Phyllis Westerman | SpeakerHub

Personal Details

Bio

Phyllis Westerman has spoken internationally in the US, Europe and Asia around the topics of Communities of Practice, open organization principles and also served as the Master of Ceremonies for four week-long events in Prague, Vienna and Orlando in 2017-2019. She has spoken at Technology Services World three times hosting highly-attended breakout sessions. Her lively, welcoming personality and humor captivates the audience. As Master of Ceremonies for Red Hat Technical conferences, she led 2,000 audience members through a week of introducing executive-level speakers, providing commentary during transition times, creatively communicating logistics and housekeeping announcements and also serving on panels. She has delivered keynotes on culture and open org principles. She has led multiple Awards ceremonies - from formal awards and recognition to entertainment themes involving costumes, theatrics and choreography. Phyllis' high energy and connection with the audience sets her aside. Her ability to smoothly transition between main stage speakers and retain the audience's engagement is a unique blend of charisma, preparation and stage presence. She possesses an ability to become so familiar with a script and/or key speaking points that she rarely looks at speaker notes. She can naturally improvise and react to changes in audience engagement and reaction. She has a commitment to preparing for events by working with content, logistics and speaker coordinators. She works well with AV and Events crews, Executive Leadership, as well as coaching first-time speakers who may be appearing on stage as a guest or for their first time. References and testimonials are available.

Current position (2)

Director, Field Enablement & Engagement

Digital.ai

Formerly Director, Enablement

Red Hat Inc.

Degrees (2)

Masters of Business Administration

East Carolina University

2001 to 2002

BS - Marketing

University of North Carolina at Wilmingon

1997 to 2000

Presentations

Presentations (11)

2019 Americas Red Hat Tech Exchange Emcee / Master of Ceremonies

Americas Red Hat Tech Exchange - Orlando, Florida - October 2019 - Back by popular demand, Phyllis Westerman returned as the Americas Red Hat Tech Exchange Master of Ceremony, entertaining over 2,000 attendees on the main stage each day! She guided the audience through the week-long conference creatively sharing logistics, conveying important information (housekeeping), introducing all speakers, hosting awards and commentating during transitions. She captivated and entertained the audience throughout the week. She also led the evening-long "Super Heroes"- themed Awards ceremony, dressed as Wonder Woman. She responded to the audience and encouraged participation and engagement through many memorable ad-hoc moments! As lead of overall event experience, she exceeded the goal of inspiring attendees to live, eat and breathe the "power of open".

2018 Americas Red Hat Tech Exchange Emcee / Master of Ceremonies

Americas Red Hat Tech Exchange - Orlando, Florida - October 2018 - Phyllis Westerman served as the very first (and only to-date) Master of Ceremony for Americas Red Hat Tech Exchange! She guided the audience through the week-long conference creatively sharing logistics, conveying important information (housekeeping), introducing all speakers, hosting awards and commentating during transitions. She captivated and entertained the audience throughout the week. She also led the evening-long "80's"- themed Awards ceremony, dressed in full 80's attire! The 80's night was a night everyone remembered - and had to go down as one of the loudest awards nights in history!

2018 EMEA Red Hat Tech Exchange Emcee / Master of Ceremonies

EMEA Red Hat Tech Exchange - Prague, Czech Republic - September 2018 - Phyllis Westerman returned to serve as the co-emcee of the 2nd annual EMEA Red Hat Tech Exchange. She guided the audience through the week-long conference creatively sharing logistics, conveying important information (housekeeping), introducing all speakers, hosting closing awards and commentating during transitions. She was joined by a co-emcee many times on stage and the natural and entertaining interaction between the two was well-received by the audience.

2017 EMEA Red Hat Tech Exchange Emcee / Master of Ceremonies

EMEA Red Hat Tech Exchange - Port Adventura, Spain - September 2017 - Phyllis Westerman served as the inaugural EMEA Red Hat Tech Exchange very first Master of Ceremony! She guided the audience through the week-long conference creatively sharing logistics, conveying important information (housekeeping), introducing all speakers, hosting awards and commentating during transitions. She appeared many times in the recap video, smiling and engaging with the audience. This set the baseline for her future of emcee opportunities!

Red Hat Summit: 4 Ways to Jump Start an Open Source and Agile Automation Culture

Red Hat Summit - Boston - May 2019 - Phyllis Westerman co- presented with Walter Bentley and Vikram Nayaran in the Red Hat Summit Discovery Zone, demonstrating to the audience (customers) how to jump start a customer's Automation Adoption Journey by implementing open source practices and communities of practice.

Culture Keynote Panel (sharing a personal story that resonated with the audience)

Americas Red Hat Tech Exchange - Orlando, Florida - October 2018 -Phyllis Westerman served on the panel during the main stage "Culture" keynote. During her turn, she responded to the questions asked by the moderator and then took a spur of the moment opportunity to go "off-script" and share her genuine story about how she became the emcee - the open source way. This personal story resonated with the audience and received an astounding round of applause and posts on the social media feed "for the win".

Leveraging Communities of Practice to Improve the Customer Experience

Technology Services World - Las Vegas - October 2017 - Phyllis Westerman hosted a well-attended breakout session at TSW 2017. This session informed audience members about how implementing and leveraging Communities of Practice can positively impact customer experience.

Red Hat Communities of Practice: Come together. Share. Win.

EMEA Red Hat Tech Exchange - Port Adventura, Spain - September 2017 - Phyllis Westerman hosted a breakout session at EMEA Red Hat Tech Exchange. This session informed audience members about the benefits of Communities of Practice for Red Hat. The audience was Red Hat technical associates based in EMEA.

Creating Wins Around the World through Communities of Practice

Technology Services World - San Diego - May 2016 - Phyllis Westerman hosted a well-attended breakout session at TSW 2016 (Spring). This session informed audience members about how implementing and leveraging Communities of Practice can lead to both customer wins and internal wins/improvements.

Professional Services Organizations 2.0 and Communities of Practice

Technology Services World - Las Vegas - October 2016 - Phyllis Westerman hosted a well-attended breakout session at TSW 2016 (Fall). This session informed audience members about how implementing and leveraging Communities of Practice can lead to improved professional service experiences for customers and internal teams.

"Share" Keynote at Asia-Pacific Red Hat Tech Exchange

APAC Red Hat Tech Exchange - Ho Chi Minh City - September 2015 - Phyllis Westerman co-presented a main stage keynote titled "Share". This keynote was delivered to 500 APAC-based Red Hat technical associates. The messaging was about sharing your knowledge opening and how this leads to success.