PDMA DMV Chapter Meetup: September 2026
About
The PDMA DMV Chapter and the University of Maryland are coming together to host an evening of great speakers, great food, and even better conversations — and we'd love to see you there!
The Product Development and Management Association (PDMA) DMV Chapter is a vibrant professional community dedicated to advancing product management through collaboration, innovation, and education. Our meetups bring together product leaders, practitioners, researchers, and enthusiasts from across the DC–Maryland–Virginia region to learn, share, and grow.
Join us on September 17th!
Come grab Chick-fil-A, hear from an exciting lineup of speakers who bring real-world experience from academia and enterprise product leadership, and connect with great product people in the DMV.
Whether you're looking to sharpen your product craft, explore what's next in the field, or simply connect with fellow product minds — this is your evening. Come for the insights, stay for the conversations.
Zoom link to join virtually: https://umd.zoom.us/j/94492612138?pwd=QnB1nlz1TaA0S0bQjfP09dWNjZaly7.1&jst=2
Speakers
1) John C. E. Johnson Professional Programs Manager, University of Maryland
Topic: From Marketer to Builder to Explorer: The Product Management Journey and Frontier
Today, agentic prototyping has made building cheap. But cheap construction doesn't tell us what is worth scaling — it multiplies plausible directions while leaving us no better informed about which ones hold up. John traces the arc that got us here and argues that the next product manager is an explorer: someone who can lead a team mature enough to hold options open and exercise the judgment to close on the right one.
2) Geeta Balakrishnan Principal Product Manager, Amazon
Topic: Building Pricing Experiences That Work for Everyone
In a marketplace, customers want transparent pricing while sellers want merchandising — and optimizing for one side often harms the other. Geeta shares how her team navigated this tension when redesigning pricing displays in a B2B marketplace at Amazon, balancing business goals with genuine customer value — at massive scale.
Agenda
6:00 PM – 6:30 PM | Registration & Networking
Arrive early, grab food, and connect with PDMA chapter members, practitioners, and product leaders before the program begins.
6:30 PM – 6:45 PM | Welcome Remarks
Opening remarks from the PDMA DMV Chapter leadership.
6:45 PM – 7:15 PM | Speaker Session
John C. E. Johnson - From Marketer to Builder to Explorer
7:15 PM – 7:45 PM | Speaker Session
Geeta Balakrishnan - Building Pricing Experiences That Work for Everyone
7:45 PM – 8:30 PM | Networking Reception
Continue the conversation, exchange ideas, and build lasting connections.
Learn More and Join Our Community
PDMA DMV Chapter: Join our Official Community
LinkedIn: Join our LinkedIn Group
Venue Map