IN-PERSON: Trailblazing Together: Automation, Databases & Responsible AI

Join us for International Women’s Month as women in data share lightning talks on cutting-edge topics in automation, database architecture, and AI governance.
Taking Automation to the Moon
Why Postgres Needs a Bouncer And SQL Server Doesn't
Responsible AI Starts with the Database

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Jordan Brennan (Sassi)
Taking Automation to the Moon

Are you still logging into servers manually to manage SQL?
What would happen if you had to recover your entire SQL estate tonight?
What if your database automation strategy was powerful enough to scale like a space mission?
In this lightning talk, we will get a glimpse of how PowerShell can transform SQL Server administration from reactive firefighting into mission-controlled automation. You’ll see how you can standardize, scale, and safeguard your environment using repeatable scripts and automation-first thinking.
You’ll walk away with practical ideas to reduce risk, eliminate manual toil, and build automation that’s not just functional - but launch-ready.

Bio - Jordan Brennan (Sassi)
Database Administrator, Architect, & Automation Engineer
Jordan has been working with databases since 2012 and quickly developed a passion for evangelizing high-quality, reliable, and scalable database solutions using cutting-edge tools and methodologies. Naturally, the drive for optimization and efficiency grew into a love of automation and powershell. She has extensive experience in consulting and emergency response, and has been speaking\teaching since 2024 primarily on SQL Server and Powershell.
She is currently working in the Boston area and enjoys spending time at the gym, video games, and art.

Haripriya Naidu
Why Postgres Needs a Bouncer And SQL Server Doesn't

If you speak SQL Server as your first language, moving to PostgreSQL can feel like a culture shock, especially regarding memory management. Why does a 500-connection workload feel 'free' in SQL Server but require an external 'bouncer' in Postgres?
That one architectural difference creates a 'connection tax' that catches SQL Server DBAs off guard.
I'll show you exactly why pgBouncer isn't optional and the one config mistake that makes it worse.
Bio:
Haripriya is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP and Lead SQL Server Database Administrator with 12 years of experience specializing in performance tuning, high availability, and process automation. She is passionate about SQL Server internals and solving complex performance issues. She has spoken at PASS Summit and multiple SQL Saturdays, sharing practical insights on improving SQL Server performance. She also enjoys writing technical deep-dives on her Substack blog, which has been featured multiple times in Brent Ozar’s newsletter.
Blog: https://gohigh.substack.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haripriya-naidu1215/

Surbhi Pokharna
Responsible AI Starts with the Database

AI may look like a model problem, but it is fundamentally a data problem.

Responsible AI requires systems thinking, understanding how data flows, dependencies, controls, and feedback loops shape outcomes.
As organizations accelerate AI adoption, the real risks, bias, security gaps, compliance failures, and lack of transparency, originate in the data layer. The database is where trust is either built or broken.
In this session, we’ll explore what Responsible AI means from a data platform perspective, including:
How data quality directly impacts AI fairness and reliability
Why governance and access control are critical for AI systems
The importance of lineage, auditability, and compliance
Practical steps data professionals can take today to enable trustworthy AI

Responsible AI doesn’t start with prompts or models.
It starts with the database.

Bio:
Surbhi is a data professional with over two decades of architectural/administration experience in the financial domain. Architecting the operationalization aspect in a client-facing role, delivering relational and advanced analytics solutions for large scale Operational and Data Warehouse implementations with focus on learning and innovation remained a constant part of her data journey. Currently she is leading enterprise scale cloud data migrations in SQL Server/Snowflake/Azure SQL/Managed Instance and involved with designing next generation Data Analytics solutions using Snowflake. Surbhi is board member of the New England SQL Server User Group, member of PASS, speaker in PAAS Summit/Snowflake User Group/Azure Data User Groups/Data Saturdays/SQLBits.