{"id":8,"date":"2018-11-16T21:35:39","date_gmt":"2018-11-16T21:35:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/2019.birmingham.wordcamp.org\/speakers\/"},"modified":"2019-05-20T13:02:59","modified_gmt":"2019-05-20T18:02:59","slug":"speakers","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/birmingham.wordcamp.org\/2019\/speakers\/","title":{"rendered":"Speakers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Call for Speakers for WordCamp Birmingham 2019 has closed.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our team is in the process of making final selections. Applicants will be notified by Friday, May 24 of their status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check back after June 1 to see the list of speakers for this year’s WP Y’all!<\/p>\n\n\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tApril Wier\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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April helps individuals and businesses become the best versions of themselves. This may come in the form of a new, or better, web site or coaching to break through self-imposed limitations. She specializes in helping high-performers reach their goals online. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

April is heavily involved in Atlanta WordPress community, as a co-organizer of the Woodstock WordPress Meetup and as a former organizer for WordCamp Atlanta. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For fun, she runs Sugar Five Design, a digital marketing company in Woodstock, GA.
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tWesley Eldridge\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Wesley Eldridge is a full-stack engineer, entrepreneur, and researcher. He holds a BSBA from The University of Alabama, with a concentration in Applied Economics. Currently, he helps run Rebellious Lab’s, a product and engineering focused company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wes also works with Randall-Reilly as a web application developer within their product development group where he delivers high-value applications that reach more than 100,000 users a month. Outside of his professional career, Wes also contributes to open sources software. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He currently is a lead organizer and researcher for Pommerman, a multiagent reinforcement learning platform. This has given him and his team the opportunity to present at conferences like NeurIPS, AIIDE, and AAAI. Within the Pommerman community, Wes helps support more than 1,000 community members, develops and maintains the platform, and works with collaborators to produce research and presentations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His entrepreneurial work has allowed him to be a guest lecturer, coach\/mentor to startup founders, and a judge at startup focused events. Throughout his startup career, he has won 4 startup competitions helping him fund his companies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his free time, he enjoys hacking on robots and hardware, traveling, hiking, and cooking.<\/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\tMicah Wood\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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A professional WordPress developer for over a decade, Micah has worked on sites for Fortune 100 companies, has released over a dozen WordPress plugins, is a frequent speaker at WordCamps, is a WordCamp Atlanta organizer, is a co-host on the WP Square One podcast, and shares his knowledge by blogging on WordPress development topics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently, Micah works at Bluehost and spends most of his time contributing back to WordPress.<\/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\tMarco Berrocal\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Marco is a self-taught WordPress developer from San Jose, Costa Rica. He is passionate about moving the web forward with the tiny knowledge he has been able to gain in almost 10 years developing for WordPress. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coffee and wine addict.<\/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\tDrew Jaynes\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Drew has been a PHP developer for more than 15 years. He’s been heavily involved in the WordPress community since 2011, contributing to the core, documentation, and meta teams, writing plugins, and helping with support. He\u2019s been a core developer since 2013 and served as the WordPress documentation lead until 2016. He\u2019s contributed to every major WordPress release since v3.3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drew works remotely from Arvada, Colorado for Sandhills Development, the parent company for cool plugins like AffiliateWP, Easy Digital Downloads, Restrict Content Pro, and more.<\/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\tRay Mitchell\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Ray is the owner of Made for You Media, which focuses on meeting the unique marketing needs of small businesses and non-profit organizations. He also serves as a Mentor at the Small Business Center at Forsyth Technical Community College. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Active in the local community, Ray is a member of and sits on the board of several community non-profit organizations.<\/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\tPhyllis Rush\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Phyllis is an enthusiastic and charismatic senior executive with over 25 years\u2019 experience managing, coaching, and advising people. She is skilled in content marketing, employee relations, operational planning\/budgeting, and has strong problem-solving skills. <\/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\tMickey Mellen\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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As a founder and partner of GreenMellen Media, Mickey is regarded as the token \u201ctech guy\u201d and his insights are greatly valued on the GreenMellen team. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With over 14 years of WordPress experience and a passion for helping others, you will often find Mickey leading a North Atlanta-based MeetUp, A Brighter Web.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He is also highly involved in social media and knows the ins and outs of everything from Facebook to Search Engine Optimization and has spoken at many events around the country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can also find Mickey coaching his daughter\u2019s soccer team, playing softball or enjoying ice cream with his two girls and wife, Kelly.<\/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\tJessi Gurr\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Jessi has been hand-coding websites since the day her dad brought home an AOL floppy disk in 1993. She started a website development company in 2005, and today runs a website development agency in Minnesota. A passionate entrepreneur, Jessi loves creating jobs, speaking about her experience growing a company, and mentoring freelancers and aspiring entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jessi lives in Anoka, MN. Her six-year-old designs her hair color(s). When not running a business or chasing her two young children, you can find her in the vegetable garden or whipping up an impromptu vegan dinner.<\/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\tNathan Ingram\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Nathan is the Host at iThemes Training where he teaches WordPress and freelance business development topics via live webinar.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

As the founder of >ADVANCE Coaching, Nathan works with WordPress solopreneurs and business owners individually and in groups to help them become more successful in their businesses.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Nathan has been working with clients to build websites since 1995. He is based in Birmingham, Alabama where he has been an organizer for WordCamp Birmingham (WP Y’all) for several years.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

You can learn more about Nathan at https:\/\/nathaningram.com<\/a>.<\/p>\r\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\tSylvie Stacy\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Sylvie is a Birmingham-based physician who blogs about career fulfillment for medical professionals at LookforZebras.com<\/a>.<\/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\tJacob Crawford\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Jacob Crawford is this year’s Content Wrangler. Most of the content on this site is his fault. (Sorry.)<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Jake specializes in social media, digital, print, and video advertising; he’s particularly handy at SEO and Google Ads.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In his presentation, “The Nuts and Bolts of Becoming a Full-Time Content Writer,” Jacob will show participants how he turned his blogging hobby into a full-time writing career and highlights the pitfalls that cripple most freelancers – such as time management, finding clients, and filing taxes.<\/p>\r\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\tJacqui Jones\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Jacqui Jones is the CEO of One Degree Marketing. One Degree is a boutique style marketing firm that focuses on developing strategy for small businesses, brands, and organizations, as well as providing implementation services in social media management, website design & development, email marketing, and brand management. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jacqueline is the PR and Marketing Manager for CO.STARTERS in Communities for Create Birmingham, a 2018 Renasant Roots Capacity Building Awardee, a 2018 Small Business Administration Emerging Leaders Awardee, a 2019 TEDxBirmingham speaker, and an American Marketing Association Young Marketing Professional of the Year Finalist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Outside of running her marketing firm, Jacqui coaches entrepreneurs and business owners in marketing their brand\/organization, facilitates entrepreneurship cohorts for Create Birmingham, and hosts workshops.<\/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\tWilliam Jackson\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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William Jackson graduated from South Carolina State University earning a Bachelor\u2019s in Education, furthering his education earning a Masters of Arts
in Teaching from Webster University with a focus on Educational Technology, Social Media and STEAM.
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William\u2019s career involves past teaching with NASA as an Internet and technology instructor in collaboration with Edward Waters College.
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William is a technology consultant with the Florida Department of Education where he taught educational access to the Internet to teachers in Northeast Florida and presented at major conferences in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

William has been involved in the field of education over 30 years in elementary and higher education teaching Physical and Health Education and STEAM. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes that is right he is a PE Teacher<\/p>\n\n\n\n

William is not only an educator, he is a Social Media Digital Innovator, Digital Creative, Blogger and Micro-blogger. A Social Media Digital Community Liaison with TEDx Florida State College of Jacksonville. He is a Ford Motor Company VIP Blogger where he travels and blogs on community events sponsored by Ford Motor Company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

William has been involved with WordCamp conferences since 2011 and appreciates the WordCamp community and the “service” the open source community provides. He attributes his growth, development, passion and
a continued purpose to collaborate, connect and create content to what he has learned and continues to learn while attending, volunteering, sponsoring, organizing, promoting and advocating for the WordPress community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

William shares his experiences with students at his school
and across Jacksonville. His personal blog is located at:
My Quest To Teach – https:\/\/myquesttoteach.com\/ <\/a>
You can hear his blog on Alexa and Google.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

William\u2019s content has been known to \u201cshift cultures\u201d because of his passion for youth, teens and young adults to be involved increasingly in tech opportunities. William keeps active in the Jacksonville community involved in Mentoring Programs for multiple groups. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having a passion for Blogging, William has been Blogging over 12 years. He promotes, advocates, blogs, sponsors, WordCamp conferences when and where he can. <\/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\tKathryn Lang\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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\u201cHave fun. Make friends. Be relentlessly helpful. It doesn\u2019t have to be any more complicated than that.\u201d Kathryn Lang shares words of hope, inspiration, and encouragement with a twist of snark to keep things interesting. Her blogs, radio programs, and articles reveal her belief in possibility and her firm believe in the power of a good laugh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

www.<\/a>SnarkyRainbows<\/a>.com
<\/a>www.KathrynLang.com
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tJavacia Harris Bowser\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Javacia Harris Bowser is a blogger, a freelance writer, and the founder of See Jane Write, an award-winning website and community for women who write and blog. Her website SeeJaneWriteBham.com was included in The Write Life’s list of 100 Best Websites for Writers in 2017, 2018, and 2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because of See Jane Write, Bowser was once selected as one of the smartest women in Birmingham by the Women’s Fund of Greater Birmingham. She was chosen as one of Birmingham\u2019s Top 40 Under 40 by the Birmingham Business Journal in 2015 and has been honored as one of Birmingham\u2019s \u201cWomen Who Inspire\u201d by Girls on the Run. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2016 she was included in Southern Living magazine\u2019s list of Innovators Changing the South, alongside household names like Dolly Parton and Reese Witherspoon and selected as one of 30 Women Who Shape the State by Alabama Media Group. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her goal in life is to be called the Beyonce of blogging and the Oprah Winfrey of the writing world. <\/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\tPatrice Turner\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Patrice loves the power of words and their ability to tell a story, grab the right attention, increase revenue, and build a brand. She\u2019s a word junkie and a book lover. She\u2019s also a grammar junkie and a time management nut. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some agencies, non-profits and organizations She\u2019s written, trained and spoken for include: eWomenNetwork, SPAA (Speakers, Publishers & Authors Association), Warner Pacific College (where I\u2019m currently a board member), Southside (net)Working Women, Young Adult Leadership Movement, Women Employed, Women In Leadership, MYSI Corporation, Southern Illinois Ministers Association, The Write Stuff, Leadership Advance Conference, A Gathering of Women Conference, T.O.U.C.H., Little Black Pearl, Sharp Skirts and New Moms Inc. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What motivates her is promoting writing for brands she loves and respects, and connecting business owners with each other, resources, clients and funding.<\/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\tAida Marie Correa\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Aida Correa, New Yorican and self-described Renaissance woman, is an artist, writer, poet, designer, teacher, and a regular WordCamp volunteer and speaker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now in Jacksonville, Florida, she\u2019s the owner of LoveBuilt Life LLC, a Creative Arts & Lifestyle company, where she teaches how to live life more creatively. She also uses her experience as an entrepreneur and the knowledge she\u2019s gained from WordCamps to coach women on how-to creatively rethink their business strategy. Plus, she builds websites for start-ups on a budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aida enjoys spending time with her family, volunteering in her community and traveling to WordCamp conferences where she seeks to inspire and motivate others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She also has a thing for Wapuu.
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tBill Robbins\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Bill’s journey with WordPress started when a friend asked if he could built a website for their non-profit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After that first experience with WordPress, he was hooked and started a commercial theme shop in 2008. An unexpected offer to purchase the business came and he decided it was the right time to move on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last year, he joined Automattic as a WooCommerce Happiness Engineer and loves helping other entrepreneurs with their businesses.<\/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\tChris Edwards\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Chris is co-owner of Data Driven Labs<\/a>, a WordPress Maintenance and Marketing agency. He is a 19-year Internet marketing veteran with experience in web design & development, search engine optimization, online marketing, social media marketing and mobile development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chris specializes in WordPress custom development utilizing either Genesis Framework or underscores and is very active in the WordPress Orlando community. He has held development and Internet marketing positions in some of Orlando\u2019s top technology companies.<\/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\tLindsay Halsey\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Based in Basalt, Colorado, Lindsay Halsey is a co-founder of Pathfinder SEO and partner of webShine, a search engine marketing agency. Her primary interest is search engine optimization for WordPress websites. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lindsay enjoys teaching site owners and freelancers SEO processes that they can apply to their businesses.<\/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\tTricia Clements\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Tricia Clements combines her love for pets, especially her rescue mutt, with her business by focusing on marketing for pet businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tricia focuses on content and loves finding out all that WordPress has to offer to help her business and make things run smoother and easier. As a social media manager, she creates and manages social media content, writes blogs and manages her clients Google My Business (GMB) accounts. <\/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\tMark White\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Born in the summer of 1979 in Athens, Alabama, Mark White\u2019s beginnings weren\u2019t idea, but that was remedied by two grandparents who were willing to raise him as their own. Being a part of a preacher\u2019s home meant living in various places around the state of Alabama and traveling across the country and the world. Those experiences had a profound affect on Mark and his desire to connect with people. After opening a tortilla\/tortilla chip factory and restaurant in 2005, Mark was immersed in business promotion and network marketing. Great marketing led to his Blanco\u2019s Chips being found in approximately 160 grocery-type stores and specialty shops in four states, including Tennessee, Georgia, and Mississippi. Mark found a way to get his product into the hands of recognizable figures such as former President George W. Bush, football Coach Gene Stallings, Governor Bob Riley, Earl Thomas Conley, Author Kathryn Tucker Windom, Singer\/Songwriter Merle Haggard, and many others. The Blanco\u2019s Chips were featured in Southern Living Magazine in 2008 and were featured in many publications and television and radio programs throughout its existence. Also in 2008, Mark was selected as Businessperson of the Year by the Athens-Limestone (Alabama) County Chamber of Commerce and were named \u201cThe Best Chips in Alabama\u201d by the Alabama Senate. Blanco\u2019s Chips were part of the Buy Alabama\u2019s Best program and were the official Chips of The University of North Alabama Athletics. In 2010, the business closed its doors. At 30 years old, Mark was presented with a choice, stop or move forward. He chose to move forward. It took some time to find direction and purpose, but through his previous experiences as a police officer, factory worker, sales representative, tourism director, and business owner, a writer\/blogger, and an opportunity to join Applebee\u2019s Tailgate Talk as a co-host, Mark found a way to merge his passion for people into his own radio show called The Mark White Show. Since its first air date of November 3, 2017, The Mark White Show has grown in every aspect. Mark has continued to utilize his networking and marketing ability to move an effort much bigger than chips, by recognizing those who are making a difference and encouraging others to do the same. The show also uses its reach to share efforts for others who are needing assistance. True to his previous methods, Mark has received endorsements from Comedian Jeff Foxworthy, Musician Ricky Skaggs, Coach Gene Stallings, Betty Lynn of The Andy Griffith Show, and many others. The show has found a home at several radio stations across the state of Alabama. Currently, the show can be heard on WVNN in Athens, WGOL in Russellville, and WRMG in Red Bay. With streaming and podcasting, The Mark White Show has listeners across the world. In April, 11 years after receiving Business Person of the Year from the same organization, Mark also received Citizen of the Year from the Athens-Limestone Chamber of Commerce. It was at that moment that Mark realized he had \u201ccome back.\u201d With a focus on helping people and making a difference in the lives of others, Mark now has a \u201cproduct\u201d with an unlimited shelf life. The message is that doors open by doing. Have ideas, but be ready to adapt and overcome. <\/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\tTonia Myers\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Tonia is the owner and Founder of Myers Ultimate life where she operates as the lead \u201cEmpowerment Strategist\u201d. What that means is she teaches women skills, systems, and strategies to attain the life they desire”

Tonia\u2019s teaches you how to get rid of old, stagnant thinking and shows you how with just the changing of your mindset, heart, and speech, you can live your life by design.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She has authored the book \u201cEnough Already \u2013 Tips and techniques for overcoming Self-Doubt.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She currently attends and host events all over to spread her message of empowerment to others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Together as a team we create exciting goals and figure out what is most important in their lives. I am here to help individuals get \u201cunstuck\u201d and move forward in your life. We all have a dream to live happily ever after, to be free mentally and financially. Debt and low self esteem are the little foxes that prevent us from realizing our true potential. Life\u2019s too short to say \u201cno\u201d to the things and experiences that you want.<\/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\tEmily Watkins\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Emily Watkins is a public relations expert who partners with small businesses and brands to grow their business through relevant storytelling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After spending over six years in marketing for small businesses and startups, Emily knows what truly drives conversions, successful launches and Associated Press interviews\u2014and it\u2019s not mastering the latest trends. It\u2019s how well you connect with people and businesses you\u2019re trying to help and communicate your understanding back to them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emily holds a BS in Public Relations from the University of Texas at Austin and currently works as the PR Manager for Bluehost. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Born and raised in Houston, Emily is a true Texan and even related to Davy Crockett.<\/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\tMarc Apple\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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As a recognized leader in the sales and marketing industries, Marc has combined an entrepreneurial spirit, big-picture foresight, and a tireless work ethic into a diverse and successful career. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Utilizing strategic planning to deliver immediate and long-term results, Marc has grown Forward Push into the go-to creative marketing choice for clients both locally and nationally. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By offering comprehensive plans across a variety of platforms, he creates dynamic websites that convert prospects into sales, advertising that generate high ROI, and marketing strategies that deliver a greater understanding of the marketplace.<\/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\tMelanie Adcock\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Melanie G Adcock has been designing websites since the late 90\u2019s. In May of 2010 Melanie became a full-time freelance Web Designer \/ Developer. She has been using WordPress exclusively since 2011. Her current clients include several small businesses, continuing care retirement communities, churches, and other non-profit organizations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Melanie and her husband Jay run Adcock Creative Group, a full-service agency in Newnan, Georgia.<\/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\tAisha Adams\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Aisha Adams is a social media influencer with a heart for community economic development. Through her personal platform Nappy Thoughts (www.nappythoughts.com<\/a>), Aisha has been a resource to individuals and families healing themselves from mental, emotional, and physical trauma. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her written work has appeared in publications like The Asheville Citizen Times, The Asheville Grit, and The Final Call. Aisha has a BA in English with a concentration in creative writing. She has a Masters in Post-Secondary and Adult Education. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aisha is also the founder of Aisha Adams Media Group (AishaAdamsMedia.com<\/a>), a firm that specializes in assisting small businesses with remaining relevant within their communities as they increase their revenue through marketing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently, Aisha is working on Equity Over Everything a project to advance equity by closing the gaps in homeownership and business in under resources communities.
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tBeth Livingston\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Beth built her first WordPress website in 2009 for a side business, was immediately smitten, and soon began building websites for other small businesses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2016, after a long history as an IT Business Analyst, Instructional Designer, and Project Manager, Beth left the corporate world to become a full time WordPress Coach and Designer, and now enjoys providing real-life project management skills training for WordPress practitioners (designers, developers, consultants, project managers, and agencies) through her company, WP Roadmaps and Coaching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beth also administers the WordPress Project Management Facebook group and serves as an organizer for the Triad WordPress Meetup Group where she has hosted several \u201chappiness bar\u201d type events for those needing help. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beth has spoken at various WordCamps across the country, Venture Cafe Winston-Salem, the Triad WordPress Meetup, and has taught project management classes at Guilford Technical Community College\u2019s Small Business Center in Greensboro NC. She is also the author of The Complete Project Management Roadmap for WordPress due to be released this summer.<\/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\tChip Edwards\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Chip is a partner at CreateMyVoice.com, and is dedicated to helping content producers engage their audience in a Voice First, Smart Speaker world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chip has created voice apps for well known bloggers and podcasters including Seth Godin, BiggerPockets, History Unplugged, and The Blind Blogger. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chip is a teacher, speaker, designer, and technologist who is passionate about connecting WordPress content to the new Voice Technology platforms.
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tChristine Laikind\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Hey, My name is Christine Laikind. It\u2019s personal for me \u2013 why? I was born deaf. I am an entrepreneur. I\u2019m on a mission to talk about web accessibility. To the Web Design community. To small businesses. To nonprofit organizations. To e-commerce businesses. You may or may not have heard about web accessibility. Or Inclusive design. But anyone that has a website, web accessibility is becoming more important than ever. Why? Because, the Web and Internet as a whole is an increasingly important resource in many aspects of our life which includes: education, employment, government, e-commerce, health care, recreation, and so much more. An accessible web will help people with \u201cdifferent abilities\u201d (my term), the aging population (think baby boomers and upcoming generation X) and even those who are \u201ctemporarily disabled\u201d use the website \u2013 the way it is intended. Let\u2019s talk and discuss on how we can make our digital world so much better for everyone.<\/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\tCharles Johnston\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Charles Johnston is a self-proclaimed digital ninja and owner of HeartWired Digital Solutions who works with small to medium sized businesses and nonprofits to and increase sales and donations worldwide. He believes that through proper web design, social branding, and marketing strategy all organizations can change their communities locally and globally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Charles has worked with solopreneurs, entrepreneurs, startups, nonprofits and businesses of all sizes spanning the globe in the services they provide. Whether in creating a brand-new web designs, redesigns or providing social media or web content for clients all have one common thread, they each have a story that HeartWired helps to tell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ever since his first mission trip, Charles has chosen to use his gifts and talents to serve others. His passion for technology, compassion for others, and desire to make a difference. Rather than just offering web design services, HeartWired provides purpose driven digital solutions.
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tSteve Schwartz\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Steve Schwartz is the owner of AVT Marketing in Charlotte, NC and has been developing WordPress Websites for over 10 years. After experiencing a hacked site in 2012 he has become obsessed with website security and with educating others on \u201cend to end\u201d online security. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steve is a Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) and is currently pursuing the Offensive Security Certified Professional cert (OSCP) through Kali Linux. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steve’s teaching style has always been to try to take complex technical jargon and bring it down to a level where end users can understand it. He differentiates himself as an educator by not just telling students to do (or not do) something, but rather explain the importance of \u201cWhy\u201d – and through story telling to get the point across and make it stick.<\/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\tMary Baum\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Mary Baum is the founder and principal of RacquetPress, a digital consultant to the tennis industry. \u2026 Trained as a print designer before the web was born, Mary built her first site (wrong) in 1999 and started to learn real CSS and HTML in 2007 — at the tender age of 47. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today she’s a big fan of design in the browser (after a few thumbnail sketches!) and all the modern CSS the browsers will support. She\u2019s also started hanging out in the core developer chats and helping write the blog posts (and it\u2019s giving her a swelled head.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also high on her list: rare steaks, homemade hot fudge sauce, high backhand volleys and high-contrast serif type; the Genesis Framework, Boeing fighter jets and repeating patterns in Illustrator; and finally, Atomic Blocks for Gutenberg and the ad court.
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tTeresa Rosche Ott\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Teresa is an experienced website consultant who’s built websites since the ’90s. She’s worked with WordPress since 2010.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her company, A Fearless Venture, designs, builds, optimizes and maintains WordPress websites for entrepreneurs, bloggers and other tiny businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the spring of 2018, Teresa and her husband and business partner Brian sold their Atlanta home and most of what they owned to become digital nomads. They currently live, work and travel the U.S. in a Class A motorhome.<\/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\tAmy Hall\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n

It\u2019s not a surprise that Amy Hall is referred to as the MacGyver of MailChimp. For the last ten years, Amy has been taking content management out of the hands of business owners who are already juggling too many tasks. Not only is she a certified MailChimp Partner & Expert, but she builds WordPress websites, manages content marketing for small businesses, and provides hands-on Mailchimp training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to speaking, Amy is a natural. After all, she started the Carlsbad WordPress Meetup. Amy is in her element when showing WordPress users how to optimize their forms, perfect their lead generation, and make their WordPress sites perform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When she\u2019s not training clients on how to best create their business funnel, she spends time with her husband, a minister in Carlsbad, takes her grandkids to museums, painting classes, and enjoying nature.
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tStacy M. Clements\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Stacy Clements is the owner of Milepost 42, a technology partner for small business owners who want to work on their business, not the “techie stuff” needed to support it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before starting her business, Stacy spent 23 years in the United States Air Force, working in communications, cyber operations, and project management. Dubbed “a fixer, a problem solver, and a pitbull”, she now focuses on fixing WordPress sites, solving technical problems for small business owners, and relentlessly promoting cybersecurity practices.<\/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\tSandy Edwards\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Owner of Data Driven Labs, WordPress Developer, and Educator. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sandy loves helping kids find their passion with technology. Can be found at @sunsanddesign<\/a> and at her website <\/a>https:\/\/datadrivenlabs.io<\/a>.<\/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\tJoseph LoPreste\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Joe LoPreste is co-owner of a WordPress development company based out of St. Pete Fl. and he is the father of 2 amazing teenage girls. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joe brings more than 12 years of business and technology experience and is very passionate about web accessibility for WordPress. So much so, he travels around the U.S. teaching WordPress developers and WordPress agencies about web accessibility and how to become compliant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He stubbornly believes that he can make a difference. <\/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\tDavid Wolfpaw\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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David is a professional web developer focused on WordPress theme and plugin development. He emphasizes helping small businesses, providing ongoing support, and educating users through his service [FixUpFox]<\/a>. He helps organize both WordPress Orlando and WordCamp Orlando.<\/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\tNaomi C. Bush\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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Naomi has been working with WordPress as a professional developer since 2005, and you can currently find her over at gravityplus.pro<\/a> where she specializes in quickly delivering custom business applications at a fraction of the cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She contributes back to the WordPress project through the core code, the codex documentation, free plugins, organizing the WordPress Gwinnett meetup, organizing WordCamp Atlanta, and speaking at WordCamps.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Call for Speakers for WordCamp Birmingham 2019 has closed. Our team is in the process of making final selections. Applicants will be notified by Friday, May 24 of their status. Check back after June 1 to see the list of speakers for this year’s WP Y’all!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6592715,"featured_media":608,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-8","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/PasL8c-8","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/birmingham.wordcamp.org\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/birmingham.wordcamp.org\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/birmingham.wordcamp.org\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/birmingham.wordcamp.org\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6592715"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/birmingham.wordcamp.org\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/birmingham.wordcamp.org\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":865,"href":"https:\/\/birmingham.wordcamp.org\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8\/revisions\/865"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/birmingham.wordcamp.org\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/608"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/birmingham.wordcamp.org\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}