Andrea Middleton
Andrea Middleton has worked with WordCamp organizers since 2011, helping people plan events that inspire people to do more with WordPress, connect the WordPress community, and contribute to the WordPress project. A wine enthusiast and avid reader of science fiction, Andrea lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and two kids.
Andrew Taylor
Andrew currently works for Pantheon as a developer programs engineer providing consulting to their agency partners on complex workflows and automation. He also enjoys giving back to the WordPress community through the hosting group, plugin development and speaking at WordCamps.
As a former web developer, Andrew spent his time on large scale projects for clients such as AMC Networks, Frito Lay, National Van Lines and more. He has more than 10 years of web development experience, specializing in WordPress.
Say hi to Andrew on Twitter @ataylorme and visit his website, ataylor.me.
Beka Rice
Beka is the head of product at Jilt, where they focus on helping merchants increase revenue through automated lifecycle emails. Jilt is built by SkyVerge, the top WooCommerce.com extension provider, and maker behind some of the most popular extensions, such as WooCommerce Memberships. Beka loves leveling the playing field for eCommerce growth, making enterprise-level tools accessible to any online store.
Say hello to Beka on Twitter @Beka_Rice and visit her website at bekarice.com.
Charles Johnston
Charles is a digital ninja. After spending the last few too many decades in the IT industry, he started a boutique web design agency called HeartWired Technical Solutions, where he focuses on putting compassion back into technology. Charles has a heart for nonprofits and small businesses that are doing good in their communities. After his first of what has now been many mission trips, Charles knew that he had to use his gifts, talents, and passion for technology for good. Rather than just offering web design services, HeartWired provides web design and technology solutions with heart.
Say hi to Charles on Twitter @cjohnstonjax.
Chris Berkley
I’m a digital marketing consultant specializing in SEO & Website Analytics. I’ve lived in Philly for three years and started my business here 18 months ago, with the support of a fantastic tech community.
Say hello to Chris on Twitter @BerkleyBikes.
Daniel Koval
Currently in his 12th year at Bentley Systems, Dan Koval has spent the last two years managing corporate initiatives programs including Bentley’s STEM grant program, which provides funds on behalf of all full-time colleagues to designate monetary support for STEM programs in their communities, global corporate giving, and colleague community involvement. A graduate of Leadership Chester County, Dan has had the opportunity to help numerous non-profit organizations, both locally and globally. Last fall, Dan spent two weeks in India witnessing the positive impact that Bentley and its colleagues have had on small, local villages there through Bentley’s support for the Water for People organization. Dan has mentored eighth grade students at Lionville Middle School for their participation in the Future City Competition. Additionally, Dan has spent the past six years as a “Big Brother” in the Beyond School Walls Big Brother Big Sister mentoring program hosted at Bentley’s corporate headquarters in Exton.
In his life outside of Bentley Systems, Dan serves his local community through Brandywine Grace Church in Downingtown. Dan volunteers at numerous community events and currently oversees the technical needs for the children’s ministry. Dan, his wife Melissa, and their two young sons can be seen regularly exploring Downingtown Borough where they live, typically making their way to a park or playground.
Diane Varner
Diane is a digital strategist, focusing on inbound strategies to cultivate digital tribes. She believes this begins with great content, content strategy, and customer-centric thinking.
Say hi to Diane on Twitter @dsvarner and visit her website dvarnercommunications.com.
Donna Botti
Donna Botti is the owner of Delos Incorporated, a website development and digital marketing company in the Philadelphia area. Donna has been working with WordPress since 2010, creating websites and applications that help businesses grow and improve their processes. Donna frequently speaks to business organizations on how to make the web work for them and blogs regularly.
Say hi to Donna on Twitter @DonnaBotti
Frank Buttaro
For over 10 years, Frank Buttaro has been providing learning solutions to companies, helping them improve their businesses by creating and implementing various training initiatives. He is part of an innovative team that invests in learning models that deliver effective, accessible and personalized solutions.
He has a personal connection to autism — his son — and spends a lot of time working with several charities and research organizations in the Greater Philadelphia area.
When not at work or volunteering, he loves to travel and is passionate about food and photography.
Frank Corso
Frank has been working with WordPress since 2009 and is the founder of Markasio, an agency that creates digital marketing software products. He is the organizer of Gainesville’s Digital Marketing Meetup, WordPress Meetup, and PHP Meetup. In his spare time, he also teaches web development both as an adjunct professor at the University of Florida and at IT.Pro TV. Above all else, he enjoys spending time with daughter.
Say hello to Frank on Twitter @fpcorso.
Gabby Robertson-Cawley
Gabby Robertson Cawley is a 23 year veteran at SAP America. She has a long standing role of supporting SAP executives with employee communications. In 2014, Gabby volunteered to lead the Autism at Work Mentor team in Newtown Square. Her close bond with her cousin who is on the autism spectrum is a driving force in her passion to help individuals with ASD succeed both in and out of the workplace. She is also the liaison for Autism at Work communications and events in the United States. Gabby holds a degree in political science from The Catholic University of America.
Gayle Williams
Gayle Williams, owner of Vision Marketing in Sarasota, Fla., has spent the majority of her career as a marketing professional directing marketing operations for non-profits and small businesses. Gayle moved over to agency account management in 2002 and founded her own agency in 2008. From directing strategy and client relations she moved into hands-on design and development. Growing in the opposite direction than most designers has had its strategic advantages. Today she runs a thriving digital marketing and WordPress design business from her home office, and enjoys the work-family balance it provides.
Gayle was an early inbound marketing adopter as a Hubspot partner agency and maintains her Inbound Marketing certification. She is also a WP Elevation-certified Digital Business Consultant. She holds a bachelor’s degree in music and a master’s degree in adult learning and development.
Say hello to Gayle on Twitter @VisionPRM and check out her website at visionprm.com.
Jason Coleman
Jason is the CEO of Paid Memberships Pro, the 100% open source membership plugin for WordPress. Jason works out of his home in Reading, Pennsylvania, where he lives with his business partner and wife, Kimberly Coleman, and their two children.
Jodie Riccelli
A lover of all things Philly, intrigued by tech, a self-proclaimed foodie, music lover, book hoarder, and a restless soul, Jodie started using WordPress in 2006. Her husband innocently suggested they needed a website for their music consulting business. One Saturday morning, she awoke to find a new laptop with video tutorials already loaded and manuals downloaded. After spending the weekend learning to use WordPress, she created their first website.
A graduate of Millersville University, Jodie brings fifteen years of sales and marketing experience to WebDevStudios. Her marketing expertise and ability to restructure and to systematize businesses has been recognized by entrepreneurs in real estate, the music industry, technology start-ups and education. Now she assists in creating unique web strategies and solutions for clients. She was on the organizing team for WordCamp US in Philadelphia, sits on the advisory board for PHL Diversity (a division of the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau), Blackboard Labs board, and is a member of the Philadelphia Chapter of The Recording Academy.
In her downtime, she shares life experiences about screwing up on Izzabeth.com and has been known to get lost in old bookstores avoiding the fact that there is no more shelf space at home. Jodie lives in Philadelphia with her husband, Ccelli and her jug dog, Sir Frankie.
Say hi to Jodie on Twitter @Jodie_Riccelli.
Joe Casabona
Joe Casabona is a front end developer, instructor, and course creator. When he’s not writing code, he’s teaching people how to build things with and for WordPress. You can find his courses over at WordPress in One Month. He also hosts a weekly podcast called How I Built It, where he interviews product developers and business owners about how they create. In addition to the profession stuff, he loves Star Wars, Disney, smoking cigars, and playing the drums.
Say hello to Joe on Twitter @jcasabona and visit his website at casabona.org.
Joe Howard
Joe is the head buff at WP Buffs, a WordPress technical partner for serious website owners and white-label agency partners. He’s thrilled to be back in The City of Brotherly Love to see some old WordPress friends and meet some new ones.
Say hi to Joe on Twitter @JosephHHoward.
John Herrington
John Herrington is an assistant professor and clinical psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania. His research home is the Center for Autism Research at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. His work focuses on the emotional experiences of individuals with autism spectrum disorder. In a research context, this means trying to understand why anxiety is so prevalent among individuals on the autism spectrum. Clinically, this means working with individuals with ASD to try to overcome their fears, and find success in their academic, professional, and personal lives.
Justin Nealey
Justin Nealey has been helping people get their ideas online for most of his adult life. He is passionate about WordPress, social media, podcasting, and assisting businesses to execute on their goals. When he’s not leading a team of business consultants at GoDaddy, he’s starting yet another side hustle, the latest being Branding Fit, where he helps personal fitness brands break through the noise and get recognized online.
Say hi to Justin on Twitter @Justinnealey.
Laura Byrne Cristiano
Laura started her first WordPress site back in March 2006 when she and a friend and decided to create a website about a then little-known book called Twilight where fans could discuss the novel on a blog and forums. What started as a small site with maybe 30 visitors a week rapidly grew into the most popular Twilight website on the Internet, with millions of visitors each day from around the globe. Laura was suddenly thrust into a media vortex that included set visits, a book deal, speaking engagements, and too many surreal experiences to count. This led to Laura transition from a career in teaching to one in marketing with a whole new skill set that included podcasting, video editing, SEO, social media management and content marketing. Since then, she’s created and written for more than twenty WordPress sites, mostly in the areas of education and entertainment. Aside from her love of WordPress, Laura is also an Anglophile, avid traveler, theater lover, fantasy junkie, and occasional actor. She currently writes for Hypable.com and does freelance marketing and social media work.
Say hello to Laura on Twitter @NewYorkerLaura.
Laura Strader
Laura is a UX designer by trade and a wordsmith at heart. She loves color and collects art markers obsessively. She fights the good fight (death to lorem ipsum!) and supports content-first design. She started her career as a technical writer but moved to UX writing, because what good are technical instructions if no one understands them? Laura is a strong advocate of designing for the user by finding harmony between design and the micro-copy that gives it purpose.
Liam Dempsey
A community organizer in suburban Philly, Liam Dempsey works to bring people together for the empowerment of all. He’s the organizer of the Philly ’burbs WordPress Meetup and the lead organizer of WordCamp Philly for 2017-2018. He served on the organizing team for WordCamp US in 2015 and 2016. Liam owns and runs the friendly marketing and design consultancy, LBDesign.
Lou Fuiano
Lou Fuiano has owned and operated his own studio since 1990. His first job out of art school was working with a typographer, where he learned to love the visual impact of typographic form. He spent his early design years doing marketing communication for retailers and corporate clients, as well as designing award winning book covers for publishers in Philadelphia and New York.
Lou has taught visual concepts for print and electronic media at Temple University and at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. These days, brand marketing and web design is where he spends his days. Lou says WordPress has transformed how he works, the tools he uses, and the way he approaches design thinking.
Say hello to Lou on Twitter @LouFuiano and visit his website at rowhouse.studio.
Michael Dance
Michael is a senior developer at CHIEF, a digital agency based in Washington, D.C., and Portland. He started making a living with WordPress nearly 10 years ago, and suddenly feels old. He lives in Washington and really likes clean code, accessibility, and playing volleyball on the weekends.
Say hello to Michael on Twitter @michaeldance.
Nick Smith
Once a WordPress engineer, Nick Smith now works full time in JavaScript, building React frontends and GraphQL-powered backends. He is passionate about building well-documented and scalable systems that encourage a strong buy-in from junior level to senior level employees.
Say hello to Nick on Twitter @fuhton and visit his website fuhton.com.
Nikki Kriss
Nikki Kriss is a digital marketing nerd with a decade of experience in email marketing, currently sending 10 million emails a month for SiteLock. She loves dinosaurs, magic, space and talking about her toddler.
Say hi to Nikki on Twitter @PhoenixNikki.
Pam Aungst
Pam is the owner of Pam Ann Marketing and Stealth™ Search and Analytics. Both specialize in SEO, PPC, and analytics. She is a passionate advocate for WordPress and regularly gives talks at WordCamps around the country about SEO, Google Analytics, and business topics. Pam also has a personal mission to talk openly about mental health and the importance of taking care of oneself in order to survive and thrive at work and at home.
Say hello to Pam on Twitter @pamannmarketing and visit her website at pamannmarketing.com.
Sal Ferrarello
Open source veteran Sal Ferrarello has a list of accomplishments to rival any of the Who’s Who in WordPress, including contributing to WordPress Core, Genesis, and authoring the Bootstrap Genesis Theme. If you have time, check out his GitHub account at github.com/salcode.
Along with his volunteer work in the WordPress community, Sal has spoken on a wide variety of topics, including Gutenberg, introducing people to post meta, and getting developers started with transients, as well as encouraging developers to blog.
When Sal isn’t wowing you with his magic or calculus skills, he can be found teaching web development teams the tools to improve their workflows. He also enjoys spending time with his family.
Say hi to Sal on Twitter at @salcode and check out his site salferrarello.com.
Sibel Tasar
Sibel earned her bachelor’s degree in fine arts and started working as a web and graphic designer. She has been building and redesigning websites with WordPress for four years. She has been improving her photo and video editing skills, and loves painting, drawing, and playing tennis. She just started her yoga journey.
Say hello to Sibel on Twitter @sbltsr.
Tara Claeys
With a bachelor’s degree in fine arts, Tara Claeys began her career in advertising and marketing. After her first child was born, she supplemented her full-time job as mom with illustration and stationery design for clients around the world. Her extensive marketing background and understanding of business quickly became her focus. Tara now designs and builds websites for clients — so they can actually work on their own business — with her agency, Design TLC.
She’s given presentations on essential tools for productivity (her passion), as well as sharing examples of websites she has built with WordPress, and panel discussions on freelance work. Tara organizes her local WordPress meetup and enjoys traveling to WordCamp conferences. Along with Liam Dempsey, Tara uncovers the stories of people in the WordPress community in their podcast “Hallway Chats.”
When Tara isn’t redesigning websites, she can be found volunteering for a nonprofit, running, challenging you to get out of your comfort zone, taking piano lessons, or vacationing with her family.
Be sure to say hello on Twitter at @TaraClaeys and check out her websites taraclaeys.com and designtlc.com.
Tessa Kriesel
Teaching and mentorship come naturally to Tessa Kriesel, dog-lover and developer outreach manager at Pantheon. She wears many hats in her life — all with sass and finesse — including instructor for Girl Develop It, lead organizer for WordCamp Minneapolis, and founder of Outspoken Women and Coders of TMRW.
Tessa has spoken on many topics including helping beginners with workflow, mentorship, configuration management, and continuous integration and deployment. She has also been a panelist on a wide range of topics at conferences and meetups.
When Tessa isn’t working on her development chops or mentoring junior developers, she is using her extroverted super hero skills to make people feel welcome and included at whatever event she attends.
Say hi to Tessa on Twitter @tessak22 and visit her website tessakriesel.com.
Tori Pugh
Tori is a self-taught developer and school-trained designer who works hard to solve problems and bridge design and development thinking. She never stops learning and is always curious about new technologies.
Say hi to Tori on Twitter @teekatwo and visit her website at toripugh.com.
Tracy Levesque
Together with her wife, Mia Levesque, Tracy co-founded and co-manages YIKES, a web design and development business that calls Philly’s Fishtown home. Under Tracy’s and Mia’s leadership, YIKES has earned B Corporation Certification. YIKES is a certified LGBTBE by the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce and a certified WBE by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council.
As a web agency, YIKES both designs and develops websites, and has a range of popular WordPress plugins.
Tracy has long spearheaded Philadelphia-area efforts to grow inclusion within the local tech community. In the past few years, her efforts and work have garnered notable attention at a national level and beyond. Tracy has delivered diversity-focused presentations at WordCamp US and for WordPress VIP’s clients.
A huge fan of television, Tracy co-founded LezWatch.TV which asserts itself as the Greatest Database of Queer Female, Non-Binary, & Transgender TV. Together with her co-founder, Mika Epstein, Tracy has worked to highlight and promote characters on TV for the best representations of fully developed LGBT characters.
When she’s not building sites or watching television, Tracy cycles about Philadelphia, snapping amazing photos of abandoned buildings.
William Earnhardt
William works as a WordPress core contributor at Bluehost. Before joining Bluehost earlier this year, he spent six years building and running WordPress multisite and multi-network environments at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. When not fiddling with WordPress things, he loves tinkering with old Jeeps, kayak fishing and cheering on the Tar Heels.
Say hi to William on Twitter @earnjam.
William Jackson
William Jackson graduated from South Carolina State University with a bachelor’s degree in education and earned a master’d degree in teaching from Webster University with a focus on educational technology, social media and STEM. He has worked for NASA as an internet and technology instructor, as a technology consultant with the Florida Department of Education, and currently is a professor at Edward Waters College. He has worked in the education field for more than 25 years. He is also a blogger and social media consultant, and frequently speaks on bullying, cyberbullying, and internet safety. Say hello to William on Twitter @wmjackson.
Yardell Perkins
Yardell Perkins is the founder and head developer of Perkitech. He assists individuals and small organizations with establishing or refreshing their digital presence. In his off time, he is usually learning how to better assist individuals and small organizations with establishing or refreshing their digital presence. Admittedly, he doesn’t get out much! Say hello to Yardell on Twitter @perkitech and visit his website at perkitech.com.