Andy Christian –

Andy will be presenting Choosing and customizing WordPress themes (no code required!) on Friday in the Foundation Friday 101 track

Andy has been involved in the WordPress community in New York for five years. He is an active member of the WordPress.org Community Contributor group, and has volunteered or spoken at more than a dozen WordCamps around the USA. Andy also volunteers at the monthly WordPress NYC Meetup.

Andy is a co-founder of Tadpole Collective, a web development firm specializing in WordPress and CiviCRM integration. At Tadpole, Andy provides technical support to clients and develops documentation and training for various projects. Andy also provides customer support for WordPress themes at CyberChimps. He blogs about his travels at Andy Was Here.

Interview:

Why do you use WordPress?
WordPress makes expressing yourself on the web easy and accessible. I’m a strong believer in democratizing the web, which just happens to be the main mission of WordPress.

What would you say to convince someone to attend a WordCamp?
Everything is awesome! Seriously, WordCamps are a great place to learn about WordPress, meet other awesome people, and just

What is your favorite WordPress project you have worked on recently?
The site for WordCamp NYC 2014. 🙂

Do you have any advice for someone looking to start or grow a WordPress based business?
Don’t go it alone. A team, even a team of two, is exponentially more productive and supported than a single freelancer. Even if you freelance alone, build a support network of other developers, designers, financial gurus, etc., to rely on when things get overwhelming.

What is your favorite WordPress-related resource?
http://plan.wordcamp.org/

Tell us something awesome about yourself that is not WordPress related
I was a member of a Beatles tribute band for about a year and a half. I played woodwinds (clarinet/flute) and hand percussion, and sang backup vocals.

Heather Acton –

Heather will be presenting Introduction to Custom Theming on Friday in the Foundation Friday 301 track

Heather Acton is the founder and lead WordPress developer at Helio Interactive, a boutique digital agency in Chicago, IL.

She’s passionate about good practices, mentoring others, and drinking craft beer with colleagues and friends.

Interview:

Why do you use WordPress?
I use WordPress for two main reasons. The first is because it is the right tool to use for most of my clients’ projects. Of all website frameworks available, it is the easiest for them to use, is the most well-supported, and it is the most likely to still be well-supported in the next 5-10 years. Continue reading Interview with Heather Acton →

Mel Choyce –

Mel will be presenting Getting the Most out of WordPress.com in the 101 Foundation Friday track.

Mel is a Design Engineer at Automattic. She loves big type, cold brew coffee, and printmaking.

Interview:

Why do you use WordPress?
I love how easy it is! You don’t need to be an expert developer to get a beautiful site up and running.

What would you say to convince someone to attend a WordCamp?
WordPress has an incredibly vibrant, diverse, and welcoming community. Attending a WordCamp is like hanging out with a bunch of friends, even if you’ve never met anyone before. There’s always something interesting going on, and you’ll learn so many new things. Continue reading Interview with Mel Choyce →

Suzette Franck –

Suzette will be presenting WordPress Wizardry Without Code on Friday
in the Foundation Friday 201 track

Suzette Franck is the WordPress Evangelist at (mt) Media Temple in Culver City, California, where she educates and advocates for WordPress and the WordPress Community.

In 2013, she attended 80 WordPress meetups where she presented at 25 of them, spoke at 12 WordCamps in 8 different states and two countries, as well as presented online at WordSesh #2 with Natalie MacLees. Suzette has 7 published talks that can be found on WordPress.tv. Continue reading Interview with Suzette Franck →