Organization Development

***English invitation*** You are invited to visit the Dutch Deventer Toastmasters. Toastmasters is an organisation where you can develop your public speaking and leadership skills in a safe, positive and inspiring environment. It grows your self confidence and gives your energy a boost. Want to visit us? Send an email to deventertoastmasters@gmail.com ***Nederlandse uitnodiging*** Je wordt van harte uitgenodigd om onze Nederlandse bijeenkomst te bezoeken bij Deventer Toastmasters. Toastmasters is een organisatie waar je je vaardigheden op het gebied van spreken in het openbaar en leiderschap kunt ontwikkelen. Dit doen we in een veilige, opbouwende en inspirerende omgeving. Je zelfvertrouwen groeit en je energie krijgt een boost. Wil jij meedoen? Stuur een email naar Deventertoastmasters@gmail.com

**Wil jij impact maken als je voor een groep spreekt en tegelijkertijd stappen zetten in je carrière?** * Dan zijn **spreken in het openbaar, leiderschap en communicatie** dé belangrijkste vaardigheden die je moet beheersen. * Maar waar kun je deze vaardigheden leren en op een veilige manier oefenen? Bij ons! **Goudenraad Toastmasters van het Gooi**! In het prachtige **Huis van Eemnes**! * Verder over ons: * Met het bewezen en succesvolle **100-jarige Toastmasters-programma** van deze **wereldwijde organisatie** zet je stappen om zelfverzekerd voor een groep te staan en echte impact te maken. * Goudenraad is de **tweetalige club (Nederlands en Engels)** in het Gooi voor professionals, ondernemers, trainers, managers, docenten, technici en iedereen die op een leuke manier wil groeien en zijn communicatie- en leiderschapstalent verder wil ontwikkelen! * Wij komen **twee keer per maand** op een **maandag avond** samen in Het Huis van Eemnes, waar we uiteenlopende speeches in zowel het Nederlands als Engels horen en geven. Daarnaast ontvangen we **opbouwende feedback** die je van collega's misschien niet snel zou krijgen – en dat is **goud waard!** * Ook hebben wij regelmatig **mini-workshops en improvisaties** * Als Toastmaster kun je **wereldwijd netwerken** **met een internationale groep professionals,** deelnemen aan het **European Trainer's Network** en meedoen aan **Toastmasters-wedstrijden en conferenties.** En dat alles voor een **zeer betaalbare prijs!** Aarzel niet en meld je aan om **gratis en vrijblijvend als gast** een van onze bijeenkomsten bij te wonen. Email: goudenraadtoastmasters@gmail.com Adres: Huis van Eemnes, Noordersingel 4, 3755 EZ Eemnes

Kom naar het HaHaHo Makers Lab Utrecht voor een avond vol kennis & ervaringsdelen en maken, met de focus op elektronica met microprocessoren zoals Arduino & Raspberry Pi, LED’s en meetapparatuur. 19:00 Inloop + opzetten apparatuur 19:45 Standup: wat wil iedereen doen en/of leren deze avond? 20:00 Parallelle activiteiten: – startactiviteiten voor nieuwe deelnemers (Arduino, soldering, meetapparatuur, etc.) – onderlinge kennisuitwisseling adhv de wensen uit de standup – werken aan het gezamenlijke [PraatPaal-project](https://github.com/hadoopmarc/hahaho-interactive-pole) – werken aan je eigen project – ordenen/markeren van de ladenkasten met elektronisch componenten 21:30 Start met opruimen 21:45 Einde en verlaten van de Bibliotheek Wij zijn meestal met een groep van een kleine tien (er is ook nog een whatsapp aanmeldingslijst). Een laptop is niet noodzakelijk maar komt vaak van pas! We vragen een vrijwillige donatie van €5,55 per avond om de inventaris met apparatuur en elektronische componenten op peil te kunnen houden. English 19:00 Room available for setting up equipment 19:45 Standup: what are the participant’s plans and wishes for the evening? 20:00 Parallel activities: – starter activities for new participants (Arduino, soldering, measuring equipment, etc.) – sharing knowledge as follow-up on the plans and wishes expressed during the standup – working on the community [Interactive Pole project](https://github.com/hadoopmarc/hahaho-interactive-pole) – working on your individual project – sorting the chest of drawers with electrical components 21:30 Start decluttering the room 21:45 End: leave the Public Library Most evenings see a group of about 10 people (there is an additional whatsapp list). Bring your laptop if you want to program microcontrollers! We ask for a voluntary donation of €5,55 per evening to maintain the inventory with equipment and electrical components.

If you are living in The Netherlands, by now, you may well have noticed the amount of open water. If you enjoy cycling in the city, you may wish to feel safer as you navigate the bridges and canals. And you may also want to get ready for visiting the beach, pools or the many lakes this summer. Learning how to swim takes approx 1 year and it all starts with the very first lesson. New comers enroll via our website and pay € 30,50, this is the first lesson and a goody bag. After the class you agree with the personal swim coach how to continue to obtain your final objectives. Enrolling is only possible via [www.your-personal-swim-coach.nl ](https://www.your-personal-swim-coach.nl/)hence a rvsp via meetup is not enough.

Samen sporten, gewoon voor de fun, elke week een divers programma, met allerlei verschillende sporten. Je hoeft niet de beste te zijn, maar wel zin hebben om samen te spelen en te leren. Tijdens een training doen we verschillende spelletjes, basketbal, voetbal. volleybal, spikebal, honkbal. Kom je ook, de bal ligt bij jou!! Eerste keer meedoen is altijd gratis, daarna kan je beslissen of dit voor jou is, of niet!! Dus kom een keer proberen. Kan je niet op deze dag, we sporten ook op andere dagen nl Zondag om 9:30 of Maandag om 20:30 Stuur mij een berichtje als je op die dagen een keer wil proberen! The amount of people rsvp'd to this game doesn't match the real number of people at the event, as Meetup is only used for promotion purposes.

New Year, New Sport! 🏐 ​Whether you've never played volleyball before or it’s been many years since you last hit the court, you are very welcome to join our Beginner Group! ​We train every Monday at 9 PM at Gymnasium Bibian Mentel in Zeeburgereiland. ​Come learn the basics, get moving, and meet new people in a fun, relaxed environment. ​Get more info here: ​WhatsApp Group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/EnPEK1bHLiTGdpqz6Vtbm4 ​Instagram: @brazucavolley

Let's talk about Org Design! We'll talk about the 10X ORG book, and challenges we are facing trying to get change going. Note that the address has changed: we will be in the bar "de Stadsgenoot".

**Welcome to our March UX Beers in Antwerp!** This time, we will host our event on Tuesday the 31st of March with [Dashdot](https://dashdot.be) at Plein Magazijn in Antwerp. [Ariad](https://www.ariadgroup.com/) and [Creative Skills](https://www.creativeskills.be/) sponsor our events. Follow the event online? We stream live via [Youtube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBqyTDAyQBw) \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- \#\#\# UX TALKS **Talk 1:** #BYOA — Bring Your Own Application [Erik Willemse](https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikwillemse/), Senior Digital Service & AI Design Engineer We’re entering a phase where, if a tool doesn’t exist, or if the existing ones are simply too complicated, you just build the exact thing you need yourself. No roadmap. No procurement cycle. No feature request backlog. Just solve the problem. Thanks to vibe-coding, building software is becoming accessible to the people who actually experience the friction. Instead of waiting months for a feature or adapting your workflow to a generic tool, you create something that fits your problem, your process, and your team. Tools like Lovable make that possible. And this shift is bigger than it may seem. This isn’t really about a waffle charts generator or poster tiling tools. It’s about what happens when building software on demand becomes normal. When the people closest to the problem can create the solution, exactly when they need it. **Talk 2:** Digital inclusion in public transport Sjoera Roggeman Public transport is a fundamental service that should be available to everyone. But as services become increasingly digital, there is a real risk of excluding people who are less digitally confident, or have specific needs for using digital products. That’s why De Lijn implemented an “easy mode” within the existing app, a simplified interface that reduces complexity and makes key tasks more straightforward and intuitive. In this talk, Sjoera will walk you through the design process from start to end, and share her learnings and challenges as a UX designer on this project. \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- \#\#\# SCHEDULE 18:00 - Doors open. Drinks & snacks 19.00 - 19.15 - Introduction to UX Belgium Meetup, announcements 19.15 - 19:45 - Talk #1 19:45 -20:15 - BREAK 20:15 - 20:45 - Talk #2 20:45 - 21:30 - Socialize \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- \#\#\# SLACK CHANNEL We have our own UX Belgium slack channel. [Come join us and say hi!](https://join.slack.com/t/ux-belgium/shared_invite/zt-1bjpnuiog-T4Di4flXYPWgbT9KrZ53CA) \*\*\* \#\#\# YOUTUBE CHANNEL All our livestreams and talks are recorded and available on our [UX Belgium youtube channel](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCno7V18T-EglYXprgrUZQ7A). \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- \#\#\# ABOUT UX BELGIUM UX Belgium is a growing community of User Experience (UX) professionals in and around Belgium. Look for these types of events: UX Beers Periodically, we gather at a different agency or venue to drink beers, network and listen to speakers on various themes in the world of UX and digital design. UX Antwerp: Each last Tuesday of the month UX Brussels: Each second Tuesday of the month, 4x per year UX Workshops Now and then we organize events to dive deeper into specific skills and techniques in UX. These are smaller, hands-on workshops designed to boost your UX toolbox. \*\*\* The UX Belgium Meetup Team

**Details** The Workplace Ninja User Group Netherlands is proud to announce that on Wednesday the 1st of April 2026 we will organize our 2nd in-person event in the year 2026. **Program:** **15:30 - 16:00: Welcome at location** **16:00 - 17:00: Session 1: Jorik Polhuis “Copilot als reality check: wanneer AI je project niet spaart”** **17:05 - 18:05: Session 2: Arno van Dijk, "How to Protect Your Tokens with Intune & Conditional Access"** **18:05 - 19:00: Food, drinks and networking, sponsored by location host** **19:00 - 20:00: Session 3:** **20:00 - 21:00: Drinks and networking** Location: \ **Session 1: Jorik Polhuis “Copilot als reality check: wanneer AI je project niet spaart”** Wat gebeurt er als je Copilot vraagt om eerlijk te zijn over je project? In deze sessie bouwen we samen een agent die niet samenvat, maar **kritisch meedenkt**: wat klopt hier niet, wat missen we, en waar lopen we risico zonder het te benoemen? Aan de hand van een herkenbare projectcase laten we zien: * hoe je van een idee naar een agent komt * waarom agent‑denken iets anders is dan prompten * en waar het misgaat zonder goede afspraken en data **Session 2:** How to Protect Your Tokens with Intune & Conditional Access - Arno van Dijk When accessing resources with Single Sign On, the Microsoft Services makes use of a Primary Refresh Token (PRT). This token is created when a device is registered so it can make use of Single Sign On. Now a days token theft is becoming a huge problem. Luckily Microsoft has released several features to reduces the possibility for Token theft. Read on to learn more about the profile possibilities in Intune and how to enforce your token protection with Conditional Access **Session 3:**

We are excited to announce our next Utrecht JUG meetup on **March 31, 2026**. And this one is extra special as we celebrate the **10-year anniversary of the Utrecht Java User Group!** For a decade, the Utrecht JUG has been bringing together Java developers to share knowledge, exchange ideas, and build a strong local community. We’re proud of how far we’ve come and we’re celebrating in style with two world-class speakers: **Holly Cummins and Dr. Venkat Subramaniam.** In the first session, Holly Cummins will challenge us to rethink what really impacts our daily work as developers. From physics and the speed of light to statistics, economics, and the end of Moore’s Law, this wide-ranging and thought-provoking talk explores why topics we once ignored may now be critical to our success. We’ll dive into concurrency, Project Loom, AOT, and why certain ideas that were “bad” before might suddenly be the right choice today. After the break, Dr. Venkat Subramaniam will explore the power and perils of AI-assisted development. Tools like GitHub Copilot and ChatGPT can dramatically improve productivity, but only when used wisely. In this practical and insightful session, Venkat will demonstrate how to leverage AI effectively, understand its limitations, and make better engineering decisions when building applications. Join us for an evening full of big ideas, practical insights, great conversations and a celebration of 10 years of Utrecht JUG! Please join us and RSVP! Because of the limited number of seats, please keep your RSVP up-to-date, so we can welcome someone else if you can't make it. *** ## Timeschedule 17:00 Doors open 17:30 Food & Drinks 18:15 Things You Thought You Didn’t Need To Care About That Have a Big Impact On Your Job by Holly Cummins 19:15 Break 19:30 The Power and Perils of Using Copilot and ChatGPT for Application Development by Venkat Subramaniam 20:30 Drinks *** # Talks ## Things You Thought You Didn’t Need To Care About That Have a Big Impact On Your Job Development is about working with computers, right? Well, not quite. Development is about working with computers (easy), and working with people (hard). And it’s also about physics. Things like the speed of light and thermodynamics influence APIs because they influence hardware and networking. Statistics, whether we liked it at university or not, is shaping modern development workflows. Economics — including the end of zero-interest rates — is influencing hiring and the broader tech landscape. In this wide-ranging talk, Holly will explore why the end of Moore’s Law means we may finally need to embrace concurrent programming properly, why Loom is a good idea now when green threads once weren’t, why AOT has become attractive again, and how much business, finance, and statistics should matter to us as developers. *** ## The Power and Perils of Using Copilot and ChatGPT for Application Development Tools serve us well when we understand their power, know when to use them, and use them wisely. AI tools are no different. In this presentation, we’ll look at practical ways to use AI tools like Copilot and ChatGPT in application development. We’ll explore how they can improve productivity and creativity — and where caution is needed. You’ll learn how to benefit from AI while staying effective, responsible, and in control as a developer. *** # Speakers ## Holly Cummins Holly Cummins is a Senior Principal Software Engineer on the IBM Quarkus team and a Java Champion. Over her career, Holly has been a full-stack JavaScript developer, a build architect, a client-facing consultant, a JVM performance engineer, and an innovation leader. She has led projects to understand climate risks, count fish, help a blind athlete run ultra-marathons in the desert solo, and invent stories (although not at the same time). Holly is passionate about sustainability, technical empathy, extreme programming, proper testing, and automating all the things. You can find her at [http://hollycummins.com](http://hollycummins.com) or follow her on socials at @holly_cummins. *** ## Venkat Subramaniam Dr. Venkat Subramaniam is an award-winning author, founder of Agile Developer, Inc., an instructional professor at the University of Houston, and creator of dev2next conference. He has trained and mentored thousands of software developers in the US, Canada, Europe, and Asia, and is a regularly-invited speaker at several international conferences. Venkat helps his clients effectively apply and succeed with sustainable agile practices on their software projects. Venkat is a (co)author of multiple technical books, including the 2007 Jolt Productivity award winning book Practices of an Agile Developer. You can find a list of his books at <[https://www.agiledeveloper.com](https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.agiledeveloper.com__;!!NPQZPu0!6In-vnyqHXhLaTSZn6gv8YVA2sxYky7o1G1UEZYElYKblqYqQd5W2U_IBbqYemHNKhTykLpl1M2yXAkqNXsjatur5wrlog$ "https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.agiledeveloper.com__;!!NPQZPu0!6In-vnyqHXhLaTSZn6gv8YVA2sxYky7o1G1UEZYElYKblqYqQd5W2U_IBbqYemHNKhTykLpl1M2yXAkqNXsjatur5wrlog$")\>\.

Welcome to another Angular NL meetup! Tonight we have a great talk lined up on AI and how it's changing the way we build with Angular. Grab a drink, say hi to familiar faces, and enjoy the evening. 18:00 — Doors open & 🍕 Pizza, drinks and catching up 18:30 — Welcome 18.30 - Beyond the Code: what really makes a Senior Developer? Abstract: What actually makes someone a senior developer? Technical expertise is often the first thing that comes to mind. But real seniority goes beyond code. It combines strong engineering skills with communication, coaching, and the ability to create alignment within teams. Whether it’s refactoring existing code, improving developer experience, or helping a team adopt newer Angular approaches (like Signals), these changes often require more than technical knowledge alone. In this talk, Nicky Haze shares practical lessons from years of frontend development and consulting, showing how technical and human skills together create real impact in software teams. 19.30 From pixel perfect design to code Turning a design into code that truly matches the original is often harder than it looks. Small differences in spacing, typography, and layout can quickly turn a polished design into an interface that feels “almost right.” In this talk, we explore how developers can leverage AI to bridge the gap between design and implementation. We’ll look at practical ways AI can assist in translating design files into code, speeding up repetitive UI work. From interpreting design sto generating components and refining layouts, the session focuses on how AI can augment the developer workflow. 20:30 — Q&A 20:45 — Drinks & mingling

**The Data-Driven Brand: Using Analytics to Shape Perception** Can you use analytics to improve tacos? This being CBUSDAW, we think the answer is probably “yes”, but we’re not sure how to implement or test this theory. For our April meetup we’ve got Sara Kear, CMO of Condado Tacos, to investigate this delicious question. Sara will explore how she blends quantitative data and qualitative customer feedback to shape brand positioning and drive business decisions. We all know that marketing and analytics go way beyond attribution. Sara will show how Condado uses customer insights to inform product and pricing strategy. She’ll also highlight how Condado leverages customer feedback at scale to influence operational priorities, positioning marketing as the voice of the customer across the organization. In the last 12 years Condado has gone from one location in Columbus to 52 locations across 10 states, so we’re guessing there’s more to that growth than really good guac (though the guac probably helps). Ultimately, this talk focuses on the intersection of art and science—using data to inform creativity and build a brand that resonates with customers in a measurable way. **About Our Speaker** Sara Kear is Chief Marketing Officer at Condado Tacos, where she oversees brand, restaurant design, menu and pricing strategy, off-premise including catering, and customer data strategy. Since joining in 2021, she has helped grow the brand from 19 to 52 locations while building a data-driven marketing organization focused on loyalty and customer insights. Condado has since been named to the Inc. 5000, recognized as Breakout Retailer by Chain Store Age, and consistently ranked among FastCasual’s Top 100 Movers & Shakers. Thanks to our 2026 sponsors: [Clarivoy](https://www.clarivoy.com), [What Box Consulting Group](https://www.whatboxconsultinggroup.com), [Conductrics](https://www.conductrics.com), and [Piwik PRO](https://piwik.pro) More info at [cbusdaw.com](https://cbusdaw.com)

**PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING IMPORTANT NOTES:** 1. The dates listed for this series are about 95% reliable. We are completing our 2026 schedule as we speak, so minor adjustments are still occurring. 2. Each class in this series has an attendance fee, though this first offering is free on a first-come, first-served basis. 3. Each class, from BOTH a sign-up and fee perspective, is a separate entity. **Introduction:** HTML5 is the foundational technology for modern web development, serving as the standard markup language for structuring and presenting content on the World Wide Web. Developed through a collaboration between the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and the Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group (WHATWG), HTML5 provides a robust system of elements (tags) that tell a browser how to display text, images, and multimedia in a clear and meaningful way. It works in concert with Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) for presentation and JavaScript for interactivity, forming the core technology stack for virtually all websites and many web applications today. One of the significant advancements of HTML5 is the introduction of powerful new features and elements designed to improve functionality and simplify development. Key additions include native multimedia support via the \ and \ tags, allowing developers to embed media without third-party plugins. It also offers new form controls for better user input, such as date and email types, and introduces web storage capabilities to store data offline for enhanced performance. These features streamline the process of building rich, interactive web experiences. A significant focus of HTML5 is enhanced semantics and better structural organization of content. New semantic elements like , , , , and \ provide meaningful structure to documents, which aids in search engine optimization (SEO) and improves accessibility for assistive technologies. These elements define different parts of a webpage (e.g., a header for the top, a nav for navigation links, a footer for the bottom), making the code more readable and understandable for both developers and machines. This emphasis on clear structure helps in creating more logical and maintainable websites. Developing websites in today's competitive environment requires taking advantage of every technique you can to get the maximum exposure possible. Our HTML5 class will not only show you what's new in the HTML specification, but also the best way to develop optimized web pages that get the attention your client and/or company requires. **The breakdown of the four-class series is as follows:** **Class 1: Introduction to Web Structure and Basic HTML5** This class introduces the core concepts of web development, the history of HTML, and the fundamental structure of an HTML5 document. * **Topics**: * **Web Architecture Overview**: How browsers, servers, and web pages interact. * **HTML Fundamentals**: Understanding elements, tags, and attributes. * **Basic Document Structure**: Using !DOCTYPE html, html, head, and body. * **Text Formatting**: Headings (h1 to h6), paragraphs (p), and text-level semantics (e.g., strong, em, br). * **Lists and Links**: Creating ordered (ol) and unordered (ul) lists, and linking between pages using anchor tags (a). * **Activity**: Students create a basic personal webpage containing text, a list of hobbies, and a link to an external website. **Class 2: Semantic HTML5 and Multimedia Integration** Class 2 focuses on modern HTML5 elements that provide meaning (semantics) to content, improving accessibility and search engine optimization. It also covers adding images and multimedia. * **Topics**: * **Semantic Elements**: Understanding and implementing elements like header, footer, nav, section, and article. * **Images**: Adding images using the img tag and attributes like src, alt, width, and height. * **Multimedia**: Embedding audio and video content using the audio and video tags. * **File and Folder Structure**: Best practices for organizing project files and managing file paths. * **Activity**: Students refactor their Class 1 project to use a proper semantic layout and add an image and a link to a video file. **Class 3: Forms and User Input** This session is dedicated to building interactive HTML5 forms, which are essential for capturing user data and input. * **Topics**: * **Form Basics**: Using the form element, action and method attributes. * **Input Types**: Exploring various input types (e.g., text, password, checkbox, radio, date, submit). * **Form Elements**: Utilizing label, textarea, select, option, and button. * **Client-side Validation**: Implementing HTML5 validation attributes like required, minlength, and pattern. * **Activity**: Students build a complete contact form with different input fields, radio buttons, and basic HTML5 validation. **Class 4: Introduction to CSS3 and Basic Styling** The final class introduces Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) to style the HTML content and make the web pages visually appealing and accessible. * **Topics**: * **CSS Fundamentals**: The role of CSS, selectors, properties, and values. * **Integrating CSS**: Using inline, internal, and external style sheets. * **The Box Model**: Understanding margin, padding, border, and content for basic layout. * **Basic Styling**: Changing colors, fonts, and text alignment. * **Accessibility Basics**: Identifying principles of web design usability and accessibility, including ARIA labels. * **Activity**: Students apply an external CSS file to their Class 3 form project to style the layout, colors, and fonts, culminating in a well-structured and styled webpage.

Pay attention! We’re delaying a week for those of you who may be on Spring break and/or celebrating the holiday. Ok, no pancakes, but waffles-a-plenty. Join the local UX and Digital Design community for a casual monthly breakfast. Look for us upstairs!

**PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING IMPORTANT NOTES:** 1. The dates listed for this series are about 95% reliable. We are completing our 2026 schedule as we speak, so minor adjustments are still occurring. 2. Each class in this series has an attendance fee, though this first offering is free on a first-come, first-served basis. 3. Each class, from BOTH a sign-up and fee perspective, is a separate entity. **Introduction:** HTML5 is the foundational technology for modern web development, serving as the standard markup language for structuring and presenting content on the World Wide Web. Developed through a collaboration between the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and the Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group (WHATWG), HTML5 provides a robust system of elements (tags) that tell a browser how to display text, images, and multimedia in a clear and meaningful way. It works in concert with Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) for presentation and JavaScript for interactivity, forming the core technology stack for virtually all websites and many web applications today. One of the significant advancements of HTML5 is the introduction of powerful new features and elements designed to improve functionality and simplify development. Key additions include native multimedia support via the \ and \ tags, allowing developers to embed media without third-party plugins. It also offers new form controls for better user input, such as date and email types, and introduces web storage capabilities to store data offline for enhanced performance. These features streamline the process of building rich, interactive web experiences. A significant focus of HTML5 is enhanced semantics and better structural organization of content. New semantic elements like , , , , and \ provide meaningful structure to documents, which aids in search engine optimization (SEO) and improves accessibility for assistive technologies. These elements define different parts of a webpage (e.g., a header for the top, a nav for navigation links, a footer for the bottom), making the code more readable and understandable for both developers and machines. This emphasis on clear structure helps in creating more logical and maintainable websites. Developing websites in today's competitive environment requires taking advantage of every technique you can to get the maximum exposure possible. Our HTML5 class will not only show you what's new in the HTML specification, but also the best way to develop optimized web pages that get the attention your client and/or company requires. **The breakdown of the four-class series is as follows:** **Class 1: Introduction to Web Structure and Basic HTML5** This class introduces the core concepts of web development, the history of HTML, and the fundamental structure of an HTML5 document. * **Topics**: * **Web Architecture Overview**: How browsers, servers, and web pages interact. * **HTML Fundamentals**: Understanding elements, tags, and attributes. * **Basic Document Structure**: Using !DOCTYPE html, html, head, and body. * **Text Formatting**: Headings (h1 to h6), paragraphs (p), and text-level semantics (e.g., strong, em, br). * **Lists and Links**: Creating ordered (ol) and unordered (ul) lists, and linking between pages using anchor tags (a). * **Activity**: Students create a basic personal webpage containing text, a list of hobbies, and a link to an external website. **Class 2: Semantic HTML5 and Multimedia Integration** Class 2 focuses on modern HTML5 elements that provide meaning (semantics) to content, improving accessibility and search engine optimization. It also covers adding images and multimedia. * **Topics**: * **Semantic Elements**: Understanding and implementing elements like header, footer, nav, section, and article. * **Images**: Adding images using the img tag and attributes like src, alt, width, and height. * **Multimedia**: Embedding audio and video content using the audio and video tags. * **File and Folder Structure**: Best practices for organizing project files and managing file paths. * **Activity**: Students refactor their Class 1 project to use a proper semantic layout and add an image and a link to a video file. **Class 3: Forms and User Input** This session is dedicated to building interactive HTML5 forms, which are essential for capturing user data and input. * **Topics**: * **Form Basics**: Using the form element, action and method attributes. * **Input Types**: Exploring various input types (e.g., text, password, checkbox, radio, date, submit). * **Form Elements**: Utilizing label, textarea, select, option, and button. * **Client-side Validation**: Implementing HTML5 validation attributes like required, minlength, and pattern. * **Activity**: Students build a complete contact form with different input fields, radio buttons, and basic HTML5 validation. **Class 4: Introduction to CSS3 and Basic Styling** The final class introduces Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) to style the HTML content and make the web pages visually appealing and accessible. * **Topics**: * **CSS Fundamentals**: The role of CSS, selectors, properties, and values. * **Integrating CSS**: Using inline, internal, and external style sheets. * **The Box Model**: Understanding margin, padding, border, and content for basic layout. * **Basic Styling**: Changing colors, fonts, and text alignment. * **Accessibility Basics**: Identifying principles of web design usability and accessibility, including ARIA labels. * **Activity**: Students apply an external CSS file to their Class 3 form project to style the layout, colors, and fonts, culminating in a well-structured and styled webpage.

**Confidence & Connection: Using Your Authentic Truth to Find Your People** Confidence isn’t just about believing in yourself, it’s about knowing where you belong and who you can grow alongside. In this April Confidence Lab Happy Hour, we’ll explore how living in your authentic truth helps you find your people, build meaningful collaborations, and create spaces where vulnerability is met with respect rather than risk. Together, we’ll reflect on what it looks like to advocate for yourself with clarity and care, and how confidence deepens when it’s rooted in connection rather than comparison. Featured speaker **Lachandra Baker**, founder of **[LBB Edutainment](https://www.lbbedutainment.com/)** and author of *Your Own Biggest Cheerleader*, will share reflections on authenticity, psychological safety, and the power of community over individual achievement. Drawing from personal stories—including the significance of turning 53—Lachandra will invite us into a conversation about showing up fully, being seen, and choosing relationships that support who you truly are. Expect a warm, welcoming atmosphere with space for reflection, shared insight, and intentional connection—plus drinks, light bites, and the kind of conversations that remind you you’re not meant to do this alone. Come as you are. Leave feeling clearer about your voice, your people, and the confidence that grows when both are aligned. **What is Confidence Lab?** Confidence Lab is a monthly community experience for bold, thoughtful leaders building confidence from the inside out. Whether you’re launching a business, leading a team, navigating change, or simply striving to show up more fully—you belong here. Our work demands clarity, courage, and conviction—but the pace of daily life can erode our sense of self. Confidence Lab creates space to reflect, reconnect, and grow with others doing purpose-driven work. It’s designed for entrepreneurs, nonprofit leaders, creatives, corporate professionals, activists, and anyone ready to lead with authenticity and impact. ***Please note:*** *All are welcome! If cost is a concern, please use promo code PUBLIC to access a free ticket—we want you to join us.*

**PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING IMPORTANT NOTES:** 1. The dates for this series are simply placeholders at the moment. We are working on our 2026 schedule, and adjustments are forthcoming. 2. Each class in this series has an attendance fee. 3. Each class from BOTH a sign-up and fee perspective is a separate entity. **Introduction:** Our Page Building with Bricks web development class provides detailed instruction for using Bricks Builder, a visual site builder for WordPress, to create and manage websites. Widely considered by many of the world's leading web developers to be the most complete page builder on the market today, Bricks Builder offers a wide range of features and comprehensive tools. Our Bricks Builder web development class provides detailed instructions on utilizing the toolset. The series of courses covers the core features of Bricks Builder, enabling users to design and develop responsive, visually appealing websites. Moreover, the courses are oriented to reinforce a focus on professional, scalable web development. Throughout the series, we focus our page-building instruction on the semantic and structural integrity of the pages in a responsive world. By the end of the 10-class series, participants will have a fundamental understanding of proper web page and website development. **The breakdown of the 10-class series is as follows:** * Class 01 - Survey of Page Builders / What Bricksbuilder Does For You * Class 02 - Boxes, Boxes, Boxes / Sections / Containers * Class 03 - Static Units / Relative Units / Responsive Development And Math Functions * Class 04 - CSS Variables And DRY Development / Classes And Global Styling * Class 05 - CSS Grid And CSS Flexbox * Class 06 - Responsive Development / Breakpoints And Media Queries * Class 07 - Effective Use Of Color / Effective Use Of Images * Class 08 - Beginning To Think Dynamically / Using Templates And Components * Class 09 - Dynamic Styling / Data Attributes And Attribute Selectors * Class 10 - Pseudo Elements / Programmatically Styling With Pseudo Classes Throughout the class sessions listed above, we cover the following key areas of web development with Bricks Builder: * **Introduction to Bricks Builder Interface:** * Familiarization with the builder's layout, including the toolbar, panel, and canvas, and understanding how to navigate and interact with its various components. * **Visual Site Building:** * Techniques for creating layouts using Bricks' drag-and-drop interface, incorporating sections, rows, columns, and elements to build page structures. * **Styling and Design:** * Utilizing Bricks' styling options to customize elements, apply global CSS classes for consistent design, and leverage features like Flexbox and CSS Grid for responsive layouts. * **Dynamic Content and Custom Fields:** * Integrating dynamic content from custom post types and custom field plugins (like ACF, Meta Box) to build data-driven websites. * **Template Building:** * Creating and managing reusable templates for headers, footers, post type layouts, and other site-wide elements. * **Performance Optimization:** * Understanding how Bricks Builder contributes to fast-loading websites and implementing performance best practices. * **Advanced Features:** * Depending on the class level, it might delve into advanced topics such as conditional logic, interactions, and custom code integration to enable more complex functionality. The series aims to equip participants with the skills to efficiently build, customize, and maintain WordPress websites using Bricks Builder, catering to both beginners and experienced web developers.

At Evolve Synergy Sessions, you'll be part of a supportive mastermind where we share challenges, brainstorm solutions, and inspire one another to take bold steps in our businesses. Grow your network, gain fresh perspectives, and build meaningful relationships with like-minded women who are committed to success. Whether you’re looking to move the needle in your business or simply need a space to connect and recharge, this is the perfect place to fuel your entrepreneurial journey. [Add Event to Calendar](https://evolvecolumbus.eventcalendarapp.com/) \*\* Please note, we will be arriving around 8:15a for open networking! Get there early and get connected! Contact Alexis Morley at [alexis.morley@edwardjones.com](mailto:alexis.morley@edwardjones.com) or Terri Lawson at [terri.lawson@e-merge.com](mailto:terri.lawson@e-merge.com) for more information.