It’s my pleasure to introduce our second group of amazing speakers! If you missed it, check out our first group too!
Mika Epstein
Mika Ariela Epstein is better known as Ipstenu, the Half-Elf Rogue. Working for DreamHost and specializing in WordPress, Mika helps make WordPress and hosting better for everyone. When she isn’t reviewing plugins or rebuilding the stack, she’s speaking at WordCamps worldwide about code and open source technology. A self-taught guru on Multisite and .htaccess, she has a passion for writing and technology.
Ed Finkler
Ed Finkler, also known as Funkatron, started making web sites before browsers had frames. He does front-end and server-side work in Python, PHP, and JavaScript. Ed is the founder and chairman of Open Sourcing Mental Illness, a non-profit 501c3 dedicated to raising awareness and supporting those with mental illness in the tech industry.
He served as web lead and security researcher at The Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security (CERIAS) at Purdue University for 9 years. Along with Chris Hartjes, Ed is co-host of the Development Hell podcast.
Ed writes at funkatron.com.
Clifton Griffin
Clifton Griffin is a backend developer and owner of Objectiv, a WordPress based web agency in Central Virginia which is currently in its fifth year. He started developing for WordPress in 2007, and has never looked back. He has several plugins in the WordPress repository, multiple premium plugins, and has written countless others for client projects.
Tessa Kriesel
Agency and Community Engineer at Pantheon and Founder of Coders of TMRW, Tessa has been a web developer for over 10 years. She enjoys front-end development but also loves to build sites from start to finish. She started in Joomla back when it was 1.0.x and worked her way into WordPress and Drupal about 7 years ago. She enjoys teaching others to code as well as speaking at conferences and youth events. Tessa is a northern Minnesota native, but now lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and four children – three boys and a baby girl. She loves dogs and enjoys helping local organizations rescue dogs in her free time.
Kyle M. Brown
Business Analyst, Customer Service evangelist, Bootstrap entrepreneur, father and husband.
Kyle consults with business owners to help them understand how to use processes and software to become more efficient, scale, increase profits or just free up the time spent running their businesses so they have the freedom to do whatever they want.
Sandy Smith
Sandy Smith lives in the Washington, DC area, and has been a web developer for an eternity in the web world: 17 years. He’s spent all but a couple of years of that time consulting, usually for nonprofits and government, working both in-house and in an agency. He’s worked with a hundred or so organizations in various capacities, from basic development to strategic advice to multi-tier applications. He’s now a Senior Software Engineer at Truth Initiative.
Lindsey Kopacz
Lindsey Kopacz is a self-taught front-end web developer. Her tech passion involves anything that merges technology and the user experience—which includes her favorite topic, accessibility. Based in Washington, DC, she spends most of her free time reading, drinking craft beer, and practicing her makeup artistry.
David Zweigel
David started as a pioneer in user-based technology is the 1980s, consulting on desktop publishing. After eight years in the commercial-side of MultiMedia industry, he began his Public Sector career working at the U.S. Information Agency (USIA) in 1991. Over the last 26 years he has helped innovate the use of modern digital publishing, content management, social media, and other innovations to the forefront of the U.S.’s public diplomacy efforts around the world. Since 2011, he has been working in the U.S. Department of State’s Office of eDiplomacy. He is currently working on a major Knowledge Management effort which leverages WordPress, BuddyPress, and BBPress.
Shayna Diamond
Shayna Diamond currently works at Scitent eLearning, specializing in WordPress customization. Previously, she built on her background in jewelry design as a freelance developer focusing on dynamic sites for small business and artists. She enjoys the unique challenges of combining form and function, beauty and practicality.Shayna earned her Bachelors of Science in Website Development and Interactive Communication from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. She is an active member of the WordPress community, speaking at WordCamps and contributing to the support forums. Additionally, she is a Chapter Leader for GirlDevelopIt of Central Virginia, where she takes great pride in helping other women find their footing in web development. When not at the computer, Shayna can be found at her jeweler’s bench or in the field collecting rocks and minerals.
Mark Wahl
Mark Wahl is Technical Director at the Jake Group, a DC-based digital agency where he leads the web team, manages custom WordPress projects, and cultivates client relationships. He earned his M.A. in Communication, Culture and Technology from Georgetown University. He’s also a dad, woodworker, cidermaker, and baseball fan!
Mia Orantes
Mia is a regular speaker/trainer and Partner at Creative Analytics — a digital & content marketing agency and group of WordPress designers/developers in Washington DC. Creative Analytics builds conversion-optimized WordPress websites and content-focused online platforms for medium-sized B2B, B2G and non-profit organizations that generate more qualified traffic, leads and engagement. Drawing from more than 15 years of experience as a graphic designer, web designer, writer, and project manager, Mia develops comprehensive digital strategies for clients to more efficiently and consistently deliver the right message to the right audience at the right time online. She holds an MBA & MS in Information Technology with a concentration in Project Management.
Katie Pegoraro
Katie Pegoraro has worked for Arlington County Government in the Department of Technology Services for ten years. She is a member of WordPress DC Meetup, and a first-time WordCamper. She still subscribes to The Washington Post’s dead-tree edition, and you may see her around DC on the soccer pitch or tennis court.
John Cornthwait
John Cornthwait is a Partner and the Director of Products at Firefli, a Roanoke, VA company that specializes in digital solutions. As a designer and full-stack developer with 15 years of experience, John has used WordPress regularly for the last decade. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in User Experience Design from Kent State University.
Greg Krehbiel
Greg Krehbiel is a writer and blogger who has been using WordPress personally for several years. He recently adopted WordPress as the CMS for Kiplinger Alerts, a professional, subscription-based digital service for investors and business professionals. Greg is the author of several works of fiction and non-fiction, including a guide for homebrewers. He is an award-winning brewer, an out of shape black belt, an amateur swing dancer, an avid reader, occasional fisherman and washed up musician.
We’ll have more speaker announcements tomorrow, so check back soon! If you haven’t yet, get a ticket to WordCamp DC!