Tag Archives: Automattic

Joining Ad Hoc

I’m excited to share that I’ve joined Ad Hoc as a Senior UX Designer, focused on accessibility.

If you don’t know, Ad Hoc builds digital services for the U.S. government. The company’s founders helped rescue Healthcare.gov after its turbulent launch. The talented team has since launched Vets.gov among other notable projects.

I enjoyed working in this space before, as a contractor for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to use accessibility as a lever to improve government digital experiences. The more I’ve explored accessibility, the more passionate I’ve become about it. It also helps that for me, the work has a deep, personal meaning. It was time to give it my full attention.

What attracted me most to the position at Ad Hoc was that it was part of the design team. Along with my colleagues, I can advocate for accessibility early during the design process. It won’t just be about testing before launch. I started last week, and the first few days have been lots of fun. I’m diving into all sorts of different tech stacks, tools and challenges.

This new gig lacks something I’ve had in past jobs though: a focus on WordPress. While that means I won’t work with WordPress day to day, I imagine I’ll still be around the community. I’m so thankful for WordPress and the people I’ve met both in the community and at Automattic. Both have made me better in countless ways.

Onward!

Themers in a Photo – Grand Meetup, 2017 Edition

A few weeks ago, Automattic held its annual Grand Meetup. That’s where the company I work for gathers together in one place for a week to strategize, work and bond. Every year, we throw a party at the end of the week, complete with a photo booth. Piling into the photo booth (or in this case, photo area) has turned into one of my favorite things.

Many themers posting in a photo both, holding signs, silly props and wearing funny masks and faces.

Of course, we also took a serious one.

Group photo of the Automatic Theme Team

Between all the work, I had a bit of fun too. A few nice hikes, plus a ride up a mountain in a gondola. We saw a bear! Although, I didn’t snap a great picture of it. One of these days I’m just going to move to the mountains because I love it so much. 🙂

  • The fog sets in on the mountain, on one of the peaks.
  • A view of a gondola on the Peak to Peak experience in Whistler, B.C.
  • A view at the mountains from inside our gondola.
  • A few themers on a podium.
  • A overlook near Brandywine Falls.
  • Daisy Lake.
  • Brandywine Falls.
  • Daisy Lake.
  • Brandywine Falls.

Here’s to another great year at Automattic, surrounded by awesome colleagues with a worthwhile mission!

Theme Team in Montréal, 2017

This past week, my team at Automattic – the Theme Team, met in Montréal for a week of work, planning for the future and team bonding. We worked hard, had fun and charted a path for the future of the team.

Sadly, I didn’t take as many photos as I normally do. My phone started acting up. It turns out, its battery went bad. The entire phone became swollen and mostly inoperable. 🙁 But I did take a few.

Poutine (fries, gravy, cheese curds and bacon)
Real poutine.

I’m excited to get the projects we worked on launched soon. I’m more excited for the future of our team. It comes with some changes, but I think those will work out in the end.

  • A collection of ceramics (mugs, cupcakes, robots and more)
    We all painted something!
  • Ceramic robot
    I painted a robot!

We went to a few activities as a team, including a spoken story event, painting ceramics and more. As much as I love my work, I love my team even more.

  • The Theme Team, plus Ian Stewart
  • The Theme Team, backs turned in front of a fountain
  • The Theme Team

Theme Team in Barcelona, 2016

So I’m posting these photos late. 🙂 Last November the Theme Team, my team at Automattic, spent the week in Barcelona. We worked on Components and saw a few sites: La Sagrada Familia and Parc Güell.

  • La Sagrada Familia from the street
    La Sagrada Familia from the street.
  • La Sagrada Familia from the sidewalk
    La Sagrada Familia from the sidewalk.
  • A blue door on La Sagrada Familia
    A blue door on La Sagrada Familia.
  • A stained glass window of blue and red in La Sagrada Familia
    A stained glass window of blue and red in La Sagrada Familia.
  • A stained glass window of orange in La Sagrada Familia
    A stained glass window of orange in La Sagrada Familia.
  • A stained glass window of blue in La Sagrada Familia
    A stained glass window of blue in La Sagrada Familia.
  • A view of the ceiling in La Sagrada Familia
    A view of the ceiling in La Sagrada Familia.
  • Columns in La Sagrada Familia
    Columns in La Sagrada Familia.
  • A view of Barcelona from atop La Sagrada Familia
    A view of Barcelona from atop La Sagrada Familia.
  • A view of Barcelona from atop La Sagrada Familia
    A view of Barcelona from atop La Sagrada Familia.
  • A view of a park from atop La Sagrada Familia
    A view of a park from atop La Sagrada Familia.
  • A view of Barcelona from atop La Sagrada Familia
    A view of Barcelona from atop La Sagrada Familia.
  • A long set of stairs in La Sagrada Familia
    A long set of stairs in La Sagrada Familia.
  • A view of La Sagrada Familia from the street
    A view of La Sagrada Familia from the street.
  • A building in Parc Güell
    A building in Parc Güell.
  • A building in Parc Güell
    A building in Parc Güell.
  • A view from Parc Güell, looking toward the ocean
    A view from Parc Güell, looking toward the ocean.
  • A few theme wranglers in Parc Güell
    A few theme wranglers in Parc Güell.
  • Columns in Parc Güell.
    Columns in Parc Güell.
  • A view of architecture in Parc Güell
    A view of architecture in Parc Güell.

Themers in a Photo – Grand Meetup, 2016 Edition

Many themers posting in a photo both, holding signs, silly props and wearing funny masks and faces.
Many themers posting in a photo both, holding signs, silly props and wearing funny masks and faces.
Many themers posting in a photo both, holding signs, silly props and wearing funny masks and faces.

This past week, Automattic held its annual Grand Meetup, where the entire company gets together to talk about the past year, plan ahead for the next one and work on a few cool things…

Oh, and we throw a party at the end with a photo booth. As you can see, my team, the Theme Team, knows how to take a good photo. 🙂 I’m lucky to work with such a great group of people. They’re more than coworkers – they’re friends. People who inspire me, push me, teach me, make me laugh and probably overuse the 💩 emoji. Nobody’s perfect.

ThemeShaper v. 2016

Yesterday, my colleagues and I on the Theme Team at Automattic redesigned our blog, ThemeShaper. I say yesterday because we really did it in about a day. The project was part of a hack day at Automattic. We hold a few each year, and they allow us to work on projects that we normally don’t have time for, need attention or experiment with something risky.

I’m really happy with how it came out. Fellow Automatticians Kathryn Presner and Laurel Fulford helped make the idea a reality. The thing that excites me the most about the new look is that it’s so flexible. We have plenty of space to iterate and add creative flourishes over time. Wow, hack days are fun!