REFACTR.TECH

Code Reading Club **REGISTER ON EVENTBRITE**

Wed, Apr 15 · 6:00 PM EDT

PrizePicks, 1055 Howell Mill Rd, Atlanta, GA, US

Like a book club, but for code.

**REGISTER ON EVENTBRITE**

Join us as we guide you through reading a surprise code excerpt and learn from each other how to better read unfamiliar code. As more and more code is generated due to AI, our ability to read code is increasingly important but a skill we rarely practice. At this meetup we will guide you through a series of prompts and activities to explore and discuss a small piece of code. This meeting is language agnostic - whether you know the language or it’s new to you, your perspective matters. Fresh eyes often spot what experts overlook.

This meetup is equally for those new to development as well as seasoned professionals - we can all get better at reading code (and understanding how others approach code so we can be better mentors and teammates). If you know what a variable is, this is for you!

Learn more about Code Reading Clubs

This month's discussion will be led Dan Jutan!

Agenda
6:00 pm - Check-in & Networking
6:30 pm - Welcome & Introduction Kick-off
6:45 pm - Read some Code! The group will be guided through a series of questions and actions as we read a piece of unfamiliar code together
8:00 pm - Closing & Next Steps

Host & Sponsor
PrizePicks

**REGISTER ON EVENTBRITE**

Attendees should bring:

• themselves
• colored pencils/highlighters
• pen or pencil for writing on code

Parking is available for visitor deck of the Star Metal Building (turn onto Vidalia Lane off of 11th Street)

MARTA is smarta: Both the 12 and 14 bus, departing from Midtown Station, will take you to west midtown. Transfer to bus from rail is free. Pro-tip, follow along on google maps or the transit app if you’re unfamiliar with the bus route and which stop to take.

Everyone participating in the REFACTR.TECH conference, events and Discord/Slack community—including, but not limited to attendees, speakers, sponsors and volunteers at REFACTR.TECH, are required to agree to the following code of conduct. Organizers will enforce this code throughout the event.

GitHub Copilot Dev Days | Atlanta **REGISTER ON EVENTBRITE **

Wed, Apr 22 · 5:30 PM EDT

Microsoft Atlantic Yards, 200 17th Street NW, Atlanta, GA, US

**REGISTER ON EVENTBRITE**

Join us for a community-led developer event focused on AI-assisted coding with GitHub Copilot. This event brings together developers to explore practical workflows, real-world use cases, and hands-on experiences using GitHub Copilot.

Whether you are new to GitHub Copilot or already using it, this event will help you better understand how to apply AI-assisted coding techniques in everyday development.

📅 Agenda

### 🍽 5:30 PM – Food & Networking

Connect with other developers before we dive in.

### 👋 5:50 PM – Welcome & Opening

### 🤖 5:55 PM – GitHub Agentic Workflows - Andrew Schillinger, Enterprise Architect @ Connexure

his session focuses on the jump from standard automation to "Continuous AI". You’d show how to build agentic workflows using simple markdown and the gh-aw CLI to handle real-world tasks like triage or diagnosing failures with the "CI Doctor".

### 🌟 6:50 PM – Stop Context Switching: Using MCP to bring Jira and Figma into VS Code - Hannah Hogan, Developer and STEM educator

Software developers spend a surprising amount of time not writing software. We jump between issue trackers, design tools, documentation, and our editor, constantly translating information from one system into another. The result is friction, context switching, and lost momentum in the development workflow.
Recent advances in AI tooling are beginning to change that dynamic. Using Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers, developers can connect external systems directly to their development environment, allowing AI assistants inside VS Code to interact with tools like Jira and Figma in a structured, programmatic way. Instead of manually hunting for tickets or interpreting design specs, developers can query project context, retrieve design details, and act on Jira issues without leaving their editor.
This talk walks through how MCP servers work and how they can be used to integrate Jira and Figma directly into a modern development workflow. Using real-life examples from my daily workflow, we explore how AI-assisted tooling can reduce context switching, streamline communication between design and engineering, and bring more project awareness into the IDE.
Attendees will leave with a clear understanding of what MCP servers are, how they enable AI tools to interact with external platforms, and how developers can start experimenting with this approach to build more integrated and efficient workflows.

### 🧪 7:25 PM – VS Code GitHub Copilot Agent Lab - Allison Higgins, CTO, @ Kolor Koded Enterprises, LLC

Build a Social Bingo Game with VS Code Copilot Agent Mode
In this interactive lab, you’ll:

• Work with Copilot Agent Mode in VS Code

• Explore context engineering and agentic primitives (background, cloud, and custom agents)

• Apply design-first development and TDD workflows

• Build a Social Bingo game step-by-step

Prerequisites:

• VS Code v1.107+
• GitHub Copilot enabled
• Node.js 22+
• Git installed

### 🚀 8:25 PM – Closing & Next Steps

**REGISTER ON EVENTBRITE**

🔍 Prerequisites
GitHub Copilot Dev Days events are open to developers of all experience levels. Different events may cover different topics that are more relevant for a subset of developers. For example, there is a workshop geared toward App Modernization that may be less relevant to beginners.
GitHub Copilot free subscription — Sign up here

Laptop — Required for events that include a hands-on workshop. Note: Some events may focus on specific topics (e.g., App Modernization) that are more relevant for experienced developers.

📜 Code of Conduct
We are committed to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for all participants. Please review the event Code of Conduct before attending.
👉 Event Code of Conduct

📍 How to get there
🔒Security: Guests will need to bring a government issued photo ID to receive a pre-printed badge upon arrival.
📌 Event Location: Microsoft Atlanta - Atlantic Yards: 200 17th Street NW Atlanta, GA 30363
South Building - MPR 2.2D (2nd Floor)
Enter at the South Lobby entrance.
🚉 Nearest Public Transport: The Arts Center MARTA station
🅿️ Parking Options: Parking Entrance on Fowler Street and Motor Court

Everyone participating in the REFACTR.TECH conference, events and Discord/Slack community—including, but not limited to attendees, speakers, sponsors and volunteers at REFACTR.TECH, are required to agree to the following code of conduct. Organizers will enforce this code throughout the event.

Bytes & Bites @ Krog St Market

Fri, Apr 24 · 11:45 AM EDT

Krog Street Market, 99 Krog Street NW, Atlanta, ga, US

Join us for our monthly tech lunch meetup—now at Krog Street Market!

Bytes & Bites is a casual, community-driven lunch where technologists of all backgrounds come together to connect, swap ideas, and build relationships over good food.

Whether you're deep in code, leading teams, or just starting your tech journey, this is your space to take a break, meet other tech folks, and talk shop (or not).

🗓️ When: Every 4th Friday of the month • 11:45 am – 1:30 pm
Swing by when you can—no need to stay the whole time.
📍 Where: Krog Street Market, Atlanta, GA
🍽️ What to Expect:

• Tons of food options inside the market
• Easy, low-pressure networking
• No agenda—just lunch and convo

Finding Us
Look for the tables with the REFACTR.TECH signs and come say hi.

Parking & Getting There

• On-site parking garage and surface lot available
• All visitors must register and pay for parking when they arrive
• Pay by scanning a QR code, texting a code, or using pay stations in the garage
• Garage rates start around $4 for the first hour before 4 pm
• Surface lot has a 3-hour max stay during the day
• For more parking and transit details, see the Krog Street Market website: https://www.thekrogdistrict.com/visit

Come as you are, bring a friend, grab something tasty, and let’s build community over lunch.

If you have trouble finding us or have questions, drop a comment on the Meetup.com page or ask in the #ask-us channel in our Discord.

Everyone participating in the REFACTR.TECH conference, events and Discord/Slack community—including, but not limited to attendees, speakers, sponsors and volunteers at REFACTR.TECH, are required to agree to the following code of conduct. Organizers will enforce this code throughout the event.

Designing Intelligent Systems: Accessible AI & Real-World Architecture

Tue, May 19 · 6:30 PM EDT

Tech Square ATL, 848 Spring St NW, Atlanta, GA, US

Join us for a joint meetup with REFACTR.TECH, ATL JavaScript, React ATL, Modern Web ATL, and Atlanta Vue.js Meetup.

This one’s all about how people are actually building with AI right now from the interfaces users interact with to the systems behind the scenes.
We’ll get into accessibility, systems thinking, and real-world workflows, and end with a leadership fireside chat.

### 🗣️ Talks

The Anatomy of an Accessible Chat Interface
Homer Gaines, Director of Engineering Accessibility, Coforma
The most common entry point when using AI is the chat or prompt interface. Unfortunately, many of these popular portals to generative content are not accessible to all. Let's examine the anatomy and lay the groundwork for an accessible interface.

From Snippets to Systems: How Copilot Helped Me Understand Systems Design
Allison Higgins, CTO, Kolor Koded Enterprises, LLC
GitHub Copilot is often described as an AI pair programmer, but it isn’t a junior developer or a senior engineer. The presentation will cover using Copilot as a probabilistic code generator and how that limitation makes it a very empowering tool for all levels of developers. In this presentation, I will share how working with Copilot transformed the way I think about systems design, software architecture, and component creation. Instead of treating it as a tool for faster autocomplete, I began using it as an architectural feedback loop: one that reflects the clarity and limits of my design decisions back to me.

### 🔥 Leadership Fireside Chat

Speaker TBA

Good to know

• Food & drinks provided
• Parking: Metered street parking available on Spring St and surrounding streets. Paid garages nearby include Tech Square Deck and the CODA building.
• Transit-friendly: Near MARTA Midtown station.

Everyone participating in the REFACTR.TECH conference, events and Discord/Slack community—including, but not limited to attendees, speakers, sponsors and volunteers at REFACTR.TECH, are required to agree to the following code of conduct. Organizers will enforce this code throughout the event.