Our annual meeting will be held Wednesday, July 30th, 2025 at Pinstripes in Edina! We're super excited about this new venue and look forward to some great networking and continuing education. Hope to see you there!
We have a great lineup of speakers for our annual MinnSUG summer meeting on July 30, 2025 at Pinstripes in Edina!
Our local speaker works with credit bureau reporting at U.S. Bank.
Meet Britta KelseyBassett!
Britta KelseyBassett has been a SAS user for 20 plus years. She has used SAS throughout her career, which has included working in government, medical research, pharma, food, and currently, the financial industry. Britta’s favorite thing about SAS is using it for automation – She geeks out every time she writes a new macro that makes her job easier! In addition to SAS coding, Britta enjoys dancing, swimming, longboarding, traveling, and watching movies with her husband and 13-year-old in southwest Minnesota.
We are also very fortunate to have two very experienced speakers join us from SAS Institute, Inc. Meet Melodie Rush and Charu Shankar!
With over a decade of experience in data analytics and machine learning, Melodie Rush brings a wealth of expertise to her role as a Customer Success Data Scientist. Her passion for solving complex problems with innovative technology has made her an essential member of the SAS team. Melodie's work involves developing and deploying advanced models that help businesses make better decisions based on their data insights. She is constantly exploring new ways to improve analytical methods and technologies, striving to create systems that are faster, more accurate, and more efficient than ever before. In addition to her technical skills, Melodie is also known for her ability to communicate complex concepts in simple terms.
SAS Senior Technical Training Specialist, Charu Shankar teaches by engaging with logic, visuals, and analogies to spark critical thinking. She interviews users to recommend the right SAS training. She is a frequent blogger for the SAS Training Post. When she’s not teaching technology, Charu is passionate about helping people come alive with yoga and is a food blogger. She also helps support candidates who are looking to land work using SAS through the SAS Canada training and career development LINKED IN group. Charu has presented at over 100 SAS international user group conferences on topics related to SAS programming, SQL, DS2 programming, tips and tricks, efficiencies, new features of SAS, and SAS Enterprise.
MinnSUG 2025 Summer Meeting Agenda
Wednesday, July 30, 2025
8:00am – 8:50am Check-In / Continental Breakfast* / Networking
8:50am – 9:00am Welcome from MinnSUG
9:00am – 9:50am "Baking or Cooking - Learn the Difference Between SAS Arrays and Hash Objects" presented by Charu Shankar, SAS Institute, Inc.
9:50am – 10:00am Break
10:00am – 10:30am “TBD” presented by Britta KelseyBassett, U.S. Bank
10:30am – 11:20pm “SAS Viya for SAS 9.4 Users: What You Need to Know”
presented by Melodie Rush, SAS Institute, Inc.
11:20am – 11:30pm Break
11:30am – 12:20pm "The Many Ways to Join SAS Tables" presented by Charu Shankar, SAS Institute, Inc.
12:20pm – 1:15pm Lunch* / Networking
1:15pm – 2:05pm "SAS®, SQL, R, and Python: We're All Friends" presented by Melodie Rush, SAS Institute, Inc.
2:05pm – 2:45pm “Making MinnSUG Work for You” MinnSUG Board, Melodie Rush, Charu Shankar
2:45pm – 3:00pm Break / Afternoon Snack*
3:00pm – 3:50pm "The Battle of the Titans: DATA Step versus PROC SQL" presented by Charu Shankar, SAS Institute, Inc.
3:50pm – 4:00pm Prize Drawing / Closing Remarks
4:00pm – 6:00pm Networking and Games at Pinstripes
* All meals and snacks graciously sponsored by SAS Institute, Inc.!
{Note: MNSUG is a 100% volunteer organization. This means there is no honorarium nor travel expenses provided for speakers. The conference is free to attend.}
Check out our new LinkedIn Page! MinnSUG LinkedIn Company Page
Interested in speaking at an upcoming meeting?
Send an email to Minnesota SAS User Group <minnesotasasug@gmail.com >