There’s a room at PASS Summit West where nobody’s presenting, nobody’s watching a slide deck, and the entire appointment is about one problem: yours. It’s called the Community Experts Clinic, and it’s a dedicated, one-on-one appointment with an industry expert, drawn from our own PASS Summit West speaker lineup, built entirely around the challenge you’re actually facing. Not a Q&A line after a session. Not a five-minute hallway chat you have to fight for. A real appointment, just for you.

How It Actually Works

The mechanics are simple by design:

• The Clinic runs all day, every conference day: Tuesday, November 10, and Wednesday, November 11 . Not just during breaks.
• You fill out a short form with your name, email, and a brief overview of your issue. You can request a specific expert, though we can’t guarantee a match.
• Speakers volunteer their time and claim appointment requests from a shared list, based on where they know they can genuinely help.

Didn’t book ahead? Walk-ups are welcome on the day, so there’s no wrong way in.

Keep an eye on your inbox for when booking opens. We’ll send the request form straight to registered attendees as soon as it’s live.

What People Actually Get Out of It

The feedback from past Clinics is consistent enough that it’s worth taking seriously. Here’s what previous attendees have said:

“Being able to schedule a one-on-one session with an expert to work through issues I am experiencing in my role as a DBA was one of the most valuable experiences I had at PASS.”

“The expertise in the clinic is unparalleled. The experts are humble and thoughtful. Never hesitate to ask your question. You’ll be pleasantly surprised.”

“The Clinic gave me a priceless perspective on my career I couldn’t see on my own.”

And it’s not one-sided. The experts who volunteer their time show up because they get something out of it too:

“What other conference can you go to, where you can get… FREE CONSULTING from an industry expert?”

One expert put it even more plainly: for attendees who come prepared to describe their challenge in real detail, the Clinic alone can justify the cost of the whole trip.

Come With a Real Question

The people who get the most out of the Clinic aren’t the ones with the most polished question. They’re the ones with the most specific one. “How do I get better at SQL Server” is a hard place to start. “My queries slow down under load and I can’t tell if it’s the indexing or the hardware” is exactly the kind of thing an expert can dig into properly, one-on-one.

So start thinking now, before you’re standing in downtown Seattle with a coffee in hand: what’s the one problem you’d want a second opinion on if a genuine expert had time set aside just for you? A performance issue you can’t quite crack. An architecture decision you’re still not sure about. A career move you don’t know how to make. Whatever it is, that’s exactly what this appointment is for.

Whether this is your first PASS Summit or your fifth, the Community Experts Clinic is one of the few things at the event that’s built entirely around you. Don’t let it be the thing you find out about on your flight home.

Haven’t registered yet? Register now to join us at PASS Summit West, November 9-11, 2026, in Seattle.