{"id":2,"date":"2014-03-21T18:12:32","date_gmt":"2014-03-21T18:12:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/2014.la.wordcamp.org\/speakers\/"},"modified":"2014-08-05T16:54:40","modified_gmt":"2014-08-05T23:54:40","slug":"speakers","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/la.wordcamp.org\/2014\/speakers\/","title":{"rendered":"Speakers"},"content":{"rendered":"

We’ve got more speakers on the way, but here’s who we’ve announced so far…<\/p>\n\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Adam Silver<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Adam Silver owns & operates Silver Lining Productions based in Redondo Beach. He occupies his days as a social media manager, website developer & photographer. He also runs the South Bay WordPress Meetup and shares what he knows over at kitchensinkwp.com with a weekly podcast.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Andrew Behla<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Andrew\u2019s degree in Philosophy and Business from Trinity University has given him the know-how both to run a successful Los Angeles graphic design and web development business and to cultivate meaningful relationships with his customers. His experiences as a teacher come out in everything he does as Andrew is always thrilled to pass along his expertise to both clients and his team.<\/p>\n

Behla Design + Web Development was founded in 2000 by Andrew Behla. Andrew has worked in the graphic design, web development, and print design for over twenty years and he has passed on his expert knowledge of the industry as a teacher at Santa Monica College and UCLA Extension where he was named Outstanding Instructor of the Year. He has also been invited to speak at national and international conferences.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Anne McColl<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Anne McColl helps brands find the right words + pictures to tell their story. As The Best D@mn Copywriter, she works with a slew of agencies, studios and businesses and has had the pleasure of collaborating with amazing brands including Four Seasons, Hawaii Visitors Bureau, TurboTax, San Diego Zoo, eBay, PETCO, WD-40 and Rubio\u2019s Fish Tacos. When she\u2019s not surfing the Internet she can often be found surfing the juicy waves in San Diego. @annemccoll everywhere. AnneMcColl.com<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Blossom Wright<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Blossom Wright has been working with creative teams since 1997 in the Film and Music Industries. She enjoys the challenge of balancing the business and technical needs of a project while maintaining a stimulating creative environment, where collaboration amongst team members and departments is encouraged.<\/p>\n

A WordPress user since 2010, she discovered the greater WordPress community of WordCamps and MeetUps last year, and let’s just say it’s a slippery slope. Struck by the similarities in process between developing websites and producing projects for the entertainment industry, Blossom is excited to now be flexing her Project Management skills at Los Angeles based Tyler Digital.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Bob Watson<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Bob is the co-founder with his wife, Kathy Kilingaman of the highly acclaimed Social Media Mastermind Orange County – SMMOC. 5 years running on Saturday mornings, SMMOC is a free, facilitated discussion focusing on the Internet, technology and social media.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Brian Bourn<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Brian Bourn is the chief executive at Bourn Creative, a full service design company and Genesis recommended developer in Sacramento, California. He also co-organizes the Sacramento WordPress Meetup Group.<\/p>\n

With a passion for business, and eye for design, and a predilection for code, he provides consulting for online businesses, works with clients around the globe on website strategy and brings their vision to life in the browser with meticulous precision. In his 10th year as the boss, Brian keeps business running smoothly, moving forward, and growing year after year. Plus, he gets to tell his wife and business partner what to do every day (Bonus!).<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Bryan Monzon<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Bryan Monzon has worked for Fifty & Fifty since 2010. Starting out as solely a designer, he eventually made the rare jump to full time developer. He manages a small team of six developers as they build solutions, both large and small, for non-profits around the world.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Cal Evans<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Many moons ago, at the tender age of 14, Cal touched his first computer. (We\u2019re using the term \u201ccomputer\u201d loosely here, it was a TRS-80 Model 1) Since then his life has never been the same. He graduated from TRS-80s to Commodores and eventually to IBM PC\u2019s.<\/p>\n

For the past 13 years Cal has worked with PHP and MySQL on Linux, OSX, and Windows. He has built a variety of projects ranging in size from simple web pages to multi-million dollar web applications. When not banging his head on his monitor, attempting a blood sacrifice to get a particular piece of code working, he enjoys building and managing development teams using his widely imitated but never patented management style of \u201cmanagement by wandering around\u201d.<\/p>\n

These days, when not working with PHP, Cal can be found working on a variety of projects like CoderFaire. He speaks at conferences around the world on topics ranging from technical talks to motivational talks for developers. If you happen to meet him at a conference, don\u2019t be afraid to buy him a shot of Bourbon.<\/p>\n

Cal is based in Nashville TN where he is happily married to wife 1.30, the lovely and talented Kathy. Together they have 2 wonderful kids who were both smart enough not to pursue a job in IT.<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Chris Lema<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

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.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Christopher Frazier<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Chris has been involved in graphic and game design since 1987. Since then he\u2019s studied type design, animation, illustration, user interface design, programming, and almost every other discipline related to how humans interact with computers for fun. He\u2019s worked extensively with non-profits, helping them find new and effective ways to communicate with their audiences through entertaining and engaging online properties. Past projects and clients include USA Today, Fox Television, The Hollywood Reporter, and Nurse.com. Today, he spends his time designing and developing for mobile devices, always on the hunt for another fun project.<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Dave Jesch<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Dave Jesch is the Principle and CTO at SpectrOMTech.com, a web application development firm specializing in online subscription and eCommerce products. With 30+ years of software development experience working with large companies such as Disney, IBM and Symantec, Dave is the master at seamless technology integration with stability and scalability in mind. As a full stack developer with a passion in object-oriented programming, he pushes WordPress to the limit bridging traditional architectural techniques with innovative creative strategies.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

david t pisarra<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

David PIsarra is an author\/speaker\/blogger\/podcaster. His Men’s Family Law podcast features educational segments and intriguing interviews for men and fathers who are facing family life changes.<\/p>\n

As a writer he is a regular columnist for the Santa Monica Daily Press. He contributes to the Huffington Post, Good Men Project and other mass media websites. He is the author of 5 books.<\/p>\n

His speaking engagements have taken him from California to Virginia and into Mexico.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Denise VanDeCruze<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Denise Van De Cruze focuses on using her diverse skills to empower people through technology. Her experience as a programmer, designer and entrepreneur enable her to drive projects and deliver a range of solutions. She is passionate about travel and speaks three languages. She currently works at WPML.org delivering multilingual WordPress sites.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Derek Springer<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Derek Springer is a San Diego based Code Wrangler at Automattic, a beer blogger, and the developer of the BeerXML Shortcode plugin. In a previous life Derek spent nearly 10 years developing software in the Aerospace industry.<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Gary Magnone<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Gary Magnone is a digital marketing consultant and entrepreneur with a passion for building and growing businesses online. After rising up the SEO agency ranks in San Diego, he moved back to LA in 2012 and launched Highrise, a boutique consultancy with a high-touch, hands on approach to executing digital campaigns that drive traffic, leads, and revenue for its clients. When he’s not behind a computer screen, Gary can be found hiking, exploring cool parts of LA, going to local music shows, and hunting down Southern California’s best craft beer, cocktails, and coffee.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Greg Douglas<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Greg Douglas is the Founder and Creative Director of Premium Interactive<\/a> based in Hollywood CA. An active member of the Los Angeles and Southern California WordPress community, Greg contributes by organizing the popular Hollywood WordPress meetup<\/a> group.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Gregg Franklin<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Gregg Franklin is a WordPress Developer and team member over at ServerPress LLC., the creators of DesktopServer. Loves to help in any way he can solving WordPress problems.<\/p>\n

He also I can be found co-facilitating the Inland Empire WordPress meetup group and loves to travel with his wife.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

James Archer<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

James is the Chief Creative Officer for Crowd Favorite. He’s a future-focused optimist who loves identifying problems and designing solutions for companies that make a difference. Over the years he’s worked for clients like Microsoft, Motorola, Walmart, and Yahoo, and projects he’s worked on have appeared in U.S. News & World Report, Fast Company, Businessweek, Entrepreneur, The New York Times, AdAge, NPR, and others.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Jarrett Gucci<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Jarrett is the founder and owner of WPfixIt.com, based on the Apple support model of offering instant WordPress support for a flat fee. Since 2011, they have serviced over 10,000 support tickets. Jarrett has taken his passion for people and excitement in technology to create success around him.<\/p>\n

Long before he started his own business, hard work and ambition were traits that were well ingrained. By age 25, Jarrett already had been promoted to executive, sales and management positions in the fortune 500 retail industry throughout various parts of the country.<\/p>\n

Not afraid of risk and motivated by the potential to give back, Jarrett turned his 7 year hobby of HTML and PHP play into a business. The key to his success was networking. \u201cGetting myself out there is what kick-started my business. I didn’t make a lot of money, but it helped me create credibility and my reputation.” A few years into his first WordPress development business , he made a commitment to help others to enhance their on-line presence through the power of WordPress.<\/p>\n

When Jarrett goes off-line, you\u2019ll find him setting up camp and roughing it under the stars at the local beach side campgrounds with his wife Tarn and 5 daughters.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Jason Cosper<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Jason works as the Senior Technical Advisor for WP Engine and helps customers with their security concerns on a daily basis. He spends most of his days getting elbows deep in huge messes, passionately suggesting great plugins and doling out WordPress optimization advice.<\/p>\n

You may also know Jason from his filler text generator Hipster Ipsum or his pained, borderline cranky basketball tweets during the 2013-14 Lakers season. Despite knowing better, he hopes that the 2014-15 season will not be nearly as disappointing.<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Jeff Turner<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

With a graduate degree in psychology, Jeff Turner looks beyond the \u201chow\u201d of social and internet technologies to get to the \u201cwhy\u201d that unleashes their true power. He applies the beauty and science of creative communications not just to his own organizations, but to those of his clients. His insight has helped his companies and clients achieve measurable, practical, real-life success … time and time again.<\/p>\n

As founder and CEO, he led his former company, J.J. Grace to Inc. Magazine\u2019s list of the 500 Fastest-Growing Companies in America and was at its helm when it won Cisco\u2019s \u201cGrowing With Technology\u201d award, is the former President at Zeek Interactive, and the founder of RealEstateShows.com. He is currently the President of RealSatisfied North America, a fast growing real estate brand management tool, is Chairman of the Board at Mothers Fighting For Others, a charity dedicated to educating orphaned Kenyan girls, and serves on the Board of Directors for Aumnia, a full service mobile application development company.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Jeff Zinn<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Jeff started web development in the mid 1990s. In 2004 he founded Pixel Jar with Brandon Dove, a custom web development firm in Orange County, CA that began specializing in WordPress work in 2007. Early in 2014 Pixel Jar was folded into the Crowd Favorite family where he currently works.<\/p>\n

Jeff also co-hosts the monthly Orange County WordPress Developer meetup in Huntington Beach, speaks and volunteers at neighboring WordCamps, and is a co-organizer of the Orange County WordCamp.<\/p>\n

When not programming, Jeff likes to switch off and reset. He spends most of his free time traveling, hiking, camping, surfing, and any other activity where there is no signal.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Jennifer Bourn<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
Jennifer Bourn is the Creative Director and Digital Strategist for Bourn Creative, a full service design company in Sacramento, California, specializing in custom, lead generation WordPress sites. As a Genesis recommended developer, Bourn Creative works with clients around the globe on on branding, website strategy, web design, WordPress, as well as a wide range of graphic design projects.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
With more than 15 years in the design trenches, and almost 10 years pretending to take orders from her business partner, boss, and husband, Jennifer is an award-winning designer with a penchant for writing, marketing, chocolate, and Legos (yes, Legos not logos). She built her first WordPress site in 2008, fell in love with giving clients the ability to make their own content revisions, and went all in with WordPress pretty much the same day. Now with more than 300 custom WordPress sites under the belt, Jennifer now shares her expertise and lessons learned as a dynamic speaker, an avid blogger, and a co-organizer of the Sacramento Meetup Group.<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Jessica Barnard<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Jessica Barnard is the Designer & Developer behind The Pixelista, a creative agency specializing in business branding and WordPress web development. Jessica has been making the internet more attractive since 2008, and her passion is working with small, women-owned businesses.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Joe Chellman<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Joe Chellman has been using WordPress since before it was a twinkle in Ma.tt’s eye, making themes since then, and developing plugins for several years now. He’s the supreme dictator for life of ShooFly Development and Design, purveyors of fine web goodness since 2000 or so. He’s the author of Introducing WordPress: Learn by Video on Peachpit, and several JavaScript titles of lynda.com.<\/p>\n

He has made a lot of mistakes, but experienced many more triumphs.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Jonathan Tobin<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Jonathan Tobin is a lawyer and has been a web developer since the mid-1990s, and a WordPress enthusiast since the earliest versions. In his legal practice, Jonathan works with creators and creative professionals to use the law to help their projects succeed. He writes and speaks on issues involving law, art, design and technology and can be found at: http:\/\/counselforcreators.com<\/a><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Joseph Karr O’Connor<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Joseph Karr O’Connor has been an Accessible UX practitioner since 1999 and worked in higher education for many years. He is the WordPress Accessibility Team Representative and also works with Knowbility, a worldwide leader in accessible information technology. An invited expert on the W3C HTML Working Group and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Working Group he is also working on the W3C Cognitive and Learning Disabilities Accessibility Task Force.<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Karim Marucchi<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Karim Marucchi is the Founder and Chairman of the VeloMedia Group, the parent of several boutique professional service firms around the world. Over the last twenty years he\u2019s run startups, taken companies public, managed mergers and acquisitions, and led professional service organizations across the globe. Today he is also the CEO of Crowd Favorite, which continues to grow beyond its current offices in Los Angeles, Denver, Bucharest, Las Vegas, New York, and Rome due to its unique blend of localized project management and high quality digital solutions. As the first premiere WordPress agency for the Fortune 500, National Geographic, DirectTV, Lexus, the Dallas Mavericks and major entertainment studios count among the company\u2019s client roster.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>

\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Kevin Michael Gray<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Kevin Michael Gray, is the founder of ApproveMe.me and WP E-Signature<\/a> which transforms any WordPress website into a secure, legally binding and customizable document signing application (but without the monthly fees). He has over 14 years freelance consulting experience helping companies like Google, American Express, Spotify and many more increase their market-share.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Konstantin Obenland<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Konstantin is a WordPress developer, and core contributor since WordPress 3.4. After contributing to Twenty Twelve, he was the backup lead and theme developer for Twenty Thirteen and Twenty Fourteen, the most recent default themes. Today he\u2019s working on improving the theme selection experience on WordPress.com. He enjoys craft beers and good food \u2014 sometimes so much that he blogs about it.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Lisa Tsou<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

“Lisa has been helping technology and new media startups raise money since she graduated from law school in 1997. Since then, she\u2019s spent time on Wall Street working on financings for companies like DoubleClick, TheKnot.com, and Mapquest and done numerous acquisitions of websites like ApartmentRatings.com, DoItYourself.com and BBOnline.com.<\/p>\n

Now, she enjoys spending her time coaching founders and entrepreneurs on how to present themselves to investors and raise the money they need to take their businesses to the next level.<\/p>\n

Lisa is a graduate of Columbia University School of Law, received her MBA from the Marshall School of Business at USC, and is a member of both the New York State and California bars.
\n“<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Louis Reingold<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Makers of things, doers of stuff aren’t like you and I. They’re like Louis Reingold. What most of you don’t know is that he’s only 15, but he’s accomplished more in those 15 years than people at least 400 times his age!!!! “Impossible,” you say? Get off the front porch! I’m telling the story here!<\/p>\n

Louis was born to, mother, \u00a0Mary Kinckade Albritton, a seamstress and Champion Log Thrower; father, Olaf “Smiley” Ramirez, designer of the California and Oregon State License plates. He spent a little bit of time in jail, Smiley did. But both folks are beaming and proud of what Louis has done with this life.<\/p>\n

Louis has travelled the World, from Moscow, Idaho to Bakersfield, CA and everywhere in between that very specific area. Louis was never content to survive, you see. When he was two, he created his first product, a robotic, remotely-controlled, candy-theft device. Stealing Candy from a Baby? Now you know where that phrase comes from. He had sold one million units before the ATF shut down his first short-lived product venture. He enrolled in Space Camp at the age of 7, but dropped out because, in his words, “Space is stupid!” Yep, I actually agree with that. But what he didn’t know is that decision would inform each step along his path to success. He partnered with sandbox, childhood friend, Magnus Overeem-Smythe, to create the world’s first wash rag that could hold infinite amounts of water. But Magnus stole the concept and produced what you know today as the “Shamwow!” Louis stated in an interview with Vanity Fair “They got the ‘Sham’ part right.”<\/p>\n

Even though Louis had met early failure as a small child, it wasn’t until he emerged as a teenager that he really hit his stride. He made products on top of products that did well.\u00a0He built the world’s first time machine, went back in time and built the Titanic, Hindenburg and most recently helped Elon Musk with the development of the Tesla motor vehicle. All are products we talk about many decades later.<\/p>\n

His most notable and lauded contributions, however, come from those made to the WordPress community. Mr. Reingold’s opus to the WP world is a little tool called WP All Import. <\/a>This plugin is made of pure magic. It’s as simple or as complex as \u00a0your needs call for. I’m not even kidding. I have used this tool a bunch. It’s brought me clients with interesting and complex data transportation needs. It’s made my job so much easier. Truly. \u00a0If you haven’t used it, you’re missing out. He’s also in on launching a new service called KnowMyRankings.com<\/a>. A service that helps you take a peek at what Search Engines don’t want you knowing: Your website’s Search Engine rank!<\/p>\n

He’s a class act and a great guy. I’ve had the fortune to watch him speak before and I know he’s going to blow some minds at WordCamp this year. Let’s give an Arsenio Hall “Whoo, Whoo, WHoo!” to Louis Reingold<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Lucy Beer<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

I teach people how to WordPress (wha, you didn’t know it’s a verb too?!). From bloggers to businesses, I can show you how to set up an effective website, or make the most of one that’s been built for you. I’ve been using WordPress since 2004 and also have a background in online marketing. Find me at: www.webtrainingwheels.com<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Matthew Boynes<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Matthew Boynes is a lead developer at Alley Interactive, where he’s worked on sites such as the Kaiser Family Foundation and the New York Post. The only thing Matt loves more than solving complex problems with WordPress is helping others use and develop with WordPress. When he\u2019s not coding, you\u2019ll often find Matt engaged in some outdoor activity like hiking or skiing.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Mika Ariela Epstein<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Mika Ariela Epstein is better known as Ipstenu, the Half-Elf Support Rogue. Working for DreamHost as a WordPress Support Specialist and Manager (aka ‘WordPress Guru’), she solves any WordPress problem that comes up, trains everyone from support to marketing in why WordPress makes your life better, and still finds time to slash unanswered WordPress.org forum threads by night and wrangle plugins by day. A self-taught guru on Multisite and .htaccess, she has a passion for writing and technology and blogs about them whenever possible.<\/p>\n

The rumor that she has dice in her purse and tinfoil in her hats is in a constant state of Schr\u00f6dinger proofs.<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Nathan Tyler<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Nathan Tyler is the Principal and Lead Developer at Tyler Digital. He’s focused on building sites, products, and web applications on the WordPress (and often BuddyPress) platform. If he’s not at the computer, he can often be found playing soccer or recovering from related injuries.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Nick Halsey<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Nick Halsey is a student at the University of Southern California, where he’s studying Civil Engineering, Architecture, and Music Composition. He’s also a WordPress core contributor (since 3.6), and plugin & theme developer. In summer 2014, he was one of WordPress’ Google Summer of Code students, where he built the Menu Customizer project and started contributing heavily to the Customizer in core, including building the Customizer Panels API. Nick also enjoys designing, building, and racing Concrete Canoes with USC ASCE.<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Philip Artinyan<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Philip has been involved in WordPress in many different ways. As part of the SiteGround Customer Service team, he works actively with clients, helping WordPress users build their sites on the powerful platform. He also supervises the quality of work of his fellow teammates and trains SiteGround customer service team in using and supporting WordPress. His love for WordPress also shows in his side projects where he frequently chooses it for his own websites.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Robert Griffin<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Robert started in the Mortgage\/Real Estate industry in 1996 as a loan processor. He became licensed in 2000 to further pursue a career in real estate and by 2003 he was a Branch Manager for Direct Lender. In 2004 he Co-Founded and launched Catalyst Investment Solutions. Robert started the BPO\/REO division in 2007 to specialize in distressed properties. He enjoyed the fast-paced environment of working with banks, lending institutions and asset managers, which utilize his analytical mindset and extensive operational skills in providing a solid foundation that guides his entrepreneurial instincts and enthusiasm.<\/p>\n

Robert is currently the CTO and Co-Founder of Media Ocean, Inc, an online target market company that helps drive targeting traffic and leads to local business owners. Robert loved working with other entrepreneurs to help them grow their businesses and take them to the next level. His key focus is on technology, and follow-up. We have all head the term, the fortune is in the follow-up. But how many of us have dropped the ball on a call or two, or twenty. Robert works with business owners and helps them get the most out of the traffic, leads, and resources that already have.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Robert Palmer<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Robert Palmer is a digital problem solver in San Diego, California. After a decade of in-house and agency work for the creators of newspapers, magazines, television, hardware, software, sporting equipment, industrial products, and tract housing, he started his own web development and graphic design company in 2007. He has hand-crafted websites, WordPress themes, applications, identities, and technical illustrations for startups and Fortune 50 companies alike. He lives with his amazing wife Michelle, and works from home with their two cats, who are only occasionally helpful.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Roy Sivan<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

I have been using WordPress in some capacity since the very beginning. I have worked using it to built out client sites for quite a while, including being a lead WordPress developer at a digital agency. Today I primarily use it for MVP (minimal viable product) ideas, with the occasional consulting. I love working with it and seeing how far I can push it, or what new technologies I can integrate with it.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Sarah Wefald<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

I\u2019m a front-end web developer and digital marketing specialist. I\u2019ve been using WordPress since 2007, and I make WordPress websites for musicians and other creatives. When not working with Photoshop and lines of code, I can be found co-facilitating the OC WordPress Web Designer meetup group, playing music with friends, and constantly learning things to make my websites more awesome.<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

S\u00e9 Reed<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

She asked: “What if I want Alex to write me a bio?” Let’s see how that turned out, shall we?<\/p>\n

In the land before time, a little place known as Small Business World Jr., Se Reed and her friend Little Foot Jackson went door to door in the various neighborhoods lining the chocolate filled Candy Cane River and the Apple Cider Vinegar infused Lake Stinky Cheese.<\/p>\n

Her message as a youngster hasn’t changed much as she had become an adult. The message you ask? To build up small businesses so that they could create a sustainable model that would create jobs within the local community. Boutique businesses began spring up all over Small Business World Jr. and this pleased Se Reed greatly. She knew her grassroots movement of helping small businesses achieve more had gained traction. But something was missing.<\/p>\n

Then, one day, while traveling and evangelizing for Small Business World Jr., Se found herself in Houston, Texas for a consumer goods conference. While she was there, she met this pimply faced kid who had an occasionally squeaky voice. The young lad’s name was Matt. They got on smashingly well right away. Matt invited her out for some BBQ after the conference. Se remarked how Matt took pictures of all of his food. The, as they got to talking about business, Matt let her in on something. He said, “WordPress f*ck yeah!” And Se was in love. After hearing more about this tool; she went back to Small Business World jr. and set up a new series of workshops, teaching business owners how to put their business online and create a truly 24\/7 presence! That was all before she was a teenager.<\/p>\n

Se\u00a0still remembers that time when she broke BBQ meats with Matt; her meeting that day would set the course for the rest of her life. Today she works with the Small Business Administration advising Small Business owners on how to excel their businesses. She works tirelessly to help businesses create a sustainable model that helps grow the community around them.<\/p>\n

What were you doing before you hit 15 years old? Probably still pickin’ your nosies!<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Shaimoom Newaz<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Shaimoom Newaz is an art, code and bass enthusiast.<\/p>\n

From acrylic on canvas to Sketch and Illustrator, he bends lines and colors shapes to satisfy his imagination and clientele alike. Shaimoom can carry a conversation in front-end languages, but is particularly fond of CSS and its various preprocessor dialects. In addition, he can often be found in the small hours of the night listening to deep basslines and melodic grooves as he designs UIs and writes code.<\/p>\n

Oh and Shaimoom loves meeting people: @shaimoomn<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Shanta Nathwani<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Shanta R. Nathwani is an IT and Social Media Consultant and an Instructor in Web Design and CCIT Capstone at Sheridan College, which includes teaching WordPress. The ICCIT program is a joint program with the University of Toronto at Mississauga. She teaches students and small businesses how to use their websites and social media to increase their online presence leading to increased revenues and improved customer service. She has assisted companies to incorporate social media in the real estate, financial, non-profit, education and technical fields to name a few.<\/p>\n

Shanta is a problem solver and it has been said she has the patience of a saint. She can explain even the most difficult concepts to the most basic user and has developed training documents that allow clients to learn for themselves. She thrives on understanding the needs of her clients and students. She believes in making websites as simple as possible and making it fun, which allows her clients to seamlessly incorporate it into their organization.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Steve Zehngut<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

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\u2019s leading development and consulting shops.<\/p>\n

Steve is the organizer of the OC WordPress Meetup and has helped build the community to over 1100 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.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Suzette Franck<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Suzette Franck has been in web development for over twenty years; she started making hand-coded HTML websites on geocities with font tags and tables back in 1995. Since then, she has taught herself CSS, Sass, PHP, MySQL, as well as becoming a WordPress expert; evangelizing and presenting at over twenty-two WordCamps across the country and multiple WordPress meetups in Southern California where she resides, about all aspects of building and maintaining sites on WordPress. <\/p>\n

Suzette is passionate about WordPress the application as well as the WordPress Open Source Community, and loves to code and teach others the wonders of WordPress. She is a purveyor of lowbrow art, and when she is not WordPressing, she is painting or visiting Los Angeles art galleries to add more work to her growing art collection. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Taylor Aldridge<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Taylor has over 20 years of design and communication experience, with the last decade spent as the Creative Director for one of America\u2019s largest food distribution companies. He is adept at motivating and inspiring creative teams and obtaining the highest quality design while still achieving targeted business objectives. Taylor\u2019s expertise is creating communicative designs that are directly tied to enhancing usability.<\/p>\n

As 10up\u2019s first Creative Director, Taylor is tasked with building an exceptional web design team, process, and results on par with 10up\u2019s well-earned engineering and development reputation.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Thom Meredith<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Solution Architect + Interaction Designer + Front\/Backend Developer<\/p>\n

With more than 18 years of experience in web development, digital workflow and communication design, Thom Meredith has served as art director for Looking, managing projects for Warner Bros., SONY and the Los Angeles Public Library; as interactive and print designer for the Los Angeles Times Magazine, overseeing the website, iPad app and print production; and as a solution architect and interaction designer at his own design and technology firm on projects for RE\/MAX, Edmunds.com, LA Times, Chicago Tribune, Kaiser, Nestle and Wikipedia. He serves on committees for the Los Angeles chapter of the AIGA and currently teaches interaction design and development at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Wes Chyrchel<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Wes Chyrchel has been building websites for 17 years. He has worked with WordPress since 2006 and exclusively with WordPress, since 2008. He is passionate about creating great websites and personal customer experiences for visitors and his clients. Wes loves to talk about the business of web development and is committed to making his clients successful.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We’ve got more speakers on the way, but here’s who we’ve announced so far…  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":111651,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/la.wordcamp.org\/2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/la.wordcamp.org\/2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/la.wordcamp.org\/2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/la.wordcamp.org\/2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/111651"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/la.wordcamp.org\/2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/la.wordcamp.org\/2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":138472,"href":"https:\/\/la.wordcamp.org\/2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2\/revisions\/138472"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/la.wordcamp.org\/2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}