Julie Yack

In May, I’ll be in three very different rooms.

First stop is Global App Economy Conference 2026 in DC, with ACT|The App Association.

This isn’t a typical conference. It’s policy conversations, followed by meetings on the Hill and in federal offices.

We’re there representing small and mid-sized tech businesses. The conversations span broadband access, workforce development, and this year—AI.

Not the polished version. The real one.

What adoption really looks like.

How to translate “AI” into something relevant for commerce, armed services, and everything in between. What guardrails even mean for something that’s evolving faster than policy can ever move.

I’m there to translate.  Take what I know to be true and translate it into their world.

And the hardest part with this one? You don’t get immediate feedback.
You don’t walk out knowing if anything you said mattered.

Sometimes you talk about something for years—like better broadband mapping—and then one day, it shows up. Not because of you. Not not because of you either.

It’s long game work.

(Between you and me, this is the one where imposter syndrome shows up the most. Yes, even after 15+ years.  There’s a lot of smart people doing this work.)

DynamicsCon

A few days later, I’m at DynamicsCon in Vegas.

Completely different energy.

I’m co-leading a session called Bad Ass Bitches—which, even typing that, feels like a shift for me.

I’ve always been an advocate. This is the first time I’m standing on stage, with two other incredible women, for the sole purpose of supporting each other—and everyone in the room.

Telling real stories.
Calling things out.
Sharing what we wish we knew sooner.

There’s a line from one of our slides that I think we all need.

“Straighten her crown.”

Because we all make mistakes.
We don’t need to amplify someone else’s.

This is the room where I’m most aware of the impact of what I say.

Not for outcomes—but for clarity.

I can show you what’s possible.
I can give you language.
I can give you the permission you don’t actually need.

But after that?

Doing it is on you.

I’ve also got an actual technical session on How to Negotiate with your Copilot.  Still working on that one, but it should be fun and informative. 

Then it’s Dynamics Minds.

Different again.

I’m part of a panel—Unscripted Voices: A Real Conversation About Inclusion in Tech.

It’s not my stage. It’s not my script. It’s a shared conversation.

And those can go a lot of ways.

My hope is simple: we don’t get stuck in the same conversations we’ve had a hundred times. No victim mentality.

Just honest, forward-moving discussion about what actually changes things.

(This is by far one of the best events I’ve ever been to, learning and fun and just a vibe that cannot be beat.)

Three rooms.

Policy.
Practice.
People.

For a long time, I treated them like separate parts of my work.

They’re not.

In every one of those rooms, I’m doing the same thing:

Translating.
Lifting.
Helping people see what’s possible.

And then stepping back.

Because this part matters:

I can show you what to do next. But actually doing it?  That’s on you.