GitHub’s Lineup for Grace Hopper Celebration 2022

GitHub is returning to the Grace Hopper Celebration for this year’s Open Source Day on Friday, September 16, 2022. The virtual event runs from 8 am to 3 pm PT and gives attendees the chance to collaborate with peers and experienced mentors on open source projects. GitHub engineers will lead two workshops during the day, which kicks off with the all-day hackathon.

Octocat dressed in a United States Navy uniform to represent Admiral Grace Hopper

Writing an Accessible Pull Request

9:30 am PT

Web accessibility is about making products usable for as many people as possible — ensuring that users with disabilities can perceive, navigate, understand, and interact with websites and tools. It also plays a role in welcoming underrepresented groups into open source, something many contributors still do not experience.

This session focuses on how developers can remove barriers and make open source communities more inclusive by adding extra context and information in a pull request’s markdown. Expect practical advice on crafting PR descriptions that are clear and accessible to a wider range of contributors.

Facilitators: Kendall Gassner and Adrián Bolonio

Headshot of Kendall Gassner from shoulders up, smiling with a black and white striped top Kendall Gassner is an Accessibility Software Engineer at GitHub. She became interested in accessibility while working on an inclusive drag-and-drop feature earlier in her career, and is now a Certified Professional in Web Accessibility and in Accessibility Core Competencies.

Headshot photo of Adrián Bolonio. Adrián is shown hands raised speaking at a conference Adrián Bolonio also works as an Accessibility Software Engineer at GitHub, where his team focuses on making GitHub and the wider internet more accessible for everyone.

Overcoming the Fear of Contributing to Open Source

11 am PT

If the idea of your first open source contribution feels intimidating, this talk is for you. GitHub Developer Advocate Rizel Scarlett knows that feeling well — the anxiety, the overwhelming codebases, and the confusing issues. In August 2021, she changed her approach: she started small, read the documentation, and engaged with the community.

In this session, Rizel shares anecdotes about her successes and missteps in open source, with the goal of giving attendees the confidence to make their first contribution.

Facilitator: Rizel Scarlett

Headshot photo of Rizèl Scarlett. Rizèl is shown wearing purple faux locs. Rizel is a Developer Advocate at GitHub and the Director of Programs at G{Code} House, an organization that teaches women of color and non-binary people of color to code. Her approach to education centers on vulnerability, honesty, and kindness for early-career developers.