{"id":8,"date":"2015-11-09T21:31:54","date_gmt":"2015-11-09T21:31:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/2016.annarbor.wordcamp.org\/speakers\/"},"modified":"2016-07-27T15:36:01","modified_gmt":"2016-07-27T19:36:01","slug":"speakers","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/annarbor.wordcamp.org\/2016\/speakers\/","title":{"rendered":"Speakers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tChris Christoff\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAJ Morris\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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I’m a Product Manager for Liquid Web, a fully managed hosting company. I work on various WordPress products and initiatives focusing on open-source, community, and spreading the love of WordPress. I have been involved with the WordPress community since 2006, working with theme and plugin companies in support and project management positions. In my spare time I love to travel and spend time with my lovely wife and newborn daughter.<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tKarim Marucchi\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Karim Marucchi is the CEO of Crowd Favorite and Chairman of The VeloMedia Group. In the past 20 years, his career path has encompassed a variety of opportunities including founding startups, managing large clients and teams in multinational agencies and taking companies public. This wealth of experience in taking digital teams across the globe has provided Karim with the necessary foundation and institutional knowledge in leading Crowd Favorite into the growing multinational organization it has become today.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tKyle Maurer\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Kyle is the co-founder of a Jackson, Michigan based firm called Real Big Marketing which specializes in using WordPress to solve complicated problems for businesses. He is also the author of and a contributor to dozens of WordPress plugins, is the co-organizer of the Jackson WP meetup, is a co-organizer of WordCamp Ann Arbor, plays in a band and is an aspiring beer snob.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAngela Samuels\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Angela is the owner of Visionary Meetings, a company that focuses on social media marketing and WordPress training for small businesses. Her passion is teaching to do it yourself small-business owners to update and maintain their own website. <\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAnthony Montalbano\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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I’m a partner at AMBR Detroit and we build some amazing things with WordPress. <\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tPeter Shackelford\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Peter first started using WordPress in 2005 when he was making a little website for the non-profit his wife were\u00a0starting. In 2009 he did his first project as a contractor and has been building platforms, microsites, multisites etc\u2026 on WordPress ever since.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tRoss Johnson\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Ross is the founder of the design agency 3.7 DESIGNS and premium plugin company Snap Orbital. An eighteen year veteran of the field and part time faculty of Michigan State University, he provides a holistic view of business, design and development. <\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAndrew Wikel\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Andrew Wikel is a WooCommerce ninja at Automattic. He is committed to open source values and loves working with WordPress. He fell in love with WordPress in 2008, and has been working with it in some capacity since then. A husband, a father, a WordCamp addict, a coffee snob, lover of shiny things, and a California native living in Illinois.<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tJustin Ferriman\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Justin has made a career as an elearning consultant where he has implemented global training programs for Fortune 500 companies.<\/p>\n

Passionate about elearning and WordPress, both Justin and LearnDash have been featured in multiple industry publications, including\u00a0ELearning!<\/em>Magazine,\u00a0Training<\/em> Magazine,\u00a0INTERCOM<\/em> Magazine, EdTech<\/em>Magazine,\u00a0Chief Learning Officer,\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0Learning Technologies\u00a0<\/em>by\u00a0the Association for Talent Development.<\/p>\n

Justin\u2019s experience-based\u00a0vision\u00a0has helped make LearnDash the most\u00a0trusted\u00a0WordPress LMS plugin\u00a0for major universities, continuing education providers, and entrepreneurs world-wide.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tSeth Alling\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Seth Alling is a Detroit-based developer turned designer turned developer, who has been working with WordPress since 2009 and currently works as the Lead Developer for Ranch House Designs. When he\u2019s not developing (or designing), you can find him running, playing soccer or spending time with his wife and sons.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAnnie Wolock\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Annie Wolock buzzes with entrepreneurial spirit, bringing a vast array of business savvy to every project. Not many people have two decades of expertise in user-interface design for application, educational, informational, and ecommerce projects. She blends an artist’s eye to her geek expertise in creating user-friendly, effective and easy-to-find websites. As a passionate advocate for positive, clear customer communications, Annie regularly gives seminars and workshops on \u201cCreating Effective Websites.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tSarah Collins\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAlex Beaudin\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Alex is an anthropologist and project manager at build\/create studios in Ann Arbor, MI. He studies how people use and interact with technology, brews beer, and wears a lot of hats. <\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tRich Robinkoff\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Rich is a WordPress community advocate, WordCamp organizer and speaker. He also helps other organizers as a WordCamp Central Community Deputy. He has worked in the corporate world for almost two decades and brings that vast business experience to the WordPress community as a Project Manager. You can usually find him searching for his next great cup of coffee while he ponders his own self-worth as he learns to deal with a really bad case of impostor syndrome. When the opportunity arises, he also teaches web development at his local community college.<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAngela Bergman\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Developing websites since 2000, Angie started using WordPress in the b2 days, before it was even WordPress. She counts among her strengths SEO and PPC skills, and design centered around accessibility and usability. Beyond WordPress, she is passionate about infertility advocacy, gaming, and German Shepherd Dogs. She is involved in the WP community as a co-organizer of the Northeast Ohio WordPress Meetup, and is the Lead Organizer for the inaugural WordCamp Northeast Ohio. During the day, she is the digital marketing specialist at Full Spectrum Marketing. At night, after routinely saving Azeroth from certain destruction, she does freelance webdev under the BergPress imprint.<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tNicole Arnold\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Nicole is a software developer at Alley Interactive, a full-service digital agency focused on news media, where she develops WordPress sites for high profile clients such as Digiday and The New York Post. She also contributes to WordPress as part of the Documentation Team, and has spoken at Detroit area meetups and several WordCamps across the U.S. and Canada.<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAdam Silver\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Adam teaches a WP101 course at the local adult school, presents a monthly WordPress seminar at SBDC, runs the SouthBay WordPress Meetup and produces a weekly podcast over at kitchensinkwp.com. In spare time he hangs out with his wickedly cool 3 kids & wife, and makes some really bad puns, since someone has to.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tTracy Apps\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Tracy (or @tapps) is a Visual\/UX Designer for Cornershop Creative and loves solving problems creatively. Her overlap of skills in design, user experience, strategy, front-end development, photography, video, and traditional art help her not only think outside the box, but to stay miles away from the box altogether! With over 20 years of web development experience, and over 15 years of client work under her belt, Tracy approaches design very strategically, thinking from all angles to ensure a consistent and effective creative solution\u2026 not just something that \u201clooks pretty.\u201d She also could probably deadlift you.<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tBen Cool\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Ben Cool is the Application Optimizer at A2 Hosting in Ann Arbor Michigan where he focuses on building “one click” tools for improving Web application performance. Ben has over a decade of experience in front-end and back-end web development, a Masters Degree in Computer Science from Eastern Michigan University and A Graduate Certificate in Artificial Intelligence. Ben is a Co-Orginzer of WordCamp Ann Arbor and often speaks at and attends local WordPress Meetups in Michigan. Ben has a passion for making the web faster and easier to use.<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tCory Miller\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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In January 2008, he founded\u00a0iThemes<\/a>, a provider of\u00a0WordPress themes<\/a>, and in the summer of 2009, launched\u00a0WebDesign.com<\/a>, a premium provider of\u00a0web design training<\/a>\u00a0with WordPress, then in 2010,PluginBuddy<\/a>, for WordPress plugins. He is also co-author of\u00a0WordPress All-in-One for Dummies<\/a>\u00a0(Wiley Publishing 2011) and a member of\u00a0Entrepreneurship Organization<\/a>, a network of over 8,000 entrepreneurs in 40 countries.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tMichelle Schulp\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Michelle is an independent graphic designer, who moved to Minneapolis from Chicago. She was formally schooled in design including print, branding, packaging, etc., with additional education in Psychology and Sociology, all tying together in a love of How To Solve Problems. Lately she has been specializing in WordPress websites, infographics, and high-end presentations for her clients. She loves the WordPress community and speaks\/volunteers\/organizes at WordCamps and events around the country. She also loves Wapuu and maintains a few fun open source projects.<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAdam Warner\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Adam W. Warner discovered WordPress in 2005 and has been working within the community ever since. To feed his entrepreneurial spirit, he founded several WordPress-focused businesses that provide education, plugins and consulting services for online business owners.<\/p>\n

He is a true WordPress Evangelist in spirit and personality, and that also happens to be his job title with SiteLock.com.<\/p>\n

Adam is also passionate about his family, robots, and of course Life, the Universe and Everything.
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tSteve Bennett\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Steve is co-founder of Real Big Marketing in Jackson, MI which leverages WordPress to enhance the web for it’s clients. Steve has 8 years of experience with the platform and enjoys sharing his enthusiasm at Meetups and WordCamps. You may find him online at @BigActual.<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tKevin Skarritt\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Top 100 #SocialMedia Influencer (https:\/\/bit.ly\/Top100SMInfluencers \u2026), 2 Eagle Scout sons, sushi fan, chess geek, darter, learning mandolin.<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tSteve Grunwell\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Steve Grunwell is a Senior Web Engineer and Project Lead at 10up, a World-class web design + development consultancy. Specializing in WordPress and application development he has worked with brands and organizations including TED, Microsoft, Xylem, Elmer\u2019s, and Experience Columbus.<\/p>\n

Steve has released several plugins in the WordPress.org repositories, including one from the grounds of The White House during the first annual National Day of Civic Hacking in 2013. When he\u2019s not writing software he enjoys hiking, music, and writing about writing software on his blog.<\/p>\n

Steve holds a B.A. in Telecommunications from Bowling Green State University where he graduated Cum Laude with minors in General Business and Recording Technologies.<\/p>\n

More information, including portfolio work and his development blog, can be found at https:\/\/stevegrunwell.com.<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tBrad Parbs\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Developer Lead @ WebDevStudios. Frequent eater of burritos.<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAndrea Rennick\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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WordPress user for over 10 years, former freelancer, now Customer Support Tech Lead for Rainmaker \/ Studiopress \/ Copyblogger.<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThomas Stirling\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Thomas Stirling founded Stirling Technologies in 2008 while still attending the University of Vermont as a boutique consulting firm. His experience within his major at UVM, a unique combination of business and computer science, propelled his desire to found and run a business of his own in his field of expertise. Since graduating with honors in 2010, Tom moved his business back to Massachusetts permanently, first opening up shop in Woburn before moving into Stirling Technologies\u2019 current offices in downtown Winchester.<\/p>\n

In 2015 Tom became president of the Woburn Business Association, which for almost 30 years, has been advocating for the businesses of Woburn. In the last few years as a board, Tom has worked extensively with the WBA in building an online member community, and developing a content strategy across social media and blogging platforms that promotes member engagement.<\/p>\n

Tom is a former acclaimed wrestler and still likes to remain active, especially during the winter months with his passion for snowboarding. He is also extremely involved in the community: he is active within the UVM alumni, a member of the Winchester Chamber of Commerce and belongs to several local business networking groups.<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tBrian Richards\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Brian Richards, the creator of WPSessions.com, has been using WordPress since 2007 and leading development teams since 2011, most recently within Crowd Favorite.<\/p>\n

Over these last several years Brian has had the opportunity to work with many amazing WordPress experts and agencies and help develop sites for Microsoft, Disney, TIME, YMCA, and numerous others. Brian has an affinity for self-directed learning and helping others develop skills and workflows to better solve important and complicated problems.<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tTopher DeRosia\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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I’m a Christian, husband, father, and WordPress developer.<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tMike Hale\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Mike Hale is a developer at Rainmaker Digital where he helps build the Rainmaker Platform. He has over 15 years of experience developing web apps and started working with WordPress in 2010 building custom plugins and sites using the Genesis Framework. He is also a writer, podcaster and co-organizer of the WordPress Naperville meetup.<\/p>\n

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