WordCamp Detroit 2012 is managed and organized by a group of people who share a few key interests: Passion for the web, the love of WordPress, the drive to teach and belief in the a**-kicking city of Detroit.
Once a year we come together to share our love for WordPress by hosting WordCamp Detroit. At these events we pull together the most talented WordPress speakers, covering topics for end-users, designers, coders and developers.
In return for our efforts we are endlessly rewarded through the inspiring stories of amazing projects, fueled by the capabilities of WordPress. In the end, all we can say is “Thank you for using WordPress.”
Your Organizers
The organizers for WordCamp Detroit have a variety of backgrounds. It turns out they all have different must-have plugins, too.
Anthony Montalbano
Anthony is the lead organizer for WordCamp Detroit for the second year in a row. A big fan of WordPress since 2006, he uses it for content management and its API to data interface. Anthony spoke at the first WordCamp Detroit in 2010. “I couldn’t tell you how many times this plugin [WP-DB-Backup] has saved me.”
TJ List
The WordPress newbie of the group, TJ started using it 2 years ago. Now a WordCamp junkie, he has attended 5 WordCamps to date (he spoke at three of them). TJ helped organize WordCamp Detroit 2010 and is co-organizer of the Metro Detroit WordPress Meetup group. He doesn’t know how to build a site without WordPress.com Custom CSS.
Ross Johnson
An experienced designer/developer, Ross has been using WordPress since 2006. It makes a great CMS for developing websites for his clients. Ross spoke at WordCamp Detroit 2010 and has been seen organizing a WordPress user group in Ann Arbor. His favorite plugin is Magic Fields.
Declan O’Neill
Declan began playing with WordPress in 2006. He now uses it to build and maintain client websites. He attended WordCamps before jumping up to help organize them. His favorite plugin is the only premium one of our group: Gravity Forms. (Off the record, we like it too!)
Billy Strawter Jr.
“How long have I been using WordPress? That’s like asking how long I have been married.” Billy uses WordPress for personal blogs, for business websites, and the occasional client. His favorite plugin is WP SuperCache, a must if you host at *cough*GoDaddy*cough*.
Deborah Edwards-Onoro
A WordPress developer since 2006, Deborah uses WordPress for her clients and manages a WordPress Multi-Network at Washtenaw Community College. She has attended ten WordCamps, six in person and four virtually. She’s co-organizer of the Metro Detroit WordPress Meetup and group leader of Refresh Detroit.
Cara Jo Miller
Pixel Wranger (better known as UI Designer) at Are You a Human, founder of Run This Race, Detroiter, Photographer, and an avid runner. Cara Jo built her first website in 1997 to showcase her awesome Pokémon collection to her friends, after HTML and CSS she moved onto bigger and better things with WordPress in 2007.
Jeff Mackey
Jeff Mackey has been developing websites powered by WordPress since 2005. He is a website front-end architect, information technology consultant, and business owner. Jeff has over 15 years of professional experience, and his business specializes in providing custom WordPress solutions for clients. His favorite plugin is Gravity Forms, and enjoys pushing it to it’s full potential.