Presenter Bios

What inspires someone from Fargo, North Dakota to dream of becoming a United Nations translator? Love of words, of course. A self-described language geek, Lynn is fascinated by languages and semantics. She understands that life rarely travels in a straight line, and her own career reflects this winding path. Lynn moved from a degree in linguistics to become a business executive, and then launched her own software development, training and consulting company. She’s done production work with all versions of .NET, BizTalk, K2.Net, SharePoint, SQL Server, Analysis Services, InfoPath, MOM, and Active Directory, and holds an array of certifications, including MCT, MCSD, MCITP, MCSE, MCDBA and MSF. Lynn is also the author of Foundations of SQL Server 2005 Business Intelligence from Apress. She gets her biggest on-the-job buzz from developing architecture – translating business needs into technical solutions that provide real value and opportunities. In her spare time, Lynn gives back to the community by supporting children’s education. Her current projects include work with the Mona Foundation (Redmond, Washington) and SmartCare (Lusaka, Zambia).

Like James Bond on secret assignment, Bruno spent his pre-MSDN Events days as a Microsoft premier field engineer – traveling around the clock to solve the most hair-raising client problems and meltdowns. From Asia to Latin America to Europe and Canada, Bruno has taught in nuclear power plants, assisted with life-or-death medical applications, and debugged multi-million-dollar financial trading software. Bruno has a finance and accounting degree from UC Berkeley and worked for several years as a money manager. Developing financial models to construct low-risk, high-return investment portfolios sparked his interest in computing, and the rest is self-taught history. Bruno brings two decades of worldwide training experience to his MSDN presentations, instructing students on C#, .NET, C++, SharePoint, J++, HTML, Web Parts and much more. He’s a Microsoft Certified Solution Developer with a wide array of platforms in his repertoire, a seasoned author and Microsoft channel partner trainer, and a confirmed thrill seeker. Bruno’s also a stand-up comedy connoisseur who works hard to make his audiences laugh – just like his role model, Anders Hejlsberg.

Originally from Chicago, Daniel moved to California in the early ‘90s – right when the Bulls were stampeding the NBA. He dabbled in several industries (from hospitality to law) and soon found his niche in engineering and information technology. Before joining Microsoft, Daniel served as the Chief Architect and CEO for Odyssey Consulting Group, which provided custom application development for mid-range companies. In the Microsoft fold, Daniel has been a Regional Director, an MVP (ASP / ASP.NET), a Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT), a Microsoft Certified Solution Developer, and a .NET insider for the Southern California region. He’s also the founder of the SoCalDotNet Developers Group, teaches a .NET certification course at California State University Fullerton, and previously served as president of INETA – the international .NET association. Away from the screen, you’ll find Daniel racing to bring down his marathon times (don’t ask for numbers) or putting his Canon camera through the paces in search of the perfect shot.

Sara Ford is a Microsoft Developer Evangelist for the South Bay area in California. Previously, she was the Program Manager for CodePlex, Microsoft’s open source project hosting site. Prior to CodePlex, she worked on the Visual Studio team for 4 different releases and ran the popular Visual Studio Tip of the Day series. In 2008, she authored her first book Microsoft Visual Studio Tips by Microsoft Press and donated all her royalties to start a scholarship fund for Hurricane Katrina survivors of her hometown. Her life-long dream is to become a 97 year old weightlifter, so she can be featured on the local news.