Organizers

WordCamp US 2019

WordCamp US, like all WordCamps, is put together by a team of volunteer organizers from the WordPress community.

As we mentioned earlier this year, we’ve decided to restructure our organizing team. We’ve brought in more members from the community than ever before, redefined roles, and created new ones. 

Come meet the team!

Leadership Team

We’ve been referring to these community members as our “Leads Trio,” or LT for short. The LT works together as our project managers to keep overall WCUS planning on track. They coordinate and collaborate with the individual Team Leads to make sure that WCUS will be a fun, cohesive, and memorable event for the WordPress community.

  • Angela Jin

    Avatar of Angela Jin

    An inveterate volunteer since 2005, Angela Jin has cultivated a passion for building strong, inclusive communities. She took this literally for some time, and worked at a commercial real estate consulting firm where she endeavored to align progressive development with community goals. It was through this role that Angela discovered WordPress, which in turn inspired her to join Automattic as a community organizer for the WordPress open source project. Angela hails from Seattle, Washington, and delights in reading, hiking, and traveling.

    Twitter: @AngelaSJin
    Hometown: Seattle, Washington

  • Jen Swisher

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    Jen is a Senior Web Specialist for a St. Louis-based healthcare company. There she provides web accessibility support and instruction to employees all over the country. In her spare time, Jen is the local lead organizer for WordCamp US, and a regular speaker at her local WordPress meetup. She also enjoys reading, graphic design, and spending time with her rescue dog, Loki.

    Twitter: @JenSwish
    Hometown: St. Louis, Missouri

  • Kevin Cristiano

    Avatar of Kevin Cristiano

    Kevin came to WordPress in 2006 by chance and got hooked because of its ability to give site owners the capacity to not only control their content, but also to manage their sites themselves. You can find him at tadpole.cc working with non-profits.

    Twitter: @KCristiano
    Hometown: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 

Attendee Experience

The attendee experience team is a brand new team in our structure. They will be responsible for email correspondence with attendees, tourist trips, childcare, life-threatening allergy support, accessibility needs support, and visa letter production.

  • AmyJune Hineline

    Avatar of AmyJune Hineline

    As the Community Ambassador at Kanopi Studios, AmyJune helps to ensure her team remains connected to open-source communities.

    AmyJune co-organizes various open source camps and conventions throughout North America, all while helping each of the communities be more inclusive. This focus enables others to forge deep community connections that benefit the whole. As a self-described non-coder, she helps communities discover how they can contribute back in more ways than code.

    In addition to her work building community connections, AmyJune is an avid geocacher and noted Volkswagen enthusiast.

    Twitter: @VolkswagenChick
    Hometown: Hollister, CA

  • John Hawkins

    Avatar of John Hawkins

    John has been building things on the internet for over 2 decades. He found WordPress in the summer of 2003 and has been fully immersed in it ever since. John was the organizer of the first WordCamp conference in Las Vegas in 2009 and has been involved with organizing it (almost) every year since. John has a passion for teaching others to use WordPress. He founded and organizes the monthly Las Vegas WordPress meetup where he’s a frequent presenter and has traveled the country speaking at WordPress conferences from coast-to-coast.

    Twitter: @VegasGeek
    Hometown: Las Vegas, NV

  • John Richards

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    John Richards is an avid cat lover who also develops WordPress websites. He started building websites for a living in 2007 and specifically in WordPress in 2013 when he started working at Washington University in St. Louis. His favorite part of web development is innovating simple solutions for complex problems.

    Originally from Pennsylvania, he now lives in St. Louis with his wife and a clowder of kitties.

    Twitter: @jrastaban
    Hometown: St Louis, MO

  • Mary Baum

    Avatar of Mary Baum

    A Genesis themer and veteran creative, Mary Baum builds things for the tennis industry — plus her vet and a world traveler she’s known since middle school.

    As for events, Mary’s been doing them for close to 35 years — from fundraisers to seminars, to tennis tournaments, to business meetings and more — including seven WordCamps here in St. Louis.

    It’s kinda what she did, with friends, as all the mutual kids were growing up. And it’s been the source of a lot of great experiences.

    So. WordCamp US in STL? Absolutely!

    Twitter: @marybaum
    Hometown: St. Louis, MO

  • Sandy Edwards

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    Sandy has spent the last 5 years involved with her local WordPress community. As an agency owner and homeschool mom her passion is educating others about ways to use the internet for good. Currently, she oversees the Kids Event Working Group and is excited to see the KidsCamp and Kids Events initiative grow across the globe. When she is not working or volunteering she is at Disney with her family enjoying her down time.

    Twitter: @sunsanddesign
    Hometown: Orlando, FL

Communications and Public Relations

This team is responsible for website and social media content. They will also work on wrangling media partnerships, and publicizing our event to potential attendees, local St. Louis groups, and media outlets.

  • Ally Vesper

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    Ally Vesper is a WordPress newbie living in St. Louis, MO. In 2018, she became a Freelance Proofreader, started a business called Let’s Make It Write, and discovered WordPress while creating her website. Meanwhile, she stumbled upon HTML, CSS, and Javascript and fell in love with coding. She has been a self-taught web developer-in-training ever since. In her former life, she got an MBA in international business, traveled a lot, and worked for 15 years in strategy development and market analysis and 5 years with a local nonprofit.

    When not working, you will find her hanging out with her husband, twin 8-year old daughters, and beagle. Or reading. Or watching movies. Or eating chocolate chip cookie dough.

    Twitter: @AllyVesper
    Hometown: St. Louis, MO

  • David Needham

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    David Needham is a Developer Advocate at Pantheon where he focuses on developer education and training. When he’s not blogging about productivity at davidneedham.me or speaking at conferences, you can probably find him with his bicycle-loving family playing board games in Champaign, Illinois.

    Twitter: @DavidNeedham
    Hometown: Champaign, Illinois

  • Hajj Flemings

    Avatar of Hajj Flemings

    In 2011, Hajj Flemings was one of eight entrepreneurs selected for the CNN’s Black in America 4: The New Promised Land: Silicon Valley documentary with Soledad O’Brien.

    During the filming of that documentary, he came to understand the real meaning of the term ‘meritocracy’ and recognized that lack of access in the technology space was creating a permanent underclass in communities of color. That experience literally changed the course of his life.

    Hajj is founder of Brand Camp University, an educational platform that is preparing people for the future of work.  In 2017 he launched Rebrand Cities a global civic design partnership with WordPress with the audacious goal to get 10,000 businesses online and eradicate the digital divide.

    He has worked with clients including Walt Disney, Pitney Bowes, Pfizer, the Detroit Lions, and the U.S. Department of Defense, been an invited speaker at Iowa State University, University of Michigan—Ross School of Business, Davidson College, University of Detroit, and others, and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch, Mashable and CNN Tech Money on the subjects of startups, digital technology and branding.

    Twitter: @HajjFlemings
    Hometown: Birmingham, MI

  • Laura Byrne-Cristiano

    Avatar of Laura Byrne-Cristiano

    Laura started with WordPress in 2006 building a fan website for a then little-known book called Twilight. She grew the site from obscurity to viral behemoth with millions of daily visitors. With new skills in social media, content, and event planning, Laura transitioned from a career in teaching to one in marketing. She has created/contributed to over 20 WordPress sites mostly in the fields of education and entertainment. Find her online at NewYorkerLaura.com

    Twitter: @NewYorkerLaura
    Hometown: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 

  • Michele Butcher-Jones

    Avatar of Michele Butcher-Jones

    Michele is the Lead WordPress Technical Specialist at Thrive Internet Marketing Agency and runs her own WordPress shop at 13Core. When not working her jobs, Michele is an organizer for WordCamp St Louis, WordCamp US 2019, and the Lead Organizer of the Southern Illinois WordPress Meetup. You can usually find her snapping pictures, at the gym, handing with her family, or reading a book. She is always down for an adventure, especially if it involves great food or drinks.

    Twitter: @Michele_Butcher
    Hometown: Carbondale, IL

  • Michelle Frechette Ames

    Avatar of Michelle Frechette Ames

    Michelle completed her MBA in Marketing, E-Commerce and Information Systems from the University of Rochester’s Simon School of Business. She has over twenty years of experience in higher education; ten years owning a web design and marketing company; and currently serves as the Head of Customer Success for Impress.org (developers of GiveWP.com and WPBusinessReviews.com). Michelle is a veteran of public speaking. She’s been an instructor for a wide variety of topics including Using Quantitative Data Analysis Software, Meditative Drawing, Intro to WordPress, and Marketing for Massage Therapy. Michelle speaks at conferences all over North America. You can find many of them recorded on WordPress.tv including “Little Things That Make a Big Difference” and “Hidden Features of WordPress Revealed,” as well as panel discussions on marketing and women in technology. Michelle is the author “A Good Firm Handshake (and other essential business tips)” available on Amazon.com. Say hi to Michelle on Twitter and check out her website at worksbymichelle.com.

    Twitter: @MichelleAmes
    Hometown: Rochester, NY

  • William Jackson

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    William is a graduate of South Carolina State University where he earned a Bachelors in Education and earned a Master of Arts in Education from Webster University with a focus on Educational Technology, Social Media and STEAM. William is a 31-year professional educator in public and higher education, past tech instructor for NASA and the Florida Department of Education. He has been blogging over 10 years and is nationally and internationally recognized.

    He has been participating in WordCamp conferences since 2011 and has grown to be a speaker, volunteer, advocate, blogger, microsponsor and an organizer. William works hard as a blogger and content creator to share his knowledge to help parents understand the value and dangers of Social Media. He and his girlfriend have continued to participate together and love volunteering and speaking. They have taught and volunteered at several KidsCamps in the US and in Calgary, Canada and Costa Rica, Central America. They are organizers for KidsCamp Jacksonville and developing a curriculum based on STEAM and Web Development.

    The blog “My Quest To Teach” created by William can be found on Alexa and Google Voice to hear the blogs based on their travels to WordCamp, KidsCamp and other tech and community events.

    Twitter: @WmJackson
    Hometown: Jacksonville, FL

Contributor Team

Contributor Day happens on November 3 this year. On that day attendees are able to take part in helping the WordPress OpenSource Project to grow. Both seasoned contributors and newcomers wondering how to get involved are welcomed. This team organizes the over 20 teams that coders and non-coders can join.

  • Aaron Campbell

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    Aaron is an international speaker, open source advocate, and outgoing introvert. He’s been a regular contributor to WordPress for more than a decade, and is currently employed by GoDaddy as the head of WordPress core and ecosystem. He has over eighteen years of web development experience and worked with clients ranging from small local businesses to Google, Yahoo, Disney, and Harvard. He’s been called both a coffee snob and a beer snob, but considers both to be compliments. When not buried in code, he enjoys spending time with his wife and son, riding his motorcycle, and reading sci-fi/fantasy books. You can find him online at AaronDCampbell.com or on Twitter as @AaronCampbell.

    Twitter: @AaronCampbell
    Hometown: Seminole, Oklahoma

  • Christina Workman

    Avatar of Christina Workman

    Christina has been improving her WordPress skills since 2010. Currently a freelance front-end developer, she is heavily involved in the local WordPress community. She is part of the organizing teams for both the Calgary WordPress Meetup Group and WordCamp Calgary. Christina enjoys teaching kids coding, including bringing KidsCamp to Calgary. Favourite things include good tea, BritTV, animals, especially dogs, and anything purple coloured. Oh, and she’s Canadian, so she adds the letter “u” in odd places.

    Twitter: @AmethystAnswers
    Hometown: Calgary, Alberta, Canada

  • George Stephanis

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    George is one of the folks behind the Jetpack plugin, and is a frequent core contributor to the WordPress core software. He is also a regular on the WPWatercooler podcast, and a frequent WordCamp Speaker. Whilst not behind a computer, he enjoys making things from solder and wood.

    Twitter: @daljo628  
    Hometown: Lancaster, PA

Design and Website

The iconic looks of WCUS come from this team whether its on our website, a tee-shirt, or swag.  They are also responsible for developing our our main and speaker submission websites, and all print materials from badges to signage to stage dressing.

  • Alx Block

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    Alx works on Payments with Automattic and plans WordCamps between spending time with his awesome kids and amazing wife.

    Twitter: @AlxBlock
    Hometown: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

  • Brett Shumaker

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    Brett is an Enterprise Happiness Engineer for Automattic on the VIP team. He’s been involved with WPNashville and Nashville WordCamps since 2013. When he’s not typing away on a keyboard, you can find him hanging out with his wife, daughter, and 2 dogs.

    Twitter: @bshumaker
    Hometown: Hendersonville, Tennessee

  • Courtney Patubo Kranzke

    Avatar of Courtney Patubo Kranzke

    Courtney has been an avid WP user since 2004, and a community organizer for the WordPress open source project with Automattic since 2016. She has a background in arts and technology, which led her to work in entertainment, games, and software. She loves to figure out which dish to cook and which cocktail to mix for you. Courtney currently resides in Portland, Oregon, with her spouse and big orange cat.

    Twitter: @CourtneyP
    Hometown: Portland, Oregon

  • Jaime Wedholm

    Avatar of Jaime Wedholm

    Owner/CEO at JWedholmDesign.ca where I use my Graphic Design superpower to transform marketing ideas into visually impactful marketing pieces that highlight each business’ unique selling points.

    I have designed for web and worked with WordPress developers for five years. I offer a non-coder yet coder-friendly perspective on designing websites. All with a purpose of creating beautiful sites with optimal UX.
    WCUS 2019 will be my fourth WordCamp as an organizer. I have grown to love the WordPress community. There are so many talented people willing to share their knowledge, not to mention the awesome souls who put their time and effort into planning WordCamps!

    I am a wife and mother of two amazing kiddos. I am a passionate supporter of mental health awareness and understanding. I love all things creative, being involved in community, colouring for relaxation, and sharing wine with good friends. I may quote ‘Friends’ a little too much, and I hate Comic Sans.

    Twitter: @jwedholmdesign
    Hometown: Calgary, Canada

  • Jason Yingling

    Avatar of Jason Yingling

    Jason is a designer and developer who got into WordPress out of the desire to create things on the web while he was a broke college student majoring in Business and Marketing. The development hobby turned into a career, and Jason now leads a team of remote developers in building custom WordPress solutions for clients of all sizes at Red8 Interactive while maintaining several themes and plugins on WordPress.org. You can find Jason online at jasonyingling.me sharing what he learns about WordPress when not chasing a 1.5 year old around.

    Twitter: @Jason_Yingling
    Hometown: St. Louis, Missouri

  • Kelly Dwan

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    Kelly Dwan is a developer from Boston, MA. She writes JavaScript for Automattic, where she’s worked on a range of projects – from WordPress.com to a new interface for WooCommerce, to the first React-based theme on WordPress.org. Prior to Automattic, she worked at 10up on a range of client sites from small business websites, to higher education, to enterprise and big media. She is also passionate about accessibility, both on the web and in real life.

    Twitter: @ ryelle
    Hometown: Boston, MA

  • Kjell Reigstad

    Avatar of Kjell Reigstad

    Kjell studied Graphic Design at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. He went on to design t-shirts for MTV, websites for Ford, apps for HBO, and financial tools for Fidelity before finding a home with Automattic. Kjell lives in a cozy red house outside of Boston with his wife, daughter, and a friendly orange cat.

    Twitter: @kjellr
    Hometown: Boston, MA

  • Mel Choyce

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    Mel Choyce is a wicked awesome product designer based in Boston, Massachusetts. Not only is Mel a WordPress Core Committer and former Release Lead, she is a regular core contributor and speaks frequently at WordCamps on design, typography, and user experience. When Mel isn’t designing products at Automattic, she enjoys cold brew coffee, craft beer, and rocking out in her band. Say hi to her on Twitter at @melchoyce, and visit her site at choycedesign.com.

    Twitter: @melchoyce
    Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts

  • Stephen DeLorme

    Avatar of Stephen DeLorme

    I’m a Digital Media Director at Delineator, where I do video production and web development for manufacturers, scientists, and tech companies. In my free time, I direct independent films, raise chickens, tinker with cryptocurrencies, and volunteer for WordPressTV and the Atlanta WP community.

    Twitter: @stephendelorme
    Hometown: Atlanta, GA

Logistics, Venues, and Catering

As WCUS grows, so does our footprint. The logistics team coordinates all aspects of our presence at each venue we use. They take charge of things like room usage and set-up at the convention center, after-party, and volunteer party venues. They work with programming to ascertain our audio visual needs, interface with the sponsors to coordinate shipping, and they are in charge of catering at our various events.

  • Alex Miller

    Avatar of Alex Miller

    Alex Miller has been working with WordPress since 2009 building themes for local businesses. He can usually be found answering questions on the WordPress Forums, WordPress Stack Exchange, or WordPress IRC. Currently, he’s working on releasing his 2nd plugin this year with more on the way. When not working with WordPress he can be found at the local Boardgame Meetups.

    Twitter: @Howdy_McGee
    Hometown: St. Louis, MO

  • Connie Christians

    Avatar of Connie Christians

    Connie lives on and works from her family’s small farm, balancing the nature girl with the front-end developer. Working with WordPress exclusively for 9 years, Connie focuses much of her time on activist groups’ websites. She feels it’s one way to put good into the world by helping the League of Women Voters and the National Council of Jewish Women. To that end, she has recently launched Member Monster, based on WordPress, to make it easier for groups with large memberships stay organized with limited volunteer resources.

    It’s fair to say that she’s obsessed with coding and likes to hang out with others who share that obsession. Connie’s other interests are photography, camping, kayaking and traveling.

    Twitter: @videoConnie
    Hometown: Stanton, MO

  • David Smith

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    David (he/him) is an engineer at Washington University in St. Louis, where WordPress (focusing primarily on back-end infrastructure and high availability) is just one of the dozen hats he wears. When not working with computers, he has an unhealthy obsession with professional wrestling.

    Twitter: @dsXLII
    Hometown: St. Louis, Missouri

  • Joe McGill

    Avatar of Joe McGill

    Joe McGill lives in St. Louis, MO, where he works remotely as a Senior Web Engineer at Human Made. He is a WordPress Core Developer, focusing primarily on maintaining the Media component. Joe has also been an organizer and speaker at several WordCamps and is an active member of the St. Louis WordPress community. Find him on online at joemcgill.net and on Twitter as @joemcgill.

    Twitter: @JoeMcGill
    Hometown: St. Louis, Missouri

  • Nick Mantia

    Avatar of Nick Mantia

    Nick has a passion for creating things that are both beautiful and useful. He earned his BFA in graphic design from University of Missouri – Saint Louis in 2016, and upon graduating, began his career as a full-time wordpress developer. Nick has zero interest in creating “just another WordPress site.” He not only cranks out beautiful PHP, but is heavily invested in every project from idea to execution. Nick, along with the emagine team, creates websites that are living, breathing aspects of a company’s sales and marketing team. In addition to his background in design, Nick has also obtained his certification in Google Analytics. His strength is in leveraging the intersection of design, development and analytics. To him, this intersection is essential to creating something that is both aesthetically pleasing and functional as a business tool.

    Every new website project presents Nick with an opportunity to innovate and to use new advanced functionality to help clients reach their goals. When his headphones come off, he enjoys playing rec volleyball, flexing his art/design muscle, and watching stand up comedy.

    Twitter: @Nick_Mantia
    Hometown: St. Louis, MO

Programming

Formerly known as the speakers team, this team is responsible for programming at WCUS whether it’s a panel or an individual presentation. They are also in charge of new options including, but not limited to, workshops and birds-of-a-feather meetups. They will handle the application process, the schedule, and the needs of presenters on the days of the event. 

  • Adam Silver

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    Adam is a native of California, though relocated to North Carolina in 2017.  Currently, Adam provides WordPress development and support services through ConciergeWP.com. For the past 5 years he has produced a weekly podcast at KitchenSinkWP.com & started a second podcast with his friend Kyle Maurer, 2 years ago over at The Get Options Podcast. As he loves the WordPress community he has volunteered in some capacity at WordCamps since 2012, first in Los Angeles and most recently in Raleigh. In his free time, he speaks at industry events sharing his insights & expertise into all things digital. Married for 20 years to his amazing wife & has 3 wickedly cool kids.

    Twitter: @HeyAdamSilver
    Hometown: Cary, NC

  • Bret Phillips

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    Bret is a Business Consultant (aka problem solver) for the Digital Marketing agency Sideways8. National Committee member for the nonprofit 48in48, building 48 websites in 48 hours for 48 nonprofits. Organizing Committee of WordCamp Atlanta and Atlanta WordPress Meetup. He’s been a WordPress advocate since he started using it in 2008 and fell in <3 with the WP community at his first WordCamp in Savannah 2010. Outside of the internet, he’s a music producer, and audio engineer making weird sounds with weird people.

    Twitter: @BretWP
    Hometown: Atlanta, GA

  • Carrie Dils

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    I empower people through education so that they can live life on their own terms. I do that via The Fearless Freelancer courses, the OfficeHours.FM podcast, front-end web development courses at Lynda.com and LinkedIN Learning, and on my blog at carriedils.com. When I’m not behind a computer, I’m probably reading a book, petting a dog, or taking an absurdly long walk.

    Twitter: @CDils
    Hometown: Fort Worth, Texas

  • David Bisset

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    A full-time PHP and WordPress freelancer for 10+ years, David is now a senior PHP developer at EnviraGalleryLLC working on two popular WordPress plugins (Envira Gallery and Soliloquy) used by hundred of thousands of websites. In addition, he also works on the popular WordPress Post Status newsletter, works as a consultant and developer for various PHP and JavaScript side projects, speaker, coding mentor, contributor to various open source projects, and helps run several meetups in South Florida.

    For the past decade, he has been an organizer of one of the largest and longest running WordPress conferences – WordCamp Miami. Also known for his live tweeting of conferences and a sense of humor he uses to keep him sane. When he’s not working you’ll find David enjoying time with his family, debating which Star Trek series is the best, talking to people about tech communities and how they can shape our society for the better, and trying to find new creative ways to use or donate all the tech conference shirts he’s collected over the years.

    Twitter: @DimensionMedia
    Hometown: Davie, FL

  • Raquel Landefeld

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    Raquel Landefeld is the Event Coordinator for Elegant Themes and a serial volunteer with a young soul. In 2010 she co-founded Mode Effect, a Phoenix-based WordPress agency that specializes in WooCommerce integration. Intentional about community building, she believes that wherever her feet are is where the building happens. Currently, she is active in several communities from tech to government to neighborhoods and more. On the personal side of her life, she is a wife & mum, an active dancer, a music lover, an amateur photographer, and has a 20-year-curated Wonder Woman collection.

    Twitter: @raqueLandefeld
    Hometown: Phoenix, Arizona

  • Tessa Kriesel

    Avatar of Tessa  Kriesel

    Building community and teaching come naturally to dog-lover and Developer Outreach Manager at Pantheon, Tessa Kriesel. She wears many hats in her life — all with sass and finesse — including founder of Outspoken Women and Coders of TMRW. Tessa has spoken on many topics, including helping beginners with their development workflows, mentorship, building communities, and shedding light on 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.

    Twitter: @TessaK22
    Hometown: Pequot Lakes, Minnesota

Sponsors

WordCamps would not be able to take place without the generous support of our sponsors. We are able to offer tickets for $50 for our three-day event because of them. This team reviews sponsor applications, communicates with sponsors once they are on board, and handles the sponsor hall mobilization and coordination.

  • Birgit Pauli-Haack

    Avatar of Birgit Pauli-Haack

    Since 1998 Birgit Pauli-Haack has worked with nonprofits and small businesses as a web developer, a technology strategist, a trainer and community organizer. She founded Pauli Systems, LC in 2002, now a team of six. It is a 100% distributed company. Since 2010, the team has used WordPress to build new nonprofit sites and business applications. In her spare time, Birgit serves also as a deputy with the WordPress Global Community team, as a WordPress Meetup organizer and a Tech4Good organizer. Birgit is a native German. When not in front of a computer, she runs, plays tennis, or hangs out with friends. She and her husband of 25 years love to travel and visit city art museums.

    Twitter: @BPH
    Hometown: Naples, Florida

  • Kathy Drewien

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    A leader in the Atlanta WordPress community, Kathy has been supporting WordPress people for as long as we’ve known her. She’s a long-standing organizer of WordCamp Atlanta (2010-2019) and WordCamp US 2017-2019, a WordCamp organizer mentor, the facilitator for the Marietta (Atlanta) WordPress Meetup, and so, so much more. Her firm, Kathy Drewien & Company, rescues abandoned, broken, ugly, orphaned, and non-productive websites. She is an attentive listener, kind, generous, and outspoken. Kathy’s life beyond WordPress includes delighting in her role as Nana, completing 2000-piece jigsaw puzzles, and expanding her Le Creuset cookware collection and resale shop.

    Twitter: @KDrewien
    Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia

  • Kim White

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    Kim has been building websites since 1998, and promoting working as a community even longer. Teaching both young children and adults for over 35 years, Kim desires to see everyone get along, connect on what we have in common, and encourage one another to learn more about our differences. Kim lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two young cats. She has two grown children who are forging their own careers in tech.

    In her spare time, she also co-organizes the local WordPress Lehigh Valley Meetup. If you’re in the area please Visit!

    Twitter: @MrsCRW
    Hometown: Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

  • Kimberly Lipari

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    Kimberly is an Industrial Technology graduate turned internet entrepreneur. She applies the skills she honed as a survey drafting engineer to the everyday business of running Valet, a WordPress Management and Maintenance Agency, as CEO. She has journeyed from product support to WordCamp speaker and believes the community of WordPress is the best she’s had the privilege to be involved with.

    When she’s not working to support her amazing team you can find her with her husband and three children. Kimberly enjoys any activity that takes place outside as well as cooking. She loves to try new things and is growing her personal Yoga practice as a newly certified teacher.

    Twitter: @kimberlylipari
    Hometown: New Orleans

Volunteers

Our volunteers do it all at WordCamp US from running our registration tables, to lending a hand at the Happiness Bar, to serving as emcees introducing our speakers, and so much more. The volunteer team coordinates it all.

  • Chris Koerner

    Avatar of Chris Koerner

    Chris is a long time WordPress tinkerer. He’s been writing with WordPress since 2005 and is a co-organizer of the St. Louis WordPress Community Meetup group. Chris enjoys working with local small business and non-profits to build a sustainable and well-designed web presence – using WordPress of course. During the day he’s lucky enough to work at the Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit organization helping to support projects like Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons.

    Hometown: St. Louis, Missouri

  • Christina Holt

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    Cristina is the Director of Project Management at WebDevStudios, overseeing the project management team and the execution of innovative responsive WordPress development projects. Partnering with her clients and overseeing to-do lists are not the only things that motivate Cristina—she loves a good book, NJ style pizza with wine of course, and strong coffee on Monday mornings.

    With 11 years of experience, her past business cards include titles like Account Executive, Account Manager and Project Manager at companies ranging from ad agencies, direct fulfillment, to big pharma.

    Over the past 5 years, working on WordPress development projects has become a passion—and being part of the WordPress community inspires her daily. Cristina lives in St. Charles, Missouri, with her husband Jason, little kiddos Trystan & Autumn, and grumpy bulldog Trent.

    Twitter: @cristinaholt416
    Hometown: St. Charles, MO

  • Dustin Hartzler

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    Dustin Hartzler is a Happiness Engineer at Automattic by day where he helps business owners work all of the kinks out of their WooCommerce stores. If working with WordPress all day wasn’t enough, he spends time each week recording his WordPress podcast call [Your Website Engineer](http://YourWebsiteEngineer.com). He enjoys helping people understand and use WordPress to it’s fullest capacity and spends time tinkering with code. 

    When he’s not in front of the computer (which is rare), he enjoys spending time CrossFitting, reading and traveling. He lives in Dayton, OH with his wife, 5 year old daughter, and 2 year old son.

    Twitter: @DustinHartzler
    Hometown: Dayton, OH

  • Tiffany Miller

    Avatar of Tiffany Miller

    A helper and an educator by nature, Tiffany found her home as a Happiness Engineer with Automattic in 2017. She is passionate about helping people find their place on the web and loves showing others how powerful WordPress can be in helping them achieve the sites they have envisioned.

    With a background in fundraising and volunteering, she got involved with her local WordPress community in DFW (and now WCUS) as a volunteer and organizer as a way to give back to the community that has given so much to her. She brings with her many years of experience in project management and operational analysis.

    Away from the internet, Tiffany and her husband enjoy Tex-Mex with or without their 4 daughters. They also love supporting their girls in their different activities. She is also a TED-talk enthusiast and loves to follow the work of her favorite TED speakers. 🙂

    Twitter: @MrsMilli1207
    Hometown: Arlington, TX