Mac

Join us for our Thursday Tea Time and social hour for older LGBTQ+ adults! Bring your beverage of choice, and meet in-person at The DC Center from 1:00 – 3:00 pm. For more information, contact Center Aging Program Coordinator, Mac (maca@thedccenter.org). We hope to see you there!

**Pre-Registration is REQUIRED. RSVP here - [https://luma.com/6twkovvg](https://luma.com/6twkovvg)** ## ODSC AI x Snowflake Present: AI Innovation in the Capital **Our premier Washington D.C. AI Meetup of March 2026!** Skip the usual AI hype and join us in the District for an evening of technical deep dives and high-level networking. We’re bringing together **D.C. builders, data scientists, and engineers** to discuss how to bridge the gap between AI experimentation and enterprise-grade deployment. Come for the networking, stay for the expert insights from the Snowflake team, and leave with a sharper strategy for scaling AI in 2026. ## The Session **Topic: Engineering the Future of Enterprise AI (Title TBA)** *Official topic and abstract coming soon!* While the specific title is under wraps, **Matt Harris** typically explores the intersection of high-performance data architecture and generative AI. Expect a session focused on how organizations can leverage Snowflake’s evolving ecosystem to build secure, scalable, and governed AI applications that go beyond the chat box and into core business logic. **Speaker:** Matt Harris, Principal AI Strategy Architect (FSI at Snowflake [https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-d-harris/](https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-d-harris/) Matt is a veteran in the data space, serving as a Principal Solutions Engineer at Snowflake. He specializes in helping complex organizations transform their data architecture into a competitive advantage. With deep expertise in the Snowflake Data Cloud, Matt focuses on making advanced data science and AI accessible, governed, and ready for production environments. ## Why Attend? * **Network with the Best:** Connect with AI practitioners and data leaders in the D.C. tech and public sector ecosystem. * **High-End Experience:** Enjoy bites and refreshments in a professional, collaborative environment. * **Exclusive Insights:** Get a direct line to Snowflake’s technical leadership on where enterprise AI is headed next. ## Agenda * **6:00 PM – 6:30 PM:** Networking & Bites/Drinks * **6:30 PM – 7:15 PM:** Presentation by Matt Harris, Principal Solutions Engineer at Snowflake * **7:15 PM – 7:30 PM:** Interactive Q&A * **7:30 PM – 8:00 PM:** Networking & Closing **Venue:** Mindspace, 1301 K Street Northwest, Washington, DC 20005 **RSVP now to secure your spot!** ## Useful Links * **Free access to more talks/trainings:** [Ai+ Training platform](https://aiplus.training/) * **ODSC Blog:** [https://opendatascience.com/](https://opendatascience.com/) * **Join the Community:** [Slack Channel](https://www.google.com/search?q=https://odsc.ai/slack) * **Code of Conduct:** [https://odsc.ai/code-of-conduct/](https://odsc.ai/code-of-conduct/)

**Agenda :** * 4.45 to 5.00 PM ET: Food and Networking * 5.00 to 5.50 PM ET: "Data Science & Machine Learning with Microsoft Fabric" Hello Everyone! Please join us for our March 12th edition of the AI-ML MeetUp. **Please note this is an in-person meeting and light refreshments/food will be provided. You will need a government-issued ID to enter the facility.** **Title:** Data Science & Machine Learning with Microsoft Fabric **Description:** Explore Microsoft Fabric’s integrated Data Science experience across ideation, preprocessing, modeling, & deployment. Learn how to ingest and prepare data via OneLake and Lakehouse, leverage Notebooks, Data Wrangler, Spark, SynapseML, MLflow for experimentation, & operationalize predictions with batch scoring and Power BI direct integration. Also, learn to build generative AI Q&A systems using Fabric Data Agents. **Location:** The meeting will be hosted in the Applied Information Sciences ( AIS ) office in Reston, at 11440 Commerce Park Dr # 600 · Reston, VA. The location is also right off the Silver Line metro's Wiehle-Reston Metro Station. **Parking:** Parking is paid and can be validated at the AIS office reception. We will meet in Room Lake Anne. We hope to see you all there!!!!

***Join us for an evening in an electronics lab where we will attempt to run clean scans of gold samples, and then clean up that data with post processing.*** This is a high sensitivity experiment, and we do not plan on being successful so early. But we've had promising results lately - so we will be putting in the time. We are NOT meeting at our usual location, but rather at Steve's house/lab. If you RSVP, you will get a DM with the address but it's located in Silver Spring. We will attempt full, clean lab - clean tip repeated scanning tests to see what we can learn and improve. We will experiment with online attendees, but if all possible showing up in person is strongly encouraged. Online join link is: - [https://meet.jit.si/mocomakers](https://meet.jit.si/mocomakers) Our community is building (and documenting for other teams) how to build a scanning tunneling microscope using a mix of common and 3D printed parts. This will allow us to scan and visualize a single atom - an ambitious we are doing over the course of a few months. The MoCo Makers community is one of the most innovative and competent groups in Maryland, and we've done everything from [publishing cancer research](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38136356/), to [launching products](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gotim/cozy-curvy-multi-contour-pillow), [winning grants](https://covidinfocommons.datascience.columbia.edu/awards/2014255), and inspiring thousands. Now our biggest challenge yet has appeared. We are building a Scanning Tunneling Microscope, that will allow us to scan and visualize single atoms. To get a better idea of what we are doing, see our reference project here: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7N3OqTEq08g](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7N3OqTEq08g) All starting CAD, code, and reference files should exist. However, let's be the first Maker community to document the build process and share it with learners around the world. We will be publishing our work here -[ https://hackaday.io/project/202816-qt-panda](https://hackaday.io/project/202816-qt-panda) If you need a ride, let us know.

Whether you're a seasoned pro or just starting out, we want YOU to join us! New players are always welcome - all you need is a good attitude and a willingness to learn. Also, bring a water bottle, a mouth guard, and cleats (if you have them - they're not necessary right away). Our experienced coaches will teach you everything you need to know! Bring your energy, your enthusiasm, and most importantly, your love for the game. Let's make this practice a blast and get ready to rock the upcoming season!

**Schedule** 5:00 pm - 5:30 pm - Sign-in/Meet and greet/networking 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm - Break the Cloud Lock-in: Building Adaptive Intelligence Orchestration with DIO 7:00 pm - 7:45 pm - Leaning on the SQL: Crafting Resilient Data Layers **Talk and Speaker Details** **Time**: 5:30 pm est. **Title**: Break the Cloud Lock-in: Building Adaptive Intelligence Orchestration with DIO **Summary**: AIaas are often stuck in a binary choice: pay the "token tax" for convenient Cloud APIs or manage the complexity of local open-source models (Llama/Mistral) yourself. The future belongs to a hybrid architecture—but the routing logic shouldn't be spaghetti code. In this session, we introduce DIO (Distributed Intelligence Orchestration), a new open-source framework designed to bridge on-premise infrastructure and cloud capabilities. We will move beyond theory and look at the code behind the Federated Decision Engine (FDE)—the algorithm that allows you to dynamically route prompts based on privacy, cost, complexity, and more. **Session Takeaways:** \- The DIO Architecture: A technical deep dive into the open\-source framework that decouples your application from specific model providers\. \- Live Integration: How to implement the DIO SDK to build a "Smart Router" that connects the best of both world for Cloud & On Prem Intelligence\. **Speaker**: Snow Zhao **Speaker Bio**: Founder & CEO of AIgentic \| Ex\-Meta engineering leader\. Building the future of professional services with precision & trust\. Snow has decades of Silicon Valley experience building and scaling technology organizations at Facebook, Block (Cash App), and Groupon. She is currently building at AIgentic, an applied AI company designing robust, trustworthy AI systems for professional industries. She leads global teams that delivered secure, high-performance systems used by billions, from product infrastructure behind Messenger’s rewrite and end-to-end encryption, to architecting enterprise AI platforms that bridge traditional sectors with digital transformation. Her work has spanned mobile, security, open-source, federated architecture, AI-powered automation, cross-platform software ecosystems, and more — always guided by the principle that engineering excellence is a human discipline as much as a technical one. \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- **Time**: 7:00 pm est. **Title**: Leaning on the SQL: Crafting Resilient Data Layers **Summary**: Most apps need to persist data. The mechanisms for persisting vary, from key-value pairs to relational databases to files and more. SQLite is the de-facto standard for persistence in mobile apps: it ships with every Android and iOS app. This session looks into best practices for SQLite data persistence, drawing from practical, digestible, real world examples. We look into when one should lean on the SQL versus when to perform data manipulation in application code. We look at some examples of constraints that you might have written in Kotlin/Swift, and how expressing them in SQL instead can offer data consistency and integrity benefits. A major focus of the session is on migrations. Data schemas inevitably evolve, and executing migrations carefully is essential, as mistakes can have severe consequences, including data corruption. We look into best practices for migration, including when to do migration in application code versus in SQL. We also examine some real world migration examples beyond the simple case of adding a column with a default value. Finally we look at migrations that cross data sources. This could occur if for example you were persisting data in a key-value store but you now want to migrate that to a database table. This must be done in application code but can you still take advantage of database migrations? Can you cover your migration code with unit tests? **Speaker**: Kiran Raon **Speaker Bio**: Two decades as a developer, got into Android in 2010. Adopted Kotlin in 2017, had my first attempt at KMP in 2019 (when it was still called KMM). Worked on and off with iOS and web client technologies throughout my career, also dabbled in other cross platform technologies. Full-fledged Mobile developer since 2023. **How to find us:** 1680 Capital One Drive, McLean, VA 22102 We'll be located in C2 **100 D/E**. The area is publicly accessible. If you can't find it, you can ask the front desk for directions to the **C2 100 D/E** **Attending Virtually?** [https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84418455380?pwd=fJczZgKv2BaGVPLi7azEr3XAJMPvBR.1](https://www.google.com/url?q=https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84418455380?pwd%3DfJczZgKv2BaGVPLi7azEr3XAJMPvBR.1&sa=D&source=calendar&usd=2&usg=AOvVaw2giIJenXoEsPXfYgNs_atJ) Meeting ID: 844 1845 5380 Passcode: 369382 **Parking**: You can park at 1680 Capital One Drive; this garage has a sign indicating public parking. Or at the WEGMANS parking lot.

ASL HangOut is a safe fun social All levels D/deaf, Hard of Hearing, Hearing signers, ASL students, ASL interpreter. Hosted by Daniel Berke and his friends Jeremy, Andrew, Nathaniel. and Josh There's always a great mix of people and good conversations We will be meeting at the Tysons Corner Food Court (3rd Floor), Thursday at 7pm! Hope to see you all there! 🙂 Look for a table of ASL signers...don't be shy. 1961 Chain Bridge Rd Tysons Corner, VA 22102 join our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/468631322134694

Join us to enjoy Marcus DC, located in the Morrow Hotel in NoMa / Union Market neighborhood -hailed as one of the area's top dining destinations (2026 Washingtonian 100 Very Best Restaurants List), recognized as America's most beautiful new restaurant of 2025 by Robb Report and recognized for Executive Chef Anthony Jones who was named Rising Chef in the 2025 Eater DC Awards. It features a unique menu blending modern American cooking with Ethiopian and D.C. **The Washington Post** (Sietsema) While a number of dishes explain why Marcus DC is a hard reservation, the most riveting is a shareable entrée that’s the taste equivalent of a three-ring circus. Order Mel’s crab rice, and out comes a round pan of Carolina rice infused with obe ata, a rousing Nigerian red pepper and tomato sauce. The surface of the grains is colored with glossy bell peppers, okra stinging with hot sauce and spidery-looking, tangy fennel. Mounded on top is blue crab finished with béarnaise sauce mixed with uni — rich on rich, the top hat to complete the outfit. Like a proper paella, some bites are crisp, others are soft. Each forkful delivers a riot of flavor. Lucky diners get the bonus of having the largesse presented by Anthony Jones, the restaurant’s executive chef. A son of Maryland, Jones pays tribute to his family’s favorite crab shack, Mel's Crabs, near where he grew up in Calvert County with one of the best dishes now playing in Washington. Yes, I’m obsessed with it. We should all have more obe ata and sea urchin butter in our lives. The man behind the restaurant's name is Marcus Samuelsson, the famous talent behind Aquavit and Red Rooster in New York whose portfolio embraces 15 restaurants. Born in Ethiopia and raised in Sweden, the chef, 54, prefers talking about Marcus DC, set in the sleek Morrow hotel near Union Market. And rightly so: He’s in a hot spot of the best kind now — so much foot traffic! Such an inviting interior! — serving some of the most personal food of his career. He’s supported by a cast of locals, foremost Jones, whose attention and enthusiasm surface in every exchange and every dish. This being the Mid-Atlantic, much of the food originates from the water. Here come slices of fluke arranged in a circle with watermelon radishes and golden plantain crisps, buoyed by a fetching green pond: green apple and cucumber juice, as revivifying as the combination sounds. The kick on the plantains? Berbere, the Ethiopian spice blend. Browned scallops alternate with fleshy mushrooms and pickled white asparagus in another appetizer, this one set against a mole that’s a touch nutty and smoky. The airy-creamy green dollops? A whip of serrano, scallions and more. If you like spice, the kitchen has you covered. Throughout the menu, the kitchen deploys little accents that nudge plates from good to great. “Swediopian” is fusion at its finest: silken cured salmon and charred cucumber around which a server pours goldenberry broth, light yet assertive with ginger, mint and lemon juice. A sail of crisp injera makes for a fun finish. Samuelsson’s restaurants all serve cornbread, although it differs from location to location. For Marcus DC, the tall slices are tinted with blue corn, lashed with honey and presented with yassa butter, a spread of caramelized onion, preserved lemon and Dijon mustard that goes down like sunshine. The combination pretty much sells itself. The most widely consumed fish in Sweden makes another appearance in a select entrée, salmon crisped in the pan and so tender it falls away at the touch of a fork. Glazed with nori and gochujang, the fish arrives on a pale yellow butter sauce that pops with orange roe and gains color with minced chives. More fancies come courtesy of chunks of pickled daikon and little scrolls of sheer daikon wrapped around seaweed salad. Sweden meets Korea meets Japan. The strong ensemble cast reminds of my first dinner, when a server talked up Samuelsson’s far-flung interests. I recall the only continent he left out in his introduction was Antarctica. Just as Le Clou, the newcomer’s predecessor in this space, represented an uptick in French restaurants around town, Marcus DC rides a welcome wave of Black chefs sharing their stories, notably Kwame Onwuachi at Dogon and Eric Adjepong at Elmina. (Gone but not forgotten: Danielle Harris at the short-lived Almeda in Petworth.) As much as the menu, the interior helps tell Samuelsson’s story; the dining room is alive with colors that weave those of his youth with those of his travels. I love the spacious curved booths, the handsome bar and the open kitchen animated by cooks “in the city and of the city,” as Samuelsson puts it. Friends have spotted the top chef multiple times on the Acela en route from New York to D.C. He’s in town a fair amount. Samuelsson might like to know he has a great ambassador in the personable Jones, 36, who previously cooked under his boss at Red Rooster Overtown in Miami and knows his taste and his standards. This isn’t just a fishing hole, by the way. There’s roast chicken on the menu, because a hotel restaurant almost demands it. A glaze of sweet-tangy mumbo sauce brings it home. There’s a pasta, too, tossed with smoked clams and crisp snow peas and showered with pecorino. A meal could be made of the sweet potato, a side dish with star power: The smashed vegetable is made elegant with crème fraîche and shimmering salmon roe. Samuelsson’s secret weapons extend to executive pastry chef Rachel Sherriffe, whose sweet résumé includes Rooster & Owl in Washington and Jean-Georges in New York. At Marcus DC, she seduces diners with an intriguing rice pudding whose crisp notes come from puffed rice and whose green hue and breezy accent stem from Thai basil. An oval of yogurt sorbet and ginger lime jelly add cool and spark to the bowl. (The bite in the jelly? Sherriffe, who plays up savory notes in her handiwork, sneaks cayenne into the jiggle.) A dome of warm plum cake, flavored with almond paste and subtly nutty with teff flour, arrives with a scoop of cardamom ice cream and a crimson pool of sorrel jus that acknowledge both Samuelsson’s background and her Jamaican heritage — “Everything diaspora,” says Sherriffe. Looking forward to sharing this experience with you! ***Check out the menus [here](https://marcusdc.com/marcus-dc#menu)***[.](https://marcusdc.com/marcus-dc#menu) We ask that ALL folks honor their RSVP. If you are unable to attend after sending in a YES, please update your status so that others may join. In the event our group incurs a fee for no-shows / late cancellations, your ability to RSVP for future events will be restricted. Thank you in advance for your understanding. **WAITLIST:** Meetup does not allow a waitlist for paid events. If this event fills and you are interested in adding your name to the waitlist, please send host a message through the app. In the future, we will vary the days of the week and the types of restaurants so that we can attract many different types of diners. Feel free to make suggestions for future meet locations. All diners will pay their own tab. before departing the event. If you are unable to join us in March we hope you'll stay interested and join us for a meal in the future. Looking forward to catching up with you for a fantastic dinner at Marcus!

Reserve a spot for free on **[Eventbrite](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lgbtq-community-coffee-and-conversation-as-you-are-tickets-1979543114744?aff=oddtdtcreator)** so we have an accurate guest count. Make new friends and meaningful new connections. Join us for the coffee shop gathering at **[as you are](https://asyouaredc.com/)**, a wonderful safe space in DC! Look for the Go Gay DC sign on one of the tables. We will be wearing name tags. This is a good event to attend if you like facilitated conversation. When you arrive, obtain a name tag, order on your own from the [menu](https://order.online/store/26244426?utm_source=sdk&visitorId=b5386c19b7fdf41e5742da7&pickup=true&redirected=true) if you wish and gather with about 10 LGBTQ+ folk around the sofa for relaxed conversation. Feel free to invite your friends to join you. **Metro Directions:** Be eco-friendly. Metro rides are capped at $2.50 on weekends, regardless of distance travelled. Eastern Market Metro (Blue/Orange/Silver lines) is only a few blocks away. The venue is where the Banana Cafe used to be. The area is generally considered safe. There is also **free street parking in DC on Sundays**. There is a free parking lot underneath the freeway overpass adjacent to the Marine Corps barracks. This event is being boosted by **[Go Gay DC](https://www.gogaydc.com)**[,](https://www.gogaydc.com) Metro Washington DC's inclusive LGBTQ+ community focused on friendship, leadership, and service. It reaches over 10K fabulous people and is growing fast. Visit [https://www.gogaydc.com](https://www.gogaydc.com) At this event you'll even get to meet **[TJ Flavell](https://www.linkedin.com/in/tjflavell/)**, Go Gay DC's founder. This event is a safe space for everyone under the rainbow. Go Gay DC is on social media: Join the Facebook Group [https://www.facebook.com/groups/GoGayDC](https://www.facebook.com/groups/GoGayDC) Like the Facebook Page [https://www.facebook.com/GoGayDC](https://www.facebook.com/GoGayDC) Follow on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/GoGayDC](https://www.instagram.com/GoGayDC) Follow on Threads [https://www.threads.com/@GoGayDC](https://www.threads.com/@GoGayDC?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAYnJpZBExZG1DTnM0VnJybG83U3FWcnNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR6DYjIHThPY00YK0dJfs6boxWhgU1OyzCNzCCt0uW6sjzSp6kJpEXoyvf5j6g_aem_3gSjPJmvC57T8kdbkMU1sw) Follow on Bluesky [https://gogaydc.bsky.social/](https://gogaydc.bsky.social/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAYnJpZBExZG1DTnM0VnJybG83U3FWcnNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR6DYjIHThPY00YK0dJfs6boxWhgU1OyzCNzCCt0uW6sjzSp6kJpEXoyvf5j6g_aem_3gSjPJmvC57T8kdbkMU1sw) Follow on X [https://www.x.com/GoGayDC](https://www.x.com/GoGayDC) Watch on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/GoGayDC](https://www.youtube.com/GoGayDC) LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/GoGayDC](https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/GoGayDC?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAYnJpZBExZG1DTnM0VnJybG83U3FWcnNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR765Xxf5t8wFzbCac74QNX3p0Bs2oT0drXZoOmLV63J8cURMl3ta5b8iP3ztg_aem_nSdndpxd5-hXJ8myNF2_vQ) Search tags: LGBT LGBTQ LGBTQI lesbian gay bisexual transgender queer nonbinary non-binary intersex

Second Saturdays, [asyouare](https://asyouaredc.com/) from noon 'til 2. Here's the menu: [Click & scroll down a page to see the menu](https://asyouaredc.com/pages/the-space) or at [Toast](https://www.toasttab.com/as-you-are/v3) As you are is a block from the Eastern Market Station on the Blue/Orange Lines.

Join us for a fun-filled outdoor happy hour as we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day! This event will feature local Irish Latin band, [La Unica](https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.launicamusic.com%2F&data=05%7C02%7CMallory.Cary%40montgomeryparks.org%7C59638d37d8b9425b03e908de417edcb2%7Ca9061e0c24ca4c1cbeff039bb8c05816%7C0%7C0%7C639020210283802438%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=faXLR93xz4nDMcJ6sPpeJQA1UdNcfZedkkEnQ2bjxNI%3D&reserved=0), craft brews, and several food trucks. Whether you’re Irish or just Irish-at-heart, come celebrate with us. la Unica is a five-piece band that plays carefully-selected covers and originals in a high-energy style that turns shy guests into party animals. La Unica’s outstanding musicianship and unique “Irish Latin Rock” style greatly expand the band’s repertoire. The Washington Post called La Unica a “pan-genre party band”, and their fans call them exciting, creative, and high-energy. Bring a chair.

**\*TO ATTEND GET TICKET At** [https://www.socialevents123.com/event-details.aspx?id=13306#tix](https://www.socialevents123.com/event-details.aspx?id=13306#tix) (Multiple Meetup groups are co-organizing so the RSVP's shown are just a very small portion attending. We'll have at least 20 registered.) Our last online Bingo Night Party was such a BIG hit, we're doing it again! Do you like to play BINGO or want to just do something different?! Then you will LOVE this event! Here is your opportunity to have some fun playing our Live "Bingo" game. You will also get to socialize and make other friends from the comfort of your home. Prizes included Amazon gift cards, free future events and more! This completely online event will be LIVE and you will be able to see and hear the other participants while playing. You will either need to print or draw out your bingo cards. We will email you with how to get it after registering. You can have more than 1 person on your team as long as they're from your house and use same device. Friends/family around the country can also play. They would just need to also register for a ticket. This event will be held on Zoom which you would access through your computer/webcam, or via your phone/tablet. On day of the event, you will get a secured Zoom link and link to print out Bingo cards. \*RSVPS ON HERE ARE NOT REFLECTIVE OF ACTUAL ATTENDANCE as this is a multi group event. Cost: $15-$20 depending on how early you register. **\*TO ATTEND GET TICKET AT -** [https://www.socialevents123.com/event-details.aspx?id=13306#tix](https://www.socialevents123.com/event-details.aspx?id=13306#tix) To find more fun events: Follow: [https://www.eventbrite.com/o/new-york-city-social-events-10797526283](https://www.eventbrite.com/o/new-york-city-social-events-10797526283) Join: [https://www.meetup.com/NYC-Social/](https://www.meetup.com/NYC-Social/) Click: [https://dljparty.ticketleap.com/](https://dljparty.ticketleap.com/)

ike Turkey Run Park- Pho Lunch, VA Sunday March 8 With winter weather receding, this is a great way to fight cabin fever and head back outside with views of the Potomac. This is a 3 to 4 mile loop hike along the Potomac River just below the American Legion bridge off the GW parkway. The trail is mostly easy and flat, but there are some slightly rocky areas. Be aware that this time of year where segments along the river can be muddy and there are some rocky areas we must maneuver around. Bring a mascot! The park is dog-friendly, but must be on a leash. For more info and maps (see side links): [https://www.nps.gov/gwmp/planyourvisit/turkeyrun.htm](https://www.nps.gov/gwmp/planyourvisit/turkeyrun.htm) What to Bring: Good hiking shoes Water Meet: 9:00 am Where: Parking Lot C-1. (First parking lot when entering park. See map at link below for details) Park Trail Map: [https://www.nps.gov/gwmp/planyourvisit/upload/Corrected-Turkey_Run_Park_Trail_Map_11242023_508c.pdf](https://www.nps.gov/gwmp/planyourvisit/upload/Corrected-Turkey_Run_Park_Trail_Map_11242023_508c.pdf) Departure: 9:10 sharp. We should return to the parking lot no later than 11:15 am. For those interested, we can later head over to nearby Pho 75 (1721 Wilson Blvd) for a great hot pho - one of the best in the area. **Note: Cash Only!** **In the comments section please indicate if you need a ride. If you are coming by car and wouldn’t mind picking someone up at a convenient metro stop, please indicate how many people you can take. Hopefully we’ll have enough room for everyone. I can pick up three at the Braddock Road metro (yellow), located in Alexandria, VA. Or, I can pick up folks at Rosslyn metro (orange/blue). Carpoolers, please chip in generously for gas.** Note: This event is cross-posted with other Meetup groups.

Bring your work or your hobby, hang out, and code with us. Follow @buckeyecocoa for more information.

Communication is everything in life! Attend this free lecture about how to be a better communicator. 📍 1266 Dublin Road, Columbus, OH 43215 You are only as successful as your ability to communicate. \- What if you could confidently talk to anyone? \- What if you had the ability to calmly control every conversation? \- What if you could close that sale\, ask for that date\, make new friends\, repair problematic relationships\, get that raise\, or effortlessly express any idea with confidence? You can! The secret to success relies on your ability or inability to effectively communicate. Attend a free seminar and gain a better ability to communicate. Hosted by the Church of Scientology of Central Ohio For more information, contact Rhiannon, the Event Host at 614-221-5024

**Important time note:** Please plan on arriving between 5:30 and 6:00 as the elevators lock after 6 and you'll need to message us and we'll need to come get you. The building address is 4450 Bridge Park The entrance is 6620 Mooney St, Suite 400 **Abstract** TBD **YouTube Link** TBA

**How to take control of your subconscious and harness its power!** Join us for an eye-opening lecture where the speaker will break down complex ideas in a clear and practical way. You’ll gain insights into: ✅ The true definition of the subconscious ✅ How it generates unwanted emotions ✅ Its real purpose and function ✅ What determines the pressure it exerts on you And the most important topic: **How do you take control of your subconscious!** But this isn’t just another lecture where you sit and listen passively. It’s interactive and engaging—you can ask questions at any time. 📅 Reserve your spot now! Seats are limited, so don’t wait too long to sign up. Location: 1266 Dublin Rd, Columbus, OH 43215 Hosted by the Hubbard Dianetics Foundation

Columbus Code & Coffee is an inclusive, informal co-working session. People of all skill levels attend, and we love it that way. Many people (optionally) bring projects to work on, and many other people (optionally) socialize the entire time. It's entirely up to you! **What to Expect at the Intro Circle** \~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~ Near the beginning of the event (1:30 pm), we do a standup: * Organizer announcements, updates, and logistics Round 1 - (7 secs max): * Your name * What you're working on * What you can help others with Round 2: * Community events you wanna plug. If none, that's cool too. Round 3: * Job opportunities you're hiring for OR announce that you are looking for one. If none, that's cool. After the introduction circle, everything is self-organized! Feel free to work alone, pair up, attend one of our workshops/presentations, or mingle!

Free at Bexley Library Adventures in Ecological Horticulture with Rebecca McMackin Wednesday, March 18 1:00pm - 2:30pm Gone are the days when a garden could be ornamental alone. We now recognize the impact that our land care practices have on the ecosystems around us, and can see the importance of encouraging biodiversity. Thankfully, we do not need to sacrifice beauty when we invite butterflies and songbirds into our gardens. Rebecca McMackin has cultivated gorgeous landscapes in the toughest environments possible: urban parks, school playgrounds, and the sidewalks of New York City. She will take lessons from her work at Brooklyn Bridge Park, the Brooklyn Museum, and decades of research to share how those of us who are fortunate enough to care for land, can do it beautifully and ecologically. Rebecca McMackin is an ecologically obsessed horticulturist and garden designer. She writes, lectures, and teaches on ecological landscape management and pollination ecology, as well as designs the rare public garden. She is currently Lead Horticulturist for the American Horticultural Society, an Associate with the Harvard Divinity School’s Thinking with Plants and Fungi Initiative, and Consulting Arboretum Curator for Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, NY. Rebecca spent a decade as Director of Horticulture of Brooklyn Bridge Park, where she managed 85 acres of diverse parkland organically. Their research into cultivating urban biodiversity and ethical management strategies has influenced thousands of people and entire urban parks systems to adopt similar approaches. She has been published by and featured in the New York Times, Gardens Illustrated, on NPR and PBS. Her garden for the Brooklyn Museum recently won the PPA’s Award of Excellence and her TED Talk has been viewed over a million times. She holds M.Sc. from Columbia University and University of Victoria in landscape design and biology and recently completed the Loeb Fellowship at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. This program is presented in partnership with Rooted in Bexley and generously funded by the Bexley Community Foundation and Bexley Community Author Series Fund.

Discover Kiro, AWS’s innovative development environment that adapts to your workflow. Whether you prefer specification-driven development or a more intuitive, vibe-based approach, Kiro empowers you to build applications your way. In this session, speakers will explore Kiro’s core functionality and its evolution through re:Invent 2025, along with demonstrations of prompts used to create APIs, hooks, and steering documents. In the latter part of the session, watch as we build a complete example from scratch, showcasing Kiro’s agentic AI workflow in action for spec-driven development and vibe coding. What You'll Learn - Core Kiro concepts and development philosophy Feature evolution: pre and post re:Invent 2025 Practical examples: API creation, hooks, and steering docs Live coding demonstration with real-time problem solving Who Should Attend - Developers, solutions architects, and technical leaders interested in modern AWS development tools and AI-assisted coding workflows. **Speakers Bio:** Matthew Jorat: Matthew Jorat is a Customer Solutions Manager at AWS with nearly three decades of expertise in AI, cloud transformation, migration, modernization, IT, technology, and business. His career spans infrastructure engineer, solutions architect, security auditor, customer success director, support and services director, and operations officer. He was an early adopter of AWS services as a customer, and his current role at AWS uniquely blends his technical and business skills as he partners with executive teams to translate strategic priorities into measurable business outcomes through cloud adoption, AI implementation, and operational excellence. Matt leads end-to-end AI initiatives for enterprise customers, identifying high-impact use cases and maintaining relentless focus on measurable ROI. He holds eight AWS certifications and serves as Adjunct Professor at Franklin University teaching cloud computing and AWS architecture. His expertise encompasses GenAI, agentic AI systems, migration, modernization, and optimization strategies that drive transformation at scale. [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattjorat/](https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattjorat/) Girish Bhatia: Girish Bhatia is a seasoned technology delivery leader with deep expertise in cross-domain program management. He holds multiple AWS certifications, including AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate, AWS Certified Developer – Associate, and AWS Generative AI Practitioner, and is also an AWS Community Builder. Girish brings over two decades of experience in the information technology industry. Throughout his career, Girish has led major technology-driven business transformation from modernizing on-premises applications to driving large-scale cloud migrations. His work includes API-based integration platforms, data-center and mainframe modernization, and enterprise cloud adoption initiatives. Based in Columbus, Ohio, Girish works at a tech-forward fintech company. He is passionate about AWS serverless architectures, Generative AI and emerging cloud technologies. An avid learner and builder, he continues to explore and apply the latest innovations in AWS to help organizations accelerate their digital transformation. https://www.linkedin.com/in/girishbhatia/[https://www.linkedin.com/in/girishbhatia/](https://www.linkedin.com/in/girishbhatia/) **THANK YOU** *Franklin University* for hosting our meetup! To learn more about *Franklin University*, please visit their website: https://www.franklin.edu/ **DIRECTIONS** Franklin University Fisher Hall 300 E. Main St, Columbus, OH 43215 Map: https://maps.app.goo.gl/jxjBA2hUmS5qrvhq8 Parking is FREE! Please park in Lot C in front of Fisher Hall. See attached map. NOTE: Map the address only. When mapping with Google Maps it may use the Fisher Hall at OSU, which is NOT correct. **Want to sponsor the pizza and/or bar tab?** Please contact me if you would like to sponsor this meetup's pizza and/or bar tab: angelo@mandato.com