Adam Sewell
Adam Sewell is a wearer of many hats – a father, husband, entrepreneur. Most of his time is spent with his IT support company, MyGeek Technologies, and then split among his other projects, which include tinyElk Studios, which develops plugins for WordPress and provides high end hosting for very large WordPress installs. Some examples of our plugins includes a ticketing system called Simple Desk plus various plugins for Shopp.
Ironically, Adam rarely wears an actual hat.
Twitter: @adamsewell
Adam Silverstein
He started programming by learning assembly code on his Radio Shack color computer (with 4K!), started a software company from his college dorm. He embraced WordPress as his platform of choice, built sites for clients large and small, and eventually wound up as a Senior Web Engineer at leading WordPress agency 10up.
Adam was recognized as a “rockstar” for his role in the revisions rewrite (in Backbone!) for WordPress 3.6 and has contributed to every release since then. He loves long rafting trips, playing mbira, travel, taking walks and tending his over sized garden.
Twitter: @roundearth
Adam Smith
Adam Smith started building websites in 1996. From Geocities tables to fully responsive JS frameworks he continues to learn and push the boundaries of the web. Currently employed as lead developer at Wide Open Technologies in Wilmington North Carolina he focuses on e-Commerce frameworks and highly interactive web interfaces. His passions are javascript, impressive UIs and brewing beer.
Twitter: @acodesmith
Alicia Lewis Murray
Alicia worked in corporate America for 20 years, and found success in online industries as an award-winning journalist, a pioneer in network television, and an executive leading online initiatives for a leading media and entertainment university. She started her career coding on Prodigy and AOL. Today, she’s the founder and editor of BalancingMotherhood.com where she writes about work-life balance issues facing modern parents. She consults with small businesses about social media, blogging, and online strategies.
Twitter.com: @thebalancingmom
Allen Moore
I’m a Front-End Engineer at 10up, a full service digital agency that makes web publishing and content management simple and fun. I have over 10 years of professional web development experience. I’m a musician, writer, and husband to my beautiful wife Karoline. I enjoy a good book, cup of coffee, pint of local beer, and cigars & scotch.
Twitter: @creativeallen
Bill and Rhonda Sterrett
We are a husband and wife owned company that has been in business since 1999. We have helped over 200 companies with their website and internet marketing needs. We would present as a team. The uniquely different attributes that each of us has should appeal to a wide range of attendees.
Bill Sterrett has been providing IT Solutions for companies since 1979. Bill specializes in utilizing marketing strategy to solve specific business issues.
Bill Gadless
My name is Bill Gadless. I am President/Co-Founder of a 45-person+ agency called emagine (headquartered in Boston). 15+ years ago started as a very typical “2 guys in a garage” firm building small websites on a proprietary CMS. Today, we develop WordPress-powered websites for multi-billion dollar, multi-national companies in the areas of B2B, High-Tech, Healthcare, Manufacturing and Professional Services. We’ve built roughly 1,000 websites over the years (over 100 since adopting WordPress a couple years ago).
Twitter: @emaginebill
Boomer Sassmann
With a degree from ASU in Industrial Design and a lifelong passion for web development, Boomer Sassmann has been running Big Boom Design Inc, an Asheville based Design agency since 2007. Currently, Sassmann manages a team of seven employees and supports over 300 companies across the United States. His passion for web development, coupled with a drive to “bridge the digital divide,” has resulted in a unique educational approach to empowering local business owners about the internet. He is a serial entrepreneur, designer, builder and all around maker.
Cameron Campbell
I’m a Web Designer living near the mythical Asheville, North Carolina with my lovely wife Charity and our dog Frothy.
I use WordPress to power all of my freelance clients websites, volunteer on the WordPress support forums, and enjoy cigars and good craft beer.
Twitter: @bezierer
Carrie Dils
Hailing from Fort Worth, Texas, Carrie is a WordPress-loving freelance developer. She’s been helping businesses craft online identities since 1998 and enjoys creating sites that look great on the outside and work well on the inside. The daughter of an educator and computer scientist, Carrie is always about the business of learning more and teaching others as she goes. She blogs regularly about WordPress and the business of freelancing at carriedils.com. When she’s not behind a computer, she’s likely reading a book, running after her dogs, or enjoying a tasty dish with her husband.
Charlie Sasser
He helps owners who hate code but are motivated and determined to build and manage their own website.
During the day, Charlie helps Fortune 500 manufacturers improve their operations by investing in process automation solutions.
Charlie first used WordPress in 2007 to build a personal blog about chartering a sailboat http://aboutchartersailing.com.
In 2009 he rebuilt the company’s first website using Joomla. He has now engaged a local WordPress/DIVI developer to rebuild the site again.
“Building the website is the easy part” Charlie says. The hard part is the messaging, content and copywriting. Charlie is determined to differentiate the company’s website from an “all about me” website to a customer focused problem/solution website.
Twitter: @charliesasser
Chase Livingston
Chase Livingston is from Greenville, SC and is a Happiness Engineer at Automattic, supporting the Jetpack plugin, and loves everything customer-support related. He’s heavily involved with Support Ops and is a guest on their weekly hangout. When he’s not making customers happy you can probably find him with his wife, their adorable dog Abbey, or maybe even behind a sound board.
Twitter: @chaselivingston
Cliff Seal
Corey Bullman
Creative Director at Craftpeak, Graphic Designer & Consultant
I’m a graphic designer in Asheville, NC. I specialize in designing for identity, mobile, web, UI and UX. I also love helping great people figure out how to take their business, project or cause to the next level.
Dena Rutter
Dustin Meza
Dustin Meza is the Senior Manager of Customer Experience Operations at WP Engine. He has been in the hosting industry for 7 years and has been with WP Engine for 2 years. At WP Engine, Dustin oversees many aspects of the WordPress platform including WordPress upgrades for over 100,000 WordPress installs.
Twitter: @DustinMeza
Jeff Bowen
A former academic, Jeff is on the Data team at Automattic — currently working on user behavior analysis & features for WordPress.com users’ site stats. He’s a usability nerd and is always looking for ways to make the web a better place! Find him on the web, on Twitter, and in various coffee-serving establishments about Asheville.
Jennifer Saylor
TEDxAsheville founder/organizer Jennifer Saylor is a blogger with 60,000 readers, a Tweeter with 13,000+ followers, and a social media professional who’s received national media attention for her work.
Twitter: @ashevillean
Jim MacKenzie and Sarah Giavedoni
Jim MacKenzie and Sarah Giavedoni are the creators of StuffMonstersLike.com, the most comprehensive, satirical anthology of stuff monsters like on the web. When they are not writing about monsters, Jim and Sarah are devoted to watching horror films, running a completely unrelated nonprofit, and brainstorming ideas that change the world. Connect with SML on Facebook and on Twitter @MonsterStuff.
Jonathan Daggerhart
Jonathan writes a lot of plugins, and though he has little formal education with OOP, he passionate about learning and discussing patterns and best practices. He writes custom plugins for development agencies, maintains multiple plugins in the WordPress repository, and has many more on github.
Twitter: @daggerhart
Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Ross is an instructor of Digital Media Technology at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College. He teaches a wide variety of skills including graphic design, animation, multimedia, web design/development, corporate video, film-making, motion graphics… and more. Jonathan has created over 540 tutorials on Adobe software and other media skills found on youtube at https://www.youtube.com/user/jonathansross/, in addition to offering front-end web development, graphic design and video services to clients.
Twitter: @figarowho
Judi Knight
Judi Knight, along with her team at New Tricks, has helped hundreds of entrepreneurs and small businesses build and maintain a professional and easy to manage online presence and learn to grow their business with the new digital technologies. .
Not your typical web developer, Judi brings an unusual wealth of experience to her work, with a background that includes being a Ph.D. Psychologist and serial entrepreneur.
Judi is the organizer of the Atlanta WordPress Users Group with over 1,400 members, as well as putting on WordCamp Atlanta. She is a blogger, frequent national speaker, and publishes Just a Digital Minute, a popular weekly newsletter providing actionable digital marketing tips.
The motto at New Tricks, is “It’s Never too Late” …to start a new business, to have a great website, or learn to leverage new technologies to grow your company.
Judi was the keynote speaker for Asheville’s first WordCamp in 2014.
Twitter: @judiknight
Katie Rotanz
Kimberly Daggerhart
My background includes extensive WordPress experience. My previous job was in the e-commerce division of Belk (department store). I’m a former employee of Cake Websites and in that role I prepared WordPress websites for launch, worked with databases, and learned a lot about design for conversion. My topic comes from years of working with clients who depend on their website for business revenue.
Twitter: @bentmatches
Kyle Bondo
I am a creative strategist, entrepreneur, author, and technologist. I founded Trenchbucket, a web consulting firm in Fredericksburg, Virginia, based on a strong belief in keeping web development simple. I’ve utilizes over 12 years of web development experience to provide the inspiration companies need to get them free from the monsters hiding in their projects. I am a Lean and Agile hunter who excels at engaging with every skill in the development wheelhouse and work directly with clients, collaborating, brainstorming, and filling the role of strategic thinker.
Twitter: @trenchbucket
Kyle Evans
Kyle is a developer for Range, a design and development agency focused on WordPress. He can be found working from his apartment or local coffee shops in Birmingham, Alabama, or in different settings across the world. Kyle has been working and playing in web development since 2000, creating solutions for a wide range of clients.
Twitter: @scubakyle
Kyle Evans
Kyle is a developer for Range, a design and development agency focused on WordPress. He can be found working from his apartment or local coffeeshops in Birmingham, Alabama, or in different settings across the world. Kyle has been working and playing in web development since 2000, creating solutions for a wide range of clients.
Twitter: @scubakyle
Laurel Scherer
Laurel Scherer is technical director at Status Forward, a web design/development and graphic design/branding company based in Asheville, NC. With 16 years web development experience, Laurel specializes in creating custom websites built on WordPress with the Genesis Framework.
Leah Quintal
Leah is an experienced SEO and content strategist. Her favorite part of her current job at JB Media Group is teaching businesses and writers how to not only connect with their audiences, but also connect with Google.
Leah has previously worked with the US Fish and Wildlife Service as a science writer and project coordinator. She loves podcasts, hiking, and her cat, Pepito.
Twitter: @QuintaLeah
Mark Bloom
Mark H. Bloom is a professional writer and editor who started Ray Access with a partner to deliver content to businesses that will make a difference to their bottom line. He’s built several WordPress sites and promotes this platform to his clients. For publishing content, WordPress provides as much control as a writer needs for both formatting and promotion (i.e., SEO). Mark wants to share his expertise in how best to blog — for either personal or professional reasons — including his experience using keywords, long-form content and social media for promotion.
Matt Pusateri
Matt Pusateri is the founder and creative director of Flying Dog Creative. A designer and web strategist with more than two decades of professional experience, he specializes in building clean, modern, and effective web sites that look good on any device or screen. He also has years of experience with marketing, branding, email campaigns, online activism, graphic design, animation, and visual storytelling.
Twitter: @mattpusateri
Melissa Eggleston
As a content strategist with a UX focus, I help people and organizations create memorable digital experiences. In 1996, I wrote my first online stories about soccer and violated all the rules we now know about writing for the web. I provide user experience research, content strategy and content for clients nationwide. I love helping others understand UX and its importance.
Previously I worked for Duke University and Bloomberg News. I gained my multimedia skills and love of usability at UNC-Chapel Hill’s School of Journalism.
Twitter: @melissa_egg
Micah Wood
Micah is a consultant and web developer from Atlanta, GA who is committed to continuously improving his understanding of WordPress and sharing his insights with the greater WordPress community. He has worked on WordPress projects for brands like Dell, Orkin and Coca-Cola and is a Co-Organizer of the Atlanta WordPress Coder’s Guild and an Assistant Organizer of the WordPress Gwinnett meetup groups. Micah is an avid WordPress plugin developer and a frequent speaker at various WordCamps across the southeast.
Twitter: @wpscholar
Michael Hull
I am a web developer based in Asheville, NC. While I started my career as a mathematician and college instructor, I eventually transitioned into programming and developing websites.
My experience in math has shown me the value in taking the time to generalize from specific problems to more general ones. My topic has this notion at its core, and relates the idea to the creation of a WordPress plugin.
Nancy Thanki
I take photos, shoot film, and try not to be too pretentious about it. My very first client was a woman in her eighties running a spectacularly successful cancer non-profit program…and didn’t really use email…or anything else who I trained to set-up and maintain a WordPress site. Whether I’m tinkering on the web or editing a film, I’m often introducing users and storytellers to visual design and how to avoid the pitfalls of “en vogue” to create products that can withstand the test of rising and falling fashions in typography, photography, moving images, and design.
Twitter: @nancythanki
Nick Romanos
Nick Romanos is creative director at Status Forward, a web design/development and graphic design/branding company based in Asheville, NC. Nick specializes in modern, clean, responsive design, and creating brand elements that work as cohesive identity systems through web and print mediums.
Pat Eason
Pat is a front-end developer with a focus in WordPress and Javascript: focusing on creating awesome user experiences both end-user and admin-user. Pat’s development experience started in a small political ad firm in WV, and currently resides in awesome Asheville, NC working with a web development shop for all sorts of things big and small.
Anchorage AK is Pat’s home, but bear wrestling is no longer a sport he actively participates in. His interests currently are in WordPress plugin development, creating realtime applications with NodeJS, and leaning how to use Unity5.
Twitter: @pat_eason
Ray Mitchell
Ray is the owner of SixFour Web Design, which specializes in web design and marketing for small businesses and non-profit organizations. Active in the local community, Ray sits on the board of several community focused non-profit organizations, including the Triad Dream Center, the Rotary Club of Clemmons, and Outreach Alliance for Babies. He also serves as Digital Coordinator for Boundless Impact, a nonprofit organization that supports and promotes global engagement and connections between North Carolina communities and the world.
Twitter: @sixfourweb
Rich Owings
Owner of Local Is Where It’s At, an Asheville-based Internet marketing firm specializing in local SEO.
I’m a reformed professional blogger who now spends his time helping local businesses improve their online presence.
Twitter: @richowings
Russell Fair
I live in Atlanta Georgia, enjoy spending time with my family doing all sorts of outdoor activities including, boating, geocaching, hiking, camping and everything in between. Professionally, I develop plugins and themes in the nonprofit space and enjoy sharing my experiences with others.
Twitter: @rfair
Sarah Benoit
Sarah Benoit is President of Creative Original, Inc., a small business web design firm in Asheville. She is a social media marketing and SEO teacher, strategist, and consultant.
Twitter: @SarahDBenoit
Steve Mortiboy
Steve is the Sales and Support Manager at Semper Fi Web Design, a Durham-based WordPress development company that develops some of the most popular plugins for WordPress.
Steve is also co-organizer of the Raleigh WordPress Meetup group and of WordCamp Raleigh. He has been involved with the WordPress community for 6 years and has spoken at WordCamps and other conferences about WordPress.
Twitter: @wpsmort
Steven Slack
Steven Slack has been working with WordPress for 8+ years and during that time has worked with a lot of different businesses and agencies from large enterprise to small business. Steven has built a countless amount of custom themes and developed custom and public plugins. He is currently working out of the Craftpeak office in downtown Asheville which affords an incredible amount of collaboration with fellow developers and designers.
Twitter: @slacktronic
Taylor Bare
I have a beautiful family of 3 daughters and a brilliant wife who works with me to create branded strategic web presence for authors, speakers, and coaches. I have been using WordPress to build websites since 2009 and started my own company in 2012 to provide websites WITH strategy, and training to empower the end user to be as involved as they want to be in the success of their own website. I love teaching people that they can be in control of their online presence through the power and simplicity of WordPress.
Twitter: @TaylorBare
Thomas Griffin
Thomas Griffin is the CTO and Partner at Awesome Motive and has built popular products such as OptinMonster, Soliloquy and Envira Gallery. He’s contributed to both WordPress Core and the Genesis Framework by StudioPress and is an active member of the WordPress community. His WordPress products have seen over 1 million total downloads and he loves to help people find success by using WordPress.
Twitter: @jthomasgriffin
Tom Harrigan
Principal Software Developer at Alley Interactive, I focus on large media sites. Over the years I’ve worked on NY Post, POLITICO.eu, Vogue, Digiday and others. Previously lead WP dev at HowAboutWe (acquired by Match.com/OkCupid), and Ninja at WooThemes.
I picked the topic of tournament brackets because it was a complex and time consuming system to build and I think there are many takeaways that are beneficial to he developer community. I think the topic strikes a nice balance between visual (brackets look cool) and technical (neat algorithms underneath).
Twitter: @tomharrigan