<section class="blog-post-content lb-rtxt"><table id="amazon-polly-audio-table"><tbody><tr><td id="amazon-polly-audio-tab"><p></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>We are excited to announce the latest cohort of AWS Heroes, recognized for their exceptional contributions and technical leadership. These passionate individuals represent diverse regions and technical specialties, demonstrating notable expertise and dedication to knowledge sharing within the AWS community. From AI and machine learning to serverless architectures and security, our new Heroes showcase the breadth of cloud innovation while fostering inclusive and engaging technical communities. Join us in welcoming these community leaders who are helping to shape the future of cloud computing and inspiring the next generation of AWS builders.</p><h2 class="c6">Kristine Armiyants – Masis, Armenia</h2><p><a href="https://builder.aws.com/community/@kristinearmiyants" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img class="alignleft" src="https://d2908q01vomqb2.cloudfront.net/da4b9237bacccdf19c0760cab7aec4a8359010b0/2025/08/11/Kristine-Armiyants_profile.png" width="175" height="263" alt="image" /></a>Community Hero <a href="https://builder.aws.com/community/@kristinearmiyants" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kristine Armiyants</a> is a software engineer and cloud support engineer who transitioned into technology from a background in finance, having earned an MBA before becoming self-taught in software development. As the founder and leader of AWS User Group Armenia for over 2.5 years, she has transformed the local tech landscape by organizing Armenia’s first AWS Community Day, scaling it from 320 to 440+ attendees, and leading a team that brings international-scale events to her country. Through her technical articles in Armenian, hands-on workshops, and “no-filter” blog series, she makes cloud knowledge more accessible while mentoring new user group organizers and early-career engineers. Her dedication to community building has resulted in five new AWS Community Builders from Armenia, demonstrating her commitment to creating inclusive spaces for learning and growth in the AWS community.</p><h2 class="c6">Nadia Reyhani – Perth, Australia</h2><p><a href="https://builder.aws.com/community/@nafia1212" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img class="alignleft" src="https://d2908q01vomqb2.cloudfront.net/da4b9237bacccdf19c0760cab7aec4a8359010b0/2025/08/11/Nadia-Reyhani_profile.png" width="175" height="263" alt="image" /></a>Machine Learning Hero <a href="https://builder.aws.com/community/@nafia1212" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nadia Reyhani</a> is an AI Product Engineer who integrates DevOps best practices with machine learning systems. She is a former AWS Community Builder and regularly presents at AWS events on building scalable AI solutions using Amazon SageMaker and Bedrock. As a Women in Digital Ambassador, she combines technical expertise with advocacy, creating inclusive spaces for underrepresented groups in cloud and AI technologies.</p><h2 class="c6">Raphael Manke – Karlsruhe, Germany</h2><p><a href="https://builder.aws.com/community/raphaelmanke" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img class="alignleft" src="https://d2908q01vomqb2.cloudfront.net/da4b9237bacccdf19c0760cab7aec4a8359010b0/2025/08/11/Raphael-Manke_profile.png" width="175" height="263" alt="image" /></a>DevTools Hero <a href="https://builder.aws.com/community/raphaelmanke" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Raphael Manke</a> is a Senior Product Engineer at Dash0 and the creator of the unofficial AWS re:Invent planner, which is used to help build a schedule for the event. With a decade of AWS experience, he specializes in serverless technologies and DevTools that streamline cloud development. As the organizer of the AWS User Group in Karlsruhe and a former AWS Community Builder, he actively contributes to product enhancement through public speaking and direct collaboration with AWS service teams. His commitment to the AWS community spans from local user group leadership to providing valuable feedback to service teams.</p><h2 class="c6">Rowan Udell – Brisbane, Australia</h2><p><a href="https://builder.aws.com/community/@rowanu" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img class="alignleft" src="https://d2908q01vomqb2.cloudfront.net/da4b9237bacccdf19c0760cab7aec4a8359010b0/2025/08/11/Rowan-Udell_profile.png" width="175" height="263" alt="image" /></a>Security Hero <a href="https://builder.aws.com/community/@rowanu" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Rowan Udell</a> is an independent AWS security consultant specializing in AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM). He has been sharing AWS security expertise for over a decade through books, blog posts, meet-ups, workshops, and conference presentations. Rowan has taken part in many AWS community programs, was an AWS Community Builder for four years, and is part of the AWS Community Day Australia Organizing Committee. A frequent speaker at AWS events including Sydney Summit and other community meetups, Rowan is known for transforming complex security concepts into simple, practical, and workable solutions for businesses securing their AWS environments.</p><h2 class="c6">Sangwoon (Chris) Park – Seoul, Korea</h2><p><a href="https://builder.aws.com/community/@serverless" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img class="alignleft" src="https://d2908q01vomqb2.cloudfront.net/da4b9237bacccdf19c0760cab7aec4a8359010b0/2025/08/11/chris-park_profile.png" width="175" height="263" alt="image" /></a>Serverless Hero <a href="https://builder.aws.com/community/@serverless" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sangwoon (Chris) Park</a> leads development at RECON Labs, an AI startup specializing in AI-driven 3D content generation. He is a former AWS Community Builder and the creator of “AWS Classroom” YouTube channel, and he shares practical serverless architecture knowledge with the AWS community. Chris hosts monthly AWS Classroom Meetups and the AWS KRUG Serverless Small Group, actively promoting serverless technologies through community events and educational content.</p><h2 class="c6">Toshal Khawale – Pune, India</h2><p><a href="https://builder.aws.com/community/@toshal" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img class="alignleft" src="https://d2908q01vomqb2.cloudfront.net/da4b9237bacccdf19c0760cab7aec4a8359010b0/2025/08/11/Toshal-Khawale_profile.png" width="175" height="263" alt="image" /></a>Community Hero <a href="https://builder.aws.com/community/@toshal" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Toshal Khawale</a> is an experienced technology leader with over 22 years of expertise in engineering and AWS cloud technology, holding 12 AWS certifications that demonstrate his cloud knowledge. As a Managing Director at PwC, Toshal guides organizations through cloud transformation, digital innovation, and application modernization initiatives, having led numerous large-scale AWS migrations and generative AI implementations. He was an AWS Community Builder for six years and continues to serve as the AWS User Group Pune Leader, actively fostering community engagement and knowledge sharing. Through his roles as a mentor, frequent speaker, and advocate, Toshal helps organizations maximize their AWS investments while staying at the forefront of cloud technology trends.</p><h2 class="c6">Learn More</h2><p>Visit the <a href="https://builder.aws.com/connect/community/heroes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AWS Heroes webpage</a> if you’d like to learn more about the AWS Heroes program, or to connect with a Hero near you.</p><p>— <a href="https://twitter.com/taylorjacobsen" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Taylor</a></p></section><aside id="Comments" class="blog-comments"><div data-lb-comp="aws-blog:cosmic-comments" data-env="prod" data-content-id="74d3b053-9251-461b-9a41-77f11291c5ca" data-title="Meet our newest AWS Heroes — August 2025" data-url="https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/meet-our-newest-aws-heroes-august-2025/"><p data-failed-message="Comments cannot be loaded… Please refresh and try again.">Loading comments…</p></div></aside>
