waller.
9:45 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
Break
10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Breakout Session 6
View Sessions
11:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Mingle and Goodbyes
Breakout Sessions
Content for Brigade Congress was curated by the Brigade Congress Content Committee.
Breakout Session 1
Friday, 2:15 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Meilani Santillan (Code for America)
Conference Room B
Julie Kim, Stephanie Chang (Code for San Jose, Code for Hawaii)
Conference Room C
Tom Dooner (Code for America)
Conference Room D
Matt Zagaja (Code for Boston)
Louis Stokes Legacy Room
Breakout Session 2
Friday, 4:00 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.
Bonnie Wolfe (Hack for LA), Colin King-Bailey (OpenOakland), Chris Alfano (Code for Philly)
Louis Stokes Legacy Room
Michael Ubell (OpenOakland), Lorena Molina-Irizarry (US Census)
Conference Room B
Christopher Whitaker (Code for America), National Advisory Council (NAC)
Conference Room C
Janet Michaelis, David Landsberger, Rep. Jim Butler (Code for Dayton)
Conference Room D
Breakout Session 3
Saturday, 11:15 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Noel Hidalgo, Kate Nicholson, Lauren Rennée (BetaNYC)
Conference Room B
Gregory Johnson, Whitney Lubin (Code for Miami)
Conference Room C
Emily Macrae, Alex Jung, Patrick Connolly (Civic Tech Toronto)
Conference Room D
Maile Malin (Hack for LA)
Louis Stokes Legacy Room
Breakout Session 4
Saturday, 2:30pm – 3:45pm
Code for America Network Team, National Advisory Council, Cyrus Sethna (Code for DC)
Conference Room B
Marisa Levine (Code for America)
Conference Room C
Patrick Hammons (ESRI)
Conference Room D
Dianna Faulk (Civic Software Foundation)
Louis Stokes Legacy Room
Breakout Session 5
Saturday, 4:15 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Aditi Joshi (Code for America)
Conference Room B
Andrew Yaspan (Code for Milwaukee)
Conference Room C
Diana Varnes, SeYeon Kim (Code for Tulsa)
Conference Room D
Bonnie Wolfe (Hack for LA), Tim Eccleston (Code for Nashville)
Louis Stokes Legacy Room
Breakout Session 6
Sunday, 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Mary Joyce (Do Big Good)
Conference Room B
Mackenzie King (Code for Columbus)
Conference Room C
Anne Meeker, Thad Kerosky, Harlan Weber (Code for Boston)
Conference Room D
Katrina Meyers (Code for BTV)
Louis Stokes Legacy Room