Michelle Mei-Ling Sandford
Microsoft Developer Engagement Lead Asia | Tedx Speaker | Dev Community Advocate | MCT | New Breakpoint Host | She Codes Mentor | User Group Host | Hackathon Judge | Open Sourcerer
I live at the heart of the coding community and help drive awareness and engagement as part of the developer relations community. I present at around 50 Conferences and Events around the world each year on AI, Azure, GitHub, Open Source, GameDev and LinkedIn. I judge hackathons and encourage the next generation into technology careers. In 2023 I became the host of the Microsoft ANZ web show - New Breakpoint, which is a show for developers by developers. I run the Microsoft Student Accelerator Program for ANZ encouraging emerging developers to build on Azure.
Session
This session highlights how AI tools like GitHub Copilot are helping bridge gaps in technical confidence and access, especially for underrepresented developers. We’ll share stories from the launch of the Code; Without Barriers program in Australia, and show how Python and AI can empower new coders to build confidently and creatively.