Organizers

Marc Benzakein- Lead Organizer

Marc is the Operations Manager of ServerPress, LLC, but secretly, people there call him “The Mayor.” It may sound all well and good, but Marc knows that the real reason for it is because whenever something goes wrong, the mayor is the one who gets thrown under the bus first. As his first act as Mayor, Marc single-handedly passed legislation by issuing an Executive Order removing all busing and other public transportation as a precautionary measure.

With that out of the way, Marc thought it would be a great idea to run a WordCamp, because hey. . . who doesn’t like words (we all use them) and a good camping trip? Seemed like a natural match to him. Imagine his dismay when he found out that it was a two day event being held at a school. None the less, as with everything Marc does, he decided to make the best of it and says he’s enjoying “organizing the snot out of this thing.”

When asked about the theme, he responded, “What’s not to like? It’s the 50s! It’s Fonzie! It’s Happy Days! And WordCamps are two days of the happiest days of anyone’s life, right?”

Most people think that Marc has a screw or two loose, but it’s ok. He’s like that uncle that’s not quite crazy enough to call “everyone’s crazy uncle” but not quite sane enough to call “everyone’s cool uncle.” Those people may be right.  You can connect with Marc on Twitter @MarcBenzak.

Shanta Nathwani

Shanta is an IT, Web Design and Social Media Consultant and an Instructor in Web Design and Capstone Project at Sheridan College and Mohawk College. She is also a principal in Web Weapons, specializing in Web Development, Business Intelligence and Educational Training.

She is a problem solver and have been said to have the patience of a saint. She can explain even the most difficult concepts to the most basic user and has developed training documents that allow clients to learn for themselves. She thrives on understanding the needs of my clients and believes in making social media as simple as possible and making it fun, which allows our clients to seamlessly incorporate it into their organization.

Shanta holds a Certificate in Business Management and a Bachelors of Commerce Degree from Ryerson University in Information Technology Management. Some of her volunteer activities include being the Alumni Advisor for the Women In Information Technology Management program at Ryerson University, Technical Advisor for the Malvern Red and Black Society and Assistant Instructor at the Canadian Martial Arts Centre.

She blogs at shanta.ca and can be found on Twitter @ShantaDotCa

Emma Edgar

Emma Edgar is a Developer at Tuna Traffic. As a member of the Development team, Emma uses her skills to take designs and mockups and transform them into beautiful websites for clients. An expert in all things WordPress, she’s been a frequent speaker at WordCamps, meet ups, and WordPress classes in the Milwaukee area. This year, she’s taking a break to be a part of the awesome organizing team.

At home, Emma is rarely around the computer, opting for more hands-on activities like knitting, crocheting, and duct tape art. No, not fixing pipes in an “abstract” way, and not making wallets… She’s turned it into a real art medium, you can check out her website for a peek at her latest work. She also loves to play with her daughter, Daphne, a 4 year old miniature pinscher mix.

Nicole Osburn

Nicole is Tuna Traffic’s Digital Marketing Assistant. Her responsibilities run the digital marketing gamut. For starters, she is all things Social, masterfully managing all of Tuna’s Social Media accounts. This includes maintaining and expanding our clients’ social networking presence by creating engaging campaigns and cultivating fresh content. In addition to her Social duties, Nicole provides expert Sales and Marketing support. We here at Tuna know two things. One, if Nicole’s socially savvy hands are in a project, it’s going to be awesome. And two, our clients are going to be over the moon.

Nicole brings a strong background in marketing from her entrepreneurial role with Trinity Homes and sales positions at MasterCraft Builders and General Beverage. She holds an A.A.S. in Marketing and a Social Media Certificate from WCTC. When not being social for Tuna’s clients, she can be found hanging with her dogs at home, traveling to lands near and far, searching out amazing restaurants, or on a trapeze. Yes, trapeze. Nicole is also somewhat obsessed with Pinterest DIY Boards, Instagram and emojis! 😎 👑 ✨ 🎉 🎂

Jamie Schmid

Jamie is a freelance WordPress Architect and Developer. She has a background in Information Architecture, Web Development and UX design, but her true calling is having way too much fun doing content strategy and architecture for all the interesting projects that come her way. She blogs about content and WordPress on her website, http://www.jamieschmid.com

Joshua Alexander

Josh is a WordPress Developer in the Chicago suburbs that specializes in working with other tech firms to help them meet work objectives they don’t have the tech skills for or time to handle. Also one of the few ethical hacking companies in the area.

Andy Nathan

Andy is the founder of Smart at the Start, a digital marketing strategy company that helps small businesses grow through bite-sized internet marketing services. He has successfully worked with hundreds of entrepreneurs in over 80 different industries over the past six years.

Andy has written the books Start Up Gap and eMarketing Experience. Additionally, in that short period, he has penned more than 4,000 articles for clients and his own business.

Over the past 5 years, Andy has been an organizer and/or speaker at WordCamp Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Louis.

Mike Zielonka

A frequent speaker at industry groups such as the Milwaukee WordPress MeetUp group and WordCamp Milwaukee and Chicago, Mike gives his time back to the WordPress community by co-organizing WordCamp Milwaukee every year, #WCMKE :). BTT (before Tuna Traffic), Mike managed the internet department of a nationally recognized Honda dealership and worked in management operations for FedEx. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and a minor in Business from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He’s also a pizza connoisseur (sausage, mushroom, extra cheese on thin crust is his favorite most of the time, but often he can’t resist a Sausage Chicago Deep Dish with shredded parmesan sprinkled on top) and a Packers fanatic, not to mention an overall nice Wisconsin guy. Mike lives in Racine, Wisconsin, with his wife Jamae and their three dogs, Sassy, Bella, and Thor. When not working, you’ll find him fishing on his boat, “The Silver Bullet,” cheering for the Packers or working on learning another tool to add to his toolbox. As they say, “Knowledge is Power.” 🙂

Scott Offord

Dustin Filippini

Brad Parbs