Interview with Zach Tollman

Interview, Speakers

Zach Tollman – twitter dark blue jeans social media icons designed by icons.mysitemyway.com

Zach will be presenting Speed as a Feature: Getting a Handle on Page Load Time on Sunday in the Advanced Development track

Residing in Portland, Oregon, Zack longs for the cold, snowy days of his Alaskan youth. He enjoys strumming his guitar, playing hockey, and spending time with his wife and dog.

Otherwise, you’ll find him at his computer meticulously spinning lines of clean code as a developer at The Theme Foundry.

Interview:

Why do you use WordPress?
I use WordPress because of the amazing community around the software. People of WordPress are universally exceptional and it is a wonderful to work alongside so many talented individuals.

What would you say to convince someone to attend a WordCamp?
In order to understand why the WordPress community is so great, you need to start interacting with it. The best place to start is at a WordCamp. With very little effort, you will begin to build lifelong relationships that will affect many aspects of your life.

What is your favorite WordPress project you have worked on recently?
At The Theme Foundry, we recently rebuilt our servers in order to improve security and performance. We were able to implement SSL everywhere, while not sacrificing (and in some cases, improving) performance of our site. Much of this work has inspired my WordCamp Chicago talk.

Do you have any advice for someone looking to start or grow a WordPress based business?
Talk to people. WordPress business owners are competitive, yet very helpful. The business “stars” of our community tend to be more than willing to share information to help you be successful. The more successful businesses that champion WordPress, the more successful WordPress will be overall.

What is your favorite WordPress-related resource?
As a developer, I used to rely on what other people had to say about WordPress code; however, overtime, I’ve learned that it’s best to just go to the “horse’s mouth” to get the information that you need. In this case, that is the WordPress core code itself. You will learn more about WordPress, PHP, and development practices by reading core code than any one else’s writing about it.

Tell us something awesome about yourself that is not WordPress related
I’m a huge hockey fan and because my wife is from Chicago, I’ve adopted the Blackhawks as my team. I’m hoping for another parade during WordCamp Chicago this year.

Interview with Joe Casabona

Interview, Speakers

Joe Casabona – twitter dark blue jeans social media icons designed by icons.mysitemyway.com Google+ dark blue jeans social media icons designed by icons.mysitemyway.com

Joe will be presenting Responsive Design with WordPress on Saturday
in the Development track

Joe Casabona is a web developer, author, and teacher who focuses primarily on WordPress and mobile development. His latest book, Responsive Design with WordPress is out now.

He is also a Yankee fan, plays the drums, and enjoys a fine cigar from time to time. You can find him over at casabona.org .

Interview:

Why do you use WordPress?
Because it’s generally the best tool for the job!

What would you say to convince someone to attend a WordCamp?
It’s cheap, the talks are great, and the networking is invaluable.

What is your favorite WordPress project you have worked on recently?
I’m currently working on a mobile app for The University of Scranton using AppPresser. Pretty cool!

Do you have any advice for someone looking to start or grow a WordPress based business?
Find your niche and talk to people! The great thing about the WP community is that even though we are all technically competing, we are ready and willing to help each other out!

What is your favorite WordPress-related resource?
Can I say my book? 🙂

I find myself going to the Codex more than any other resource.

Tell us something awesome about yourself that is not WordPress related
I play the drums! Not in a band or anything…but in my apartment!

Interview with Jamie Sanchez

Interview, Speakers

Jamie Sanchez – twitter dark blue jeans social media icons designed by icons.mysitemyway.com

Jamie will be presenting Admin as a User Experience: The Quest for Simplicity on Friday in the Foundation Friday 301 track

Jamie Sanchez is an award-winning graphic designer, front-end developer, and usability advocate in Chicago, IL. She’s been crafting websites for over 12 years, experimenting with WordPress since 2005, and has over 6 years of design and marketing expertise working with clients such as Follett, Holabird and Root, and US Equities. She currently develops websites at Association Management Center.

Jamie is extremely passionate about community building. She is the founder of AnimeChicago, board member of independent game developer community Indie City Collective, and proud Chicago Nerd Social Club member. Follow @spacedragon for nerdy rants and occasional craft beer live tweet tastings.

Interview:

Why do you use WordPress?
WordPress makes life so much easier. It often saves a client a lot of time, money and hassle down the line. I cannot stress the importance of using an easy, non-anxiety-inducing CMS when educating and recommending content-first web strategy and editorial calendar to a client. But most of all, the community is avidly updating documentation and sharing their knowledge to make other’s lives easier, too. They are the best.

What would you say to convince someone to attend a WordCamp?
Although you may have learned a ton of WordPress knowledge from online documentation and forums, nothing beats humanizing your development experience. Don’t fear meatspace. Venting frustrations and sharing victories in-person is part of networking, and those connection made at WordCamp can go a long way.

What is your favorite WordPress project you have worked on recently?
I spend a fair amount of time promoting and learning about independent games at events like Penny Arcade Expo, IndieCade and GDC. The indie dev community is phenomenal but most devs are new to running a business. There’s no consistent model to follow – what works for some probably might not work again in the future.

So I teamed up with a friend to conceive, craft and launch IndieBoothcraft.com over a weekend. It’s a resource hub to share design, marketing, and convention knowledge with indie devs who are new to exhibiting games. I had a ton of fun fiddling around with responsive code and integrating Advanced Custom Fields for easier data entry. A few devs have been very appreciative of the resource. I hope grow this project with more data and some cool tools!

Do you have any advice for someone looking to start or grow a WordPress based business?
WordPress development is a great way to earn extra income as a part-time freelancer. That type of work pays for my travels and adventures, but it also leads to severe burnout. Two tips:

1) You’ll be surprised how much time will go towards client management and security measures instead of the fun parts like theming and content creation. So either be picky about what kind of client work you accept or have a fun project on the side to keep your WP interest piqued.

2) Be clear about your business hours, your hourly rate, and how much support you’ll provide post-launch. Most of all, be honest with yourself about these commitments!

What is your favorite WordPress-related resource?
I know this is obvious, but the WP Codex is always my first stop when looking for answers. As for plugins, I can’t say enough about Advanced Custom Fields! It adds a professional touch and really cuts down on documentation and client education time.

Tell us something awesome about yourself that is not WordPress related
My greatest adventure of 2014 thus far was taking an Amtrak train from Chicago to San Francisco with 58 indie game devs. It’s known as Train Jam and like most game jams, each team conceives of a game idea and executes as much of it as possible by the end of the jam. Although it was the worst two nights of sleep I’ve ever had, I helped make a game!

Interview with Chris Lema & Steve Zehngut

Interview, Speakers

Steve and Chris will be presenting Are you ready to learn a bit about Pricing? on Saturday in the Business/Project Management track

Chris Lema – twitter dark blue jeans social media icons designed by icons.mysitemyway.com facebook dark blue jeans social media icons designed by icons.mysitemyway.com LinkedIn dark blue jeans social media icons designed by icons.mysitemyway.com Google+ dark blue jeans social media icons designed by icons.mysitemyway.com

For twenty years Chris has been managing high performers and overseeing new product development.

He’s a daily blogger, an ebook author, a public speaker and works as the VP of Engineering for Emphasys Software. In his spare time he helps companies leverage WordPress, and WordPress companies find leverage.

Steve Zehngut – twitter dark blue jeans social media icons designed by icons.mysitemyway.com facebook dark blue jeans social media icons designed by icons.mysitemyway.com LinkedIn dark blue jeans social media icons designed by icons.mysitemyway.com

Steve founded Zeek Interactive in 1995 and he has been the creative technologist behind the Huntington Beach based company since its inception. Under his direction, Zeek has grown from an apartment bedroom to one of Southern California’s leading development and consulting shops.

Steve is the organizer of the OC WordPress Meetup and has helped build the community to over 850 members. He is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and has taught interactive courses at UC Irvine, USC, the American Film Institute, and Cal State Long Beach. Steve has a BA in Film from Cal State Northridge.

Interview:

Why do you use WordPress?
Chris: It continues to be the easiest CMS to deliver editable websites for customers.

Steve: Ease of use for my clients. Rapid development for me.

What would you say to convince someone to attend a WordCamp?
Chris: They’re a great place to get introduced to an incredible community of helpful people.

Steve: WordCamps are the fastest way to get up to speed on WordPress. They are typically a 2-3 day intensive workshop covering several WP related topics. I also attend WordCamps for the networking opportunities. You get to rub elbows with the best in the WP community.

Do you have any advice for someone looking to start or grow a WordPress based business?
Chris: Watch as much of the Matt Report as you can!

Steve: A quick business tip: Specialize. Do not try to be an expert in everything. Understand your strengths and focus on them. Partner with others who compliment those strengths.

Also, participate in your local WordPress meetup. If one doesn’t exist in your area, start a WordPress meetup. This is a great way to share with your peers and also to trade knowledge.

What is your favorite WordPress-related resource?
Chris: The WPWatercooler – it’s a 30 minute weekly show that is full of fun and educational material.

Steve: I use the Codex everyday.

Tell us something awesome about yourself that is not WordPress related
Chris: I’ve participated in the design, development, marketing, pricing and launch process for over 90 software as a service (SaaS) products.

Steve: I love to play poker, although I don’t have any time to play currently. If anyone needs a lesson, I am happy to help you part with your hard-earned cash.

Interview with Sara Cannon

Interview, Speakers

Sara Cannon – twitter dark blue jeans social media icons designed by icons.mysitemyway.com LinkedIn dark blue jeans social media icons designed by icons.mysitemyway.com Google+ dark blue jeans social media icons designed by icons.mysitemyway.com

Sara will be presenting Do Big Things With A Small Team  in the Business/Project Management track  with Aaron Campbell, Brian Krogsgard and Pete Mall as well as Smart Design: Icon Fonts, SVG, and the Mobile Influence in the Design track, both on Saturday.

Sara Cannon has a passion for art, design, and typography. She is Partner and Creative Director for Range – A design and development agency specializing in WordPress.

Sara is a WordPress contributor, loves open source, her pets, and traveling the world. You can find her writing on her blog sara-cannon.com.

“Life is short, art is long, typography is everything, code is poetry.”

Interview:

Why do you use WordPress?
its the best. its freedom.

What would you say to convince someone to attend a WordCamp?
you’ll learn a ton and meet awesome people!

What is your favorite WordPress project you have worked on recently?
Flickr.com Blog. It was so much fun designing and launching it!

Do you have any advice for someone looking to start or grow a WordPress based business?
Put time into working in the community and WordPress core.

What is your favorite WordPress-related resource?
PostStatus!

Tell us something awesome about yourself that is not WordPress related
I’m an artist. you can see some of my work at http://saracannonart.com

Also: I type Dvorak.

Interview with Lisa Ghisolf

Interview, Speakers

Lisa Ghisolf – twitter dark blue jeans social media icons designed by icons.mysitemyway.com facebook dark blue jeans social media icons designed by icons.mysitemyway.com LinkedIn dark blue jeans social media icons designed by icons.mysitemyway.com Google+ dark blue jeans social media icons designed by icons.mysitemyway.com

Lisa will be presenting A house with no walls: Creating a site structure for the future on Sunday in the General Interest track

Lisa Ghisolf is Gizmo Creative Factory, with 17+ years in print, web & email design, and 10 years in business. She’s worked with big and small agencies alike, creating print work and websites for Kraft, Allstate & many corporations & organizations.

Instead of just putting out fires, she’s now building robust WordPress sites and training clients and giving workshops on how they can manage them on their own.

Interview:

Why do you use WordPress?
I’ve been building sites since 1996, and it’s the first CMS that’s felt flexible enough and robust enough to really handle most clients’ requests. The community is amazing too, and so helpful.

What would you say to convince someone to attend a WordCamp?
That they’ll get an amazing amount of information no matter their knowledge of WordPress.

What is your favorite WordPress project you have worked on recently?
I’m a nerd, but I love optimizing and cleaning them up so they’re running well. This happens pretty often.

Do you have any advice for someone looking to start or grow a WordPress based business?
Get to know other designers and developers and keep asking questions.

What is your favorite WordPress-related resource?
Probably WPMU. Lately I’ve been working on a number of Buddypress or multisite sites and it’s been invaluable.

Tell us something awesome about yourself that is not WordPress related
I’m a Saab snob and love to discuss the various leaks with other Saab folk. We’re a small but dedicated group.

Interview with Joe Dolson

Interview, Speakers

Joe Dolson – twitter dark blue jeans social media icons designed by icons.mysitemyway.com

Joe will be presenting Accessibility Ready: Theming for a larger audience on Saturday in the Development track

Joe Dolson is a WordPress plug-in developer and accessibility consultant. He’s the author of several popular WordPress plug-ins, including WP to Twitter and My Calendar, and works to promote accessible development with WordPress.

He teaches a course at the University of Colorado at Boulder on developing accessibly with WordPress, and works with the WordPress Accessibility task force on the accessibility of WordPress itself.

Joe has been working in marketing and web development since 2001, providing web consulting and development services to clients in the US and in Europe. Joe writes and speaks regularly on important topics in accessible web development and web standards. Keep up with Joe at Joe Dolson Accessible Web Design.

Interview:

Why do you use WordPress?
WordPress is powerful, flexible, and stable. It’s well documented, has a friendly community, and makes a killer sandwich.

What’s not to like?

What would you say to convince someone to attend a WordCamp?
For $20 you’ll hear a full day of speakers who’ll help you learn everything you need to know about WordPress. Add in some great networking opportunities and lunch, and you should be pretty completely convinced already.

What is your favorite WordPress project you have worked on recently?
In the last few months I’ve significantly increased my time committed to working on WordPress core. What could be better than that?

What is your favorite WordPress-related resource?
Maybe I’m old fashioned, but 95% of my time is spent either browsing the documentation in the WordPress Codex or browsing source. I don’t think there’s a better resource out there for getting your hands dirty on WordPress.

Tell us something awesome about yourself that is not WordPress related
My education is in music. I got my degree in violin performance and composition, and although it’s not how I make my living now, I’m still active as the concertmaster of a community orchestra in Saint Paul.

Interview with Aaron Holbrook

Interview, Speakers

Aaron Holbrook – twitter dark blue jeans social media icons designed by icons.mysitemyway.com

Aaron will be presenting Introduction to IDEs and Debugging on Sunday in the Advanced Development track

Aaron’s passions are his wife and two boys, gaming and exercising. He devises brilliant solutions as a Web Engineer at 10up.

Aaron was the Lead Organizer of WordCamp Chicago in 2013 and founded the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago WordPress Meetup.

He has spoken at more over half a dozen WordCamps ranging from WordCamp Milwaukee to WordCamp Providence and loves to teach others the joys of using remarkable tools well.

Interview:

Why do you use WordPress?
I use WordPress because of it’s ease of use for the end user. I have always been impressed by the amount of work that has gone into making the user experience as simple and as intuitive as possible.

There are a lot of CMSs out there that simply do not think about how the user will actually have to USE their interface and because of that they suffer.

What would you say to convince someone to attend a WordCamp?
OMG, you haven’t been to a WordCamp yet? What are you doing with your life?

Haha, in all seriousness though, a WordCamp is a great place for all levels to learn, meet other community members and to simply get inspired and reinvigorated.

Interview with Patrick Rauland

Interview, Speakers

Patrick Rauland – twitter dark blue jeans social media icons designed by icons.mysitemyway.com LinkedIn dark blue jeans social media icons designed by icons.mysitemyway.com Google+ dark blue jeans social media icons designed by icons.mysitemyway.com Flickr dark blue jeans social media icons designed by icons.mysitemyway.com

Patrick will be presenting Freemium For the Rest of Us on Sunday in the Business/Project Management track

Patrick spends most of the work day slicing and dicing code to help WooThemes customers. He develops extensions for Ninja Forms and loves to blog. He also organizes the Appleton WordPress Meetup.

Being outside, running, and practicing yoga are some of his favorite activities. His ultimate goal is to figure out a way to code websites while in a headstand.

Interview:

Why do you use WordPress?
I love using WordPress because it’s totally open source, easy to use, and easy to customize. A little programming knowledge goes a long way.

What would you say to convince someone to attend a WordCamp?
The best reason to attend another WordCamp is to meet other WordPressers. There’s people in your exact same situation and they’re looking for answers too. Or maybe they already found answers and they’re willing to help you out. 🙂

What is your favorite WordPress project you have worked on recently?
I’m really excited to be launching my first WooCommerce extension. It’s been a while in the making and it feels good to get it out the door.

Do you have any advice for someone looking to start or grow a WordPress based business?
Sell your by products! If you create a tutorial for clients also release it as a blog post. Demonstrate what you know to future customers.

What is your favorite WordPress-related resource?
I think WPSessions is great. I also love PostStatus by Brian Krogsgard it’s a very timely WordPress news source.

Tell us something awesome about yourself that is not WordPress related
I definitely love yoga. I feel like I’m most focused by getting up early getting in a yoga session and then continuing with the rest of my day. I also love rainy days.

Interview with Gloria Antonelli

Interview, Speakers

Gloria Antonelli – twitter dark blue jeans social media icons designed by icons.mysitemyway.com facebook dark blue jeans social media icons designed by icons.mysitemyway.com LinkedIn dark blue jeans social media icons designed by icons.mysitemyway.com Google+ dark blue jeans social media icons designed by icons.mysitemyway.com

Gloria will be presenting Information Architecture Strategy Session on in the Foundation Friday 201 track.

Gloria Antonelli fits the current definition of a UX Unicorn – a web designer/developer with UX chops. Gloria attended her first UX workshop “Elements of User Experience” in 2004. Now an advocate of Lean UX, Gloria infuses her skills in rapid prototyping, front end development, user testing, and ideation within the WordPress design process. Her expertise also spans CSS, IA, Content and Documentation Strategies.

Gloria started presenting about the web in 1996 at local and national conferences and workshops. She began working with WordPress in 2006 and has been delighted to share her knowledge at WordCamps in Chicago, Detroit, Grand Rapids and Milwaukee. Happiness for Gloria besides researching UX trends, Mobile and App development is scuba diving in exotic locations.

Gloria became the new organizer of the inactive Chicago Suburbs WordPress Meetup Group. Currently she is looking for a new home and more advance focus for the group.

Interview:

Why do you use WordPress?
I remember the exact day I learned about WordPress. Peter Merholz, credited with coining the word ‘blog’ talked about WordPress during his 2 day “Designing the Complete User Experience” workshop in 2006. WordPress was a little funky back then but I continued to add it to my clients sites. I began teaching WordPress to advertising agencies and web designer in Chicago. It was much easier that developing from scratch. During teaching web dev classes, I found myself saying you can do this much easier in WordPress by downloading a theme or adding a plugin. WordPress just gets better and better with each iteration.

What would you say to convince someone to attend a WordCamp?
WordCamp is a mystical place where knowledge and friendships develop. You can come and be welcomed into a place that speaks to your level of web development at a unbelievable rock bottom price. Especially at WordCamp Chicago where much effort is given to designing learning paths for all levels. Speaker are chosen from all over the country who give of their expertise with no compensation but a free ticket to the event. We love it and want you to come and experience it too. It is the Burning Man of WordPress. A community and knowledge exchange gathered annually for a weekend to share their stories around a common ideas and experiences. There is no actual burning of anything but the cultural exchange bringing together designers, developers, coders, business owners and bloggers. It has a thriving year-round culture both online and in smaller community MeetUps. To truly understand a WordCamp, one must participate. It is pretty cool!

What is your favorite WordPress project you have worked on recently?
I am all about User Experience. For many years I focused on teaching web development and WordPress. I experienced an issue that caused myself, my students and client much grief. “How to use a theme or plugging without pull out your hair.” Issues of poor documentation was the topic of many of my first WordCamp presentations. I am working on a personal project to create guidelines for theme and plugin developers to create effective documentation and address different WordPress learners. It focus on the what I coined back in 2011 – “Long tail of WordPress Users”. The project also includes effective Persona development.

Do you have any advice for someone looking to start or grow a WordPress based business?
I would look both in the WordPress community and the StartUp community mashing together a plan with a focus on who is your target audience and does your hypothesis of their needs match up with their actual needs. Basically embrace the Lean StartUp and Lean UX movement.

What is your favorite WordPress-related resource?
I am a big fan of WPSessions.com. Brian Richards is the host of series of quality presentations from experts in the WordPress Community. It is mini WordCamp quality sessions on more advanced topics without leaving home. It is fee based but many presentations are free.

Tell us something awesome about yourself that is not WordPress related
I like to chase tropical fish in their natural habitat. I am an Advanced Open Water scuba diver assisting my husband develop his professional underwater photography business. James, diving since college on Oahu, needed a dive buddy. Tropical beaches, warm water, and global travel was a no brainer. I herd schools of fish in James’ direction, pose near coral to create composition and show scale of marine environments. I began my certification in 2013 racking up over 100 dives so far. Our goal is to photograph the rich marine life of the Philippines.