Howdy! I’m Rob. I’m a web developer and project manager with over 25 years of experience, dating back to my preteen years, during the (dark) days of Web 1.0. I have nearly two decades of experience using WordPress in hobby, freelance, and professional capacities. I’ve been working in agency environments serving clients for the better part of the past decade, and I started my own WordPress agency in 2022.

While there’s a lot to love and appreciate about WordPress, my highest area of interest is with Gutenberg, Full-Site Editing, and Block Themes — and how the shift from the Classic Editor to the Block Editor has revolutionized how WordPress sites are scoped, designed, developed, and maintained. I vividly remember its initial launch with WordPress 5.0 in Dec 2018, and how chaotic it initially made things for my clients. Despite some initial bumpiness, I’m a gigantic Gutenberg evangelizer. This was aided during my time (unsuccessfully) trialing at Automattic in 2020, convinced of Gutenberg’s staying power, as I had access to Automattic’s internal field guide, laying out future plans for the editor.

In addition to Gutenberg, I’ve developed a broad interest in Accessibility, to truly democratize using and contributing to the web for all. And beyond strictly development, I also specialize in web project management, SEO, client support, and customer success. More recently, I’ve tasked myself with the advantages (and pitfalls) or incorporating AI into web project management — where can it contribute to code, imagery, content, and beyond.

Beyond my agency experience, I also have a background in broadcasting, in both podcasting and terrestrial radio, as well as audio production. Before I shifted full-time into agency work, I spent most of the 2010s as a secondary educator, teaching Social Studies and Special Education to students in grades 6-12. I offer training and consulting services to existing and would-be clients, which allows me to partially scratch the teaching itch.

I’m in the process of starting a WordPress-sponsored Meetup group in my town. As of this writing, my orientation with Automattic is tomorrow, and we’re in the process of securing space in my town’s newly-renovated public library as a setting for the group. I’ll be attending my first WordCamp US in August 2023 in Maryland, and look forward to using these two community experiences to put myself in position to host a WordCamp in my local area in 2024 — the first my region has seen since before the pandemic.

Additional topics: Gutenberg Full-Site Editing, the rols of AI in Development/Management