Sarah Mei: RailsBridge, Community Building, and the Human Side of Code

Sarah Mei, a longtime Ruby community leader and former Ruby Central board member, shares her journey from co-founding RailsBridge to advocating for diversity and human-centered software development.

• Co-founded RailsBridge in 2009 to help thousands from underrepresented backgrounds enter tech
• Reflects on the evolution of RailsConf and Ruby Central's future focus on Ruby
• Shares memories of the early internet era before "the internet had cats"
• Explains how representation and diversity at conferences influenced her journey
• Discusses how code design should be contextual, evolving, and focused on clarity
• Describes the connection between team communication patterns and code quality
• Explores why people, not code, are the most valuable asset in software development
• Compares AI programming assistance to the transition to garbage collection in the 90s
• Celebrates the resurgence of local Ruby meetups and community events

Rocky Mountain Ruby is coming up, on October 6th, in Boulder, Colorado.  It's a single-track, community-focused conference that always draws an amazing group of people.  Tickets are on sale now, so if you're in the area, or if you're just looking for an excuse to spend some time in the Rockies, you should definitely check it out.