Evan Phoenix, a former director of RailsConf, shares his experiences and insights into organizing the conference. He recounted the transition from O'Reilly to Ruby Central in 2012, highlighting the chaos and last-minute preparations, including securing catering and designing the event. Evan emphasized the importance of selecting interesting locations and building reliable vendor relationships. He also discussed the volunteer program and the process of selecting speakers and sessions. Despite the end of RailsConf, Evan remains optimistic about Ruby Central's focus on RubyConf and its open-source initiatives, encouraging community involvement through volunteering and participation.