Hallway Chats

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Hallway Chats introduces the unique designers, developers, marketing consultants, content creators, project managers, and more who make our community the flourishing environment we love. This endeavor will share the mic with the unsung women and men in our community who struggle, and succeed, in lif…

Tara Claeys and Liam Dempsey


    • Nov 16, 2023 LATEST EPISODE
    • monthly NEW EPISODES
    • 31m AVG DURATION
    • 175 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from Hallway Chats

    Episode 176 – A Chat With Nancy Lyons

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 16, 2023 41:19


    Nancy Lyons is the CEO and co-founder of Clockwork, an enterprise web development company in Minneapolis MN. We've known her through the internet for years, and it was a delight to get to talk to her in this episode.

    Episode 175 – A Chat With Evelyn Maina

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 24, 2023 24:06


    Evelyn is a very unusual guest in that we brought her into the WordPress community! Years ago when Liam and Tara started this podcast they hired Evelyn as their transcriber. Since then, Evelyn has gotten to know more than 175 WordPressers by transcribing their interviews here on Hallway Chats. Her perspective as an "outsider" was quite heartwarming.

    Episode 174 – WordCamp Birmingham Hallway Chats

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 10, 2023 17:35


    In February Topher and Cate went to WordCamp Birmingham and Topher was able to interview both Aisha Adams and Marcus Burnette in the hallway.

    Episode 173 – A Chat With Robert Devore

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 25, 2023 29:46


    Believe it or not, this is Robert's second time on Hallway Chats! His first was back in 2017 with Liam and Tara. Since Ny and Topher had never talked to him on here, we decided to give it another go!

    Episode 172 – The Hallway Chats Of WordCamp Italy

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 6, 2023 22:34


    In November 2022 Topher went to WordCamp Italy in Milan. While there he had conversations with James Baldacchino, Luisa Ravelli, Caroline Crossland, Paolo Scala, and Samah Nasr.

    Episode 171 – A Chat With Benjamin Zekavica and Moritz Bappert

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 22, 2023 20:21


    Topher and Sophia met with Benjamin Zekavica and Moritz Bappert, both WordCamp Europe 2023 volunteers.

    moritz topher wordcamp europe
    Episode 170 – A Chat With Evangelia Pappa, Lena Lekkou, Hacer Yilmaz

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 15, 2023 26:13


    Topher and Sophia met with Evangelia Pappa, Lena Lekkou, and Hacer Yilmaz, all three WordCamp Europe 2023 Organizers.

    Episode 169 – A Chat With Amy Kamala

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 8, 2023 48:42


    Topher and Sophia met with Amy for the first time in this episode. We talked about WordPress, Linguistics, and WordCamp Europe.

    Episode 168 – A Chat With Maestro Stevens

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 5, 2023 17:55


    Topher and Maestro met at WordCamp Buffalo a few weeks previous, and then conncetted again in Hallway Chats to talk about his WCEU talk.

    Episode 167 – A Chat With Iolanda Sequino

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 27, 2023 4:41


    Topher and Iolanda got some time at WordCamp Italy in Milan to chat about her experiences in WordPress.

    Episode 166 – A Chat With Maja Benke

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 13, 2023 31:43


    Topher and Maja got some time to sit at an outdoor cafe in Barcelona Spain and talk about how she got into WordPress.

    Episode 165 – A Chat With Lesley Sim

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 23, 2023 29:53


    Topher and Nyasha had the opportunity chat with Lesley Sim about life before WordPress, free diving, and founding a company.

    Episode 164 – A Chat With Alice Orrù

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 11, 2023 6:41


    Topher had the opportunity chat with Alice Orrù while at WordCamp Italia in Milan this last November. Alice is Italian, but lives in Spain.

    Episode 163 – A Chat With Tom Finley

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 2, 2023 30:15


    Topher and Nyasha have a great conversation with Tom on topics ranging from art, design, and artificial intelligence.

    Episode 162 – A Chat With Vassy Valchanova

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 20, 2023 11:22


    Topher and Vassy meetup for a live, in-person Hallway Chat at WordCamp Europe 2022 and talk about her work in Digital Marketing.

    Episode 161 – A Chat With Matt Mullenweg

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 6, 2023 37:58


    In this episode of Hallway Chats we talk with Matt Mullenweg about travel, photography, Tumblr, and a little WordPress.

    Episode 160 – A Chat With Grzegorz Ziółkowski

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 5, 2022 8:41


    In this episode of Hallway Chats we talk with Greg Ziółkowski at WordCamp Europe about working on the Gutenberg project.

    Episode 159 – A Chat With Piccia Neri

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 20, 2022 16:41


    In this episode of Hallway Chats we talk with Piccia Neri about being a designer, and championing design-lead development and accessability.

    Episode 158 – A Chat With Sofie Couwenbergh

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 14, 2022 15:12


    In this episode of Hallway Chats we talk with Aurooba Ahmed about how she got into WordPress and her ongoing work in making Gutenberg blocks.

    Episode 157 – A Chat With Aurooba Ahmed

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 9, 2022 33:12


    In this episode of Hallway Chats we talk with Aurooba Ahmed about how she got into WordPress and her ongoing work in making Gutenberg blocks.

    Episode 156 – A Chat With Tammie Lister

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 28, 2021 40:44


    In this episode of Hallway Chats we talk with Tammie Lister about what it really means to be a web designer these days, the ability of developer to niche down, and the future of Gutenberg and the WordPress editor.

    Episode 154 – A Chat With Jen Swisher About WordCamp US

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 27, 2021 38:48


    In this episode of Hallway Chats we talk with Jen Swisher about being a long term WordCamp organizer, but also organizing WordCamp US 2021.

    Episode 154 – Joe Howard

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 15, 2021 42:23


    The 2021 WPMRR Virtual Summit is kicking off on September 21st and Cate and Topher talk with Joe Howard about why he started it and what it's like to start up a new virtual summit. The post Episode 154 – Joe Howard appeared first on Hallway Chats.

    topher joe howard
    Episode 153 – Seth Goldstein

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 4, 2021 31:05


    Seth is a WordPress designer and digital marketer who has been active in the WordPress community in the Philadelphia for more than a decade. Join us while we talk about podcasting, digital conferences, digital swag bags, and much more! The post Episode 153 – Seth Goldstein appeared first on Hallway Chats.

    Episode 152 – Aditya Kane

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 20, 2021 48:28


    A Conversation with Aditya Kane Aditya hails from Pune, India, and has been working in WordPress for more than a decade, as well as being a WordCamp organizer multiple times and volunteering at other events. Show Notes Website | WordFest.Live Website | BombayPirate.com Twitter | @adityakane Episode Transcript Topher: Hey, everyone. My name is Topher. […] The post Episode 152 – Aditya Kane appeared first on Hallway Chats.

    Episode 151 – Dan Maby and Michelle Frechette

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 29, 2021 36:18


    A Conversation with Dan Maby and Michelle Frechette Dan and Michelle have been working together to make WordFest Live be a top notch, world-wide WordPress conference. We talk with them about it works and the difficulties of making a global event happen. Show Notes Website | WordFest.Live Twitter | @danmaby Twitter | @michelleames Episode Transcript Topher: […] The post Episode 151 – Dan Maby and Michelle Frechette appeared first on Hallway Chats.

    Episode 150 – Cate and Topher DeRosia

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 8, 2021 47:57


    The DeRosias are the founders and stewards of HeroPress. If you don't already know about it, HeroPress tells the stories of people who have leveraged WordPress and its community to change their lives and achieve their goals. Through these stories, global connections are made and conversations are had that build a stronger community, more employment, and educational opportunities, and easier access to resources. The post Episode 150 – Cate and Topher DeRosia appeared first on Hallway Chats.

    wordpress heropress topher derosia
    Episode 149 – Stephanie Hudson

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 25, 2021 32:49


    Stephanie Hudson is a geek, entrepreneur, inventor, and craft beer lover. Her passion is helping grow agencies to scale and thrive through her white label company FocusWP. The post Episode 149 – Stephanie Hudson appeared first on Hallway Chats.

    Episode 148 – Bet Hannon

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 11, 2021 32:09


    Bet Hannon discovered WordPress in 2008 and has been involved in the WordPress community since 2013 at meetups, WordCamps, and on the support team. Bet runs an agency, Bet Hannon Business Websites, where she specializes in WordPress and accessibility. The post Episode 148 – Bet Hannon appeared first on Hallway Chats.

    Episode 147 – Patrick Rauland

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 25, 2021 34:57


    Patrick Rauland is obsessed with eCommerce. He's created eCommerce websites for clients, worked at WooCommerce in support, development, and product management, and he creates courses on LinkedIn Learning for WooCommerce. He's written several books on eCommerce, and also runs WooSesh, an online conference all about WooCommerce. The post Episode 147 – Patrick Rauland appeared first on Hallway Chats.

    ecommerce woocommerce patrick rauland woosesh
    Episode 146 – Ken Elliott

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 11, 2021 33:41


    Ken Elliott lives in Columbia, South Carolina, where he is a full-time webmaster at a law firm. He's also a co-owner of BKreative Media Solutions, an agency that supports small and medium businesses with digital branding solutions. He's a core organizer of his local WordPress meetup, which is on a bit of a hiatus to the COVID. The post Episode 146 – Ken Elliott appeared first on Hallway Chats.

    Episode 145 – Kyle Maurer

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 28, 2021 34:14


    Kyle Maurer is the Director of Operations at Sandhills Development which is a WordPress plugin company. He loves bringing people together and has a passion for making music and craft beer. The post Episode 145 – Kyle Maurer appeared first on Hallway Chats.

    Episode 144 – Heather Steele

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 14, 2021 31:56


    Heather Steele is the founder and CEO of Blue Steel Solutions. Heather started her marketing agency 10 and a half years ago because she was tired of seeing great people fail just because they couldn't clearly communicate their value. The post Episode 144 – Heather Steele appeared first on Hallway Chats.

    ceo heather steele
    Episode 143 – Machielle Thomas

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 24, 2020 31:53


    Machielle Thomas is a mommy, a marketer, photographer, and a dreamer. She's currently the senior brand manager for Bluehost, and most of her time is spent chasing her tiny terrorist, or finding the best tacos in her hometown of Austin, Texas. The post Episode 143 – Machielle Thomas appeared first on Hallway Chats.

    Episode 142 – C. Shakhawat Sultan

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 10, 2020 31:53


    C. Shakhawat Sultan is the business development manager at CodeRex. He works hand in hand with the developers and the marketing team to create useful plugins. He is passionate about WordPress and loves to contribute to the community. The post Episode 142 – C. Shakhawat Sultan appeared first on Hallway Chats.

    Episode 141 – Rachel Makool

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 12, 2020 32:24


    Rachel Makool is a senior community manager at GoDaddy and has been there for five years, managing the online community and other community programs. She's been a community professional for over 15 years. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and loves to hike, travel, and she's a collector of many things. She also sells odds and ends online and has done so for 20 years. The post Episode 141 – Rachel Makool appeared first on Hallway Chats.

    Episode 140 – Hans Skillrud

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 29, 2020 35:16


    Introducing Hans Skillrud Over the course of seven years, Hans Skillrud built a 12-person web design agency in downtown Chicago and then sold it in early 2019, to focus his attention on his new start up, Termageddon. Termageddon is an auto-updating privacy policy generator. Show Notes Twitter | @twitter.com/deepspacehans Website | termageddon.com Preferred Pronouns | […] The post Episode 140 – Hans Skillrud appeared first on Hallway Chats.

    Episode 139 – Chris Ford

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 15, 2020 33:07


    Chris Ford spent the first 20 years of her career working as an agency and freelance designer. 5 years ago, she took a hard left into project management. Today she’s a hybrid project manager and designer at Reaktiv, a WordPress VIP partner. The post Episode 139 – Chris Ford appeared first on Hallway Chats.

    Episode 138 – Winstina Hughes

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 24, 2020 33:49


    Winstina Hughes is an Assistant Regional Planner for the Maryland Department of Transportation. She created her first WordPress blog for a Geographic Information Systems assignment, and followed it soon after with one on community development and suburban planning. She has presented at WordCamp NYC, WordCamp US, and WordCamp Austin. A WordPress Meetup co-organizer, Winstina led WordCamp NYC 2018. The post Episode 138 – Winstina Hughes appeared first on Hallway Chats.

    transportation wordpress hughes maryland department geographic information systems wordcamp us wordpress meetup
    Episode 137 – Emily Hunkler

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 10, 2020 32:40


    Emily Hunkler is the director of growth at GoWP. She lives just outside Atlanta, Georgia with her two daughters and her husband. When not working, Emily loves running both on the road and trails. On weekends, she also loves hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The post Episode 137 – Emily Hunkler appeared first on Hallway Chats.

    Episode 136 – Annejeanette Washington Collins

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 27, 2020 33:14


    Annejeanette Washington Collins is a teacher at both the elementary and collegiate level. She teaches children at a school in western Florida, and college students in Fort Lauderdale. Annejeanette is a WordPress advocate, blogger, and WordCamp presenter. The post Episode 136 – Annejeanette Washington Collins appeared first on Hallway Chats.

    Episode 135 – David Zimmerman

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 13, 2020 32:31


    David Zimmerman has been working in SEO for about 12 years, five years on his own as Reliable Acorn. Over the past couple of years, he's been speaking at WordCamps about SEO and client management. The post Episode 135 – David Zimmerman appeared first on Hallway Chats.

    seo wordcamps david zimmerman
    Episode 134 – Caylin White

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 30, 2020 35:10


    Caylin White is the growth manager at GoWP. She's a marketer and an artist who shares her art on CBCinked.com. The post Episode 134 – Caylin White appeared first on Hallway Chats.

    Episode 133 – Anyssa Ferreira

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 16, 2020 33:34


    Anyssa is a designer and front-end developer from São Paulo, Brazil. She is co-founder of Haste, an agency focused on delivering great user experience with WordPress. Anyssa is also part of the WordCamp São Paulo organizing team. The post Episode 133 – Anyssa Ferreira appeared first on Hallway Chats.

    Episode 132 – Pritesh Vora

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 2, 2020 31:42


    Pritesh leads growth marketing and operations at BlogVault, MalCare, WP Remote. Previously, he co-founded and sold Uninstall.io. Here's an entrepreneur at heart who loves challenging the status quo. Pritesh says he is a hardcore growth geek. The post Episode 132 – Pritesh Vora appeared first on Hallway Chats.

    vora uninstall pritesh blogvault
    Episode 131 – Cate DeRosia

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 18, 2020 36:05


    Cate DeRosia has wandered around WordPress for the last five years speaking, organizing, and being an engaging human. Currently, she's building out a family business and investigating how to expand HeroPress into a new kind of membership site. The post Episode 131 – Cate DeRosia appeared first on Hallway Chats.

    wordpress heropress
    Episode 130: Tara Claeys & Liam Dempsey

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 4, 2020 34:08


    Liam Dempsey and Tara Claeys review the past year of the Hallway Chats podcast, discuss their views about success, share advice and announce plans for year 4. The post Episode 130: Tara Claeys & Liam Dempsey appeared first on Hallway Chats.

    claeys liam dempsey
    Episode 129 – Oliver Sild

    Play Episode Listen Later May 21, 2020 32:45


    Oliver Sild is a 26-year-old entrepreneur who has built three companies today and is very active in the cybersecurity landscape. WordPress folks would know him as the founder of a website security company called WebARX. The post Episode 129 – Oliver Sild appeared first on Hallway Chats.

    Episode 128 – Nigel Rodgers

    Play Episode Listen Later May 7, 2020 32:33


    Nigel Rodgers likes helping people with WordPress, whether it's building new websites, fixing websites, organizing meetups and events, and connecting people. The post Episode 128 – Nigel Rodgers appeared first on Hallway Chats.

    Episode 127 – Dean Burton

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 23, 2020 31:50


    Dean Burton has been working with WordPress as a customer success lead at WP Buffs. He works alongside the team there to make sure that their clients and agency partners are successful. The post Episode 127 – Dean Burton appeared first on Hallway Chats.

    Episode 126 – Danny Rubio

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 9, 2020 32:31


    Danny Rubio is a digital content producer based in Utah who loves WordPress and makes some mean tacos. The post Episode 126 – Danny Rubio appeared first on Hallway Chats.

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