WordPress Community

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Joe Casabona is a podcaster, course developer, and web developer. He also has his Master’s Degree in Software Engineering.

Joe started freelancing in 2002, and has been a teacher at the college level for over 10 years. His passion in both areas drove him to create courses for The University of Scranton, LinkedIn Learning, and his own community of business owners. 

Today, he helps people tell their stories through podcasts and video. 

Michele: What do you do in the WordPress ecosystem?

Joe: Developer and Teach

Michele: How did you get involved with WordPress?

Joe: Back in 2004 I mentioned to my friend that I wanted to build a CMS, and he asked if I heard of WordPress. I was hooked! I started using it, and after college started teaching it and speaking at WordCamps in 2011 (thanks Philly!)

Michele: What does the Open Source Community mean to you?

Joe: It means sharing solutions and caring deeply about a project that has helped so many people. Strong opinions are (and should be) welcomed.

Michele: Please name some of your favorite plugins. 

Joe: Gravity Forms, Beaver Builder, , and ACF Pro

Michele: Do you have a favorite theme or framework you like to use?

Joe: Astra Pro

Michele: If you could change one thing in WordPress, what would it be?

Joe: The real answer? I wish the software wasn’t changed so dramatically on the whims of a single person. 

Another real, and also less contriversial answer: I wish there was better onboarding built into WordPress. We shouldn’t need to rely on hosts or plugins to help people get up and running.

Michele: What is your most memorable WordPress moment?

Joe: This <i>feels</i> self-agrandizing, but I’ve had multiple people come up to me at WordCamps and tell me my books have helped them become WordPress developers / designers. 

This is a wild and amazing thing. I know it’s why I wrote the books – to teach people – but to get concrete examples is super rewarding. It makes the book-writing process (which is arduous) totally worth it.

Michele: What is one piece of advice you would give to someone just getting started with WordPress?

Joe: It’s not as easy as everyone makes it seem to be. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t get it at first. 

Also, a WP101 membership is worth its weight in gold to learn how to use WordPress.

Michele: What do you think is in store for the future of WordPress?

Joe: I think we’ll definitely see the customizer take over more of the UX, making WordPress a lot more of a visual editor like Squarespace or Wix. 

I think we also need to see a much clearer process for decision making, and actually sticking to those decisions. WordPress can’t grow if people don’t trust the software or communication process.

Michele: Just for fun, share one memory that makes you proud to be a part of the WordPress Community

Joe: When Gutenberg was rolling out, I actually got a call from Matt because I was…very vocal…about the launch process and what I thought about it. 

I don’t know too many organizations where the leader of a project or organization would reach out like that.

You can find Joe Casabona at Cassabona.org

If you find these interesting and would like to be spotlighted yourself, please see our interview form.

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Amanda Gorman is the co-owner and yoga instructor at Now: Yoga & Movement, SEO consultant for NGO’s, and Customer Success Manager at Impress.org.

Amanda has been a WordPress lover for over 10 years. She has built websites for local businesses in the Rochester NY area, She has attended WordCamps around the country (a few she has even spoke at!), She frequents the local Rochester WordPress meetup, and volunteers her time to coach and support people who want to learn WordPress.

Being multi-talented, she finds unique connections between each of my skillsets. Amanda combines her love for SEO and yoga by managing our yoga studio’s web presence. She writes blog posts relating to Customer Success, SEO, and content writing at GiveWP.com and WPBusinessReviews.com. Amanda also uses her teaching and communication skills to coach people on SEO, WordPress, and content writing. 

Amanda is continuously finding new ways to bridge the gap between her passions while discovering new ways to express myself and ways to provide value in all aspects of my life.

Michele: What do you do in the WordPress ecosystem?

Amanda: I work for Impress.org (GiveWP, specifically) as their Customer Success Mananger. I also build WordPress websites, do SEO for NGO’s on WordPress.

Michele: How did you get involved with WordPress?

Amanda: My WordPress journey began back when I was 17 years old and attempting to build a website for my parent’s businesses. They had a restaurant and golf course and it was my goal to do all of their marketing. I built the websites on Adobe Muse until I crossed paths with Michelle Frechette, who introduced me to a new way of developing on the web that changed my life forever: WordPress. From then on, I began building websites for friends, for my own endeavors, and eventually clients in the community. I continued my web development learnings and began to narrow my focus on SEO specifically. Since then, I’ve attended several WordPress meetups, many WordCamps on the east coast, and WordCamp US in 2018.

Michele: Please tell me one story of someone who has inspired you within the WordPress Community?

Amanda: Oh, there are many people in the WordPress space that inspire me! However, if I had to pick one, I would most certainly choose Michelle Frechette. Michelle has been my mentor since the beginning and has been a guiding light for me in my WordPress journey and in my career as a whole. Michelle is now my manager and co-worker at Impress.org and I am so lucky to be on a team with her.

Michele: What does the Open Source Community mean to you?

Amanda: For me, the open source community represents connection. WordPress offers people an opportunity for connection. In the software itself, there’s the opportunity for self-expression and creativity. In the meetups and WordCamps, there’s the opportunity for collaboration and a sense of connection in one’s community (where often people are feeling rather isolated working remotely).

Michele: Please name some of your favorite plugins. 

Amanda: GiveWP, WP Business Reviews, Yoast, Caldera Forms

Michele: Do you have a favorite theme or framework you like to use?

Amanda: I love Divi from Elegant themes, Elementor, and Astra Pro

Michele: What is your most memorable WordPress moment?

Amanda: My most memorable WordPress moment was my first time speaking at a WordCamp. I attended WordCamp Raleigh in the spring of 2018 and gave a talk on 3 SEO Strategies for Building a Bigger Community. This was such a memorable moment for me as I hadn’t spoken in front of a large audience like this before (not since college) and I was extremely nervous. While I was filled with anxiety to deliver my talk, I was simultaneously confident in my content and what I had to offer people. The talk went extremely well, the audience was highly receptive, and I could tell that what I had to share was helping people connect the dots for their own endeavors. This weekend in Raleigh also offered me the opportunity to connect with a teammate at GiveWP (Ben Meredith) and meet some really wonderful people in the WordPress community.

Michele: What is one piece of advice you would give to someone just getting started with WordPress?

Amanda: I would tell someone just getting started with WordPress: reach out. Find your community and lean on them. When things get tough and when you run into a challenge and you don’t know what step to take next, reach out to someone and ask for help. The WordPress community will catch you when you fall and will raise you up higher than where you started. The support you need is close by, all you need to do is ask.

Michele: What do you think is in store for the future of WordPress?

Amanda: I believe that the future of WordPress has accessibility in mind. I see more accessibility conversations being had and taken into consideration when new offerings are developed within the platform. And I see more education as accessibility continues to be a conversation piece for those of us building on the web.

Michele: Just for fun, share one memory that makes you proud to be a part of the WordPress Community.

Amanda: One of my favorite WordPress community memories is that of WordCamp US 2018 in Nashville. I fell in love with Nashville during that trip and I had the opportunity to meet my entire team at Impress.org/Give. And that was something really special. We connected with many others in the WordPress community at the WordCamp and after-party. It was really incredible to be able to connect with so many I see and follow on Twitter and within the community space all in one place. We networked, listened to great music, ate too much, and had way too much fun.

You can find Amanda Gorman at AmandaGorman.com

If you find these interesting and would like to be spotlighted yourself, please see our interview form.

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Mendel is the Agency / Developer Advocate for WooCommerce at Nexcess (a Liquid Web company). I love helping builders solve problems for their clients.
In the past, I’ve worked with public and private companies to build community, customer / product advocacy, and reputation management programs.

Michele: What do you do in the WordPress ecosystem?

Mendel: Agency / Developer Advocate for WooCommerce

Michele: How did you get involved with WordPress?

Mendel: I originally started building websites using Server Side Includes for client work in the 2000s. As other CMSs grew in prominence, they became my goto solutions, and I began transitioning clients from custom code to popular CMSs. When a couple high visibility content websites I was working on got hacked, I decided it was time to find a solution that was easier to update and maintain. That journey brought me to WordPress, and it’s been my preferred CMS ever since.

Michele: Please tell me one story of someone who has inspired you within the WordPress Community?

Mendel: I’m constantly inspired by the selfless hard work of all of the contributors to the WordPress open source project. From core to marketing, and polyglots to plugin and theme developers, there are so many people that make this open source project incredible.

Michele: What does the Open Source Community mean to you?

Mendel: Open Source Community is a way of life. Radical inclusion and contribution are at the heart of Open Source. When one of us wins, we all win. When one of us is down, we help raise that person or company up.

Michele: Please name some of your favorite plugins. 

Mendel: CAOS, Kadence WooCommerce Email Customizer, Simply Schedule Appointments, Beaver Builder

Michele: Do you have a favorite theme or framework you like to use?

Mendel: Astra Pro

Michele: If you could change one thing in WordPress, what would it be?

Mendel: Update the architecture of WordPress to run more efficiently on a broader set of infrastructures and configurations without modification.

Michele: What is your most memorable WordPress moment?

Mendel: During an after party, two new friends in the WordPress community cornered me to tell me that the work I was doing mattered. Not sure there’s anything that motivates me (or anyone else) more than knowing that their work is appreciated.

Michele: What is one piece of advice you would give to someone just getting started with WordPress?

Mendel: Start with a project you’re passionate about. When you’re motivated to build, learning the tool becomes so much easier.

Michele: What do you think is in store for the future of WordPress?

Mendel: There will be incumbents in the CMS space. Paradigms of creating on the web will change. Enterprises will continue to become notable consumers of, and contributors to WordPress and WooCommerce. Ultimately, how we react (whether through collaboration or competition) will chart our course.

You can find Mendel Kurland at IfYouWillIt or Geek Adventures.

If you find these interesting and would like to be spotlighted yourself, please see our interview form.

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With a life-long passion for art and a BFA in Visual Communications, Stephanie is a branding specialist and digital designer. Stephanie is the owner of Flightless, specializing in hand-crafted logos and extending brands beyond the business card. She has been involved with the Florida WordPress community since 2014 and has been honored to share her knowledge at WordCamps Ann Arbor, Miami, Tampa, Orlando, and US. Most weeks you will find her attempting to balance design and homeschooling, exploring the world of flavors she can invent in her kitchen, and sometimes on Twitter @sjbrinley.

Michele: What do you do in the WordPress ecosystem?

Stephanie: Help run WordCamps, small business sites, digital graphic support

Michele: How did you get involved with WordPress?

Stephanie: My husband finally convinced me to attend WordCamp Orlando 2014 once I had started poking into the back-end enough to feel like a developer talk would be beneficial to me.

Michele: Please tell me one story of someone who has inspired you within the WordPress Community?

Stephanie: Kathy Drewien is an amazing woman! I don’t even remember where I met her, but we invited her as one of TWO keynote speakers to our very first WordCamp Jacksonville 2016. At the time, our local WordPress community was very small. We knew Kathy was big on community so we wanted her to speak about how important that is. Everyone left that presentation inspired, even the developers that, “don’t do inspirational talks.”

Michele: What does the Open Source Community mean to you?

Stephanie: It means the freedom to collaborate and see each other as partners instead of adversaries.

Michele: Please name some of your favorite plugins. 

Stephanie: Disable Comments, BackWPUp, Under Construction Page, and WordPress SEO Plugin – Rank Math

Michele: Do you have a favorite theme or framework you like to use?

Stephanie: Beaver Builder

Michele: If you could change one thing in WordPress, what would it be?

Stephanie: The funding process for WordCamps.

Michele: What is your most memorable WordPress moment?

Stephanie: Being on stage in front of 600 people at the inaugural WordCamp US to give a lightning talk.

Michele: What is one piece of advice you would give to someone just getting started with WordPress?

Stephanie: Take your time, focus on understanding all the main components and how they fit together. Don’t bite off more than you can chew. When you start feeling like you don’t have enough power, then dive a little deeper.

Michele: What do you think is in store for the future of WordPress?

Stephanie: I don’t make predictions, but after 10+ years it still seems to be going strong.

Michele: Just for fun, share one memory that makes you proud to be a part of the WordPress Community.

Stephanie: We brought our son to the first WordCamp Jacksonville event. He was 7 years old. We didn’t have a KidsCamp, so he just went to sessions with us. He was so excited to go he invented the Plush Wapuu, sewed one himself, and handed out flyers to sell them at WordCamp. Everyone was so encouraging, several people ordered Plush Wapuus, he inspired the WC US Wapuu, and just had such a good time.

You can find Stephanie Brinley at Flightless

If you find these interesting and would like to be spotlighted yourself, please see our interview form.

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Topher is a Christian, husband, father, and web developer from Grand Rapids MI. He founded and curates HeroPress.com

Michele: What do you do in the WordPress ecosystem?

Topher: Right now I’m a developer advocate by trade, working for BigCommerce, but I build, speak, mentor, encourage, and generally celebrate WordPress.

Michele: How did you get involved with WordPress?

Topher: In 2010 WordPress 3.0 came out with custom post types, which turned it into a real CMS. I realized that I would never have to build another custom admin area again and I was thrilled.

Michele: Please tell me one story of someone who has inspired you within the WordPress Community?

Topher: Josepha Haden has handled an enormous amount of stress and pressure in the last several months, and she’s done with style and grace.

Michele: What does the Open Source Community mean to you?

Topher: There’s something really special about knowing who makes your software, like knowing the farmer that grows your food. Open source software is inherently more accessible, even if the authors decide to remain reserved. The code is there, and decisions are more visible. 

I’ve been using Free Software for over 30 years now, and I have yet to find a package developer who wasn’t willing to respond to a query from me, usually a stranger.

Michele: Please name some of your favorite plugins. 

Topher: BigCommerce of course! WP Draw Attention, WP Rocket, and you can see the rest at https://profiles.wordpress.org/topher1kenobe/#content-favorites

Michele: Do you have a favorite theme or framework you like to use?

Topher: As a general rule no. When building really from scratch I often start with _s, and lately I’ve been impressed with GeneratePress.

Michele: If you could change one thing in WordPress, what would it be?

Topher: Since I’m not great at Javascript I wish it weren’t so JS heavy. I love PHP and would love to be able to keep using that forever. 🙂

Michele: What is your most memorable WordPress moment?

Topher: The time someone cried when they found out who I was. Incredibly humbling.

Michele: What is one piece of advice you would give to someone just getting started with WordPress?

Topher: Rely on the community. With rare exception we’ll all welcome you and work hard to bring you success.

Michele: What do you think is in store for the future of WordPress?

Topher: It used to be that there was a low barrier to entry to make some really complex things with WordPress, but it’s becoming harder to do as the platform becomes more and more reliant on things like React. I have a fear that the realm of big complicated sites will become the bailiwick of software development agencies, while creating far more “implementers” who simply use Gutenberg to assemble sites without knowing what’s really going on behind the scenes. I really hope I’m wrong about this.

Michele: Just for fun, share one memory that makes you proud to be a part of the WordPress Community.

Topher: One time a community member who was a freelancer was faced with spending the last of his cash either on rent or taking his son to the hospital to fix a broken arm. Not paying rent would have made him homeless. The community pulled together the cash for him in 24 hours and took care of him.

You can find Topher DeRosia at Topher1Kenobe.com

If you find these interesting and would like to be spotlighted yourself, please see our interview form.