Anjuan Simmons was the closing keynote speaker at the 21st annual University of Illinois Web Conference, April 7-9, 2021.  

Diversity and inclusion have become hot topics in technology, but how can you make a difference? This talk will help you understand, no matter your background, that you have privilege and can lend it to underrepresented groups in tech. Learn the various types of privilege lending, including credibility lending, access lending, and expertise lending. We’ll also look at well-known examples of privilege lending and explore how they can be applied to the technology industry.

Anjuan Simmons has led software development teams for over two decades, and he excels at shipping features that customers love while also managing healthy teams. He’s delivered software for large global management consulting companies like Accenture and Deloitte as well as a number of startups. Anjuan’s approach to leading teams combines the rigor of large corporations with the scrappy style of new ventures.

He is also an energetic and informative speaker who presents at conferences, universities, and corporations around the world on topics including leadership, diversity and inclusion, and effective software development practices.

Anjuan has an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and an MBA from Texas A&M University.