Consulting Groups Near Me

Elite Networking Lunch: Elevate Your Connections

Attendance is $35 (cash, credit/debit card, or ApplePay - paid at the door), which includes water/soda/coffee, bread, choice of a plated lunch entrée, and a dessert assortment. Parking is also validated in the Reston Station garages (3 hours of validation). Join one of Northern Virginia's most successful business networking groups (part of BNI). Open to the public and is typically attended by business owners, business developers, and entrepreneurs. Meetings are typically attended by 30-40 members and guests. \*\*\*PLEASE RSVP here: [REGISTER HERE](https://square.link/u/0WvC6Eir) \*\*\*If you do not register on the BNI website, there may not be a seat available for you.

Becoming One of the First Candidates Considered

more details coming

Workshop: Ecosystem Design

**Service Design DC** is thrilled to welcome **Ray Knickmeyer** for a special hands-on workshop introducing Ecosystem Design, a new framework and approach they are bringing to our community for understanding and reshaping the systems that influence how we work. Ray will share this approach and guide us through applying it to our own organizational realities. Ray’s premise is simple but powerful: when talented people get stuck, the problem is often not a lack of resilience or another tool to adopt, it is the infrastructure around the work. Ecosystem Design helps make that infrastructure visible by mapping the people, rituals, and artifacts that shape our daily experience inside complex organizations. Through a guided mapping exercise led by Ray, you will place yourself at the center of your matrix and build out the surrounding layers. Once your ecosystem is visualized, you will identify pressure points and high-leverage areas within your control. You will leave with a personalized action plan and one concrete lever you can pull in the next seven days to reduce organizational friction and turn exhausting motion into sustainable momentum. # **What You’ll Do** * Ecosystem Mapping & Real-World Framing * Mapping the Matrix * Pinpointing Blockers & Paired Breakouts * The High-Leverage Lever & Commitment # **Evening Agenda** 6:00 PM: Doors open and socializing 6:30 PM: Workshop begins 7:45 PM: Workshop concludes 8:00 PM: Event concludes # **About the Facilitator** **Ray Knicmeyer** is the Founder and Principal Strategist at Knickmeyer Strategic Facilitation (KSF), partnering with enterprise leadership teams to reduce organizational friction through ecosystem design and strategic facilitation. With a background in Computer Science and Human-Computer Interaction, they previously led Talent, Learning, and Culture for a 700-person division at Capital One and cross-functional initiatives supporting a global workforce of more than 160,000 at Verizon. Their work has generated more than $16M in verified cost savings and earned two Nielsen Norman Group Awards. They hold an MS in Human-Computer Interaction from Georgia Tech. # **Registration Fee & Community Access** We want this workshop to be accessible to our community. If the fee would make it difficult for you to attend, please contact the Service Design DC organizers privately. We have a limited number of complimentary community spots available, and no explanation is required. We do not want cost to be the reason someone cannot participate. # **Many Thanks to Our Host, Steampunk!** **Design. Disrupt. Repeat.** Steampunk is anchored by a startup culture with a customer-centered delivery approach. They put Federal government clients at the center of what they design, develop, and deliver to drive high-quality mission impact and user experiences at speed. *** # **Venue & Getting There** Steampunk’s Design Intelligence® Studio is located at 1753 Pinnacle Dr., Suite 215, McLean, VA. **Traveling by Metro?** Take the Silver Line to Greensboro station; from there it is about a 10–15 minute walk. **Driving?** There is free parking in the lot at the end of Pinnacle Drive on the left side. For building entry, enter near the Wells Fargo bank branch. The studio doors are next to the bank branch and marked “PUNK.” Someone from the Service Design DC team will be there to help with wayfinding.

MultiFamilyMasters - Northern VA - Meet and Greet (New Location)

Let's chat! The purpose of this event is to meet and connect with like-minded investors and to grow our network. Great opportunity to network with investors, lenders, brokers, operators and business leaders. We can all share what we want and need as well as help and bring value to the rest of the community. We will meet at the Ono Brewing Company, 4520 Daly Dr. Ste 102 Chantilly, VA 20151

Dulles Collaborative Edge

Come out and enjoy an amazing time and presentation online most Thursdays and face-to-face every 2nd Thursday of the month at 8 AM EST :-)!! From the comfort of your home, office, or face-to-face, The Dulles Collaborative Edge is creating unprecedented opportunities for Northern Virginia's robust data center supply chain. 👇🏾 [Watch and discover our intro video HERE](https://youtu.be/HP8BFsOiUWM?si=hOQzj5i5Fz2VzbtG) 👇🏾 https://youtu.be/HP8BFsOiUWM?si=hOQzj5i5Fz2VzbtG 👇🏾[ Participate ONLINE on most Thursday mornings HERE](https://streamyard.com/hin2ritmu5) 👇🏾 **https://streamyard.com/hin2ritmu5** Don't miss any of the action! Our core team members will represent: 1️⃣ SWaM, minority-owned, veteran-owned, women-owned, green, and growth-stage firms in commissioning, MEP, HVAC, cybersecurity, logistics, power, cooling, and operations. 2️⃣ Data center owners, operators, hyperscalers, utilities, OEMs, primes, integrators, and infrastructure investors seeking reliable local partners. 3️⃣ County leaders, economic development teams, workforce boards, procurement officials, and federal mission owners interested in resilience and inclusive growth. 4️⃣ Universities, training providers, trade associations, community organizations, and capital partners that can strengthen the regional ecosystem.

Mclean Business Connections - Power Networking

Please join us every week for power networking! Our Chapter Passed $1,666,736 USD in the past 12 months! BNI members, on average, increase their business 20% the first year. Our chapter is a dynamic, committed group of business people who know how to refer business to each other. Come for our meeting -- stay for the referrals!!! We have open categories for individuals who will bring enthusiasm and integrity to our meeting. Just one person per professional specialty is allowed in each chapter. Visit a meeting to find out more and lock out your competition! Register Here: https://bninovanorth.com/va-nova-north-bni-mclean-business-connection--n136/en-US/visitorregistration?chapterId=16988

Scale Brilliance, not Bottlenecks: Software Delivery in the AI-First World

Stop the Scam Before it Starts

Scams have become more sophisticated, more digital and harder to stop once they reach customers. What if we shifted the focus from reacting to scams to stopping them at the source? Can we? Find out at the October **Loudoun CyberTech** meetup! Please join us on **Tuesday, October 6, 2026,** at **Honor Brewing Company** at **42604 Trade West Dr, Sterling, VA 20166**! Want a custom name tag to enhance your networking opportunities? Register here and yours will be ready at the door: https://share.hsforms.com/1LUj_UsviQRaH_X8RU_T7WQdwxz1 We look forward to welcoming **Ken Westbrook, CEO of Stop Scams Alliance** to the next Loudoun CyberTech for **Stop the Scam Before it Starts**! Ken has previously served as the **Chief, Business and Information Strategy** at the **CIA** and **Director for Informtion Sharing and Mission Requirements for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.** He's spent his career tackling complex security and information challenges and shares his fascinating background and experience to us next month! Join us for a conversation about the growing threat of cyber scams and why solving it requires more than individual awareness and why the **Stop Scams Alliance** works to protect us. Ken will explore how the cyber community can disrupt scams before they reach our inboxes, phones and bank accounts. Mark your calendars to join us next month! **Agenda** 5:30 Social hour and networking begins 6:10 Welcome 6:15 Spotlight Speaker - Ken Westbrook 6:50 Q&A 7:00 Open Mic & Networking Continues 7:30 Adjourn

Northern Virginia Business Alliance Breakfast

Network with an average of 60+ business professionals, all attendees get an opportunity to give a 30 second elevator pitch, enjoy a light breakfast, 10 minute educational presentation on topics that change weekly, and enjoy networking before and after the meet up.

Vector Search in SQL Server 2025 - Sam Nasr

NOTE: Hybrid event, virtual speaker, non-standard date (Wed not Tue) SQL Server 2025 introduces native support for vector search. This allows for bridging structured data with semantic understanding. We’ll explore how SQL Server 2025 leverages HNSW indexing, integrates with embedding models, and supports hybrid search. In addition, we'll explore what vector search is and why it matters in modern data applications, how to store, index, and query vector data in SQL Server 2025, real-world examples of AI-powered solutions using vector search, and tips for optimizing performance and integrating with external ML pipelines.

NoVA Hackers October Meeting

**Inflow 6:00 PM - Talks Start \~6:30 PM** **Reston Community Center - 2310 Colts Neck Rd, Reston, VA 20191** NoVA Hackers is a group located in the Northern Virginia area and is made up of Information Security Professionals from all walks of life, from government and private sector, to students and beginners. The monthly meetings are held much like a mini-conference with 4-8 speakers and only a few basic but strict rules. Participation and Permission Active Participation is required for continued membership and is the only due required. Permission is required to be obtained from anyone providing information to the group from the person providing it to be made public by anyone other than the provider. Historically our talks generally run a bit late and we have a hard stop at 9:30pm for the room. If you want to socialize we recommend you arrive at 6 to meet and greet before the talks. Agendas and remote meeting option available after you join the group.

❤️ Authentic Dating: Real Conversations & Genuine Chemistry (Ashburn)

**Saturday\, October 10 \| 3:00–6:00 PM** **Ashburn\, VA \| Launch Special: $15 \| Ages 35–60 \| Limited to 40 attendees** *** Dating apps can get repetitive, singles events can feel awkward, and now **AI-generated photos and bios** can make it even harder to know who you’re really connecting with. ✨ **Authentic Dating** ✨ makes meeting other singles more natural, fun, and meaningful. 😊 Through **connection games, one-on-one and group conversations, and thoughtfully designed prompts**, you’ll get beyond surface-level talk and discover who you genuinely enjoy connecting with. *** **What to Expect** A relaxed, interactive experience designed for **single adults ages 35–60** • Fun connection games • One-on-one + group conversations • Playful + meaningful prompts • Conversations beyond surface-level small talk • Opportunities to discover shared interests, values, and chemistry • Light snacks + non-alcoholic drinks *** ✨ Because sometimes the best connection isn’t the **person you expected — it’s the conversation you didn’t want to end.** At the end of the event, you’ll have a **private way** to indicate who you’d like to connect with again — whether as a potential **match** or a new **friend.** *** **Meet people. Have real conversations. See where there’s genuine chemistry.** *** **🎟️ Launch Special: $15** More **Authentic Dating** events are planned, but this first one comes with a special **$15 launch rate**. If you’ve been curious about trying something different from dating apps or typical singles events, **this is a great one to try.** 😊 No need to worry about approaching strangers or figuring out what to say. We’ll help get the conversations started. Feel free to **share this event with single friends**. Each attendee **must register separately** within the registration window so we can plan the games, participant flow, snacks, and drinks. 📍 **Location Note:** This event will take place at the Windmill Park pavilion, offering a beautiful lake view. **Advance registration is required** so we can properly plan the experience for registered attendees. *** **Safety & Respect** Please respect personal boundaries and use your own judgment when connecting with others. Midlife Reinvention facilitates the event but is not responsible for personal interactions or relationships during or after the event. If another attendee makes you feel uncomfortable or behaves inappropriately, please speak privately with an organizer (Anju) so we can address the concern. *** **❤️ Sometimes chemistry starts with one unexpectedly good conversation.**