One of my favorite ways to share my ideas is live on stage, where there’s so much more communication bandwidth than there is in writing, and I love podcast interviews because they give me the opportunity to answer questions instead of just present my opinions. You can view some of my abstracts here or my YouTube channel if you want to get an idea of my speaking style. For a full list of past events please check out the archives. If you would like me to speak at your event please feel free to contact me.
KCDC 2025, Aug 14, 2025 - Kansas City, MO
As we march towards Spring Boot 4, let's examine how Spring Boot 3 transformed enterprise Java development through foundational upgrades, developer empowerment, and operational excellence. From embracing Java 17 to enhancing cloud-native capabilities, Spring Boot 3 set new standards for building modern enterprise applications.
KCDC 2025, Aug 14, 2025 - Kansas City, MO
As Large Language Models (LLMs) revolutionize application development, Java/Spring developers face a critical challenge: how to securely and efficiently connect these AI models with enterprise data and tools. The Model Context Protocol (MCP) offers a practical solution by providing a standardized approach for integrating AI capabilities into Spring applications while maintaining enterprise-grade security and scalability.
Community over Code, Sep 11, 2025 - Minneapolis, MN
Want to add AI to your applications but not sure where to start? This session is for Groovy developers ready to explore the exciting world of artificial intelligence. We'll show you how your Groovy skills transfer perfectly to AI development using Spring AI.
Commit Your Code, Sep 25, 2025 - Dallas, TX
As Large Language Models (LLMs) revolutionize application development, Java/Spring developers face a critical challenge: how to securely and efficiently connect these AI models with enterprise data and tools. The Model Context Protocol (MCP) offers a practical solution by providing a standardized approach for integrating AI capabilities into Spring applications while maintaining enterprise-grade security and scalability.
dev2Next, Sep 29, 2025 - Colorado Springs, CO
Skip the slides and dive straight into code as we build a full-featured GraphQL API from scratch using Spring Boot. Through live coding, we'll implement essential features including schema-first design, batch loading optimization, virtual threads, and query-by-example filtering. You'll see firsthand how GraphQL solves common REST challenges like over-fetching and endpoint proliferation. By the end, you'll understand not just the basics of GraphQL, but also production-ready patterns for scalability and performance. Perfect for developers looking to modernize their API architecture with practical, battle-tested approaches.
dev2Next, Sep 29, 2025 - Colorado Springs, CO
As Large Language Models (LLMs) revolutionize application development, Java developers face a critical challenge: how to securely and efficiently connect these AI models with enterprise data and tools. The Model Context Protocol (MCP) offers a practical solution by providing a standardized approach for integrating AI capabilities into Java applications while maintaining enterprise-grade security and scalability. Through live coding demonstrations, we'll explore how to leverage Java's MCP implementation to build powerful AI-enabled applications. Starting with basic setup and configuration, we'll progress to building custom MCP servers using Java and create practical features that combine the power of LLMs with Java's robust ecosystem. You'll see firsthand how to connect your Java applications to Claude Desktop and other AI tools while maintaining control over your data and infrastructure. Attendees will leave this session with everything needed to start implementing MCP in their Java projects: working code examples, best practices for secure AI integration, patterns for building custom MCP servers, and practical strategies for
dev2Next, Sep 29, 2025 - Colorado Springs, CO
In today's tech landscape, incorporating AI capabilities has become essential for modern applications. This comprehensive 8-hour workshop equips Java developers with practical skills needed to implement powerful AI features in their applications. Through a combination of theory and hands-on coding, you'll learn to build sophisticated AI integrations using familiar Java paradigms. Starting with foundational concepts, we'll progress to implementing specific AI capabilities including natural language processing, computer vision, and interactive chatbots. The workshop explores advanced techniques such as Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) for enhanced context awareness, and the Model Context Protocol (MCP) for effective AI orchestration. Using Spring AI's powerful abstractions, you'll learn how to write model-agnostic code that works seamlessly with both cloud-based and local AI models, giving you the flexibility to choose the right solution for your specific needs. Through guided exercises, you'll gain hands-on experience with setting up AI development environments, integrating various AI capabilities into your applications, and building intelligent features that can process text, images, and audio using both local and cloud-based models.
dev2Next, Sep 29, 2025 - Colorado Springs, CO
Agentic coding assistants and editor based AI chat interfaces are altering the development workflow leading some to proclaim the end of software engineering. Is it time to explore other careers? Not so fast, the rumors of our demise are greatly exaggerated! While these tools can boost productivity, to be used effectively, developers still need to master the fundamentals of the software craft. Modern software development demands more than just coding proficiency—it requires navigating an increasingly AI-augmented landscape.