Author: Jennifer Bourn

Let me guess…

You want to meet other attendees at WordCamp… but you’re shy or introverted, or you just hate networking because it’s awkward. Maybe you don’t know what to say or you feel uncomfortable walking up to people you don’t know and saying hello because you feel like you’re interrupting. Or maybe, you feel just a bit intimidated because you think everyone else knows more than you do.

Did I get that right?

If you were nodding your head in agreement, you are not alone. Let me share a secret with you: Almost EVERY WordCamp attendee feels the same way. Every advanced developers come to WordCamp and suffer from impostor syndrome.

We’re Making Networking Easy

That’s why we’re bringing back the speed networking sessions from last year! Speed Networking takes all the guesswork, awkwardness, and uncomfortable feelings out of networking by giving you the chance to meet other WordCampers in a very specific way — we manage the entire thing!

Plus, the Speed Networking session is on Saturday just before lunch, so you’ll be able to meet new people and make new connections before lunch. This means you’ll have new folks to eat lunch with and hang with at the networking reception.

Continue reading “What You Need To Know About The WordCamp Speed Networking”

Brian Bourn is managing partner at Bourn Creative, a full-service design agency and Genesis recommended developer. He has been working with WordPress since 2009 and has created over 170 custom WordPress sites. With a passion for business, an eye for design, and a predilection for code, he provides consulting for small to medium-size businesses, works with clients around the globe on website strategy, and brings their vision to life through UX design and development. Brian is a big believer in giving back and supporting the WordPress project and community and volunteers his time as lead organizer for the monthly Sacramento WordPress Meetup.

We’re thrilled to have Brian onboard as a speaker at WordCamp Sacramento 2018 asked a few questions to help you get to know more about him. Check out our mini interview with Brian below:

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Stewart Savage is a website designer, graphic designer, photographer, and videographer for his business, Abaton Consulting. Stewart has been involved in the technology field for over 20 years with experiences ranging from desktop support to network management. Since 2009 he has focused on using WordPress to provide a full suite of website design services for small businesses and non-profits in Davis, CA and Northern California.

Outside of website design, Stewart keeps a busy schedule. At home, he is a husband to a wonderful wife and a father to a wonderful daughter. As an artist, he shares his love for ceramic arts by teaching pottery classes at two local art studios. With what time he has left, he enjoys backyard BBQs and sampling regional craft beers with his friends.

We’re thrilled to have Stewart onboard as a speaker at WordCamp Sacramento 2018 asked a few questions to help you get to know more about him. Check out our mini interview with Stewart below:

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Jeremy Hawes is a project manager and front-end developer for website and software applications. He served in the military for five years, including two tours of duty in Iraq/Kuwait, where he worked in the headquarters of one of the largest transportation battalions in theatre and helped develop a convoy tracking and predicting database to help improve convoy forecasting. After leaving the military he pursued a degree in business management while help building a non-profit from the ground up, which still is running in the Del Paso Heights area of Sacramento.

After obtaining his bachelor degree he began a business in Sacramento where I offered web design contract services and helped build websites for businesses like SMUD, California Crane School, AAA Crane Services, and more. Our team grew and we became one of the lead third-party plugin developers for a software called RapidWeaver. Our company still today develops one of the largest collections of Themes and Stacks (similar to Plugins) under the name One Little Designer. In 2015, he began working for a fast growing company in Sacramento, Capitol Tech Solutions. Today he is the lead front-end developer and helps manage the design and development of websites using platforms including WordPress, Shopify, NationBuilder, RapidWeaver.

He is married with five boys, so when I’m not working I’m usually out doing some fun and adventurous kid stuff… or taking a rest from it.

We’re thrilled to have Jeremy onboard as a speaker at WordCamp Sacramento 2018 asked a few questions to help you get to know more about him. Check out our mini interview with Jeremy below:

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Heather Hogan has been making websites for a long time. She has taken on many roles in the communications sphere including: webmaster, designer, developer, artist, project manager, event coordinator, and marketing specialist. She has had the pleasure to work with organizations like the Sacramento Public Library, The Nature Conservancy, The World Economic Forum, Sacramento State University, and the City of Rocklin. Currently, she divides her time teaching web design at Sacramento City College, coordinating web and marketing for Sierra 2 Center, juggling freelance web projects, and making fine art.

We’re thrilled to have Heather onboard as a speaker at WordCamp Sacramento 2018 asked a few questions to help you get to know more about her. Check out our mini interview with Heather below:

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Michael Helmke has been building custom websites and web applications for years and has recently discovered the joy of WordPress. His work centers around helping performing arts groups promote themselves, grow their audiences and increase donations. Michael enjoys helping clients translate big ideas into reality, and making sure the technology all runs smoothly. He is also a blogger, enjoys cooking, and sudden changes in weather.

We’re thrilled to have Michael onboard as a speaker at WordCamp Sacramento 2018 asked a few questions to help you get to know more about him. Check out our mini interview with Micahel below:

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Kelly Azevedo is the founder of She’s Got Systems and an online business strategist, systems expert and implementation master. Kelly believes that every single online business needs systems to support clients, document results, and dominate in the field. Her book series Every Entrepreneur Needs Systems teaches lessons around marketing, relationships and mindset. Clients who work with She’s Got Systems build their business systems to optimize growth, time and income. Kelly frequently writes about systems for media outlets such as Forbes, the Washington Post, and Women 2.0, and her unique brand of life-work balance was featured in the New York Times.

We’re thrilled to have Kelly onboard as a speaker at WordCamp Sacramento 2018 asked a few questions to help you get to know more about her. Check out our mini interview with Kelly below:

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Dwayne McDaniel has been working in tech and open source sales since 2005. He knew as soon as he started working with Java middleware developers he never wanted to work outside of open source ever again. Dwayne first started building in Drupal and WordPress for the San Francisco Improv teams and projects. He fell in the love the community and then found a position at Pantheon at the end of 2013. As a Community and Agency Success Manager he has had the privilege of presenting at dozens of community events from Paris to Iceland to MIT and Stanford. Outside of tech he loves producing and performing improv theater, reading webcomics and singing karaoke!

We’re thrilled to have Dwayne onboard as a speaker at WordCamp Sacramento 2018 asked a few questions to help you get to know more about him. Check out our mini interview with Dwayne below:

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Teaching and mentorship 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 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, teaching on configuration management, 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.

We’re thrilled to have Tessa onboard as a speaker at WordCamp Sacramento 2018 asked a few questions to help you get to know more about her. Check out our mini interview with Tessa below:

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Alonso Indacochea is the CEO of 11 Online, a full service digital agency in Albuquerque, NM. At 11 Online, Alonso lives and breathes WordPress, where he and the team build, fix and maintain websites for their clients. He and his team recently launched Block Party, a Gutenberg block membership site.

We’re thrilled to have Alonso onboard as a speaker at WordCamp Sacramento 2018 asked a few questions to help you get to know more about him. Check out our mini interview with Alonso below:

Continue reading “Meet The Speaker: Alonso Indacochea”