We are excited to announce the speakers for WordCamp Rochester 2018! We are humbled to have such a variety of highly dedicated, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic WordPressers joining us.
WordCamp speakers are entirely volunteer. They self-fund their travel and accommodations to speak at WordCamps all over the world. We are grateful for their commitment to the Rochester WordPress community.
Amanda Gorman
Amanda Gorman helps nonprofits and wellness-based businesses build thriving online communities. As a Customer Success Coordinator at GiveWP she works diligently each day to assist nonprofits in growing their communities and receiving more donations online to make a bigger impact in the world. As an SEO consultant, she’s passionate about tending to the internet like a gardener would tend to their garden, so it can become a safe and fun place to connect again. Amanda uses her SEO superpowers to help her clients better understand their purpose, their audience, and how to better reach their people. Amanda is in love with her husband Casey, her nephew Jackson, and their dog Topanga whom all live together in Rochester, New York.
Andy McIlwain
Andy has spent over a decade helping small businesses build and manage their online presence. A longtime WordPress advocate, he’s co-organized WordCamps and WordPress meetups in Toronto since 2011. You can find Andy on Twitter (@andymci) and his personal site (andymci.com).
Andy Staple
Based in Buffalo, Andy Staple is Staple is the founder at Staple Creative. He’s a UX / UI designer with over 16 years of experience building digital products, websites, and applications. Andy has always been drawn to almost anything artistic or creative. From Classic Automotive Design to Web Typography and all of the wide-ranging bits between those two points.
Ben Dunkle
Ben Dunkle is a teacher, designer, and artist. He actively works on the WordPress open source project, and has designed thousands of icons for WordPress, including the Dashicons that we see in the wp-admin. Ben has organized and spoken at numerous WordCamps and runs a bi-weekly WordPress users meetup group.
Bob Manard
Bob Manard is the Creative Director at Faces That Work, a digital marketing firm in Rochester, NY.
He previously worked at several corporate entities in the Rochester area, including Xerox, Paychex, and Windstream.
Bob recently completed his term as President of the Rochester Professional Consultants Network and remains an active board member
He received his BS in Computer Science from St. John Fisher College and his MBA from the Simon School at the University of Rochester, specializing in Finance and Electronic Commerce.
Charles Johnston
Charles is a self-proclaimed and well earned “digital ninja”. Charles after spending the last few too many decades in the IT industry started a boutique web design agency called HeartWired Technical Solutions, where they focus on putting compassion back into technology. Charles has a heart for nonprofits and small businesses that are doing good in their local or global communities. After his first of what has now been many mission trips, Charles knew that he had to use my gifts, his talents, and his passion for technology for good. Rather than just offering web design services, HeartWired provides web design and technology solutions with heart.
Chris Harmoney
Chris moved to Rochester from Iowa in the summer of 2018 with his wife and two cats. Since 2014, he’s developed complex custom WordPress themes and plugins for non-profits through his employer, Cornershop Creative. For a decade before that, Chris worked as a software engineer & analyst at Boeing.
Gayle Williams
Gayle Williams, owner of Vision Marketing in Sarasota, FL, has spent the majority of her career as a marketing professional directing marketing operations for not-for-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 of Arts in Music and a Masters in Adult Learning and Development.
Jason Knill
Jason is Partner and Head of Giving at WordImpress, a WordPress plugin company who developed GiveWP.com, a Donation Plugin. Jason has worked on brand development and financial forecasting since acquiring the company and becoming Partner in 2014.
Jim Echter
Jim and his wife run two businesses under the umbrella of True Creations. True Creations Woodturning (tcturning.com) and True Creations Quilting (tcquilting.com). Jim has an extensive background in high technology sales, marketing and customer service. He has been involved in several start-up companies but now follows his passion with his woodworking. Jim has a MS – Service Innovation and Leadership from RIT. He and his wife live in Penfield, NY and they have two adult children.
Joe Cartonia
A Buffalo native working in Virginia Beach as a WordPress plugin and API developer. Technology (electronics, computer hardware and software) has always been a major interest of mine. I also enjoy traveling, motorsports, snowboarding, playing guitar, and having fun at the beach.
Jonathan Perlman
Jonathan Perlman is an experienced web developer and teacher that works for Dawson College in Montreal, Quebec. He builds custom web solutions for the students, faculty and staff. Recently he’s been leveraging WordPress more and more to do the heavy lifting while focusing on the needs of the institution with custom themes and plugins. Some of his sites have been built for a select few whereas others are visited by 12,000+ applicants. Jonathan is also an instructor for Dawson’s Centre for Training and Development specializing in web technologies such as HTML & CSS, PHP and WordPress.
Lee Hurst
When I picked the name “Helpfullee” as a personal brand name, I found I had to live up to the name! For the last year and a half that has meant monitoring Twitter for people needing help with Google Data Studio. Fortunately, I’ve been loving that!
I love analysis: Working on websites is like a mystery novel or puzzle to be solved. How can we make it work better?
When I’m not doing WordPress, I work at a large industrial company doing web application development, global web development, SEO, and strategy. I’ve been developing on the internets since 1995 and developed the first Susan B. Anthony House website in 1996 (complete with a “virtual tour” and a primitive eCommerce form).
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 ten years ago, and suddenly feels old. Originally from New York, he lives in Washington D.C. and really likes clean code, accessibility, and playing volleyball on the weekends.
Michelle Ames
Marketing is intuitive for Michelle which is why she pursued and gained her MBA from the University of Rochester’s Simon School of Business. Michelle 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 GiveWP.com and WPBusinessReviews.com
Michelle is a veteran of public speaking. Teaching is in her DNA. 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.
When Michelle isn’t organizing events, she’s attending them, exploring photography, and mentoring people in her local community.
Michelle is the author of the recently released “A Good Firm Handshake (and other essential business tips)” available on Amazon.com.
Say hi to Michelle on Twitter at @michelleames and check out her website at marketedbymichelle.com.
Neha Patel
As I grow and learn more It has become evident that with the power of technology and the online media we can make great things happen. My Goal is to empower women and the young generation with the strength of online tools and resources, to make their lives better, to make their voice heard and to fight for the right cause. I am a Web Developer, Digital Marketer and a Mentor for kids and adults at non profit organizations like Ladies learning code and For us girls.
Web247.Solutions
Twitter @kpatelneha23
Youtube
Nick Adams
Nick Adams is the Chief Operations Buff at WP Buffs. He works remotely from Rochester and manages a team which spans across 5 continents. Nick is passionate about teaching WordPress and showing people just how incredible and incredibly easy it can be. He is also one of the founding members of The WP Crowd podcast and an avid fan of the WPMRR podcast.
Rachel Cherry
Keynoting at WordCamp Rochester this year, Rachel Cherry is a freelance software engineer with a background in higher education and other enterprise-level organizations, like Disney. She is the Founder and Director of WPCampus, a community and conferences focused on using WordPress in higher education. She is a strong advocate for the importance of accessibility and universal design. Rachel lives in Alabama but you can find her on Twitter, GitHub, and bamadesigner.com.
Ryan Connors
Ryan Connors is a graduate of Mercyhurst University with a B.A. in Communication, New Media Journalism and Video Production.
Ryan has been working in the digital marketing field for over 6 years. His experience includes positions as a SEO Specialist, Social Media Manager, Digital Marketing Specialist, and he currently works as a Digital Marketing Manager at one of the largest CPA firms in Central New York.
Ryan also owns and operates his own online optimization company called Connors Digital.
Shanta Nathwani
Shanta has spoken at more than 30 WordCamps since 2012 on numerous topics, typically for beginners, helping them understand the basics of WordPress. She is the Customer Experience Co-ordinator at Weever Apps and has been a teacher in Web Design and Development, specializing in Information Architecture. She blogs at http://shanta.ca
Terri Orlowski
Terri Orlowski calls herself “one of those crazy people that like to play with code.” She started her business in 2006 and quickly began to specialize in WordPress and related services. Terri began speaking and training on WordPress in 2010, speaking at both live and virtual conferences to small business owners. She now does small group training at a local co-working space and has a membership site offering asynchronous training on topics and tools related to WordPress websites.
Terri continues to offer website development and consulting services and helps business owners translate the tech-talk into everyday language so they can feel more comfortable working with their website and the people that support their efforts.
Trevor Johnson-Steigelman
Trevor is the owner of Coaches of Technology, Inc., a company that provides classes on the programming of robotics and microcontrollers for youngsters. The company also provides technology training for adults, including iPad classes, Windows training, and Video Lesson creation. More information is available at coachesoftechnology.com.
He is also an Assistant Professor of Physics at Finger Lakes Community College. He uses his website, physicsthisweek.com, to help students at FLCC and other schools learn the fundamentals of physics.
Wendy Marshall
Owner of Thumbtack Marketing and co organiser of WordPress and WordCamp Niagara. I have been working with WordPress for the past 5 years with a focus on online customer relationships through creating organic social reach and traffic growth.