And when I’m back in Chicago, I feel it…

Chicago has always been a city that rebuilds. After the Great Fire, it didn’t just recover — it reimagined itself. It became a place where bold ideas take shape. It’s a city that rewards staying curious and doing the work.

It’s also the city that formed me. Chicago gave me creative inspiration and the drive to keep evolving, even when the landscape shifts under your feet.

🎵 And when I’m back in Chicago, I feel it… — Djo

For me, that feeling isn’t about coming back. I’ve been here. It’s about tapping into that energy again — the kind that pushes you to retool and rethink what’s possible. Especially now, when the pace of technology is pushing all of us to reconsider how we work and what we build.

The last time DrupalCon was in Chicago was 2011. Since then, Drupal has turned 25 and continued to evolve as a platform. Four Kitchens is turning 20 and has grown into something our founders couldn’t have predicted. And the Drupal community, which shaped my path from developer to CEO, is the reason any of it happened. Chicago feels like the right place to celebrate how far we’ve all come.

We’re bringing 13 Web Chefs to DrupalCon Chicago (Monday, March 23–Thursday, March 26), and we’re showing the work we’ve been focused on.

At Monday’s AI Summit and later in the week at the Four Kitchens booth, Dave will be demoing Program Finder AI, a tool we’ve been building to help prospective students explore academic programs in a more intuitive way. Si Robins and I will be there all week, and we’d welcome conversations about long-term roadmaps, governance questions, or ways to support your internal team.

On Tuesday the 24th, Dave Hansen-Lange is co-presenting with Albert Hughes from Stanford on “A Dashboard that Works: Giving Editors What They Want, But Focusing on What They Need.” If you’ve ever wrestled with building an editorial experience that actually serves your team, this one’s for you.

Later that afternoon, Mari Núñez and Andrés Díaz Soto are presenting “Elevating Drupal Experiences with Vanilla JavaScript” — a look at how thoughtful frontend work can create meaningful impact without unnecessary complexity.

One of our core values at Four Kitchens is Share What We Know. In that spirit, we’ve put together an RFP Recipe Guide — practical guidance for teams navigating the often-overwhelming process of preparing an RFP. With many higher-ed fiscal years renewing July 1, this is the season when that work begins. Grab a copy at our booth or ask me about it directly.

Twenty years in, what I love most about this community is that it’s still full of people who want to build something that matters. Come find us, say hello, grab a coffee. I’ll be at trivia night on Thursday, too. Fair warning: I’m not competitive and I love to talk.

See you in Chicago! 🏙️🌭🎵🍕🎭🎡