October 14, 2026 · Miami, FL
AWS Community DaySouth Florida
Florida's first AWS Community Day. One day. One community. Three hundred builders.
Darko Mesaros
Distinguished Developer Advocate, Amazon Web Services. Darko Mesaros is a Distinguished Developer Advocate at AWS, focused on developer productivity, Rust, and AI coding assistants. He created AWS's…
Meet the speakers
Unicorn.Rentals needs engineers
A gamified, hands-on DevOps and observability workshop with AM Grobelny. Bring a laptop, everything else is provided.
See the sessionThree tracks, twelve sessions
Cloud architecture and DevOps, security and data, plus hands-on workshops. The full schedule is live.
View the agendaGet 50% off your $50 ticket
Our local AWS User Groups and speakers are sharing a 50% off code. Follow the user group pages or ask a speaker, then use it when you register. Seats are capped by venue capacity.
Register nowPut your brand in front of 250–350 AWS builders
Gold, Silver & Bronze packages · Limited spots
Darko Mesaros
Distinguished Developer Advocate · Amazon Web Services
Darko Mesaros is a Distinguished Developer Advocate at AWS, focused on developer productivity, Rust, and AI coding assistants. He created AWS's "Build On Live" livestream program — over 1,500 episodes reaching more than 1.3 million developers — and has spoken at 100+ conferences, including AWS re:Invent. Off camera, he restores vintage computers and puts them to work in ways they were never meant for.
AM Grobelny
Principal Developer Advocate, GameDay · Amazon Web Services
I've spent the past 10+ years working on or helping people work on software. I was also a professional educator previously in my career, so I have a particular passion for helping people more easily understand difficult concepts. I currently work at AWS, and I'm focused on helping people learn through experience by using AWS GameDay.
GameDay Session
AWS GameDay — A Casual Introduction To DevOps and Observability, But Make It A Contest
A gamified, hands-on workshop covering DevOps, Infrastructure as Code, and observability. Join as an engineer at Unicorn.Rentals — the hottest fictional startup on the market — and untangle everything the previous engineering team got wrong. Bring a laptop; everything else is provided.
Learn more about AWS GameDay — opens in a new tabThree tracks. One day.
- 9:00 AM – 10:00 AMRegistration and Breakfast
- 10:00 AM – 10:30 AM
Event Kick-off
Main Room - Cloud Architecture · Organizers and FIU
- 10:30 AM – 11:25 AM
Keynote
Main Room - Cloud Architecture · Darko Mesaroš
- 11:25 AM – 11:45 AMBreak - Sponsors
- 11:45 AM – 12:10 PM
Zero Users Exposed, Full Production Validation: Dark Canary on ECS
Main Room - Cloud Architecture · Julissa Rodriguez
Before AI: The Data Fundamentals Every Professional Should Know
Track 2 - Security, Data & AI · Mar García
- 11:45 AM – 1:00 PM
Spawn in the Cloud: Building a Game Server on AWS EC2
Track 3 - Workshops · Dr. J, Johnathan DeSarro
- 12:10 PM – 2:00 PMLunch & Networking · Main Room - Cloud Architecture
- 2:00 PM – 2:45 PM
Build Your SA Toolkit: Generating AWS Architecture Diagrams with MCP Servers
Main Room - Cloud Architecture · Raviteja Sankuratri
Beyond 0.0.0.0/0: Lessons from a Real AWS Security Incident
Track 2 - Security, Data & AI · Francisco Arencibia Quesada
- 2:00 PM – 3:20 PM
AWS GameDay - A Casual Introduction To DevOps and Observability, But Make It A Contest
Track 3 - Workshops · AM Grobelny, Spencer Taylor
- 2:50 PM – 3:35 PM
From vibe coding to engineering: developing systems with AI
Main Room - Cloud Architecture · Raphael Moura
- 3:20 PM – 4:30 PM
Automate Your Business with Claude
Track 3 - Workshops · Jon Sastre
- 3:35 PM – 4:00 PMBreak - Snacks and Sponsors · Main Room - Cloud Architecture
- 4:00 PM – 4:25 PM
The Great AWS Account Migration: Moving 100 Accounts to a New AWS Organization
Main Room - Cloud Architecture · Vipindas Aravindakshan
Marketing Thyself 101
Track 2 - Security, Data & AI · Lamech Bob-Manuel
- 4:30 PM – 5:15 PM
The Cost of Validation: Adding Governance Without Creating Bottlenecks
Main Room - Cloud Architecture · Rocio Baigorria
Performance Engineering for the AI Age: When Your Users Are Humans and Machines
Track 2 - Security, Data & AI · Luis Guirigay
- 4:30 PM – 5:30 PM
Spec-Driven Development with Kiro: A Hands-On Workshop
Track 3 - Workshops · Enrique Bastante
- 5:30 PM – 6:00 PMClosing
Win a 14" MacBook Pro
Space Black, Apple M5 chip. Plus AWS account credits and an Amazon gift card. Check in at the event. Every checked-in attendee is entered automatically, and you must be present at the drawing to win.
See prizes & rules
October 14, 2026
9:00 AM – 6:00 PM EDT
Florida International University · Miami, FL
About the Event
Florida's First AWS Community Day
What is AWS Community Day?
AWS Community Days are grassroots, community-organized events celebrating the builders and practitioners in the AWS ecosystem. Every session is presented by a community member. Just practitioners sharing what they've learned with other practitioners.
Who is it for?
Whether you're a seasoned cloud architect, a developer just starting their AWS journey, a DevOps engineer looking for real-world patterns, or a student curious about cloud, there's a track for you. South Florida's first Community Day brings together builders from across the state.
What to expect
A full day of breakout sessions across multiple tracks, a hallway track for deep-dive conversations, sponsor booths to explore the latest tooling, and plenty of networking time with fellow builders. One day, one community, three hundred builders.
The Venue
Florida International University
Hosted at FIU's Graham Center in Miami, the event benefits from a world-class university setting: professional AV in every room, high-capacity Wi-Fi, accessible spaces, and a welcoming campus environment that puts attendees at ease.
Sponsor Florida's first AWS Community Day
Gold, Silver & Bronze packages · Limited spots available