I love speaking and typically do 4 or more conferences a year, plus a few private (corporate and internal) events. Email me to discuss my speaker fee and other requirements for private events. I speak at user groups when personal or business travel brings me nearby: if you run such a group email me so that I can let you know when I’m going to be headed your way.
Identification
My pronouns are she and her. I have a PhD but typically only answer to Dr Gregory in academic contexts. You can refer to me as Dr Gregory in your materials if you feel that really helps your event, but in general I prefer Ms Gregory. I am Canadian.
Requirements
If you want me to speak at your event, here is a list of my requirements:
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Your event welcomes everyone, no matter where they come from, their social status, gender, orientation, beliefs, education and their mental or physical abilities. (Private events are exempted from only this requirement.)
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Your venue is accessible.
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You have an enforced Code of Conduct (No? I can help you choose and adopt one. The Berlin Code of Conduct is a good one you can adopt as-is.)
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If you record my talk, the video needs to be accessible for free to everyone, or for internal events to everyone who was eligible to attend, and cannot be sold in any capacity. If comments are enabled on my talk (including on YouTube videos) the conference will moderate them, and disable commenting on request, for all speakers.
- You don't need my talk materials in advance (unless there are live translations). I will gladly give my slides and code examples for you to share after my talk.
- I can present from my own laptop (HDMI most likely) using my own slide template – making my slides work with someone else’s template is a huge hassle.
- You cover travel expenses and conference admission.
Prioritization
I will prioritize events that:
- Record and publish the talk without artificial delays. A recording I can share with others is an important part of my compensation. Delaying publication for months is like delaying monetary payment.
- Pay for business class travel arrangements or offer a speaker fee.
- Make a real effort to promote diversity, such as offering reduced rate admissions and working with groups to raise funds for travel expenses of under-represented attendees.
- Have a varied group of speakers and attendees – a variety of ages, backgrounds, genders, races, first languages, and experience levels.
- Are held in a place that is easy to get to from Toronto’s airport.
- Include community-focused content such as lightning talks, open sessions, and panel discussions with audience questions.
- Provide live captioning for keynotes and other large rooms
Keep in mind that...
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I can give more than one talk if you want to maximize your budget.
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I'll be more than happy to mentor other speakers.
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My schedule starts to fill about 6 months in advance
My current interests are in these areas:
- Code that is more readable and maintainable
- Expressing intent clearly in C++
- Inclusion and diversity in the C++ community
- Effective use of Visual Studio
If there is a particular topic you would like me to speak on, do let me know
Talks I have given before that were recorded can be found at
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsAtvvJ8KXBT-Tx67H5P3TgkiW6llnoBE