Hunting Creek Country Club, 6807 Foxcroft Rd, Prospect, KY

Techfest Louisville is an annual event organized and hosted by the Technology Association of Louisville KY (TALK), the area’s employer-led, non-profit tech council. TALK is a member of the Technology Councils of North America (TECNA). This 7th annual Techfest is designed for business and tech professionals in the region to gain knowledge and dialogue about all the tech current trends and their application, including governance, infrastructure, talent development, tech recruitment and more, through case studies, demos, overviews, panel discussions, keynotes, and tech-specific workshops. Our key focus areas in 2025 are: (a) Healthcare IT; (b) Cybersecurity; (c) Artificial Intelligence; and (d) Data Analytics.
Tech professionals, government officials, academics, and business executives are tasked with figuring out how to operate in today’s tech ecosystem with new products, stronger leadership, talent recruitment and management, governance, budgetary considerations, plus data quality and cloud management in a service environment. Our event is designed for engaging with tech circles of influence that may assist in your daily operations, project planning, as well as implementation, plus focus on innovation and deep-dive into emerging technology.
TechFest educates, connects, and entertains the audience of CIOs, CTOs, CISOs, VIPs, CEOs, entrepreneurs, professionals, programmers, data analysts, designers, IT managers, makers, government officials, and more by bringing national and regional speakers and vendors together to cover topics.

Schedule for Thursday August 21
8:30 AM
FIRESIDE ROOM:
Trade Show Setup
9:00 AM
GRILLE 64:
“A Look at Healthcare: Managing Your Cloud & AI” – Shane Rodabaugh, Executive Technology Leader, Baptist Health System
10:00 AM
GRILLE 64:
“Bardstown Bourbon: A Case Study of How ERP, Robotics, & AI Are Changing Bourbon Production” – Aaron Butler, Senior Project Manager at Bardstown Bourbon Company
11:00 AM
GRILLE 64:
Corporate Panel Discussion: “Examining Your Next Cybersecurity Spend – Beefing Up For AI & Cyber Resilience”
Panel Participants:
- Moderator: Dawn Yankeelov, CEO of TALK
- Jim Cox, Senior IT Auditor, Papa Johns
- Joe Harrington, Senior Manager of Cybersecurity, Texas Roadhouse, Inc
- Maurice Stepteau, CISO, Hardscuffle Inc. (an area insurance conglomerate)
12:00 PM
GRILLE 64:
Box Lunch will be served for all attendees and tradeshow booth personnel.
1:00 PM
64 BAR:
“NEW: The KY Cyber Threat Intelligence Collaborative and Its Real-Time Sharing”- James Meece, CISO, Louisville Metro Government
2:00 PM
GRILLE 64:
“Healthcare IT: The Latest in Risk Assessment Coding Technology” – Chetan Parikh, Founder and CEO RAAPID INC
3:00 PM
GRILLE 64:
“AI & Software: What You Need to Know” – Chris Howard, CIO, and Chief Product Officer, Slingshot
GOLF SIMULATOR ROOM:
Golf Simulator Room Opens –Pre-Sign Ups Earlier in Day in Golf Simulator Room
4:00 PM-6:00 PM
64 BAR:
TALK Cocktail Hours. Heavy Appetizers. Cash Bar.
4:00 PM
FIRESIDE ROOM:
Tradeshow Ends.
Schedule for Friday August 22
9:00 AM
FIRESIDE ROOM:
Trade Show Setup
HUNTING CREEK ROOM:
Breakout Session-“Tech Startup Overview–OnMyWay Commerce: In-Vehicle Transactions Ahead,” Jim Greene, VP of Partnerships, OnMyWay Commerce (30 minute session)
GRILLE 64:
Workshop:
“How to Build a Simple Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) Pipeline” – Justin Tindle, Director of Software Development, E-Blu Solutions
9:30 AM
HUNTING CREEK ROOM:
Breakout Session-“Roundtable Discussion: Understanding the Lou. Econ Dev Alliance’s Role in Tech.” Trevor Pawl, CEO, Louisville Econ Dev Alliance (30 minute session)
10:00 AM
64 BAR:
ISACA – TALK SESSION
Edward McCabe, Founder/Principal, The Rubicon Advisory Group
CISM|CRISC|CGEIT|CDPSE|ISO/IEC 27K1 ISMS LI | COBIT | SABSA – Workforce Training – Certifications Overview & Signups (30 minute session)
GRILLE 64:
Fireside Chat: “Entering AI: Digital Twins modeling in the Data Center,” – Eric Poynter, World Wide Technology, Consulting Systems Engineer, Consulting Systems Engineer | OH & KY SLED
(one hour session)
10:30 AM
64 BAR:
ISACA – TALK SESSION
“Winning at the Recruitment Game – What to Consider to Move Up the Ladder”
- Michael Newkirk, Healthcare National Sales Director, Experis Health Solutions
- Dan Lutes, Sr. Business Development Manager , TCI
- Chris Rittmuller, Sr. Business Development Manager, TCI
11:30 AM
64 BAR:
ISACA – TALK SESSION
TALK Panel of Corporate Recruiters
(30 minute session)
HUNTING CREEK ROOM:
“De-Identified Data: Can AI See Through the Mask?” – Jesse Chowning, Cybersecurity Manager, LMBC
(30 minute session)
12:00 PM
GRILLE 64:
Keynote with Luncheon / Networking.
Keynote: “Traditional Cybersecurity vs. Next Gen,” Terry Roberts, Founder & CEO, WhiteHawk, Inc.
Terry Roberts is a seasoned intelligence professional with over 30 years of experience in senior roles, including Director of Intelligence for U.S. and NATO commands, and Director of C4ISR analysis at the Office of Naval Intelligence. She has led global intelligence operations, focusing on integrating intelligence and communications technologies. Roberts has also held advisory and leadership positions with INSA, AFCEA, NIP, New America, and the U.S. Naval Academy.
Her numerous honors include the OSD Medal for Exceptional Civilian Service and the Navy Senior Civilian Award of Distinction. She is the founder of WhiteHawk, the first online cybersecurity exchange designed to support businesses—especially small and mid-sized enterprises—in accessing cybersecurity solutions and insights.
1:00 PM
64 BAR:
Spotlight Panel: “Regional AI Research & Startup Developments.”
Moderator: Terry Roberts, WhiteHawk.
Panelists:
- Dr. Kelly Cohen, President, North American Fuzzy Information Processing Society (NAFIPS), Brian H. Rowe Endowed Chair in Aerospace Engineering, Director AI Bio Lab, Digital Futures, University of Cincinnati
- Jon Salisbury, CEO, and Chief AI Officer, Nexigen
- Omar Emam, MD, AI researcher, University of Louisville
2:00 PM
GRILLE 64:
Fireside Chat: “Understanding the AI & Data Center Picture.” Doug Large, Technology Advisor, Oakmont Technology Solutions with Scott Klink, Regional Director of Architecture, Trace 3
3:00 PM
FIRESIDE ROOM:
Trade Show teardown
TechFest Louisville Sponsors for 2025









Friends of Techfest


Wrap-up Video from Techfest 2024

Our Mission
Our mission: Workforce and economic development
Goal: To create opportunities for job growth, job training, STEAM curriculum, plus public policy and advocacy around technology subjects at the state and federal level.
- One of 65+ tech councils in North America, including Canada.
- Member of TECNA (Tech Councils of America)
- Independent, non-profit educational organization
- Registered 501C3.
- Established officially April 22, 2014. First official meetup February 2013.
- In short: Create and identify jobs. Train people.