{"id":8,"date":"2017-12-03T22:03:19","date_gmt":"2017-12-03T22:03:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/2018.us.wordcamp.org\/speakers\/"},"modified":"2018-10-17T14:09:20","modified_gmt":"2018-10-17T19:09:20","slug":"speakers","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/us.wordcamp.org\/2018\/speakers\/","title":{"rendered":"Speakers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t
\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAaron Douglas\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Aaron was that kid taking apart the mechanical and electrical appliances at five years of age to see how they worked. He never grew out of that core interest – to know how things work. He took an early interest in computer programming, figuring out how to get past security to be able to play games on his dad’s computer. He’s still that feisty nerd, but at least now he gets paid to do it.<\/p>\n

Aaron’s interest in mobile software has been ever increasing since he got his first iOS app in Apple’s App Store in 2009, Migraine Diary. He is with Automattic (WordPress.com, Akismet, SimpleNote) as a Mobile Maker. Other than software development, Aaron enjoys camping during the summer, taking his dogs for a walk around the neighborhood, and pretending to be a storm chaser while sitting at home.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAdam Silver\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Adam is a native of California, though relocated to North Carolina in 2017. Currently providing WordPress development and support services through ConciergeWP.com. He produces 2 wkly podcasts at KitchenSinkWP.com & The Get Options Podcast & was the lead organizer for WordCamp Los Angeles 2016 & 2017. In his free time, he speaks at industry events sharing his insights & expertise into all things digital. Married for 19 years to his amazing wife & has 3 wickedly cool kids.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAlexis Lloyd\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Alexis is a design, UX, and product leader whose work focuses on exploring the newly available possibilities of emerging media and technology. She is currently the Head of Design Innovation at Automattic, and has previously led creative teams at The New York Times R&D Lab and Axios. Alexis designs and creates compelling experiences that demonstrate innovative ways of creating and sharing information. She is also an accomplished writer and public speaker who can skillfully convene conversations amongst diverse groups about the future of design, technology, and UX.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAndrew Taylor\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Andrew currently works for\u00a0Pantheon\u00a0as a Developer Programs Engineer providing consulting to their agency partners around complex workflows and automation. He also enjoys giving back to the WordPress community through the hosting group, plugin development and speaking at WordCamps.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAngela Meeker\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Angie Meeker lives in Columbus, Ohio with her husband Robert, and spunky 10-year old daughter. By day she works for OptinMonster, the most powerful customer acquisition & lead generation software for marketers. By night, she is the biggest fan of America\u2019s Funniest Videos and National Geographics. She was the lead organizer for WordCamp Columbus (OH) for seven years and in case you\u2019re wondering, yes, she did break her addiction to sweet tea.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tChris Coyier\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Chris is a web designer and developer. He created and runs\u00a0CSS-Tricks, a website all about building websites, now going strong for 10 years.<\/p>\n

He is also the co-founder of\u00a0CodePen, a playground for front-end web development. It\u2019s a social development environment for front end designers and developers.<\/p>\n

Along with Dave Rupert, he is the co-host of a podcast called\u00a0ShopTalk, a show about (you guessed it), building websites.<\/p>\n

Chris has spoken at events and given workshops all over the world, as well as written two books:\u00a0Practical SVGand\u00a0Digging Into WordPress.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tChris Teitzel\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

As a third-generation tech nerd, Chris has a passion for technology and its ability to create an impact on lives around the world. After graduating with a degree in Biology, he started Cellar Door Media to create the latest in mobile applications and websites for clients.<\/p>\n

In the years since, it has taken him all over the world. He has worked with some of the largest enterprises, e-commerce in the emerging markets of Africa, and even aid work in Haiti and Washington DC. He was at the front lines of the responsive web by being involved in one of the largest themes in Drupal, has worked in both WordPress and Drupal to bring strong encryption to the systems, launching a new startup Lockr to provide secrets management as a SaaS platform.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tDaniel Schutzsmith\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Daniel Schutzsmith is a rare breed \u2013 a hybrid of equal parts design, code, and strategy. He’s devoted his career to making positive change to protect our world for generations to come!<\/p>\n

He’s the Digital Technology Director of Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) where he’s leading an amazing team to create websites, apps and interactive experiences to help safeguard the earth\u2014its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends.<\/p>\n

Previously Daniel was the Digital Technology Manager \/ Senior Web Developer for Amnesty International USA.<\/p>\n

In addition to his regular work, he is also the Co-Founder of: – Hudson Valley Tech Meetup, a monthly meetup bringing together technologists, designers, entrepreneurs and educators to share their passion and craft. – Catskills Conf, a weekend-long event gathering of technologists and creators at The Ashokan Center in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains.<\/p>\n

He also gives back his time by teaching our next generation of web designers at SUNY New Paltz as an Adjunct Professor. Previously he taught at NYU SCPS and the School of Visual Arts in New York City.<\/p>\n

Over the past decade he has worked with clients such as Adobe, Greenpeace, The Pixies, MTV, Phish, Nelson Mandela Foundation, Oxfam, PBS, They Might Be Giants, TBS, Pepsico, Dave Matthews Band and many more.<\/p>\n

In his free time he enjoys inspirational wanderings through the streets of NYC, single malt scotches, and evenings at the drive-in with his wife and three kids around the corner from his house in rural upstate NY.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tDrew Gorton\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Drew began working on the web in 1996, founded a web firm in 2001 and ran it until joining Pantheon in 2015. His experience as a developer, CEO, product owner, consultant and more help guide Pantheon as we continue to grow and evolve.<\/p>\n

As Pantheon’s Director of Developer Relations, Drew spends time working with developers all over the world, sharing best practices and helping us all get the most out of the Open Source tools we all share.<\/p>\n

Drew has a broad range of interests, has lived and worked in Asia, Europe and North America and speaks several languages. He has an advanced degree in the martial art of Aikido and a liberal arts degree from St. Olaf College.<\/p>\n

He’s also a nice person.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tDwayne McDaniel\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Dwayne has been working in tech and open source sales since 2005. He knew as soon as he started working with Java middleware developers he never wanted to work outside of open source ever again.<\/p>\n

Dwayne first started building in Drupal and WordPress for the San Francisco Improv teams and projects. He fell in the love the community and then found a position at Pantheon at the end of 2013.<\/p>\n

As a Developer Advocate he has had the privilege of presenting at dozens of community events from Paris to Iceland to MIT and Stanford. Outside of tech he loves producing and performing improv theater, reading webcomics and singing karaoke!<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tErika Hall\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\"\"Erika<\/span>\u00a0Hall<\/span>\u00a0is the co-founder of Mule Design Studio and the author of Just Enough Research<\/em> and Conversational Design<\/em>, both from A Book Apart.\u00a0She has advocated for the importance of evidence-based design and clear language since the late 20th century. This represents decades of fisticuffs. When she isn’t working,\u00a0Erika<\/span>\u00a0is either riding her bike or photographing her dog.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tGary Pendergast\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Gary is a WordPress, web and music geek who writes poetry with\u00a0Automattic. He likes making large architectural changes to WordPress Core, completely unnoticed. He can be observed in his natural habitat at\u00a0pento.net, or usually in Melbourne, Australia.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tHelen Hou-Sand\u00ed\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Helen is a Lead Developer for WordPress and the Director of Open Source Initiatives at 10up, where she is sponsored to contribute to the WordPress open source software project and sets the direction of how the company supports the platforms we build upon. As a lead developer, she focuses on bigger picture decisions and feature planning, along with writing and reviewing code across a variety of components and languages.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tJason Bahl\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Jason Bahl is a Senior WordPress Developer at Digital First Media in Denver, CO. He’s been working full-time with WordPress since 2009. He’s the creator and maintainer of WPGraphQL a free Open Source WordPress plugin that adds an extendable GraphQL API to any WordPress site. He’s passionate about open source and sharing knowledge and code with the WordPress community.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tJason Cohen\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Jason is the founder and CTO of WP Engine, which serves 80,000 global customers and employs more than 500 in Austin, San Francisco, San Antonio, London, Limerick and Brisbane. As a successful, repeat entrepreneur (founded Smart Bear; sold 2008 and IT WatchDogs; sold 2004), Jason became a founding mentor of Austin’s top incubator, Capital Factory. He writes about software and startups at blog.asmartbear.com.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tJenny Beaumont\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

With 20 years experience in the web industry, Jenny Beaumont works as a Senior Project Manager and certified Scrum Master at\u00a0Human Made. She is an active member of the WordPress community, having most recently lead the organization of WordCamp Europe 2018 in Belgrade.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tJessi Gurr\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Jessi\u2019s love for website development started back in 1993, when at the age of 12 she learned HTML and secured her first dot-com. Remember Geocities, black backgrounds, lime green text, and the running dog .gif? Man, those were the days…<\/p>\n

Jessi started Iceberg Web Design in 2005, and grew the business from two employees in her basement to a full staff of 7 in less than two years.<\/p>\n

Jessi lives in Ramsey, Minnesota with her husband and two young boys.\u00a0She enjoys organic gardening, making candles every fall, and vegan cooking.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tJoanna Barsh\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\"JoannaDirector Emerita at McKinsey & Company after 30+ years serving consumer-facing clients, Joanna Barsh continues as a senior advisor to the firm on organization topics. She led the creation and launch of The Centered Leadership Project in 2008, in collaboration with colleagues, to accelerate development of managers aspiring to lead transformational change.\u00a0Joanna is also the best-selling author of How Remarkable Women Lead<\/em> and Centered Leadership<\/em>, the companion piece that teaches men and women the skills, tools, and practices to develop as leaders. Her newest book, Grow Wherever You Work<\/em>, was released in 2017. It offers stories and honest counsel to help younger professionals face tough challenges at work.<\/p>\n

Joanna has always been a strong advocate for women. Invited by Mayor Bloomberg, Joanna served on NYC’s Commission on Women’s Issues from 2002 to 2013. She led ground-breaking research on unlocking the potential of women for The Wall Street Journal’s<\/em> Women in the Economy Task Force and for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Joanna has spoken with many business and government leaders on women’s advancement, traveling to Australia, Brazil,
\nColombia, China, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, UAE, and throughout Europe. Co-chair of the International Council on Women’s Business Leadership’s Working Group on leadership, Joanna helped launch a learning program in collaboration with McKinsey Sweden that has been running for four years. Her current research, sponsored by MAKERS, focuses on companies\u2019 bolder actions to advance women and people of color.<\/p>\n

Joanna holds degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Chicago and Harvard Business School, where she was a Baker Scholar.\u00a0She was a trustee of Sesame Workshop for 20 years and has been a board member of Genesco since 2013.<\/p>\n

Joanna and her husband, David, split their time between NYC, a farm upstate, and Tucson, Arizona. They have raised two remarkable daughters!<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tJohn Blackbourn\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

John Blackbourn is one of the WordPress core developers, a member of the WordPress security team, and was the release lead for WordPress 4.1. John works as a developer at Human Made in the UK, has over twelve years\u2019 experience developing with WordPress, and is a proponent of open source software.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tJonathan Desrosiers\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Jonathan has been using WordPress since 2007 to build sites of all sizes, covering the entire spectrum of local businesses to enterprises and large universities. He has been a contributor to WordPress Core since 2013, and is a WordCamp Boston\/monthly Boston WordPress Meetup organizer. He currently works as a WordPress Developer at Bluehost, where a majority of his time is spent contributing to WordPress Core.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tJoost de Valk\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

The founder & CEO of\u00a0Yoast, Joost has a background as both a web developer and digital marketer. Before starting Yoast he was active as a consultant for some of the world’s biggest brands. At the same time he was a committer for the WebKit project, figuring out how CSS3 should be supported by browsers.<\/p>\n

Joost is married to Marieke, who is also active on the board of Yoast, and together they have 4 kids. In his spare time, he is an avid supporter of his kids different sports teams and other activities.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tKelly McCausey\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Kelly McCausey is an instigator of communities and lover of people. When you love a community of people, seek to meet their needs and share the best resources possible, you are well on your way to making money. Blogging, podcasting, creating courses, managing memberships, it’s all part of my business and I love helping others create what they want online.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tKevin Koehler\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Kevin Koehler has been a Community Guardian at Automattic since 2013, working to make the web a better place by protecting privacy, mitigating abuse, and defending freedoms for the millions of people who encounter WordPress.com and our other products every day.<\/p>\n

His team’s portfolio includes communication on policy issues, handling legal demands and government inquiries, enforcing content guidelines, and publishing transparency reports.<\/p>\n

Originally from North Carolina, Kevin lives and works and Washington, DC. Send him your very best barbecue recipes.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tKyle Maurer\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Kyle works at Sandhills Development on Easy Digital Downloads which is a WordPress plugin that makes selling digital products ridiculously simple. He\u2019s a native of Jackson, Michigan, co-hosts the Get Options podcast, and helps organize meetups and WordCamps in the region while brewing fine beer and playing guitar as often as possible.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tLara Schenck\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Lara Schenck is a Senior Design Operations Engineer at Penske Media Corporation (PMC) where she creates tools and systems to facilitate design implementation across enterprise WordPress websites. Lara’s enthusiasm for CSS, in particular, is contagious. Her ever-evolving talk, \u201cThe Algorithms of CSS\u201d, inspires all who work with the web to take a closer look at this unique, declarative language.<\/p>\n

Lara writes about her work and life at\u00a0notlaura.com<\/a>, organizes the CSS.la meet up in Los Angeles, and illustrates friendly monsters (if you see her, inquire about stickers).<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tLeo Postovoit\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Leo Postovoit an open source advocate, designer-developer and coffee geek. He is a privacy component maintainer for WordPress Core, an organizer for WordCamp Los Angeles and Orange County, an organizer for the Los Angeles WordPress Meetup, a contributor to WordPress Core\u2019s Accessibility team and works as an Ecosystems and Engagement for XWP, where he has worked on Privacy Impact Assessments and provided technical and business consulting. In the 11 years he has used WordPress, Leo\u2019s work has appeared in publications such as the San Francisco Chronicle, the Denver Post, and Lowrider Magazine. Beyond journalism, he\u2019s worked in marketing, education and the film industry (and even spent a few years as an American Sign Language interpreter.) He also double majored in Journalism and Anthropology at San Jose State University. Leo advocates for us all to carry empathy for our users (and to never make bad coffee.)<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tLisa Linn Allen\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Lisa Linn Allen is a Principal IT Software Developer and Team Lead for the intranet team at SAS in Cary. She\u2019s been working on the SAS intranet since the days of NCSA Mosaic. For the last few years, her team has been working on moving large parts of this intranet into a governed, custom-built WordPress site.<\/p>\n

Lisa lives in central North Carolina, and enjoys sewing, swimming, and cheering on her husband and son at Taekwondo tournaments. Her favorite WordPress accomplishment to date: Building a continuous deployment pipeline for WordPress.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tMarieke van de Rakt\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

I studied Sociology and Communication Sciences at the Radboud University in Nijmegen. I obtained a PhD in Social Sciences in January 2011. Since then, I worked as a researcher as well as a teacher at multiple universities.<\/p>\n

Currently,I am one of the partners at Yoast and the founder of Yoast Academy. I run the marketing, content and academy departments at Yoast. I also write blog posts, eBooks and develop online courses. My expertise is on SEO copywriting and site structure.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tMatt Mullenweg\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\"JoannaMatt Mullenweg is the co-founder of the open-source blogging platform, WordPress, the most popular publishing platform on the web, and the founder & CEO of Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com, WooCommerce, and Jetpack. Additionally, Matt runs Audrey Capital, an investment and research company.<\/p>\n

He has been recognized for his leadership and success by Forbes, Bloomberg Businessweek, Inc Magazine, TechCrunch, Fortune, Fast Company, Wired, University Philosophical Society, and Vanity Fair.<\/p>\n

Matt is originally from Houston, Texas, where he attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and studied jazz saxophone. In his spare time, Matt is an avid photographer. Matt splits time between Houston, New York, and San Francisco.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tMiina Sikk\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Miina is an engineer focused on WordPress. She has been working with WordPress since 2009 and over that time she has done some freelancing, been part of a few startups and is now proudly serving at XWP.<\/p>\n

She loves solving complicated problems, helping others solve complicated problems, and fixing stuff, code related or not.<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tMiriam Schwab\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Twelve years ago Miriam stumbled across WordPress and it was love at first sight. Since then, she has gone on to found one of Israel’s leading WordPress development agencies,\u00a0illuminea. More recently Miriam founded\u00a0Strattic, the “unhosting” platform that publishes Open Source CMSs as static and serverless, making them virtually unhackable, and exponentially faster. Five-time organizer of WordCamp Israel, regular speaker at WordPress meetups and events including three-time speaker at WordCamp Europe, and mom of seven. Advocate for women in tech. In her spare time, Miriam likes to…haha spare time as if.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tMolly Wright Steenson\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Molly Wright Steenson is a designer, author, professor, and international speaker whose work focuses on the intersection of design, architecture, and artificial intelligence. She is the Senior Associate Dean for Research in the College of Fine Arts, the K&L Gates Associate Professor of Ethics and Computational Technologies at Carnegie Mellon University and an associate professor in the\u00a0School of Design\u00a0(with a courtesy appointment in the School of Architecture). Steenson is the author of\u00a0Architectural Intelligence: How Designers and Architects Created the Digital Landscape<\/em>\u00a0(MIT Press, 2017), which tells the radical history of AI\u2019s impact on design and architecture, and the forthcoming book\u00a0Bauhaus Futures\u00a0<\/em>(MIT Press, expected 2019), co-edited with Laura Forlano & Mike Ananny. A web pioneer since 1994, she\u2019s worked at groundbreaking design studios, consultancies, and Fortune 500 companies.\u00a0\u00a0She holds a PhD in Architecture from Princeton University, a Master\u2019s in Environmental Design (architectural history) from Yale School of Architecture, and a\u00a0BA\u00a0in German from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with honors and distinction.<\/p>\n

From 2013\u201315, Molly was an assistant professor in the\u00a0School of Journalism & Mass Communication\u00a0at the\u00a0University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she taught data visualization, digital studies, and communications courses, and led Mellon-funded research projects in the digital humanities.\u00a0She was a professor at the\u00a0Interaction Design Institute Ivrea\u00a0in Ivrea, Italy in 2003\u201304, where she led the Connected Communities research group, and an adjunct professor at\u00a0Art Center College of Design in Pasadena in the Media Design Practices Program\u00a0from 2010\u201312.<\/p>\n

She has worked with companies including Reuters, Scient, Netscape, and Razorfish. She cofounded Maxi, an award-winning women\u2019s webzine, in the 90s. As a design researcher, she examines the effect of personal technology on its users, including projects in India and China for Microsoft Research and ReD Associates\/Intel Research.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tMorten Rand-Hendriksen\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Morten is a Senior Staff Instructor at LinkedIn Learning and Lynda.com with 60+ courses published on WordPress, web standards, design, UX, and future technologies. He also teaches Interaction Design at Emily Carr University of Art and Design, and contributes to WordPress core and community projects. Morten enjoys playing with his son, reading philosophy and sci-fi, having conversations about the internet and how it shapes our society, and wearing out his shoes on the ballroom dance floor.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tNicole Paschen Caylor\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Nicole has designed websites professionally since 2006, with the last 3 years focused on WordPress development. Currently she is a Designer\/Front End Developer for BoldGrid and living in her hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan. In her spare time she enjoys listening to music, playing board games, and watching Star Wars with her two young children.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tRay Mitchell\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Ray is the owner of SixFour Web Design & Marketing, which focuses on meeting the unique marketing needs of small businesses and non-profit organizations. He also serves as a Mentor at the Small Business Center at Forsyth Technical Community College. Initially a networking skeptic, it’s become such a core part of his business that he now considers himself a “Networking Evangelist”.<\/p>\n

Active in the local community, Ray is a member of, and sits on the board, of several community non-profit organizations.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tRian Kinney\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Rian Kinney is an attorney, legal consultant, published author, and founder of eCommLegal and the Kinney Firm which represents and advises founders and businesses of every size, from freelancers to enterprise; across industries in the areas of: tech, e-commerce, privacy, intellectual property and corporate law, as well as <\/span>business and marketing strategy. She is also a member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals<\/span> and maintains their Certified Information Privacy Manager<\/span> and Certified Privacy Professional\/Europe<\/span> designations.<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tRian Rietveld\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Rian is a WordPress engineer and who has enthusiastically worked with WordPress since 2009, and has a strong interest in web standards and making the web usable for everybody. She works as a senior accessibility consultant for the WordPress agency Level Level. In her free time you can find her working in her garden.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tRyan King\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Ryan King is the Digital Experience Designer at the Smithsonian’s Freer|Sackler Museums of Asian Art. An open source evangelist, he joined the Smithsonian as a graduate of the Corcoran College of Art + Design’s Exhibition Design M.A. program with a vision of fusing technology with the built museum environment. He was a Windgate Curatorial Fellow at the Museum of Contemporary Craft in Portland, Oregon, a fellow in the Getty NextGen Leadership Institute, and served as social media consultant at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art before joining the Freer|Sackler. In addition to his daily coding and design work, Ryan is Co-Chair of the Smithsonian GLOBE (LGBTQ) Employee Group and an active member of the AAM LGBTQ Alliance. Art, food, thirsty plants, and lingering oxford commas keep him busy.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tTammie Lister\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Tammie works at Automattic, where she is donated to the WordPress.org project full time and is the design lead for the editor focus of Gutenberg. Her background is varied and includes psychology, art, design, development and user experience. She is passionate about Open Source and community.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tTina Wells\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Tina Wells is the CEO and founder of Buzz Marketing Group, a marketing agency that creates strategies for clients within the beauty, entertainment, fashion, financial, and lifestyle sectors. For more than two decades, Tina has connected thousands of influencers and consumers to brand clients. Since founding her company, she\u2019s developed and managed 30,000 \u201cbuzzSpotters\u201d and 7,000 \u201cmomSpotters\u201d – influencer and research networks for her clients that include Dell, The Oprah Winfrey Network, and American Eagle Outfitters.<\/p>\n

Tina sits on the board of the Young Entrepreneurs Council, the United Nations Foundation\u2019s Global Entrepreneurs Council (emeritus), and the Council of Emeritus Directors of the Philadelphia Orchestra Association. She currently chairs the Programs, Marketing, and Business Development committee of The Franklin Institute where she also serves on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee.<\/p>\n

She is a member of the 2017 Class of Henry Crown Fellows within the Aspen Global Leadership Network at the Aspen Institute and the Academic Director (Practicum) of Wharton\u2019s Leadership in the Business World program at the University of Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

Her list of honors includes The Girl Scouts\u2019 Woman of Distinction, Cosmopolitan\u2019s Fun Fearless Phenom Award, Essence\u2019s 40 Under 40, Billboard\u2019s 30 Under 30, Inc\u2019s 30 Under 30, and Fast Company\u2019s 100 Most Creative People in Business.<\/p>\n

Wells is the author of the best-selling tween fiction series Mackenzie Blue<\/em>\u00a0and the marketing handbook,\u00a0Chasing Youth Culture And Getting It Right<\/em>. Wells\u2019 writing has appeared in the Huffington Post<\/em>, The Journal of the American College of Radiology, Inc<\/em>, Black Enterprise<\/em>, MediaPost<\/em>, and Retail Merchandiser Magazine<\/em>. Follow her on Twitter @tinacwells or visit her website at tinawells.com.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tToru Miki\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Toru has been a user and contributor of WordPress for more than a decade. He helped organize several WordCamps, including a lead organizer for Tokyo in 2011. Also co-organized Tokyo Meetup, spoke at a few events, contributed to Japanese translations of local packages and documents, and a little bit to the Core.<\/p>\n

He is currently a junior webmaster at Temple University, Japan Campus, doing anything web-related from in-house development, to contents editing, to server management, and more. In Summer 2018, he co-taught a class to undergraduate art students.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tTracy Apps\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Tracy has been\u00a0creating the web\u00a0for over 20 years, and solving user experience challenges well before the term \u201cUX\u201d was the big thing. She currently owns and operates\u00a0tracy apps design, a full-service creative agency based in Milwaukee, WI. Tracy\u2019s client list is just as eclectic as she is, ranging from large corporations like Kohl\u2019s and GE Healthcare to colleges, to nonprofits, small businesses\u2026 and even a fiddler. Many times her approach is non-traditional, but always focused on pushing design and user experience to higher levels. She ties her own bowties, and could probably deadlift you.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":14363563,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-8","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P9rm07-8","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/us.wordcamp.org\/2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/us.wordcamp.org\/2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/us.wordcamp.org\/2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/us.wordcamp.org\/2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14363563"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/us.wordcamp.org\/2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/us.wordcamp.org\/2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4900,"href":"https:\/\/us.wordcamp.org\/2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8\/revisions\/4900"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/us.wordcamp.org\/2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}