Organizers

Andres Escobar is the Lead Platform Developer at iOneDigital. He is a self-taught digital architect who believes in the WordPress mission to democratize publishing.

In his spare time, Andres volunteers teaching kids how to code in his home town of Hoboken, NJ.

Matt is the co-founder and CTO of Alley Interactive, where he works on large media and publishing sites, focusing on data visualizations and advanced front-end experiences. He has overseen projects for clients including The Brookings Institution, The Guggenheim Museum, Foreign Policy magazine, and The New Republic. He lives in Brooklyn, New York, and is @xmatt on Twitter.

Brad drives process, delivery and strategy for Alley and its clients while also managing large-scale news media projects. Brad led the New York Post’s monumental rebuild of its website in 2013 and subsequent redesign in 2015, executing two of the largest launches in the history of WordPress. He also lead the relaunch of POLITICO Europe after POLITICO’s acquisition of Alley client European Voice. Most recently, Brad led the relaunch of TwinCities.com for Digital First Media.

Adam Schweigert is a person on planet earth. His job doesn’t define him, but his love for pineapple on pizza sure does. It is often the secret to the perfect sweet/savory balance. He is also Director of User Experience at Mother Jones.

Steph lives in Boston, MA and is passionate about all things journalism and technology. She currently works at WordPress.com VIP, and previously worked on the editorial teams at America’s Test Kitchen, Chicago Tribune, and The Boston Globe. As a Medill alum, she is happy to be back at Northwestern University for this year’s conference. You can find her on Twitter @crushgear.

Proud father and husband living in Tualatin, Or.

Principal, Hand Built. Sales, rtCamp. Committer, WP-CLI.

Aaron Jorbin is a polyhistoric man of the web that knows rabble rousers get shit done.  Currently, he is Director of Editorial Technology for PMC, purveyor of fine brands such as Rolling Stone, Variety, and Robb Report. Aaron is also a WordPress Core Committer focused on improving developer happiness and making the internet usable and enjoyable by everyone. His free time pursuits tend to be focused on art, beverages, and international politics. He tweets at @aaronjorbin and writes regularly at daily.jorb.in.

Andrew heads up product teams at Dow Jones, and is currently focusing on content management systems across a portfolio of business and financial news properties. He previously worked on The Wall Street Journal, Business Insider, The New Yorker, and Vanity Fair. He lives in Westchester, NY.

Alexis is wrangling all things WordPress while working with the WordPress.com VIP team at Automattic. She lives in New York, NY, and can be found quarterly at BigWP NYC. This serial retweeter can also be seen on Twitter @alexiskulash.