Former first lady Michelle Obama speaks at Apple Worldwide Developers Conference

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ByMatt Keller KGO logo
Tuesday, June 6, 2017
Former first lady speaks at Apple's WWDC in San Jose
First lady Michelle Obama spoke about values and leadership as she addressed a crowd at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose on Tuesday.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- Former First Lady Michelle Obama was the star attraction Tuesday morning at the Apple Worldwide Developer's Conference at San Jose.

The former first lady spoke about values, leadership and more in what's believed to be her first visit to the Bay Area since leaving the White House.

RELATED: Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference kicks off in San Jose

The sessions on Tuesday included privacy and your apps, an introduction to drag and drop and what's new in Swift, but there was one event that stood out from the rest -- Michelle's appearance.

Katy Duran got emotional when Apple CEO Tim Cook announced Monday, former First Lady Michelle Obama would be speaking at the conference. "This is a very special treat and I encourage everyone to come," Cook said.

"I never thought that I'd get a chance to see her in person speaking, and so I was just really, really excited and I knew I was not going to get a lot of sleep tonight," Duran said.

Apple opened up the doors for the bright lights of the media world Monday when they showcased their newest products. "It's absolutely beautiful and we call it Homepod," Cook said.

RELATED: Apple unveils new technology at WWDC in San Jose

The session titled "A Conversation with Michelle Obama and Lisa Jackson" was closed to the media. Social media posts from inside the event showed the former first lady talked about leadership, community and family.

Women in particular said they are inspired by her past work and her message. "In a typically male-dominated area it can be a little daunting to, you know, get it there and have your voice heard the same way and to have such a strong female figure even though she's not a developer, to have her talk to us," Colorado resident Kathryn Painter said.

"We're slowly breaking into this field more and more and I really think that it's because of people like Michelle Obama who are letting us know it's okay to be powerful," Duran said.

ABC7 News checked the schedule and it doesn't appear that there are any more big surprises planned this week.

The conference ends on Friday.

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