About HoCo AI
Our mission, our community, our story
Our Mission
HoCo AI exists to build a welcoming, in-person community where people can explore artificial intelligence together. Based in Columbia, MD and serving the Baltimore-Washington corridor, we believe AI is for everyone — not just engineers or researchers — and that the best learning happens face-to-face.
Our goal is simple: bring together curious, motivated people once a month for great talks, real conversations, and genuine connections. No gatekeeping, no jargon walls, no experience required.
Who It's For
If you're curious about AI, you belong here. Our members include:
- Software developers exploring AI/ML
- Data scientists and analysts
- Business professionals evaluating AI tools
- Students and career changers
- Entrepreneurs building AI products
- IT professionals adopting AI solutions
The Organizer
Don Kitchen
Founder, HoCo AI
25+ years in software, systems, and technology leadership
Don has spent his career making technology work in the real world — starting as a software engineer and moving through architecture, platform development, and enterprise systems leadership across multiple industries.
He's been a user group person for years. .NET groups, SQL Server meetups, CMAP — the kind of rooms where you learn more in two hours than in a week of Googling. When AI started reshaping everything, he went looking for that same kind of room in Howard County and couldn't find one.
So he built it.
“I wanted a place where people could come together and figure this out — without the hype, without the gatekeeping, and without needing to be an expert.”
HoCo AI is a local community for learning faster, sharing openly, and applying AI in ways that actually matter.