Editing Dialogues/informal learning (section)

=== Newcomers and Community Leadership=== 

Dr. Denae Ford (Microsoft Research)

Online communities have been a home for software developers to convene and find support from one another -- starting from those early in their programming journey to those familiarly seasoned with a plethora of experiences. One thing that has always kept these communities alive is the social and technical support that members pour into one another. But how do we get there? What does it look like to create a welcoming and productive setting that helps everyone thrive? In this session, we’ll discuss findings from empirical studies that guide us on how to build communities that empower developers to do their best work. 

Discussion points we’ll cover include:

* Inclusive and welcoming learning environments for programmers
* Supporting newcomers in your community
* Empowering community leaders to adopt practices that enable learning