Keynote: Dive Into WordPress

A unique perspective on the WordPress Community

Abha Thakor is an experienced communicator, journalist, researcher and digital professional. She has specialisms in evolving technologies, artificial intelligence, strategic communications, sustainable development and cross-cultural working. She is on the WordPress Release squad for 5.5 and 5.6.

She is a WordPress Marketing Team Rep and Communications Lead for WordPress Translation Day. She is active in a number of other teams building cross-team collaboration, including WordPress.tv and Community. She supports events in WordPress and other tech and management areas through mentoring and championing communications, inclusion and accessibility.

She was Communications Lead for WordCamp London 2019 and a co-organiser for WordCamp London 2020, Europe 2019 and 2020, Abha is also Communications Lead for WordPress Translation Day and its mini-events. She has helped lead or facilitate the marketing team and various projects for Contributor events in Brighton, Milan, Zurich, Dublin, Belfast, Stuttgart and Mumbai. 

With her journalistic training, she has developed a number of projects including the #ContributorStory series and the video marketing initiative, and runs training events in a number of environments. She is also the professional development lead for a number of organisations and writes on technology, AI and machine learning. She is an editor of the ‘People of WordPress’ series on WordPress.org/news.

Earlier this year, Abha was awarded fellowship of the international Chartered Institute of Public Relations in recognition of outstanding services to that profession and the industry. She is also a Chartered PR Practitioner and a Chartered Manager, and champions lifelong learning in communications and IT.

Speaker

By Abha Thakor

Abha Thakor is an experienced communicator, senior journalist and digital media and research professional working in a variety of sectors, with a speciality in content development and communities, web CMS, voice tech, and site building. She volunteers her contribution to the WordPress project as part of her wider contribution to Inclusion, and Tech opportunities for all. She is a long term active and significant contributor on several releases and has co-led areas of work. Her team contributions include Core, the Learn WordPress / Training, Community, and Documentation. She is also a component maintainer in core, and Team Rep for 2023. She has served on the Marketing Team since 2018, was a Marketing Team Rep from 2020 to February 2022. She continues to support contributors in this area and with using GitHub.

Her professional interests include:
- new technologies and research
- communications and IT training
- event organising and administration / project management
- supporting the communications and tech organizations communities
- community building and stakeholder engagement, particularly around digital and websites, and citizenship

Promoting adult learning, development and accessibility through a range of community events including WordCamps, digital communications groups and tech-based Meetups.
- member of a number of Make WordPress teams including core, marketing, training and WordPress.tv
- champions Continuing Professional Development for her professional institutes

Abha is a speaker and researcher on tech and communications, accessibility and innovation topics including AI.