
I'm Aayush Gauba, a developer and security enthusiast who loves building systems that think. I work extensively with Django and machine learning to create practical tools that go beyond automation, they learn, adapt, and evolve. Whether it's developing face recognition systems, experimenting with quantum-inspired AI, or building defense systems that block threats after a single attempt, I enjoy turning bold ideas into working code. I'm always exploring how to make the web smarter and safer. When I'm not coding, I'm usually testing unconventional ideas or refining something I built at 2 a.m.
- Beyond Rate Limiting: Building an Active Learning Defense System in Django

- Building maintainable Django projects: the difficult teenage years

Andrew Mshar is a software developer at Energy Solutions with experience ranging from game development to building tools to fight climate change.
- Beyond the ORM: from Postgres to OpenSearch

Calvin Hendryx-Parker is the co-founder and CTO of Six Feet Up, the premier AI and Python agency in the U.S.
Calvin’s Massive Transformative Purpose (MTP) is to inspire and enable tech leaders to open minds and bring the world together for a sustainable future. At Six Feet Up, Calvin establishes the company's technical vision and leads all aspects of the company's technology development.
Calvin is passionate about the open-source community and specializes in app development, AI, big data and cloud technology. He is regularly sought after to share his expertise — both at international conferences and in the media.
Six Feet Up, a top 10 United States Custom Software Development Company according to Clutch.co, was founded with Python at the forefront. In 2019, Calvin was named an AWS Hero — one of only 50 Heroes in North America. He is the co-founder of IndyPy, the largest Python meetup in Indiana with nearly 2,500 members. In 2023, he was named Tech Executive of the Year by the Indiana Business Journal.
- Deploy Django: GitOps & Kubernetes Made Easy
- Winemaking with Mutable Event Sourcing in Django
I’m a free-spirited techie who loves Social Impact Projects, Hackathons, and the Circus. I am fascinated by the infinite ways that data can get from point A to B to Z.
- Easy, Breezy, Beautiful... Django Unit Tests

Drishti is a Software Engineer and a technology book author. She is based in the USA and believes in democratizing opportunities and brings knowledge of the latest developments in the fast-moving field of technology to early professionals, students, and keep them up to date and well-equipped for their professional careers. Her initiative "SkillUp with Drishti" enables students and professionals to grow in their career.
She has spoken at conferences across the globe and is also a social entrepreneur. Her non-profit organisation - Samyak Drishti Foundation works in environment, education and healthcare sectors and operates in a number of cities across India.
In her spare time, she likes to paint nature, explore new places and anchor live shows
- Python for Planet Earth: Climate Modeling and Sustainability in Action

Dwayne has been working as a Developer Advocate since 2014 and has been involved in tech communities since 2005. His entire mission is to “help people figure stuff out.” He loves sharing his knowledge, and he has done so by giving talks at hundreds of events worldwide. He has been fortunate enough to speak at institutions like MIT and Stanford and internationally in Paris and Iceland. Dwayne currently lives in Chicago. Outside of tech, he loves karaoke, live music, and crochet.
- Hidden Dangers Of AI In Developer Workflows: Navigating Security Risks with Human Insight
I'm a software developer currently living in the Netherlands. I specialize in building and deploying web applications, ensuring the delivery of high-quality, scalable and maintainable software products with 'boring technology'. I mainly develop with Python & Javascript. I'm a co-organizer of PyIstanbul and PyCon Turkey.
- Peaceful Django Migrations

Elizabeth is a Postgres contributor and technical writer at Crunchy Data. She is on the board of the US PostgreSQL Association and hosts an online Postgres Meetup for All and a local KC Postgres group. She also helps host the annual PostGIS Day. Elizabeth is passionate about open source technology and diversity in tech though education. Elizabeth is from Lawrence, Kansas and spends her free time pretending like she lives on a farm in the 1860s.
- Big Bad World of Postgres Dev Environments

Eric is the author of Python Crash Course from No Starch Press. He also writes a weekly newsletter called Mostly Python. He is the maintainer of django-simple-deploy, which automates deployment of Django projects to a variety of platforms.
Eric was a math and science teacher for many years. He is now a full time writer and programmer.
- Automating initial deployments with django-simple-deploy

Henrietta (Hettie) Dombrovskaya is a database researcher and practitioner with over 40 years of academic and industrial experience. At present she is
– Database Architect at DRW Holdings in Chicago, IL
– Local Organizer of the Chicago PostgreSQL User Group
– Active community member, a frequent speaker at the PostgreSQL Conferences
- Prairie Postgres NFP President
-- A researcher focused on developing efficient interactions between applications and databases and implementation of temporal data
–– An author of the PostgreSQL Query Optimization book
- PostgreSQL: Tuning parameters or Tuning Queries?
Senior Software Engineer @ MongoDB
- Evolving Django: What We Learned by Integrating MongoDB

Karen has been using Django since before 1.0 days and has been supporting production client deployments since 2010.
- How to Enjoy Debugging in Production

Kattni (she/her) is a creator, programmer, maker, writer, photographer, classically trained vocalist, air plant cultivator, and fledgling synth nerd. She is passionate about building and maintaining safe and inclusive communities, learning new things, creating approachable information, and sharing her knowledge. She is tolerated by a cat and three kittens who continue to let her live with them.
- The Source of Change: Bettering Online Open Source Communities Can Begin with You
I am a working professional from Zimbabwe with diverse interests in entrepreneurship, software development, and community building. I enjoy delving into impactful work that requires problem-solving and creative thinking. My long-term goal is to use tech to help drive innovation and create opportunities for learning and wealth creation for people across the African continent.
- The X’s and O’s of Open Source with ShotGeek

Hi, I'm a Python and Rust engineer with a deep interest in search engines, AI, and open source. I started programming at 13 and have been working full-time as a software engineer for the past 3 years. I currently work for Qdrant, the most loved OSS vector database.
Django has been a core part of my development journey and I've used it extensively across projects and organizations. I'm passionate about building open-source developer tools and sharing knowledge through talks on topics that matter to me.
Based in Bangalore (India), I enjoy discovering global cultures and cuisines.
- Beyond Filters: Modern Search (and more) with Vectors in Django

I’m a software engineer and Djangonaut who found my way into open source with the help of the Django community.
- Djangonaut Space: A Mentorship Program For Open Source

Lisa Dusseault is the CTO of the non-profit Data Transfer Initiative, supporting consumer data portability across tech platforms. With a dual career in standards and startups, she brings both idealism and pragmatism. On the startup side, Lisa was CTO of Compaas and ShareTheVisit and VPEng of Klutch. On the standards side, she co-authored CalDAV, updated WebDAV, was chair of the XMPP and IMAPExt working groups, and spent four years as Area Director shepherding new Applications area work at the IETF.
- What would the django of data pipelines look like?

Mariatta is a Python Core Developer. She co-hosts the podcast series PyPodcats: Hidden Figures of Python, highlighting the voices of underrepresented group members in the Python community. For her contributions to the Python community, she received The PSF Community Service Award and is a PSF Fellow member. You might also know her from the internet hashtags #IceCreamSelfie and #TypoOfTheDay
- Reverse engineering the QR code generator and URL forwarder service

In my past lives, I've enjoyed playing guitar and bass, kicking a soccer ball, or playing an occasional video game. In my career, I've been an editor at a non-profit, taught as a pre-school teacher, managed payroll for a professional baseball team, and worked as an analyst/project manager for HR systems. More recently, I've been working as a software engineer for a little over a year at a company called BCM One.
I also code Python by night, which is what happens when there's not enough time during the day to poke around and break things. In the past couple of years, I've presented several talks/tutorials at PyCon US, DjangoCon US, Python Web Conference, North Bay Python, PyGotham, PyOhio, and others. Sometimes I neglect/blog on my website Python By Night, and start (or abandon) too many side projects.
- A(i) Modest Proposal

I'm a software architect and engineer, and co-run a design and software agency and consultancy called Elyon Technologies. Before that, I spent several years as a solo freelancer, working on a number of different projects and systems. Almost everything I did I built in Django (from scratch or on top of something existing), and I strongly focused on a niche specifically working on Django apps both through UpWork and also word of mouth referrals. I've gotten to build and architect software systems with Django across a number of different verticals which has provided both narrow/focused perspectives in the Django space but also helped me grow opinions on how codebases should be structured in the long run.
- Free Threaded Django

Meet Michael, an experienced System Administrator who has been working in the IT industry for 7 years. Presently, Michael works at Platform.sh as an Elite Cloud Support Engineer, working with Platform's Elite tier customers, typically consisting of big brands. Michael has used Python to approach or create solutions to big problems throughout his career. Whether it's moving an outdated email contact system to Microsoft 365 and filtering for duplicates, or using it to create his own solutions to his customers problems.
Outside of Michael's work at Platform, he has worked on various Python personal projects since 2018, primarily Discord bots. Out of all the programming languages he works, Python is his favorite.
Michael is also currently studying for his Computer Science degree at Western Governors University.
- Entering the World of CMS with Wagtail

Michael has been designing and building content-managed websites for nearly 20 years. He enjoys creating delightfully compelling user experiences to solve big problems. He is the Director of Strategy at Lincoln Loop, where he helps clients turn ideas into fully functional web-based products.
- Building a Wagtail CMS Experience that Editors Love

Mike is a software developer living in Tallinn, Estonia. Although his list of former hobbies is expansive and every-growing, his love of software is constant and keeps him curious and enthusiastic after 25 years of professional software development across numerous languages and frameworks. Currently, Mike is following his bliss with Django, Flutter, bike-touring, camping, and tabletop gaming.
- Level Up Your Django Frontend: Integrate Web Components into Django Templates with Vue

I am an open-source software advocate, community leader in Africa, software engineer, PSF Fellow, and DSF member. I co-founded the Python community and founded the Django community in Namibia, where I’ve helped introduce open-source technologies to new developers and supported underrepresented groups in tech across Africa. For more than a decade, I’ve worked to grow these communities and have been involved in the global Python and Ubuntu communities, speaking at international events about open source and building strong tech communities.
I help organize major events like PyCon Africa and DjangoCon Africa, bringing together developers and industry leaders from across Africa and beyond. I’m passionate about sharing knowledge, encouraging collaboration, and promoting open-source software.
I’m part of The Crazy Labs; Laloka Labs LLC, where I continue to support innovation and open-source work in Africa and around the world.
- Django Without Borders: A 10-Year Journey of Open Source Impact in Namibia

I'm Paolo Melchiorre (aka paulox) — Python backend developer, Django contributor, and Python Software Foundation Fellow.
Django Software Foundation Director, Django Girls+ coach and organizer, and proud Djangonaut Space navigator.
Organize PyCon Italia, founded Python Pescara, and I'm a Python Italia member.
Also, a conference speaker, GNU/Linux user, Free Software advocate, University of Bologna alumnus, Computer Engineer and technical blogger.
- Django's GeneratedField by example

Peter is the founder of Lincoln Loop, having built it up from a small freelance operation in 2007 into a leading agency known for solving complex technical challenges with Django and Python. He is constantly learning and is well-versed in many technical disciplines including devops, scaling, back-end, and front-end development. Peter is a frequent speaker at DjangoCon and has given talks at PyCon and SaltConf as well. In 2013 he co-authored the book High Performance Django, detailing the techniques used at Lincoln Loop to build high-traffic, scalable sites with Django. He has been interviewed about Lincoln Loop's remote work style by Wired and 37signals and been published on Forbes, FastCompany and TechRepublic among others.
Currently residing in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, Peter enjoys a well balanced life with his wife and two children. Beyond technology, his passions include skiing and biking in the mountains near his home as well as the occasional surf trip south of the border.
- High Performance Django at Ten: Old Tricks & New Picks
- Why governance in open-source is important

I'm an Associate Vice President of Engineering for a Medical Services Organization in Southern California.
- Django as a Database Documentation Tool: The Hidden Power of Model Comments

Tim is the Principal Engineer of Wharton Research Data Services. He started work at Wharton in 2008, after working for local companies and starting a few of his own. Having started programming at age six, he is currently an organizer of the Philadelphia Python Users Group, Code for Recovery, and a member of the Python Software Foundation and Django Software Foundation. Tim enjoys playing very loud guitar with lots of pedals, is an avid cyclist, was the first person to sell real world items for virtual microcurrency long before Bitcoin, and enjoys beating his head against brick walls (as demonstrated by his passion for coding, cycling in Philadelphia, and never-ending quest to get his cat to behave). A life-long Philadelphia resident, he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1996 with an individualized major, “Computer Aided Information Acquisition”.
- What a Decade!

- Cutting latency in half: What actually worked—and what didn’t

I'm a Django/Python developer who has become very involved in the Django community over the past few years. I started by helping maintain the django-debug-toolbar library and have started helping in other areas, including Djangonaut Space, Django Commons, and the Django Steering Council. I also was a DEFNA director and a DjangoCon US organizer. Beyond community organizing I like to bake bread, brew beer, ferment hot sauce and as of 2025, roast coffee. If you see me around, come say hi!
- Why governance in open-source is important

I'm a Developer Advocate at JetBrains, a former Board Member of the Django Software Foundation, and the author of three books on Django. Current projects include the Django Chat podcast, Django News newsletter, and LearnDjango.com.
- Django for AI: Deploying Machine Learning Models with Django