MWSUG 2025 Opening Keynote Presentation

MWSUG 2025 will officially kick off at our Sunday evening opening session. Enjoy a delicious banquet dinner and a fascinating look at the rapidly evolving field of artificial intelligence and how it affects data analysts, statisticians, and programmers like us!

We are pleased to welcome legendary programmer, author, and trainer Kirk Paul Lafler and rising star Ryan Paul Lafler (Kirk's son) to present a special keynote address entitled "The Next-Gen Programmer: Thriving in the GenAI and AgenticAI Revolution". This dynamic duo will lead us in an exploration of important questions such as:

• What happens to programming when machines can write, debug, and even deploy code?
• How will this shift impact my career as a programmer?
• What risks does this create and what opportunities does this present?
• What are the ethical and strategic considerations that must be addressed?
• How can we as programmers prepare for, adapt to, and even thrive in this future?

This special event will also include a Q&A session so you can interact with Kirk and Ryan on these important topics. Don't miss this engaging presentation from two of the brightest minds in our field!

Meet the Presenters

Kirk Paul Lafler is a data scientist, consultant, programmer, educator, and author; and teaches SAS Programming and Data Management in the Statistics Department at San Diego State University. Kirk also provides project-based consulting, programming, and training services to client organizations in a variety of industries including healthcare, life sciences, and big data clients; and teaches “virtual” and “live” SAS, SQL, Python, R, Database Management Systems (DBMS) technologies (e.g., Oracle, SQL-Server, Teradata, SQLite, MySQL, MongoDB, PostgreSQL, AWS), GenAI, ML, Excel, cloud-based technologies, and other software and tools. Currently, Kirk serves as the Western Users of SAS Software (WUSS) Executive Committee (EC) Open-Source Advocate and Coordinator and is actively involved with several proprietary and open-source software user groups and conference committees. As the author of several books including the popular PROC SQL: Beyond the Basics Using SAS, Third Edition (SAS Press. 2019), Kirk is an Invited speaker, educator, keynote, and leader; and is the recipient of 29 “Best” contributed paper, hands-on workshop (HOW), and poster awards.

Ryan Paul Lafler is the President, CEO, and Lead Consultant of Premier Analytics Consulting, LLC, a San Diego–based firm specializing in data, full-stack development, and AI solutions through project-based contracts and consulting engagements. Premier Analytics focuses on open-source programming, big data workflows, AI/ML/DL engineering, full-stack development, and statistical modeling for clients across private industry, research, and government sectors. Ryan has extensive experience delivering technical solutions across a range of roles, including consultant, big data scientist, full-stack developer, AI engineer, and statistician. His expertise includes Python, R, SAS®, JavaScript (Vite, React.js, Node.js), SQL, and applied AI frameworks, including machine learning and deep learning libraries. He has been involved in client contracts, technical consulting assignments, funded research projects, and interdisciplinary initiatives, bringing a results-driven approach to every engagement. Ryan holds a Master of Science in Big Data Analytics (2023) and a Bachelor of Science in Statistics with a Minor in Quantitative Economics (2020), both from San Diego State University (SDSU). He also serves as an Adjunct Faculty member for SDSU’s Big Data Analytics Graduate Program and the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. His professional interests include applied AI, DevOps and MLOps, open-source software, full-stack architecture, statistical modeling, and scalable data infrastructure.