Introducing WP Engine’s WordPress Community Team

One of our values here at WP Engine is Aspiring to Lead, Committed to Give Back. We think it’s especially important to give back to the WordPress community—it is, after all, our home. We love attending WordCamps, helping run WordPress meetups, and engaging with the WordPress community whenever we can.

We have three special people on our team here at WP Engine who are especially focused on the WordPress community. We wanted to introduce them so that if you have any questions, concerns, news, or community events you think we should be involved in, you know where to turn.

Shayda Torabi – Events and Sponsorships

Most of you have probably met Shayda Torabi, who is WP Engines Events and Sponsorships Coordinator. She spends her time setting up opportunities for the WP Engine team to attend WordCamps, Meetups and tradeshows. She loves connecting with the community to learn of new ways in which WP Engine can get involved and lend their support. WP Engine is always looking for new and exciting ways to give back, and she can be reached at @shaptora on Twitter.

Shayda’s background is in Event Production. She previously worked at C3 Presents, the company that puts on the Austin City Limits music festival. She is drawn to creating community and inspiring the feeling of connectedness. Shayda connects the WP Engine team to the WordPress community through opportunities of networking, conversation and by connecting dots. She’s always looking to meet new people and get more involved in the WordPress and WP Engine story.

Shayda was born and raised in Austin, Texas and that is probably where her passion for the live music scene was born. In her free time she is either out at a show, hiking at a state park, or looking for her next great meal adventure. She also collects concert posters and all things Texas.

Odas Williams – Community

Odas Williams is our new Community Manager at WP Engine. He works on the marketing team and handles VIP relations, affiliates, social media, and help with some events. He can help you if you have questions about how to engage with WP Engine on social media. If you hear of an event that you think we should be involved in, or an opportunity to speak to a potential affiliate, he can help with those as well. You can email him at odas@wpengine.com or catch up with him on social as @odaswilliams.

Before WP Engine Odas worked for several years in marketing with different tech companies and some national brands. His work focused on digital marketing and offline events and he’s using that experience to make an even stronger connection between WP Engine and our customers. Odas is also responsible for finding ways that WP Engine can give back to the WordPress community.

When Odas is not at work he plays music. He sings and plays saxophone in a jazz and soul group based in Austin, TX. He loves all things food related and can usually be found trying some new restaurant or exotic food. He has many tattoos and some would say an “excessive” beard. He has a huge desire to have fun with everything and not take life too seriously. If you want to dance fight, he says “come at me bro.”

Emma Zwirko – Social Media

Emma is a Social Media Manager at WP Engine. Otherwise known as “^EZ”, she manages both WP Engine twitter accounts (@wpengine and @WPESupport) as well as our WP Engine Facebook page. Emma assists customers or potential customers and answers any questions they may have. She dabbles in social media analytics, blog writing and research as well. You can get in contact with her by tweeting at her personal twitter account @WPE_Emma.

Emma has been an avid gamer since the age of three and is an active member of the gaming community. She also serve as the Community Management Director for the world’s largest female gaming organization. Prior to moving to the west coast and working for WP Engine, Emma worked part time in a hospital. Her customer service and people skills are proving useful to her when aiding customers on social media.

Born and raised in Massachusetts, Emma decided to escape from the cold and cruel winters and move across the country to San Francisco. She is a connoisseur of frozen pizza, video games, the latest internet memes, and cat gifs.