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Auth0 Ambassador

At Auth0 we ❤️ developers. Serving & giving back to the community is one of the most rewarding things we do. We want to empower others to join the mission!

Find out how the Auth0 Ambassador program achieved its mission of empowering the developer community in 2018.



The [Auth0 Ambassador Program](https://auth0.com/ambassador-program) was founded to empower the developer community, help make the internet safer, and allow passionate individuals to build their personal brand. The program was officially launched back in July of 2017 and to date has over 75 Ambassadors in 32 countries spanning the globe from the United States to Japan.

![Auth0 Ambassador Program astronaut icon](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/1KyRa1D75OF3wQNtVcj9Vg/f36329e84b9da9161bb797f428e8e2ce/wallpaper)

Auth0 Ambassadors contribute by writing blog posts, giving talks at meetups and conferences, hosting workshops and webinars, and organizing local developer events in their communities and abroad. Whether speaking at a generalist conference like [CodeMash](http://www.codemash.org/) or something more specific like [ngAtl](https://ng-atl.org/), Auth0 Ambassadors share knowledge, tips, and best practices on topics relating to identity, security, and authentication.

Our ambassadors come from very diverse backgrounds and skill sets ranging from CTO’s like [Mercedes Wyss](https://twitter.com/itrjwyss?lang=en), entrepreneurs like [Dominik Angerer](https://www.dominikangerer.com/), to experienced software engineers and speakers like [Mehul Patel](https://twitter.com/rowdymehul). Each Auth0 Ambassador possesses a unique skill set that makes them invaluable to the developer community.

2018 was a huge year for the Ambassador Program. I want to share some stats and lessons learned to both celebrate and highlight the hard work and contributions our ambassadors have made. Finally, I hope this post helps others who are interested or running ambassador and evangelism programs within their companies. Collaboration makes us all stronger. Let’s first start with the stats!

## By the Numbers — Ambassadors

The Auth0 Ambassador Program went live in July of 2017. By the end of 2017 we had onboarded a total of **47** ambassadors. By the end of 2018 we had increased our head count to **75**. This represents a ~60% increase in the total number of ambassadors within our program.

![Map of Auth0 Ambassadors worldwide in 2018](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/48XdpxjSTungbnnrBOCDzg/54558bee8de0b8e77f741588cd837b35/ambassadors-2018)

## Lessons Learned — Ambassadors

The Auth0 Ambassador program is primary run by two people, [Ado Kukic](https://auth0.com/blog/authors/ado-kukic/) (me) and [Diego Poza](https://auth0.com/blog/authors/diego-poza/). Together we coordinate the ambassador program, review applications, host training sessions, help ambassadors book travel to events, and everything else that comes with running the program. This is all in addition to our regular day to day duties of being a Developer Evangelist and Head of Content and Evangelism, respectively.

The key takeaways for 2018 for us has been:

* **Nurture** — the ambassador program is a two-way street. Ambassadors represent our company so providing them with tools, guidance, training, and mentorship they may need is key to keeping them engaged.
* **Recognition** — recognizing ambassadors that go out of their way to create contributions creates a positive feedback loop.
* **Organization** — any growing team will experience growing pains, mitigating them is what will make or break morale. Introduce new tools that simplify communication and collaboration.

## By the Numbers — Contributions

In 2017, the Ambassador Program tracked a total of **51** contributions. The majority of these contributions were ambassadors speaking at meetups, which tracked at 24 events, followed by speaking at conferences which we tracked at 23 events. Because the Ambassador Program was launched in the middle of the year, we really only had 6 months of data, but if we were to naively extrapolate that, we could assume that had the program run for the entire year, we’d be sitting at around 100 events total.

![Ambassador chart showing contributions like conferences, meetups, webinars, and more in 2018](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/78PDOvf4iOTiSoqPAO22oq/4b6b6efb96f13e56dc3e6f4b4410b32e/contributions-2018)

In 2018, the Ambassador Program tracked a total of **204** contributions reaching over **25,000** developers in-person. The vast majority of the contributions for 2018 were conference speaking events, which accounted for over 100 contributions. Auth0 Ambassadors spoke at many major conferences this year including AngularUp, DroidCon Berlin, CodeMash, ngAtl, CodeMash, Oracle Code, API Days, FrontEnd Con, and many others.

Our ambassadors didn’t just focus on major conferences. Getting involved with local developer communities also played a pivotal role and our ambassadors participated in giving talks at OrlandoJS, LondonPHP, MadridJS, BA NodeJS, Devs+502, StahlstadtJS, ColomboJS, GDG Sri Lanka, and many other meetups just to name a few.

![Auth0 Ambassador conference and meetup contribution map, worldwide by country in 2018](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/31ZBwQfr71wM7GanWxucqp/c223b640c43b3532611015a488796d09/contributions-by-country-2018)

*Auth0 Ambassadors have attended or organized events in over 40 countries in 2018.*

## Lessons Learned — Contributions

Each one of our ambassadors has a unique voice and preference. Some prefer speaking at large conferences with thousands of attendees, others prefer to focus on their local developer communities, and yet others prefer to write rather than speak. The key takeaways for 2018 when it comes to contributions for us were:

* **Empowerment** — each ambassador has a unique style and approach. Empower them to make contributions on their own terms and find ways to make their contributions beneficial to the overall goal.
* **Simplify** — respect the ambassador’s time. Make it easy for ambassadors to contribute as well as to track their contributions.
* **Compromise** — nothing should ever be set in stone. Be adaptable and willing to compromise to get the best out of people.

## Notable Wins

Finally, before I wrap up this post, I do want to highlight some notable wins our ambassadors achieved this year.

### Ambassador of the Month Winners

Each month we recognize ambassadors that go above and beyond and make significant contributions or do something that really stands out.

Our winners in 2018 include:

* [Anthony Brown](https://twitter.com/awefulBrown)
* [Anthony Chow](https://twitter.com/vCloudernBeer)
* [Alberto Salazar](https://twitter.com/betoSalazar)
* [Biodun Chris](https://twitter.com/biodunch)
* [Ignacio Anaya](https://twitter.com/ianaya89)
* [Md Shahbaz Alam](https://twitter.com/mdsbzalam)
* [Mehul Patel](https://twitter.com/rowdymehul)
* [Mercedes Wyss](https://twitter.com/itrjwyss) — Won Ambassador of the Month six times since the program started.
* [Takahiro Tsuchiya](https://twitter.com/corocn)
* [Vincenzo Chianese](https://vncz.js.org/)

Internally, every Auth0 employee is also eligible to participate in the Ambassador Program, and we also award internal ambassadors as well.

Our internal winners for 2018 include:

* [Jeremy Meiss](https://auth0.com/blog/authors/jeremy-meiss/)
* [Joe Brinkman](https://twitter.com/jbrinkman)
* [Kim Maida](https://auth0.com/blog/authors/kim-maida/)
* [Kim Noel](https://auth0.com/blog/authors/kim-noel/)
* [Luke Oliff](https://auth0.com/blog/authors/luke-oliff/)
* [Prosper Otemuyiwa](https://auth0.com/blog/authors/prosper-otemuyiwa/)

### Auth0 Ambassador turned Auth0 Developer Evangelist

This year we’ve had one ambassador join our company full-time as a Developer Evangelist. Ben Dechrai went from Auth0 Ambassador to Auth0 Developer Evangelist in the APAC region in Q3 of 2018. Congrats Ben!

## Auth0 Ambassador Program in 2019

I am optimistic for the future of the Auth0 Ambassador Program. The contributions our ambassadors have made in 2018 have lived up to our expectations and goals of empowering developer communities and helping make the internet safer.

![Ambassador Program badge icon](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/5oZTne6XJiBcjZaLmq7C8J/670e49032a213a99aa9bfe45e5f13d26/ambassador-badge)

The mission continues in 2019 and we would love to have you join us along for the ride. With new initiatives such as the Identity and Security Meetups there has never been a better time to join. If interested, why not [**Join the Mission?**](https://auth0.com/ambassador-program)

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Auth0 Ambassador Program in 2018 — By The Numbers

Connecting local developers communities to share knowledge and improve the state of security on the web.



At [Auth0](https://auth0.com), we are passionate about all things identity and security, so much so, that we have kicked off a number of local meetups across the globe to connect identity and security experts with local developer communities to better connect, share knowledge, and improve the state of security on the web.

![Identity and Security Meetup](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/2Kfy7CBvV1hFyoSpda78af/642afd1ed0eb0a5e481909b0fc4608f7/ism-stage)

We’ve recently held our inaugural meetups in [London](https://www.meetup.com/London-Identity-and-Security-Meetup/) and [Melbourne](https://www.meetup.com/Melbourne-Identity-and-Security-Meetup/), with the inaugural [Seattle Identity and Security](https://www.meetup.com/Seattle-Identity-and-Security-Meetup/) meetup taking place on [December 12](https://www.meetup.com/Seattle-Identity-and-Security-Meetup/events/256631698/).

![Seattle Identity and Security Meetup December 12](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/7yaVNHTOpw6J5tZKR4BIIm/2948c56ca0ee125b55d1a64f642af5e1/ism-seattle-dec12)

The Identity and Security meetups invite guest speakers and experts in their field to share best practices, lessons learned, and innovative solutions to the many challenges the field provides. From talks like "Identity 101" to "Developers Against the Dark Arts", we aim to offer a varied list of topics for developers of all skill levels. If you are interested in speaking at one of these meetups, please reach out to me at [ado@auth0.com](mailto:ado@auth0.com) or contact the organizers of the local meetups directly!

## Seattle Identity and Security Meetup

![Seattle Identity and Security Meetup](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/eoLfnSBNMNmPvppnIiUZl/a7b2dea1f539c42cc531a39f228d7109/seattle-ism-cover)

Link: [Seattle Identity and Security Meetup](https://www.meetup.com/Seattle-Identity-and-Security-Meetup/)

Twitter: [@ISM_Seattle](https://twitter.com/ISM_Seattle)

Organizer: [Bobby Johnson](https://twitter.com/NotMyself)

## London Identity and Security Meetup

![London Identity and Security Meetup](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/1aWusDHYUQy8rWkbMdP3MM/38565f7d75048cb9a096a7602ca93949/london-ism-cover)

Link: [London Identity and Security Meetup](https://www.meetup.com/London-Identity-and-Security-Meetup/)

Twitter: [@ISM_London](https://twitter.com/ISM_London)

Organizer: [Sam Bellen](https://twitter.com/sambego)

![London ISM Meetup in November 2018](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/1d2rMJOUvPKfeBnhhbNfY2/064e842395b2508b1f726b19463efeb9/meetup-live-1)

![London ISM Meetup in November 2018](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/arZrzda9BwwzBY0ljTRfm/8374a4383ad081fcb4ee605f16ef08e1/meetup-live-2)


## Melbourne Identity and Security Meetup

![Melbourne Identity and Security Meetup](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/6ZTrOrHS9NVn6teO0JSQtJ/c4683bfda668e99f843b6b59ab3ec843/melbourne-ism-cover)

Link: [Melbourne Identity and Security Meetup](https://www.meetup.com/Melbourne-Identity-and-Security-Meetup/)

Twitter: [@ISM_Melbourne](https://twitter.com/ISM_Melbourne)

Organizer: [Ben Dechrai](https://twitter.com/bendechrai)

![Melbourne ISM Meetup in November 2018](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/01mI2vbqdStv1XqsOZn9Ju/64ddf9383ed5447ef8898797870e47b3/meetup-live-3)

![Melbourne ISM Meetup in November 2018](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/6x5AaqrpFr5v51wYMTlsGb/ed29807dd9ff93661fca5cd73084db7d/meetup-4)

Seattle, London, and Melbourne are just the start for the Identity and Security meetups. In the upcoming year, we plan to expand this meetup series to many more cities and get more local developer communities involved. In the meantime, we also host a monthly [online meetup](https://meetup.com/auth0-online-meetup) that covers similar topics for a global audience.

![Auth0 Online Meetup](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/4XGBBwtUJNOsA7dY6yy4xB/5c8c2471cfeac0be6852e32dca4dc433/auth0-online-meetup-cover)

We can’t wait to see you at the next Identity and Security meetup!

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Announcing Identity and Security Meetups

The Interviews with Ambassador series continues with Ignacio Anaya.



The [Auth0 Ambassador Program](https://auth0.com/ambassador-program) was created to empower the developer community and help make the Internet a safer place for everyone. Our ambassadors give talks at various conferences, host workshops at local meetups, and create all sorts of content to help developers learn about the latest standards and best practices when it comes to identity, authentication, and security.

The *Interviews with Ambassadors* series shines a light into who are ambassadors are, how they got here, and what they are doing next. This month, our highlighted ambassador is [**Ignacio Anaya**](https://twitter.com/ianaya89), who joined the Auth0 Ambassador Program when it was just starting out.

![Ignacio Anaya](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/5dWPTFfeUqmXtZPNPqECmW/f4cdf54032c07bdc2fa0df1dbc9693cc/ignacio-interview)

## Interview with the Auth0 Ambassador Ignacio Anaya

**Thank you for making the time Ignacio, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?**

I am a full stack developer and tech speaker. I really love to code and it is probably my biggest passion. But what I also love is to share knowledge, to teach, and to exchange experiences. I think the best way to learn something is to teach it to someone else.

I like communities, I am leading a [Vue.js Meetup](https://www.meetup.com/vuenos-aires/) in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Besides computers and coding I love sports, so when I am not coding I am playing something. I am a field hockey player (and a frustrated soccer player) at Gimnasia de Esgrima de Buenos Aires. I have a beautiful and smart wife, (we got married some weeks ago). What else can I say? I think I am a happy and lucky man.

**Well first of all congrats on getting married! Second, what made you want to join the Auth0 Ambassador Program?**

Last year I decided that I wanted to be a speaker, I started preparing talks for local meetups and then I had the chance to speak at some big conferences and travel around the world. The problem is that this is really hard to achieve alone and there is no such thing as a Speaker School.

So when I read about the program, I thought “that is exactly what I need”. A group of people coaching, giving feedback, teaching and sharing resources to improve and grow together. I love the program, it is a win-win solution that helped me a lot and it opened many doors for me.

**That’s really great to hear. We may need to rebrand to Auth0 Speaker School. What have been some of your favorite experiences with the Ambassador Program?**

Thanks to the program I had the chance to visit really nice places like Tallinn (Estonia), Lisbon (Portugal) and Sandusky (US). But, the best part was that I met a bunch of amazing people and made new friends around the world while getting to speak as an authority on various subjects.

**What has been your favorite event to attend in the last year?**

I liked [TopConf](https://www.topconf.com/conference/topconf-tallinn-2018) because Tallinn is one of the most awesome places I have ever seen. This year I also participated in [CodeMash](http://www.codemash.org/) which was an incredible conference in Sandusky, Ohio. The venue was great and it had an indoor water park inside it. It was an amazing experience and really quite different from other conferences.

**Besides speaking at conferences and meetups, you help organize the Vuenos Aires meetup in Buenos Aires. Can you tell me a little bit more about the work you do there?**

I was one of the first people in Buenos Aires working with [Vue.js](https://vuejs.org/). I recorded an online course, I did some workshops about the framework, and gave a bunch of talks around the world, so why not also create a local community in my city?

We have MeetupJS that is really cool, lead by folks like Cris Duran, Nico Isnardi, Ale Oviedo and Cami Cepeda who inspired me to start the Vue.js meetup. Picking the name was really easy, and I have to say it’s one of the best names ever. Then, Cami Cepeda and Mati Blayer joined me and we started organizing the events together. In less than one year, we have around 800 members and we are doing monthly events that attract a lot of attendees and speakers. I am really proud of what we built.

**That is so awesome. Vuenos Aires is so clever! Auth0 has an HQ in BA, what type of interactions and support do you get from Auth0 for being an ambassador?**

A lot... I am always bothering [Tony (Diego Poza)](https://auth0.com/blog/authors/diego-poza/). I visited the offices several times. I always get feedback from my talks and a lot of assistance for events and travel expenses. We even host Vuenos Aires meetups at the Auth0 HQ from time to time. The most important thing is that I have access to the coolest swag in the world. I am looking forward to visiting the new offices now.

**Tony is the best. You’re obviously a big fan of Vue.js — why do you prefer it over [Angular](https://angular.io) or [React](https://reactjs.org/)?**

What I mostly like about Vue.js is that is simple but really powerful. You can use it to develop the most basic or really complex application and it works great for both scenarios. I really hate comparisons, so I will not say that Vue.js is better but definitively is different.

I believe that Vue broke down the existing paradigms compared to current solutions and I love to break paradigms. Vue combines some of the best parts of Angular with some of the best parts of React, and the result is terrific.

**That’s a really good way to put it. I have to spend some more time with Vue.js now. How do you balance the Ambassador Program with your regular job?**

For me, it is not hard. I work at Bloq Inc, which is a remote friendly company and very flexible. This means that I can work in any part of the world. I just need my laptop and an internet connection. The good thing about the Auth0 Ambassador Program is that you don’t have to meet strict goals, you can be as active as time allows. The real problem is balancing work with your life, friends, hobbies, and family. Thankfully, I have enough time for everything (most of the time).

**What are some of the big challenges you face running a local developer community and how can the developer community help?**

For us, the biggest challenge is finding speakers for the events. Especially for a group that is only focused on a single JavaScript framework. The community is big, there are a lot of people but I think it is crucial that people stop being read-only members. Please do not be afraid to participate, to get involved, to speak, or bring some help. The community does not belong to the organizers, it belongs to its members, but we need active members to keep growing and opening up opportunities for everyone. You have write-access, use it.

**Read/Write access, I love it, that is a great way to put it. Can you share a few tips for aspiring Ambassadors?**

I think so. First of all, lose the fear and take courage. I gave my first talk around one year ago. It took me a while to take that first step forward, but three months later I was traveling around the world participating as a speaker at different conferences.

Second, keep your head up and always keep trying. **You will be rejected… a lot**. Most of your proposals will not be selected for the conferences but that is normal and will happen. Don’t let this discourage you, just because your talk wasn’t selected does not mean it is bad. Conference organizers get hundreds of submissions and usually less than twenty speaking slots. Keep submitting, you will get selected.

**Good advice and very true. It is typical to get rejected ten times before getting selected once, so keep trying would be my advice as well, and also ask for feedback as it can be invaluable to getting selected and becoming a better speaker. Are there any projects you’re working on that you’re really passionate about and want to bring awareness to that we can highlight?**

I started working in the blockchain world some months ago. Right now at Bloq Inc, we are working on a new cryptocurrency called Metronome. It is a very challenging project and I am learning a lot.

[Ethereum and Smart Contracts](https://auth0.com/blog/an-introduction-to-ethereum-and-smart-contracts/) blow my mind. I will definitely be playing with them in the coming months.

**Where are you speaking next/or what events are you planning next?**

Not sure yet, as I got married last month I put submitting CFP’s on hold for a bit. But I will be back in the ring soon. I will be talking and participating in local events in Buenos Aires in the short terms but will focus on proposals for second-semester conferences later in the year. There are a lot of interesting topics that I would like to share with the audience. So wish me luck.

**Good luck! Thank you for taking the time to speak to me today Ignacio, is there anything you would like to add?**

I don’t think so, thanks for being awesome and having me as an ambassador. I am really happy with the results and I hope to keep rocking together.

That wraps up our interview with Ignacio Anaya, Auth0 Ambassador from Buenos Aires, Argentina. I hope that Ignacio’s tips on how to get involved with your local community and how to get on the big stage have inspired you to go out there and start sharing knowledge!

If you are interested in learning more about or joining the Auth0 Ambassador program, check out the [Ambassador page on our website](https://auth0.com/ambassador-program).

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Interviews with the Ambassadors - Ignacio Anaya

The Interviews with Ambassador series kicks off with one of our most active ambassadors, Mercedes Wyss.



The [Auth0 Ambassador Program](https://auth0.com/ambassador-program) was created to empower the developer community and help make the Internet a safer place for everyone. Our ambassadors give talks at conferences, host workshops at local meetups, and create all sorts of content to help developers learn about the latest standards and best practices when it comes to identity, authentication, and security.

The *Interviews with Ambassadors* series shines a light into who are ambassadors are, how they got here, and what they are doing next. Our inaugural interview is with [**Mercedes Wyss**](https://twitter.com/itrjwyss?lang=en), one of our earliest and most active ambassadors. She has won the highly coveted Ambassador of Month award three times so far. Let’s get into it.

![Mercedes Wyss](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/64PyN1XvWdHzZvfspG0Ewq/aca2edb0c89ba1959cd25b189a1bdbd4/mercedes-wyss-interview)

## Interview with Auth0 Ambassador Mercedes Wyss

**Hi Mercedes, thank you for taking the time, can you tell me a little about yourself?**

Of course. I will tell you some things that people don’t usually know about me. I am a software engineer and community leader, working with communities locally and abroad, but how I got there is kind of unique.

I never finished university, in fact I studied three different careers, first Software Engineering, then Aquaculture, and finally Fine Arts with Music Specialization. I studied music for 7 years, my specialization being the piano. I did theater, contemporary dance, I played chess, and ran a science and astronomy club at the university. We even had an observatory and did astrophotography.

I always like to say to others "don’t be afraid to be different", because maybe we are not what the world wants, but we are what the world needs and the only way to create a different and better world is by being different.

**That is so interesting. I often find that leaders in the tech community generally don’t come from a traditional Computer Science background. What made you want to join the Auth0 Ambassador Program?**

When I attended [Java One](https://www.oracle.com/javaone/index.html) in 2016, I met representatives from Auth0 at the sponsors' exhibition hall. I didn’t know what Auth0 was, but they had free t-shirts, so I approached and asked: "What do you do?"

"We are an identity management platform, we manage logins, and make it easy to add social integrations like Facebook."

"That is freaking awesome!" I said, because from experience, building your own integrations with Facebook is a nightmare. But more than that, it was about this amazing platform that made managing it all so simple.

In 2013, I found myself fighting with Facebook integration on a project, and like any frustrated developer copying and pasting code for my users module implementation until something worked. I even proposed to the company where I worked that we develop a platform for user management and integrations with Facebook so developers wouldn’t have to implement it themselves, so imagine my surprise when I came across Auth0.

Auth0 represents that, only bigger, better, and more awesome. When I saw the call for ambassadors on Twitter, I didn’t think twice, I submitted an application. To be part of the Auth0 Ambassador program is to be part of that freaking awesome platform, that makes working with identity management easy, safe, and fast.

**Well we are very happy to have you as an ambassador and the stuff you’ve been doing is freaking awesome! What have been some of your favorite experiences with the Ambassador Program?**

The opportunity to inspire others.

Since I get to travel and speak at international conferences, people come up to me and say, "If Mercedes can, we can too." At least three friends that I made over the last year have been inspired to get out there and try. I am happy to see more Guatemalans and Latin American speakers at conferences.

I have a friend that joined the [Auth0 Guest Author](https://auth0.com/guest-authors) program. Other friends have joined the [Auth0 Ambassador Program](https://auth0.com/ambassador-program).

Last year, I talked about [JWTs](https://auth0.com/docs/jwt) and now I see many people trying to better understand how JWTs work and all the possible scenarios where they can use them.

After inspiring others, being able to support the community, travel, and discover new places is a huge plus.

**What has been your favorite conference to attend in the last year?**

Java One — it’s the biggest Java conference and people from all over the world attend. What I really love about Java One is that there is so much opportunity to interact with developers, last year I had about 8 different activities ranging from talks, Open Spaces, interviews, and volunteering opportunities.

![Java One conference website screenshot](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/38CSh61AARHIWsf0tehalE/cfc612cf349bf2566d9cb8de3f778c1c/java-one)

**Besides speaking at conferences, you do a lot of work with local communities in Guatemala. Can you tell me a little bit more about the work you do there?**

I run two communities in Guatemala, the first one is [Devs+502](https://devs.plus502.com/), a community mainly focusing on Google technologies. We meet the second and fourth Monday of every month and most of the time I am the speaker. Protip: To grow and maintain a successful community, a stable and periodic schedule such as having the meetups be at the same place on the same day really helps. With Devs+502 we also run an Android conference called AFest across three of the most important cities in Guatemala.

![Devs+502 website screenshot](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/4G0i2r6ukXf38jwpsthD1A/0dad5e1f4c471c435a855bf6e3094bdc/devs-502)

I also run a [JDuchess](http://www.jduchess.org/) chapter. JDuchess are the female Java chapters, focusing on increasing women participation in Java related technologies. In Guatemala, there are very few women in tech, and even less so working with Java, so JDuchess is open to any technology and the main focus is to increase women participation in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). With JDuchess, we host three kinds of activities. The first is the typical meetups every two months. Next, we are combating women leaving tech by creating community branches in Universities to motivate and increase participation in local communities. Finally, we are running technological inclusion activities for girls in elementary schools.

**Increasing diversity and getting more women in tech is a goal many aspire to. How can we as a community and industry improve in this regard?**

This is a somewhat of a difficult subject and often a topic of discussion in the JDuchess community. While evaluating strategies one of the ladies made a great point when she said: "it is probable that women don’t come to us, so we must go to them".

To attract more women to tech, one strategy is to provide strong role models and motivate women inside the industry to participate more in the community. Increasing women participation in strategic positions is another goal, but a tough one as these positions are usually occupied by friends, or acquaintances of the company. This reminds me of an article I read about increasing women participation in the industry, and a case of two companies. The first one hired their first woman as employee number 100. When asked why, they responded "because we have hired only our acquaintances". In the second company, they hired the first woman as employee number 4. When asked why, they responded "because we have hired people we do not know".

The next aspect is the focus on community. In order to increase the number of women in technology, we must inspire them. One of the things that makes many women not interested in technology, are the parenting patterns. For example, buying boys legos and girls dolls. We cannot change this much, but we can tell the girls that they are future women who can develop technology. If you can’t run activities with girls for tech, then teach them about technology , look for outside communities and groups that do and support however you can. These groups always need materials, tools, and other things.

**What can conference/meetup organizers do to help?**

The most important thing that conference and meetup organizers can do is offer a safe environment for everyone.

Unfortunately, I have been part of communities and events in Guatemala where many of the organizers are stalkers of the highest level. This signal to attendees leads to little or no female participation in the events.

I experienced this situation with a friend of mine. She was harassed by members of a community over a period of about three months. We received threats where they indicated that only round one had passed, nothing that couldn’t be fixed with a few beers, or that she should be grateful that they were interested in her at all. The message that impacted me the most was from another woman who said "she is not pretty enough to ask that they not harass her, if you don’t like it, then don’t participate." We had to raise the tone of things to demand that the harassment stop, fortunately that worked and we didn’t have to proceed legally.

But how fix that? The most important thing is to learn the culture of no harassment.

In contrast, let me tell you about my experience at Devnexus, an event organized by the [Atlanta Java Users Group](https://www.meetup.com/atlantajug/), where I have seen a very strong participation of women and a real synergy to make this happen. First of all, they have a [Code of Conduct](http://confcodeofconduct.com/), something I’ve been seeing at conferences more often, where it is stated that harassment is prohibited. Devnexus works very closely with [Women Who Code](https://www.womenwhocode.com/) and this really helps promote participation and inclusion. Making strategic alliances can be the key to success, here we can apply the proverb, **"Alone you can go faster, but together you can go further."**

**You’ve won Ambassador of the Month three times so far. How do you balance the Ambassador Program with your regular job?**

This can sometimes get a bit complicated, combined with the meetup organization I work with it is like having three part-time jobs. I will certainly confess I may have an advantage over others in that my work contract allows me to work from home which allows me to combine work, meetings, activities and trips much easier.

But I need to be careful with this, as I have a limited number of hours per month that I need to dedicate to accomplishing my work tasks as well as meeting my financial goals. I have a physical to do list — where I write each activity by hand to strengthen the need for execution in the mind, as well as a virtual one powered by Trello. I manage priorities, what things must be done before traveling, and what things I can do during the trip.

Another thing I do to avoid a disaster is to have a highly detailed calendar, with dates of conferences, flights, community meetups, important family activities, vital work meetings, and so on. I try not to cross over important family activities and work with conferences.

In essence this is something really hard, I have found myself working some weekends and on other occasions sleeping only three hours. I try not to do the latter as sleeping is important to be able to function successfully throughout the day, but just as important is to eat well too.

To summarize: **organize well**, **prioritize your activities**, **sleep** and **eat well**.

**Getting accepted to conferences is often a challenge. Do you have any tips and tricks to share for getting accepted?**

Everything has a pattern and we must discover it.

When I speak at a conference, it is not about what I want to say, rather more about what I can say that is relevant for the audience of the conference. Many conferences don’t like product pitches, they look for more technology trends. We need to find a way to combine those hot topics with what we want to say.

That is only for choosing the topic, next we need to convince the organizers to accept our talk. A tip here is to go and see the titles and abstracts of the talks from previous years. Look and see if they are funny titles, or very formal and descriptive. Some organizers want to see objectives and exactly what your audience will learn in your abstract, while others want to know what makes you the best choice to give that talk.

Do something that many don’t like to do, read. Many conferences give indications of how to make a successful proposal in their CFPs, what topics they want, how to define your talk and how to develop the abstract. In fact some give up tips on how to make an excellent presentation. So read first, then submit.

**Can you share a few tips for aspiring Ambassadors?**

Always share your passion, be an ambassador, not only of Auth0 technologies, but in everyday life. Being an Auth0 Ambassador is more than being an expert in the technology, or using it in your day-to-day. It is to show to the world how it inspires you, and that can only be done with passion in the heart.

**What are some technologies you’re personally excited about?**

I love programming on Android, and I am always looking for what new things we can do there. I am focused on learning and slowly migrating my apps to [Kotlin](https://kotlinlang.org/).

![Kotlin Programming Language website homepage screenshot](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/1VtggwKWQ4Tq5cRr4oigyq/662b0ace9587979b4cae9f2f0cad1ece/kotlin-homepage)

I use a lot of Java, and love the [Play Framework](https://www.playframework.com/) for both my frontend and backend development. But in Devs+502, we recently learned about Golang — a really fascinating programming language and [Angular](https://angular.io/) — an amazing frontend framework. I will not be migrating my backend from Java to Golang just yet, but I will be using Angular for some frontend stuff in the near future.

Right now I am improving my knowledge on Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and I am exploring tools like [Tensorflow](https://www.tensorflow.org/), [Google Assistant](https://assistant.google.com/explore), making integrations with [Alexa](https://developer.amazon.com/alexa-skills-kit), and we are part of the Visual Recognition API JSR (Java Specification Request) in the JCP (Java Community Process) for improving the use of Java in Computer Science Aspects and making it a standard in the Java Programming Language.

**As a huge fan of Golang myself, I just want to give a shoutout and totally agree with you that Go is a fascinating language. Where are you speaking next?**

* March 17th, at OUG Paraguay, Encarnación Day, "Serverless in Deep"
* March 27th, at Droidcon Boston, "A More Secure World for Android Apps"
* April 17th, at Oracle Code Boston, "Serverless in Deep"
* April 24th, at Oracle Code Bogotá, "Serverless in Deep"
* April 25th or Thursday 26th, Medellín JUG, "Serverless in Deep"
* May 5th, Java Day Istanbul, "Serverless in Deep"
* June 11th, JBCNConf (Barcelona), "Serverless in Deep"

**Looks like you have a very busy schedule ahead of you. Thank you for your time today.**

If you are attending any of the above conferences, be sure to stop by and say "Hi" to Mercedes Wyss! That about wraps it up for our first interview in the *Interviews with Ambassadors* series. Thank you again Mercedes for taking the time to answer our questions today and we can’t wait to see what you do next.

If you are interested in learning more about or joining the Auth0 Ambassador program, check out this [Ambassador page on our website](https://auth0.com/ambassador-program).

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Interviews with the Ambassadors - Mercedes Wyss

ngVikings brought the European Angular communities to Espoo, Finland for two days of networking and learning.



A big part of being an [Auth0 Ambassador](https://auth0.com/ambassador-program) and Evangelist is attending and speaking at conferences all over the world. Our ambassadors attend a very diverse set of events ranging from technology-specific conferences, like [Oracle Code](https://developer.oracle.com/code), to technology agnostic conferences like [CodeMash](http://www.codemash.org/), and everything in between.

The **Conference Recap** series will summarize our experiences at the various conferences we attend, sharing the big news, things we learned, things we liked, and more. We’ll kick the series off with [ngVikings](https://ngvikings.org/).

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## ngVikings 2018

![ngVikings Venue](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/39jPAKVqu8vOejBL7XQTh2/b36446505b50304cdbb11d97532c8903/ng-vikings-2018-stage)

Dubbed as the "main Angular event in the Nordics — and the only traveling Angular conference in the world", ngVikings was a unique two-day conference organized by a coalition of Angular and GDG Meetups from the Nordic countries of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark. This year, the traveling conference was scheduled to be in Helsinki but found itself in close-by Espoo, Finland and was held at [Aalto University](http://www.aalto.fi/en/).

The conference brought together over 300 developers and speakers from all over the world.

The keynote address was delivered by a core member of the Angular team [Matias Niemelä](https://twitter.com/yearofmoo/) and focused on his journey to Angular, how Angular has evolved over the last five years, and where it’s headed next. [Angular Elements](https://github.com/angular/angular/issues/20891) and the new ngIvy renderer seem really promising additions to the already excellent framework. Watch the keynote here:

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After the keynote, the conference was split into two tracks with each speaker giving a 30-minute presentation. The talks featured at ngVikings focused mainly on Angular 2+ showing best practices, sharing lessons learned, and focusing on the future of the framework. You can view all of the talks [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WahpV6zn8lQ&index=1&list=PLVI0Ut22uwY4UC1v5fUvi2RIU4R4jPkba), and while all of the talks were great and worth checking out, a few that really stood out for me where:

### Deploying Angular and Node to the Cloud

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by [John Papa](https://twitter.com/John_Papa)

> Your Angular app is complete! Now it's time to deploy it to the cloud. But how? One key ingredient is determining our goals. Do you want to publish directly from your laptop or through source control and CI/CD? Do you worry that it may work differently on your machine than the cloud? What about locking down versions of node, packages, and OS? Is your head about to explode? We'll explore several good options as we discuss the pros and cons of each including direct deployments, GitHub hooks with CI, and docker. We'll demonstrate how to code, debug, and run docker locally to have confidence that what works locally will work in the cloud. The good news is that tooling has improved to make all of these deployment options within your reach to guide you to successfully deploy your Angular app to the cloud.

### Advanced Angular DI

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by [Ward Bell](https://twitter.com/wardbell?lang=en)

> You Don’t Know DI? Go beyond Dependency Injection basics. Learn about the two parallel DI hierarchies and which one wins, what happens when you provide the same token twice … when multi is true, what’s the effect of lazy loading, what’s going on in forRoot and forFeature, what’s in a component’s injector, and how to talk to the components in content children when you don’t know their types. It’ll be fast, code-frontal, fun.

### 6 Apps One Codebase with Ionic

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by [Sani Yusuf](https://twitter.com/saniyusuf)

> You and your team have this great Idea and you have your users using different devices and operating systems to access the same application. Some users are on the Web, some on Mobile some of their Desktop and you also have to worry about what operating system they are on and also have to consider how your application is presented on each device & operating system. What if there was a way to code your app without worrying too much about operating systems/devices/screen sizes and just focusing on getting your idea across to your users regardless. Join me on a journey where I show you how to use Angular, Ionic & the PWA standard to build apps for IOS, Android, Windows, Web, Mac & PC with the same code all using just HTML5.

A big shout out to the organizers including [Maxim Salnikov](https://twitter.com/webmaxru), [Shahrzad (Sherry) Aziminia](https://twitter.com/sherrrylst), [Chris Noring](https://twitter.com/chris_noring), [Jussi Kinnula](https://twitter.com/jussikinnula), and the [rest of the team](https://2018.ngvikings.org/team/) for putting together such a great conference.

## Auth0 at ngVikings 2018

[Ado Kukic](https://ado.xyz), Developer Evangelist at Auth0, was the only Auth0 representative at ngVikings and gave a talk titled “A Token Walks Into a SPA…”, which focused on token-based authentication for single page applications and Angular in specific. You can watch the talk here:

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The talk covered topics ranging from why you should consider token-based authentication, how JSON Web Tokens actually work, SPA architectures and security considerations they bring with them, and finally how to incorporate token based authentication using various Angular specific features like HTTP Interceptors, Route Guards, and more.

## ngVikings 2019

I am very hopeful that ngVikings makes a return next year, and the official conference website implies it will. Check out the [official site](https://ngvikings.org/) for updates on where the traveling conference is sailing to next!

![Over 300 developers attended ngVikings](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/5ysl15Y4PNwYquLgpU7r3E/0a5ed58058f87f7c08effe5b1057022a/attendees)

If you are interested in learning more about or joining the Auth0 Ambassador program, check out the [Ambassador page on our website](https://auth0.com/ambassador-program).

<include src="asides/AboutAuth0" />


Conference Recap: ngVikings 2018

5bdf34cb56195a699562bb1468013154

Former Auth0 Employee

Kunal Batra

Introducing our new mentorship program that will help you master developer evangelism skills.



> TL;DR: Apply to the [Ambassador Program](https://auth0.com/ambassador-program). Our new initiative to help you master developer evangelism skills such as community building, technical content creation, public speaking and more! 

---

##Background
Here at Auth0, our core mission is to make the internet safer. We do this by serving the developer community and giving them the tools they need for their applications to be secure and successful. 

We strongly believe that we cannot be successful in making the Internet safer, without an incredibly valuable and engaged group of people helping us. **That's why we want to recognize developers who want to have a real impact within the community**.

### What is it like to be an Auth0 Ambassador ?

As an Auth0 Ambassador, you'll gain the support of our evangelism team. We'll help you build up your brand and master the evangelism skillset by:

+ Giving you opportunities to mentor developers at startup accelerators, hackathons & conferences
+ Helping you organize local meetups and providing swag and sponsorship
+ Building up your technical speaking and writing skills
+ Helping you find and create open source projects that you can get involved in
+ Showcasing the awesome hacks you build ontop of our APIs
+ & more! 

Everything is on a voluntary basis. You can do as much or as little as your schedule permits. However, the more you do, the more rewards and perks you get! 

### Who can apply ?  

Our passion is to make developers' lives more awesome. We're looking for developers who feel the same way. You naturally get satisfaction and enjoyment when you teach or solve problems for others. To see our other criteria check out our [Ambassador Program page](https://auth0.com/ambassador-program). 

### Rewards and Perks of being and Auth0 Ambassador

While this is not a paid position, our evangelism team set up the program so the more impact you make, the more perks you will get. For a detailed list, visit our [Ambassador Page](https://auth0.com/ambassador-program). Some of the perks are:

+ We'll pay for travel and lodging to any of your accepted talks that cover Auth0 or Identity/Security
+ Have Auth0 sponsor local developer meetups of your choice
+ Tickets to participate in experiences such as StartupBus or similar events
+ Exclusive Access to Auth0 gear that identifies you as part of the Ambassador Program 
+ [Check the website for more](https://auth0.com/ambassador-program).

### Get Started Now! 

![Ambassadors](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/0rmR4QngRSzdHhsOupona/a93b779c8f2cebdb2281b73a833dc603/ambassador-post-img )

**[Apply today!](https://auth0.com/ambassador-program) If you have additional questions, email [community@auth0.com](mailto:community@auth0.com).** 


"auth0 ambassador"