WELCOME TO THE SOUTH FLORIDA CHAPTER OF THE GLOBAL ASSOCIATION FOR VR AND AR
WHY JOIN VRARA SOUTH FLORIDA?
With Miami's tech scene developing at an unprecedented pace, the local community has become a welcoming environment for VR and AR enthusiasts and entrepreneurs from throughout the Americas. As the overall business landscape has expanded in Miami, so has the interest in VR, AR, and virtual worlds. VRARA's South Florida chapter welcomes local businesses, leaders, visionaries, and other professionals, to join it in supporting and growing the community. With quarterly held chapter events that feature keynote speakers and networking opportunities, VRARA South Florida’s mission is to educate, connect, and grow South Florida's VR/AR ecosystem.
See all Membership benefits here
NETWORK
COLLABORATE
RESEARCH
NEWS
THE TEAM
Co-Chapter Presidents: Skip Kimpel, Tangy Frederick ,Anna Gandrabura, Rob Petrosino,
Skip Kimpel skip@thevrara.com Skip is a restaurant and hospitality technology evangelist and an industry known thought leader. Kimpel is currently a Senior Consultant for ConStrata and has held previous roles as the CIO and senior technology roles for 4R Restaurant Group, Virtual Dining Concepts and Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza.
His responsibilities have included all areas of strategy and operational technology not only at the restaurant level but also within the various corporate departments. He views data as the number one asset that a company has at its disposal that allows them to leverage this for focusing on business strategy and solid pro-active decision making. Kimpel is also the creator and host of The Tech Chef Podcast, which is a restaurant and hospitality technology show and is one of the most popular places to get the latest information on operational and technology driven solutions solving for the complications that brands are currently experiencing.
Skip actively sits on the Board of Governors for the Restaurant Technology Network (RTN) as well as the marketing and allied member committees and previous board member for the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association (FRLA). He is also a member of the VR/AR Association (VRARA) and is the chair for their Hospitality Committee as well as a Founding Principal Member for the Metaverse Standards Forum. He is heavily involved with anything that is hospitality technology driven and has been instrumental in creating industry standards as well as the restaurant industry’s first standardized open API. He is also passionate about emerging technologies involving XR applications and spatial computing as related to the restaurant and hospitality space.
Tangy Frederick tangy@thevrara.com is the Founder and Software Engineer of Regal Unicorn Software Academy and Cre8tive Dev Software. As the founder of Regal Unicorn Software Academy, Frederick and her team works with existing and aspiring engineers, and tech entrepreneurs. The tech accelerator’s focus is educating its cadets on developing immersive technology, mobile applications, and web3 technologies, along with the concepts of AI/machine learning and IoT. The three pillars that they focus on, with the engineering cadets, are developing content/apps, curriculum and educating communities nationwide.
Tangy began her tech journey while living in California, she worked for Environment California. There, she brought awareness to other Californians, by showing them, they can help improve the environment. This is where her love grew for socially conscious businesses in tech. And pursuing Tech for Good as a Software Engineer and founder of a software development Non profit organization. Developing and creating Immersive technology and creating more tech jobs.
Anna Gandrabura anna@thevrara.com An educator and entrepreneur with 14 years of experience in edtech. Anna is a founder of Techville - the virtual world where you can learn languages and improve your social skills. Bootstrapped English For IT helping tech professionals globally improve their communication skills. Textbook author: "English For Tech" and "So, tell me about yourself". Building The Chain Miami, an insider guide to web3 events and educational resources in Miami. Social media influencer (400K+ on Instagram and 200K+ on TikTok).
Rob Petrosino rob@thevrara.com Rob attended college in Worcester, Massachusetts. His curiosity for innovation began while studying New Media & Digital Arts at The College of the Holy Cross, where he paid close attention to the intersections between art, technology, and culture. From there, his excitement for technology led to a role strategizing with C-Suite executives and implementing breakthrough solutions. At PeakActivity, Rob spearheads efforts around emerging technologies, such as spatial computing and machine learning, and instilling innovation in established businesses. Rob is known for his keen insights on cutting edge technology and his passion for all things digital.
