New Orleans

September 20, 2025

New Orleans beats to a rhythm all its own, where every corner tells a different story. This gathering invites folks from across the Gulf Coast—whether Baton Rouge, Mobile, or beyond—to come together, explore new ideas, and build meaningful connections with others who share the same curiosity and spirit.

XO Ruby New Orleans is a single-day, single-track conference designed to draw folks in from the city and the region. An approachable $100 ticket price coupled with no need for a hotel or airfare means you can connect with your community without breaking the bank.

Ryan Hageman

Ryan is a Senior Consultant at Excella who specializes in systems modernization. He's spent 10 years working in codebases ranging from startups to enterprise clients. Most of his work involves building new systems to modernize outdated processes or legacy applications. When he's not coding, Ryan enjoys cooking food from around the world.

George Mauer

George is a software developer, speaker, teacher, writer, and comedian with an interest in the various techniques that can make software simple, extensible, and communicative. He has worked in all sorts of positions since the mid 2000s, currently a senior AI developer at Qventus and previous principal Ddveloper and a manager at Ninety, Blocpower, FindHelp, Surge Consulting and more. He mentors with Operation Spark, Operation Code (unrelated), writes, teaches, and speaks regularly on Javascript, C#, testing, interviewing, etc at conferences, usergroups, and to his cat (the kids won’t listen).

Thomas Carr

Thomas Carr is a Founding Product Engineer at CorePilot, building an AI-powered ERP solutions for the aviation industry. With over 5 years of experience building Rails applications and integrating AI features, he's passionate about the evolving Ruby AI landscape and sharing practical insights with the community.

Robert Ross

An experienced Rubyist, Robert Ross is the co-founder and CEO of FireHydrant.com. Prior to founding FireHydrant in 2018, Ross worked as a software engineer at Namely, DigitalOcean, and Thunderbolt Labs. When he’s not writing code, he’s writing code. He also enjoys amateur photography, downhill skiing and writing code.

John Paul Ashenfelter

John Paul (JP) has been building web applications since the 1990s and still maintains a Rails app he launched over 20 years ago. A cofounder of Friendly City Food Coop, he enjoys biking, hiking in the mountains, live music, and the joy of deleting code.

Glynnis Ritchie

With a passion for articulating and solving complex problems, some of Glynnis's favorite design challenges involve data-dense or technical settings like healthcare, education, developer tools, and design systems. When she's not designing, you can find her in her pottery studio.

Speakers

Marigny Opera House

725 St. Ferdinand Street, New Orleans, LA

Venue

Once inside the Marigny Opera House, you’ll discover a one-of-a-kind venue that exudes old-world elegance and creative spirit. Housed in a beautifully restored former church dating back to the 19th century, this “Church of the Arts” welcomes artists, thinkers, and communities alike with its soaring architecture, graceful details, and a sun-drenched full lawn. Experience the magic of New Orleans’s in a place where history, beauty, and inspiration meet.

Transportation

The Marigny Opera House is easy to reach, whether you’re coming by car, streetcar, or bus. Enjoy free self-parking on site, with additional street parking available for your convenience. Public transportation is straightforward—take the RTA bus lines 57, 8, or 80, all of which stop just a short walk away. For those exploring, the St. Claude Avenue streetcar line is less than fifteen minutes on foot, connecting you quickly to the French Quarter and other parts of the city.