Keynote Speakers
Representative Regina Lewis-Ward was elected to the Georgia General Assembly in 2020 and serves the 115th District, which includes parts of Henry and DeKalb counties. A native of Brooklyn, New York, she holds a Master of Arts in political science from Clayton State University, a Bachelor of Business Administration in computer systems from Bernard M. Baruch College, and an Associate of Applied Science in data processing from LaGuardia Community College. Representative Lewis-Ward has a diverse background and experience spanning decades, working with emerging data processes across multiple environments.
She began her professional journey in 1982 as a programmer analyst with the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission, where she developed systems for efficiently storing and retrieving data related to artifact preservation. Later, she designed and implemented automated employee time and leave management systems at the NYC Transit Authority, improving recordkeeping and paycheck accuracy. After moving to Georgia, Representative Lewis-Ward collaborated with Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute and the Advanced Technology Development Center in 2016 to evaluate and pilot a technology incubator to support small businesses in the region. Building on her experience in technology, Rep. Lewis-Ward channels her efforts into academic research, focusing her dissertation on The United States Federal Government and lags in protecting personally identifiable information.
Representative Lewis-Ward commits deeply to using innovative technologies to drive progress, promote growth, and encourage sustainable development in both business and community initiatives.
Kishore Nimmagadda is a cloud transformation leader with a solid track record of driving business growth, customer success and building customer centric high performance engineering teams.
Experience: Kishore leads the Infrastructure Modernization, Professional Services team at Google Cloud responsible for delivering large scale cloud and data center transformation programs and ensuring customers realize business value with Google Cloud adoption. My current role includes 1) building, scaling and leading high performing technical teams in the Americas region 2) developing cloud strategy and leading solutions delivery for customers and 3) building strong customer relationships by helping them realize business value.
Prior to Google, Kishore spent 10 years in business consulting, software engineering and technical solutions delivery. His experience includes business consulting engagements with F500 companies such as Salesforce, MetLife, and InterContinental Group and software engineering with central information technology organization at The University of Georgia.
Personal: I live in the Atlanta area (US Southeast), married with two children, fluent in 3 languages, enjoy cooking, running and traveling.
Ryan is a Clayton State alumnus, graduating with a degree in Computer Science in the summer of 2016. During his time at Clayton State, he spent 2 years working in the Hub, before completing an internship at what was then Turner Broadcasting, which has since become (WBD) Warner Brothers Discovery. He’s spent the last 9 years working in several capacities there, helping to provide engineering support for the live news and sports production teams based out of the company’s Atlanta headquarters on Techwood Drive in Midtown Atlanta. Currently he manages the GCC (Global Command Center) which is tasked with providing tier 1 engineering support for the company’s global footprint of live broadcast facilities. However, when he’s not at work, he enjoys working on projects around his house, and spending time with his family and dogs.