Date: Tuesday, July 8, 2025
Time: 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM EDT
Hosted by: Bluegrass, Southeast Michigan, and Chicagoland IIBA Chapters
This is our Social event to ‘Build Our Community’ rebranded!
Join us for a unique celebration!
This special Agile After Hours event brings together three celebrations: Independence Day, National Chocolate with Almonds Day, and Kevin Bacon's birthday! Connect with fellow business analysis professionals in a relaxed setting while expanding your agile toolkit.
Seven Degrees of Bacon
In honor of Kevin Bacon's birthday, we're exploring connections—both in networking and in flavor combinations! Experience hands-on learning with our featured agile technique demonstration, then enjoy networking with a delicious twist featuring chocolate, almonds, and bacon-inspired recipes.
What to Expect:
• Interactive agile workshop featuring a collaborative technique you can immediately apply
• Networking opportunities with BA professionals across the world
• Chocolate with almonds and bacon recipe exchange and storytelling session
• Fun prizes for the most creative "connection" ideas
Registration:
Free for IIBA members and non-members. This is a virtual event.
Bring your favorite friend and your recipes to share. You may send us your recipes ahead of time so we can add them to our “cookbook” we will share with attendees following the event.
Come discover how many degrees separate you from other business analysis professionals—and learn why chocolate, almonds, and bacon make for an unexpectedly perfect combination!
This promises to be a fun and interactive event, one You Won't Want to Miss!
Facilitated by: Stephanie Hawkins, Cathy Warren and Marci Watts
Stephanie Hawkins, Vice President, Community Outreach and Engagement, Bluegrass IIBA Chapter
Stephani Hawkins, MSIA, CISA is the Vice President of Community Outreach and Engagement for the Bluegrass IIBA Chapter. She has over 25 years of experience in the Information Technology field focusing on enterprise IT transformation, business analysis, project management, data governance, IT risk, and controls. She holds a Master's degree in Information Assurance (MSIA) from Walsh College and is a Certified Information Security Auditor (CISA). 
Cathy Warren, ACBA, CPOA is the Vice President and Secretary for the Southeast Michigan IIBA Chapter. She has 10 years experience working as a Business Analyst for Department of Defense logistics modernization programs. Cathy also has 18 years experience as a Program Manager for an organ, tissue and eye donation awareness non-profit organization. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from Wright State University, an Applied Certification in Business Analysis (ACBA) from Bridging the Gap, and a Certificate in Product Ownership Analysis (IIBA®-CPOA) from IIBA. 
Marci Watts, MBA, FLMI, ACS, ARA, CTM, SAFe 5 SP, SAFE 5 POPM is the Chair for the Core Group of Volunteers for the Chicagoland IIBA Chapter. She has over 20 year’s experience working as a Business Analyst/ Product Owner/ Product Manager for Allstate Insurance Company in its auto and property insurance lines. Marci also has 25+ years of volunteer experience with organizations such as Junior Achievement and Community Threads. Marci holds a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration with a minor in Economics from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, and a MBA from Lake Forest Graduate School of Management. She holds several SAFe Agile certifications and is working on her IIBA Agile and Product Ownership Analysis certifications. 
Pass the Word:
Don't forget: Let your friends and colleagues know about this month's event by forwarding this event to them.