Keynote Speakers

Derek Bruff is assistant provost and executive director of the Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching, as well as interim director of the Vanderbilt Digital Commons and a principal senior lecturer in the Vanderbilt Department of Mathematics.

As assistant provost, Bruff plans and oversees faculty development and educational initiatives for the Office of the Provost. At the Center for Teaching, he directs programming for faculty and other instructors, helping them develop foundational teaching skills and explore new ideas in teaching. At the Digital Commons, he oversees programming to help faculty develop the digital technology skills they need for research and teaching.

Bruff is the author of Intentional Tech: Principles to Guide the Use of Educational Technology in College Teaching (West Virginia University Press, 2019) and Teaching with Classroom Response Systems: Creating Active Learning Environments (Jossey-Bass, 2009). His scholarly interests include educational technology and faculty development, and he writes about these and other topics on his blog, Agile Learning. Bruff is also producer and host of the podcasts Leading Lines, VandyVox, and One-Time Pod.

Bill Laboon is the Head of Education and Grants at Web3 Foundation. Before this, he was a lecturer in the Computer Science Department of the University of Pittsburgh, teaching courses in software quality assurance, software engineering, and blockchain technology. He is a frequent speaker at conferences on a variety of topics, including cryptocurrency, software quality, and the ethics of software development. He is the author of two books: A Friendly Introduction to Software Testing, an undergraduate textbook; and Strength in Numbers, a near-future novel set in a world in which cryptocurrency has eliminated traditional money. Bill has a BS in Computer Science and Political Science from the University of Pittsburgh, as well as an MS in Software Design & Management from Carnegie Mellon University.