Allison McMillan
Director of Engineering, GitHub
Originally from Princeton, New Jersey, Allison is currently the engineering manager for Atom at GitHub, a product with over two million users. As a Sephardic Jew, Allison grew up proud of her Jewish identity and learning how to explain and communicate differences in Jewish tradition. Her exploration and love of both Judaism and engaging programming and leadership training was born from her experiences in Young Judaea. After attending the University of Michigan, Allison held positions as senior program director at the University of Michigan Hillel and managing director of the Israel on Campus Coalition. She then became a startup founder, taught herself to code, and transitioned to being a software developer. Allison started programming at a Rail Girls workshop and was a chapter organizer. She speaks on a variety of topics both nationally and internationally, including mentorship, working remotely, experiential education, and being a parent in tech. Allison also recently started Parent Driven Development, a podcast about being a parent in tech, and helps organize Global Diversity CFP Day to encourage more underrepresented minorities to become conference speakers. She sits on the board of Ruby Together and helps run Ruby Central's scholar/guide program. When she's not coding, you can find her encouraging her toddler's climbing skills, making faces at her infant, or pretending she has time to bake. Allison lives in the Washington, D.C. area.