UX Design

We are going to discuss UX topics, exchange ideas about design projects and debate design in general in a relaxed atmosphere. Attendees can also show their work or a portfolio and ask for feedback from design colleagues. This meetup is primarily focused on UX but we like to talk about product design in general: user interface, interaction design, graphic design, copywriting, research, product discovery, voice and tactile interfaces etc. *** There is no formal schedule nor strict agenda. Milovan Jovičić will moderate session and engage the talk. Language spoken: Serbian and English RSVP is mandatory as seating is limited. *** Join private Practical UX Slack channel and discuss about daily UX challenges, share resources and job offers: https://join.slack.com/t/practical-ux/shared_invite/zt-ri2qvbox-fNkk8r6unRzDIyBX3o5GnA About the group founder and facilitator: https://www.linkedin.com/in/milovanjovicic/ More info about group, previous event videos and presentation slides: www.practical-ux.com

**Title**: Powering AI Through Data Modernization: Modernizing ETL with Databricks & Unity Catalog In this session, we will discuss how enterprises are modernizing their data platforms by migrating from legacy ETL tools (such as Informatica and traditional data warehouses) to Databricks Lakehouse architecture, and how Unity Catalog enables enterprise-grade governance, security, and discoverability across data and AI assets. We will start with food and drinks at 6pm and then move into the presentation at 6:30pm. The session will cover: * Why traditional ETL platforms are becoming a bottleneck for scale, cost, and AI adoption * How Databricks changes the data engineering and analytics operating mode * The role of Unity Catalog in centralized governance * How this foundation enables AI and Gene.AI use cases on trusted data * Q&A Our speaker for this event is **Hirenkumar Dholariya**. Hirenkumar Dholariya is a Senior Data Engineering Architect with 18+ years of experience modernizing enterprise data platforms for global Fortune 500 organizations, delivering up to 40% system performance improvement and 20–35% infrastructure cost reduction through large-scale migration from legacy ETL platforms to cloud-native Lakehouse architectures. He specializes in Databricks-based data engineering, Unity Catalog–driven governance, and building scalable, secure, and real-time analytics platforms. He has led multiple enterprise-wide transformations from tools such as Informatica and traditional data warehouses to Databricks, establishing governed data foundations using Unity Catalog and enabling advanced analytics and AI use cases on top of trusted data platforms. His leadership focuses on architecting durable data platforms, enabling teams to move faster with confidence, and translating data and AI investments into measurable business outcomes. *

DC iOS returns to the Capital One campus for our first meetup of 2026! Come and meet with fellow Apple developers in the DC Area, enjoy some food, networking, and a great tech talk! PLEASE INDICATE IF YOU WILL BE ATTENDING IN PERSON OR OVER ZOOM. **Agenda:** • 5:40 PM - Doors Open (in-person attendees). **Don't forget your ID!** • 6:10 PM - Welcome (in-person and Zoom attendees) • 6:15 PM - **Talk: *SwiftUI Internals + Performance*** • 7:05 PM - Community Announcements & Networking • 8:00 PM - Doors close **Talk Description:** **SwiftUI Internals + Performance** Will Downey A fast-paced breakdown of how SwiftUI works. Aimed at helping build a conceptual understanding of SwiftUI whether you're experienced with the SwiftUI or still hanging on to UIKit. Bonus section on optimizing SwiftUI performance and profiling if time permits. Zoom Link: [https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89091509354?pwd=7y7ghL5i9iSA9rgbpQCdrBiWy5QX7c.1](https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89091509354?pwd=7y7ghL5i9iSA9rgbpQCdrBiWy5QX7c.1) **Location:** Capital One, C2 Building 1680 Capital One Drive, Mclean VA, 22102 100A Visitor parking is either in the garage attached to 1680 Capital One Drive, or the open lot next to 1600 Capital One Drive. After that you will walk over to the main entrance of 1680 Capital One drive, and then walk around the right to the corner to room 100A For the metro, take the Silver Line to the McLean metro stop, then walk into main campus (about a 5 minute walk). From there, walk to the main entrance of 1680 and then go to room 100A **What you need to bring:** ID **When to arrive:** Doors open at 5:50pm ET Event will start at 6:10 pm ET **Will food and drinks be provided?** Yep! **Will there be rapid testing provided?** No **Will masks be required?** No

**IMPORTANT:** This event is free, but please register here with your email so we can get a clear view of the attendance: https://uxdx.com/community/community-dc-2026-02-28/ TALKS **Lina Reynolds- Lead UX Strategist, Ford** **➡️The Strategic UX Advocate: Driving Influence through Clarity and Metrics** Are you tired of fighting for a "seat at the table" only to be asked to "just make it pretty"? Join Lina Reynolds, Lead UX Strategist, for a tactical deep dive into how UX professionals can transform from order-takers into strategic partners. Drawing from her 10+ years of experience and her recent panel at UXCON '25, Lina will share how she used Clarity and Metrics to lead high-impact projects at Ford Credit, including a dealer application that achieved a record-breaking 82 NPS. **➡️Faz Besharatian- Product Strategy & Design Leader, North X Normal** **From Stuck to Constraints Based Strategy** "We can’t do that here." Sound familiar? If you’ve worked in healthcare, finance, or any risk-sensitive environment, you’ve heard all the ways innovation gets stalled. Regulation, legal, compliance, lack of time, too many cooks... But what if constraints weren’t the enemy? Using constraints as a starting point for smarter strategy. It’s practical, fast, and made for product and design leaders. **Event Details:** **Agenda** 3:00 - 3:20: Registration and networking 3:20 - 3:30: Introduction 3:30- 4:00: The Strategic UX Advocate: Driving Influence through Clarity and Metrics- Lina Reynolds 4:00-4:30: From Stuck to Constraints Based Strategy- Faz Besharatian 4:30 - 5:00: Networking and close 📍**Location- Cleveland Park Library, DC** \*\*\* 🙌 We hope you can join us for an inspiring evening of learning and connection! 👉 Subscribe to our YouTube channel: [https://www.youtube.com/uxdxconf](https://www.youtube.com/uxdxconf) ✉ Get alerts on the latest events: [https://uxdx.com/subscribe](https://uxdx.com/subscribe) ℹ Find out more about us: [https://uxdx.com](https://uxdx.com)

We will be meeting at Starbucks to learn together. Come with an online class you're already going through or an interest and we will try to connect you with a course where you can learn it. Already have a skill you want to contribute to a Kaggle Datascience competition? We will work on these too! Laptop required :)

Whether you're new to Insight meditation or an advanced practitioner looking for like-minded people to sit with, you're welcome to join us at our Sunday morning drop-in group, sponsored by the Insight Meditation Community of Washington. Insight meditation cultivates our natural wisdom and compassion. Meditation practice develops concentration, which allows us to calm and steady the mind. This class includes a 30-minute lightly-guided meditation, followed by a short talk and time for questions and discussion. The size of the group usually runs somewhere between 25-40 people in-person and between 12-25 online. Chairs are provided, or you may bring a sitting cushion or bench. You may also use the blankets and bolsters offered by the yoga studio. **We offer both in-person and online attendance.** To learn more about our topics and teachers, view our videos or **get the Zoom link**, visit our [class page](https://imcw.org/event/?eventId=735&utm_source=MeetUp&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=vienna-drop-in).

Hello everyone, we are excited host our first meetup of 2026! We'll have an amazing speaker presenting on a great topic. Hope to see everyone there! **Schedule** 5:00 pm - 5:30 pm - Sign-in/Meet and greet/networking 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm - AutoMobile 6:30 pm - 7:00 pm - Networking **Talk and Speaker Details** **Time:** 5:30 p.m. EST. **Title:** AutoMobile **Summary:** What if you could tell an AI agent "explore this app and find accessibility issues" and watch it navigate your mobile app autonomously? AutoMobile makes this possible today. AutoMobile is an open-source MCP server that gives AI agents native control over Android and iOS devices using natural language. It combines platform tools (adb, simctl) with custom Kotlin AccessibilityService and Swift XCTestService to enable AI-driven mobile workflows that are 10x faster than existing automation frameworks. Live demonstrations include: \- Install & run from scratch \- AI agent running UX deep dive\, reproducing bugs \- Accessibility & performance audits \- What running tests looks like \- Prototype IDE integration **Speaker:** Jason Pearson **Speaker Bio:** Jason Pearson spent the last 15 years building great UX across Android, iOS, Mac, Web, Backend, and Windows. Now he's applying all of that to AI tools while working at Slack in DevXP. **How to find us:** 1680 Capital One Drive, McLean, VA 22102 We'll be located in C2 **100 A**. The area is publicly accessible. If you can't find it, you can ask the front desk for directions to the **C2 100 A** **Attending Virtually?** We'll be streaming the event on Zoom [https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85740109015?pwd=1FQJyvaQp2ZgRrj5drb3a2FGVqll7H.1](https://www.google.com/url?q=https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85740109015?pwd%3D1FQJyvaQp2ZgRrj5drb3a2FGVqll7H.1&sa=D&source=calendar&usd=2&usg=AOvVaw1A-o2UNm0I1YVmkJcSCxfx) Meeting ID: 857 4010 9015 Passcode: 437286 **Parking**: You can park at 1680 Capital One Drive; this garage has a sign indicating public parking. Or at the WEGMANS parking lot.