Shannon Smith
Shannon Smith is a platform services specialist with WordPress.com VIP. She delivers content solutions to some of the biggest names in media, marketing, and enterprise. Shannon has over 15 years experience in open source web development. She is a long-time supporter of diversity, accessibility and internationalization, and was a WordPress Montreal community organizer for seven years. Shannon is also a hiker, poet, and mum of four.
Aida Marie Correa
Aida, a Brooklyn born “New YorRican” – now, a permanent snowbird living in Jacksonville, Florida – is an artist with a passion to empower individuals from all walks of life through her company LoveBuilt Life LLC.
A true modern day renaissance woman, she has over twenty five years of experience in a variety of fields such as a fashion and floral designer, teacher/ trainer/facilitator, lifestyle coach, designer and STEAM teacher.
She is also active in her local community as a volunteer and in the WordPress Community as a volunteer, organizer and speaker at WordCamps, where she fans her ongoing love of Wapuu!
Follow her adventures @lovebuiltlife and at lovebuiltlife.com
William Jackson
William Jackson, M.Ed. graduated from South Carolina State University earning a Bachelor’s in Education, furthering his education earning a Masters of Arts in Teaching from Webster University a focus on Educational Technology, Social Media and STEM.
William’s career includes teaching with NASA as a Internet and Technology instructor, technology consultant with Florida Department of Education, Professor with Edward Waters College; Educational Technology, Social Media and STEAM.
Involved in education over 25 years in elementary and higher education as a Technology and Physical Education teacher. “Coach Jackson” or “Professor Jackson,” a media blogger, speaker on Cyberbullying prevention, STREAM advocate. Is the Social Media Liaison for TEDxFSCJ and for the Jacksonville Sister Cities International Exchange. Each requires William to monitor, manage and update the Social Media platforms for each organization. Provide training in how to manage content respectfully to each committee. William is on the Board of Directors as well as a consultant for Social Engagement for several non-profit groups in Jacksonville, Florida.
National / International blogger published in the United States, Canada
and the continent of Africa.
The digital innovator for My Quest To Teach http://MyQuestToTeach.WordPress.com/
Instagram: http://instagram.com/williamdjackson
Twitter: @wmjackson
William has spoken at multiple WordCamps from 2017 to 2018.
Nathan Knowler
Nathan Knowler is a freelance web developer living in Calgary. He is passionate about using the web to enable people to do awesome things. Nathan is a part of Roots — a team of developers who work on open source projects primarily for WordPress. Away from keyboard, Nathan can be found fiddling on a guitar or turning knobs at a soundboard.
AmyJune Hineline
As the Open Source Community Ambassador at Kanopi Studios, AmyJune helps to ensure her team remains connected to open-source communities.
AmyJune co-organizes various open source camps and conventions throughout North America, all while helping each of the communities be more inclusive. This focus enables others to forge deep community connections that benefit the whole. As a self-described non-coder, she helps communities discover how they can contribute back in more ways than code.
In addition to her work building community connections, AmyJune is an avid geocacher, noted Volkswagen enthusiast, and eats with her elbows on the table.
Miriam Goldman
Miriam is the lead developer at Pondstone Digital Marketing, a boutique agency in Ottawa. She started playing around with WordPress for personal projects in 2009, and for professional projects two years later. Miriam is also one of the co-organizers for WordCamp Ottawa, and recently begun the re-launch of Girl Geek Dinners Ottawa. She also speaks at various WordCamps across North America.
Outside of her web development life, she is an instructor at her local karate dojo, plays clarinet in a community band, and also competes in the pro-am categories in international latin ballroom dance. She is also happy to be returning to Calgary, where she is a proud graduate of Lord Beaverbrook High School, class of 2002.
Christina Workman
Christina has been improving her WordPress skills since 2010. Currently a freelance front-end developer, she is heavily involved in the local WordPress community. She is part of the organizing teams for both the Calgary WordPress Meetup Group and WordCamp Calgary. Christina enjoys teaching kids coding, including bringing KidsCamp to Calgary. Favourite things include good tea, BritTV, animals, especially dogs, and anything purple coloured.
Mariama Barry
Business Analyst by day, Mariama Barry is the founder of yourfrenchcorner.com, an online language learning platform, a freelance designer/ content creator and the executive director a non-profit that helps grieving families.
Roya Chalaki
Roya is a Software Development professional with more than 12 years of experience in the Information Technologyand more than 8 of those years have been focused on Web Development.
Roya has worked in multiple sectors from the public to private including working with The City of Calgary and Avanti Software Inc.
In Roya’s last role at Avanti, Roya is focusing more on the User Experience Design. She has always been interested in psychology and humans interactions and she finds the Design process as a gateway to practice empathy and to put humans in the center of our thinking and creation process.
Roya holds a certificate from the Interaction Design Foundation for “Accessibility: How to design for all” and is passionate about sharing and learning design and accessibility related topics with others.
Roya has a three-year-old daughter, Elsa and enjoys hiking, reading and being close to the Mountains in Calgary.
Bobbi Reyda
One part designer, one part shared-runner-of-all-things-business over at Wanderoak. We create awesome things (most often custom WordPress websites) for inspiring people and businesses. We also teach what we know at We Start With Good, because collaborating, sharing, and solving problems together is the right thing to do.
I believe good design is thoughtful, interesting, and based on the actual content it’s meant for. I believe slowing down and experiencing nature is one of the most helpful things you can do. And I believe living with a curious, open mind brings people together.
When I’m not working, you can find me wandering around my neighbourhood trails, playing rec basketball, and reading books of all kinds.
Kevin Brennan
Kevin Brennan is the owner and operator of Build Studio Inc., a Calgary-based web design and development firm specializing in WordPress.
Kevin started his career in the non-profit sector, working in marketing and communications. After 8 years, he struck out on his own as a freelance web and graphic designer, building websites for small to medium sized companies. In 2011, as work was pilling up, he started Build Studio. Since then, Kevin and his partners have built websites and brands for companies large and small.
Sean Leonard
Christina Varro
For over 15 years, I have worked in web, digital media, and communications. I have also spent nearly a decade running my own business, managing projects for clients, giving creative direction, building websites and crafting digital media solutions using WordPress. I am passionate about sharing my experience and educating others with inspiring and practical advice, to build better websites and run their businesses more efficiently.
Paul Thompson
Often called a geek translator by his clients, Paul specialises in helping transform the buzzwords of web marketing into solid strategies and business results for bloggers and small/medium businesses as well as enterprise clients.
As a web marketing and SEO consultant, Thompson focuses primarily on optimizing existing sites into powerful marketing platforms. Using his extensive expertise in technical SEO audits as a basis, he incorporates custom analytics, content marketing, conversion optimisation, email marketing, paid search, and social influence marketing (ah, the buzzwords!), depending on the client’s needs. Thompson also provides one-on-one coaching and training in these areas.
He’s been managing and marketing sites since 2002, including stints running major web programs for Banff and Lake Louise Tourism and Travel Alberta, and has been working with WordPress since 2009. When he’s not at the keyboard, he’s likely on his bike or cross-country skis, or on the hiking trails around his home in Canmore, camera in hand.
Website: www.buzzwordstobusiness.com
Twitter: @thompsonpaul
Aurooba Ahmed
I am a creator.
Professionally that means I’m a front-end web developer at Wanderoak, a company I co-founded with my best friend. We work with creative and inspiring businesses striving to make a positive difference in this world. I love my job and am grateful everyday that I have it.
I also love to teach and recently wrote a course on how to develop WordPress themes from scratch over at We Start With Good.
Lorraine Watson
Beyond being crazy for cats and a potato lover, Lorraine is a self-professed “left-brained creative big picture info nerd”. She brings a unique perspective to her work by blending together logic, intuition, creativity, and analysis in supporting businesses to get visible and grow their audience online. As an SEO and Analytics Specialist with TriSphere Fusion, Lorraine believes in a “people first” approach so her clients are seen as a searcher’s perfect solution rather than losing their voice trying to please search engines. A teacher at heart, Lorraine is often complimented on her ability to not only make SEO & analytics understandable, but a desirable investment and fun. You can catch up with her on Facebook (page), LinkedIn and Twitter.
Tom Drake
Jaime Wedholm
I am an expert in Graphic Design, and CEO at JWedholmDesign.ca where I specialize in business branding and web design.
I have designed for web, and worked with WordPress developers for five years. I offer a non-coder yet coder-friendly perspective on designing websites. All with a purpose of creating beautiful sites with optimal UX.
My ‘Be Notable’ web style guide is a design-focused document with a detailed outline of a website’s visual components and styles. It is helpful for clients and developers alike, as the information can be easily implemented in a WordPress template.
This is my first time speaking at WordCamp, an event I have grown to love for its community feel and all the talented people I have met each year.
My goal in business is to inspire business owners to create a well-rounded visual brand that SHINES and sets their awesome business apart.
I am a wife and mother of two. I prefer fair-weather walking and biking with the family, and I love spontaneous dance breaks with my kids.
I love all things creative, being involved in community, colouring for relaxation and sharing wine with good friends.
On the side I moonlight as a colouring book author/designer. I am currently producing designs for Volume 2 of my wine-themed, adult colouring book entitled, Sip. Colour. Smile.
I am a passionate supporter of mental health awareness and understanding. My goal for 2019 is to raise at least $500 through a portion of book sales.
Ian W. Bowden
Back in 1988, Ian founded an enterprise dedicated to providing hardware, software, supplies, and consulting for systems that use bar code and RFID (radio frequency identification) technologies. In 2013, he sold the business and continued consulting in the industry. When faced with declining desire for folks to hire his consulting services, he turned to website design and consulting. After all, he’d designed and built websites since the dawn of the internet for his business, his wife’s business, his church, etc. and it just seemed like a natural progression!
So, after beginning with FrontPage over two decades ago and then hitching his wagon to the DNN (DotNetNuke) CMS, he finally saw the proverbial WordPress light and began working with it a couple of years ago. Since then, he’s been immersed in all things WP and loves how it’s blossomed in the past couple of years with the advent of page builders. (Ian loves Elementor. Sorry WP hard cores.)
Ian lives in Spruce Grove with his wife and their furry son, Rufus (a husky). His only human son – and two grandchildren – live in Australia and he visits them as much as he can.
David Andrew Wiebe
David Andrew Wiebe is a hardworking, fun-loving, dynamic individual. A year out of College in 2002, he started teaching guitar in every setting imaginable: studios, community centers, in his own home, in his client’s homes, churches and even online.
Simultaneously, he continued to progress and advance his abilities as a guitarist, studio engineer, producer, blogger, podcaster, multimedia designer and online marketer. Having recorded his first solo album in 2006, he has since contributed his talents to the likes of Andrew Riches, Jonathan Ferguson and The Active Light.
However, his entrepreneurial spirit was always an undercurrent to every project and job he undertook. He began a journey of personal development in 2007 and hasn’t looked back. He engages in books and audio on a daily basis. While music still proves to be a significant part of his personal and professional life, his entrepreneurial efforts have come to the foreground of his life in the form of leadership development and online marketing.
Wiebe believes in working daily towards the achievement of his own dreams and goals, and his purpose is to enable and encourage others to do the same. As Zig Ziglar has often said, if you can help enough people get what they want, you can have what you want. Wiebe is a believer in this concept, tackling problems of various sizes to better people’s lives.
Michael Bourne
