Introducing the WCUS Speakers – Part 4

Last week we revealed lots of fantastic WordCamp US speakers in parts one, two, and three of our speaker post series. Today we’ve got more to share:

NancyNancy Thanki

Nancy Thanki is a photographer, filmmaker, and Happiness Engineer. Whether she is tinkering on the web or editing a film, she’s enjoys introducing users and storytellers to visual design and how to avoid the pitfalls of “en vogue” to create products that can withstand the test of rising and falling fashions in typography, photography, moving images, and design.

PippinPippin Williamson

Pippin Williamson is a WordPress plugin developer from Hutchinson, KS. He runs PippinsPlugins.com and is the founder and lead developer of Restrict Content Pro, Easy Digital Downloads, AffiliateWP and many more WordPress plugins. Beyond WordPress, Pippin has a love for sour beer, home brewing, and is an avid cyclist.

svetaSvetlana Kouznetsova

Svetlana (Sveta) Kouznetsova is a founder of Audio Accessibility who consults and trains businesses on how to make their aural information accessible via quality captioning and other types of communication access. She is also a public speaker and an author of a book, Sound Is Not Enough: Captioning as Universal Design.

scottScott Taylor

Scott Taylor is a Senior Software Engineer at The New York Times on the Interactive News Team. He is a Core Developer of WordPress and was the Release Lead for WordPress 4.4. Scott lives in Williamsburg (Brooklyn, not Colonial) with his wife, Allie, and their 3 cats: Waffles, Willa, and Feline Dion.

Lisa MLisa Melegari

Hailing from Orlando, Florida, Lisa’s first passion was video games, but when that didn’t pan out as a career, she chose to devote herself to content writing on the Internet. A fateful invitation from fellow nerd, David Laietta, led her to the hallowed grounds of WordPress and the WPOrlando community.

John GJohn Gamboa

John is a Technical Success Manager at WP Engine facilitating the success of its largest enterprise customers. He worked more than two years on its support team in a variety of capacities helping customers with a wide-range of issues.

sonjaSonja Leix

Sonja is a location-independent WordPress designer and Digital Strategist. She’s an active member of the WordPress community, contributes to the Polyglots and design teams, and helps out with community events such as WordCamp New York and Europe.

bethBeth Soderberg

Beth Soderberg is an independent developer and digital communications strategist based out of Washington, DC. She focuses on building thoughtfully architected websites that enable her clients to optimize their online presence while being empowered in managing their content.

hugoHugo Baeta

Portuguese designer in San Francisco, with 13+ years experience in art direction, brand design, interaction design, and front-end development. Been involved with WordPress for about 10 years, since version 2.0.

tacoTaco Verdonschot

Taco works at Yoast as Community Manager. In this role, he’s responsible for the distributed support team, the Yoast Translate project, WordPress Meetup Nijmegen and NijmegenPHP. He’s also heavily involved in testing the Yoast products and loves to find bugs in anyone’s software.

tinaTina Kesova

Tina is the VP of Strategic Partnerships at SiteGround web hosting company. In her role she is primarily responsible for growing the company client base through partnerships. She oversees the events and affiliates marketing teams through which SiteGround currently recruits the majority of their partners.

Michael AMichael Arestad

Michael is a designer at Automattic. He may be a tad obsessed with CSS (especially Sass) and beautiful typography. Michael is currently working on some pretty neato WordPress projects.

GaryGary Pendergast

Gary is a WordPress, web and music geek who writes poetry with Automattic. He’s been know to commit random things to WordPress Core, just to see what would happen. He can be observed in his natural habitat at pento.net, or usually in Melbourne, Australia.

JoeJoe Dolson

Joe Dolson is an active contributor to the WordPress accessibility team, and provides ongoing support to the Theme Review team by performing accessibility audits on themes submitted for the accessibility-ready tag. He’s been developing for WordPress since 2007.


Do you have your ticket yet?

Introducing the WCUS Speakers – Part 3

We’ve revealed 24 WordCamp US speakers so far in parts one and two of our speaker post series. How about 12 more?

John MJohn Maeda

Global Head, Computational Design and Inclusion of Automattic. Formerly Partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, President of Rhode Island School of Design, Professor at the MIT Media Laboratory.

PetyaPetya Raykovska

Petya is a Senior Project Manager at Human Made where she helps large projects across big publishers and enterprise succeed. She is a huge WordPress enthusiast, active member of the WordPress community and is one of the WordPress Polyglots team leads.

SalSal Ferrarello

Sal is a WordPress developer with a focus on the Genesis theme framework and Bootstrap front-end framework. He is a contributor to the Genesis framework, author of the Bootstrap Genesis Theme, and author of the Stop Emails plugin available on WordPress.org.

WinstinaWinstina Hughes

Winstina Hughes is concluding the Master of City and Regional Planning degree program at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University. She received a B.A. from Rutgers. She’s written about real estate development and transportation for hyper local news, and maintains her own WordPress.com blog on suburban planning and community engagement in the town she lives.

AndrewAndrew Nacin

Andrew Nacin is a Lead Developer of WordPress. He’s led major releases, mentored contributors, and spearheaded new development. He has strong feelings about the core philosophies of WordPress, among them “decisions, not options” — software should be opinionated in lieu of burdening the user with too many options.

Courtney OCourtney OCallaghan

Courtney is a professional listener, vegetarian mom, animal caretaker, people watcher, culture enthusiast, off-hours feminist, book hoarder, designer/coder/other, Chief Digital Officer at Freer and Sackler Galleries, CA native, proud DC resident always in search of an ocean.

DennisDennis Hong

By day, Dennis engineers happiness at WordPress.com. By night, he is a relationships and comedy writer, which can be redundant or an oxymoron, depending on your perspective.

AndreaAndrea Zoellner

Andrea is a freelance copywriter and content consultant at Automattic. She loves wordplay, coffee shop hopping, and blogging about how to pack the ultimate carry-on.

ZachZach LeBar

Zach is a designer at heart and developer by trade. He’s been working on the Web for 7 years. Currently a freelancer, specializing in graphic design (including logos, branding, and illustration work) as well as custom WordPress theme development.

SaraSara Cannon

Sara Cannon is an entrepreneur, creative director, and artist. She is the Managing Partner and Creative Director at Range and is the Founder of Spruce Planner, an up and coming planning and goal setting app for women.

KathrynKathryn Presner

Kathryn Presner thrives on helping people get the most out of WordPress. She’s currently Theme Whisperer on the Automattic Theme Team, where she helps folks with customization, configuration, and troubleshooting.

KariKari Leigh Marucchi

Recently Kari Leigh provided photography services to a WordCamp for the 16th time in as many months, and since departing the office-bound lifestyle has done work along the way as Found Art Photography.

 


The speaker lineup is really shaping up to be a reason to get a ticket, if we do say so ourselves. We’d love to see you in Philly!

Introducing the WCUS Speakers – Part 2

We shared part one of the WordCamp US lineup yesterday, and we’re back today with more! Check out this next batch of speakers:

MikaMika Epstein

Mika Ariela Epstein is better known as Ipstenu, the Half-Elf Rogue. Working for DreamHost, specializing in WordPress hosting (aka ‘WordPress Guru’), Mika helps make WordPress and hosting better for everyone.

Chris LChris Lema

Chris Lema coaches companies building commercial products in the WordPress ecosystem. He’s also a daily blogger, a public speaker, and product strategist.

InesInes van Essen

Ines van Essen has been working with WordPress for a number of years, of which the past 5 years have been primarily focused on user support. For her own clients at first, and later as a freelance support engineer for WordPress plugin developers.

LaurenLauren Comito

Lauren Comito is a cape wearing, ukulele playing, tech training, job search helping, activist librarian in NYC. She helps people to fold technology into their daily lives and break down the walls that keep them from being fully employed.

marcMarc Coleman

Marc is the founder and president of The Tactile Group. Trained in electrical engineering at Princeton University and architecture at Temple University, he brings over two decades experience in creative direction, design, business entrepreneurship, and client relations.

Lisa SLisa Sabin-Wilson

Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer at WebDevStudios. Author: WordPress For Dummies

MelMel Choyce

Mel is a Boston-based Product Designer and a WordPress core contributor. She loves big type, cold brew coffee, and printmaking.

KarlKarl Kevilus

Karl’s been using WordPress since 2.1 for multiple unique applications — from helping the FBI capture bank robbers, to working with H-E-B/Central Market to revolutionize grocery shopping in Texas with WordPress and WooCommerce.

ShaydaShayda Torabi

From the people to the platform, Shayda’s been using WordPress since 2004 and hasn’t looked back. Working at WP Engine as part of their Marketing team, Shayda focuses on building authentic relationships with the amazing people who make up the WordPress community.

MichelleMichele Mizejewski

Michele is a User Experience Designer at the University of California, San Francisco. A longtime WordPress enthusiast, she believes that websites should be beautiful, simple, and intuitive. When not curating, creating, or consuming web content, she can be found forest bathing or seeking narratives.

Chris HChristopher Hinds

Towards the end of 2015, after over a decade in the hospitality industry, Chris collaborated with his wife Amber to launch Road Warrior Creative, a digital agency based in Fort Collins, Colorado.

NicoleNicole Kohler

Nicole Kohler is the content manager for WooCommerce at Automattic. With a background in eCommerce site management, content strategy, and customer service, she spends her time crafting blog posts and other resources designed to help store owners learn important tips and skills about selling online.


WordCamp US is going to be fantastic. Get your ticket!

Introducing the WCUS Speakers – Part 1

After reviewing hundreds of speaker applications, we’re thrilled to start introducing you to the 40+ fantastic speakers who will take the stage this year at WordCamp US!

Without further ado, let’s greet the first round of WCUS speakers:

joostJoost de Valk

Joost is the founder and CEO of Yoast, a geek by background having built his first website in 1994 at 12 years old, he became a marketeer by trade. At Yoast he combined the two, leading to the very successful Yoast SEO plugin which is now available on several platforms.

TammieTammie Lister

Tammie works at Automattic as a UX Designer within the theme team. She has a varied background including psychology, design, front end development and UX. She is a contributor to WordPress both for design and themes.

CoryCory Miller

Cory Miller is a former newspaper journalist turned full-time entrepreneur. In 2008, he started iThemes, which builds web design software and offers cutting-edge web design training for thousands of customers around the globe.

JoesphaJosepha Haden

Josepha comes from a long line of writers and was raised to be a life-long learner. She has a passion for language and storycrafting, a skill she practices on starsandthemoon.com. Josepha has over a decade of experience using SEO, data analysis, and content marketing to bring success and visibility to clients all over the world.

KellyKelly Dwan

Kelly Dwan is a Cambridge-based Code Wrangler at Automattic. She has worked on everything from small business websites, to higher education, to enterprise and big media. In her spare time, Kelly develops WordPress themes and contributes to the WordPress community.

MikeMike Schroder

Mike Schroder, known as Shredder to many, is a cross-cultural kid, coffee-drinking sailor, and lover of Open Source. He’s a WordPress Core Committer, was Release Lead for WordPress 4.5, and works as WordPress Platform Lead at DreamHost. You can find him blogging on geeky things at getsource.net.

Courtney WCourtney Wilburn

Courtney is a full-stack web developer with O3 World. A native of Memphis, TN, and graduate of Bryn Mawr College, she found her way to web development via an unusual path, and can probably say that she may be the only person who is both a certified phlebotomist and Aikido black belt attending the conference.

TopherTopher DeRosia

Topher has been a web developer for over 20 years, working exclusively with WordPress since 2010. He is currently a full time WordPress developer for Modern Tribe and also curates HeroPress.com.

Lisa YLisa Yoder

Lisa Yoder is an independent front-end developer based in Lancaster, PA, though she still spends time in Philly. She has BA degrees in English and Spanish, and prior to joining the tech world, she worked as a teacher, proofreader, and an editor of a small town newspaper.

EliseÉlise Desaulniers

Élise rediscovered the pleasure of writing thanks to WordPress and has been blogging (in French!) for seven years. She is a founding partner at Desaulniers Simard, a boutique consulting firm based in Montréal, Québec, Canada, where she’s trained hundreds of people to use WordPress and developed dozens of sites.

RyanRyan Markel

Ryan engineers happiness for WordPress.com VIP from St. Louis. He’s been blogging in some form or another since the turn of the millennium, eventually learning and loving WordPress. He enjoys the study of games and helping his wife (try to) control his five children.

TessaTessa Needham Synnott

Tessa is a designer and teacher who empowers small business owners to take control of their WordPress websites at wpsupergeek.com. She also has a background in performance, video, design, photography and writing. She is Australian, but currently lives in the Bay Area, CA, with her husband, two sons, and cat.


Check back soon for the next round of speaker announcements! And if you haven’t yet, get a ticket to WordCamp US!

The WCUS After-Party is a Night at the Museum!

The WCUS after-party is going to be epic! It’s at The Academy of Natural Sciences! Bring your WCUS badge to the door and you’re in!

Dino Hall! Photo by Will Klein.

Dino Hall! Photo by Will Klein.

We’ll have the entire place to ourselves, so feel free to roam and check out the exhibits, meet some live animals (!!!), hang in the Butterfly Room, show off your singing skills at karaoke, or find a nice quiet spot in the library, if you prefer. (Shhh!)

Light appetizers and dessert, plus beer, wine, and cider will be provided.

Location & Time

Academy of Natural Sciences
1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway (map)
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Saturday, December 3 from 8 to 11pm

Tickets

So, how do you get an invite to this awesome after-party?

Buy a ticket to WordCamp US and your badge will get you in! 
Note: Badges do not include a plus one. Anyone who wants into the party will need their own badge.

Quick Overview of the WCUS Schedule

The WordCamp US Organizing Team is hard at work selecting speakers and finalizing the schedule for this year. While we’re not quite ready to announce the full details yet, the basic outline of how each day follows to help as you make your plans.

Friday, December 2

8am: Doors open, registration starts.
9am – 5:30pm: Sessions.

Saturday, December 3

8am: Doors open.
9am – 5:30pm: Sessions.
8pm – 11pm: After Party! (Details here. It’s going to be fantastic.)

Sunday, December 4

9am: Doors open and check-in.
10am – 5pm: Contributor Day
*Note: Space is limited. This requires an additional sign up, beyond your WCUS ticket. More information coming soon.

Stay tuned for the full, detailed schedule! Be sure to subscribe to this site to receive email updates, or follow on Twitter or Facebook so you know as soon as it’s up.

Reserve your spot at WCUS while you still can: Get a ticket now!

Get your WordCamp US ticket!

Did you know tickets to WordCamp US are available now and only $40? With only 52 days to go until the event, it’s time to grab your ticket and make your travel plans!

Your ticket to WCUS includes:

  • admission to all sessions on Friday and Saturday,
  • access to sign up for Contributor Day on Sunday,
  • an invitation to the after-party,
  • lunch each day,
  • the official WCUS 2016 t-shirt plus other exclusive swag, and
  • a chance to hang out with a few thousand WordPressers from around the world.

Don’t miss out on North America’s largest WordCamp. Get your ticket now! 

Follow WordCamp US on Twitter and Facebook for the latest updates.

Attending WordCamp US? Tell the world!

Are you attending WordCamp US? Be sure to tell everyone you’ll be there! Grab an attendee or volunteer badge below and add it to your site or blog. (We’re fans of a whole post about your plans to attend WordCamp US of course, but they’ll also work well in a sidebar.)

To add a badge to your site, right click the image that you’d like and save it. Then upload it to your site, link the badge to the WCUS site, and spread the word!

WCUS-attendee-badge-2016 WCUS-volunteer-badge-2016

Be sure to let Twitter and Facebook know you’re attending WordCamp US too, and use the #WCUS hashtag.

No plans to attend WordCamp US? Why not? Tickets are available right now.

Apply for the Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship

We’re excited to announce the WordPress Foundation will offer the Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship to attend WordCamp US once again this year. Kim was a valued and committed contributor to the WordPress project, and this is the WordPress Foundation’s way of honoring her.

Details on the Scholarship

This scholarship is for a woman contributor with financial need who has never attended WordCamp US before.

  • It will cover the cost of the ticket, flight, and lodging.
  • It will not cover things like taxis, meals outside the official event, or airport transportation.
  • One scholarship will be awarded.
  • It is funded by the WordPress Foundation.

The application deadline is Sunday, October 16 at 12am Pacific.

A decision will be made by November 1, and applicants will be notified.

Apply for the Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship

Who Should Apply for the Scholarship

Kim’s experience at WordCamp San Francisco a few months before her death was important to her, and the travel assistance program made it possible. She was passionate about recruiting and recognizing women contributors, so this scholarship in her memory is limited only to applicants who fulfill all four requirements:

  • a woman (this includes trans women),
  • an active contributor to the WordPress open source project (through one of the contributor teams or as a local meetup or WordCamp organizer),
  • someone with financial need, and
  • someone who has never attended WordCamp US.

Kim had strong feelings about older women getting involved and being welcomed into the community, so while there is no age limit on this scholarship, we would like to especially encourage older women to apply — you are welcome, and your experience is valued here!

Apply for the Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship

NOTE: This award will result in income to the recipient that might be taxable, depending on the recipient’s circumstances. In general, scholarships paid for the purpose of study are tax-free to the recipient, but travel stipends or travel-related components of scholarships are not.

WordCamp US Room Block Scam Alert

This afternoon someone from “Conventions Housing Bureau” at 866-786-4001 claiming to be a WordCamp US organizer reached out to our sponsor Bluehost’s sales/support line offering hotel room rates, using what they misrepresented to be the WordCamp US block rate.

The scammers used publicly available information to reach out to Bluehost.  Our attendee and sponsors contact information remains private and we have NOT had a site breach.

Please be aware that no one from WordCamp US will try to contact you about booking or blocks. If you want more information about booking a room in our hotel block you can find details here.

If you should experience anything like this, please let us know. Please don’t hesitate to ask us if you have any questions.