I’ve been speaking in front of audiences since I was 11 years old.
Church? I was the youngest lector. I learned how to pronounce difficult words in the Bible before I knew how to do anything algebraic.
High school? I was on the debate team. I was good at 2nd affirmative rebuttal because I could talk faster than anyone else. I loved researching obscure and underreported topics. And I still like to argue and research obscure topics.
College? On the speech team. I had to unlearn talking fast and hone my ability to speak clearly. I was talking about “recombinant DNA” before we started calling it GMO and shaking our fists at Monsanto.
Proof is in the picture. This was from my high school yearbook. I think I am arguing about arm sales or something else ridiculous that the government was doing. My words in a high school debate tournament did not stop anything, but I probably got a massive trophy.
And look at that. I was so impressed with myself wearing a Phi Rho Pi pin on my lapel.
I wish I didn’t look so much like a blonde Joan Jett, but we all have ridiculous fashion choices from high school, don’t we.
I am thankful for the internet: it saved me from becoming a DC policy wonk or a lawyer. Code is so much more fun.
Fast forward. Now? I’m thrilled to be speaking in front of audiences again, crafting messages of empowerment through security.
Photo credit: Jacob Henderson @jwh1138
For the last 20 years, I’ve been diving deep on web development, WordPress, and internet security. I’ve been told by clients, customers, and audience members that I take complex topics and make them easy to understand. I can also blather on about any number of topics. I like to research things. Sometimes obsessively so. It’s part of the reason I love security so much: there is always something to learn or a challenge to overcome.
I absolutely love talking to non-technical beginner audiences. I am fanatical about making complex technology easy to understand for anyone and everyone. I am a believer in the WordPress mission of democratizing publishing and giving everyone a voice.
Here are some of the things I’ve spoken about. TL;DR I’m all about WordPress, security, and empowerment through innovation.
- The Hacker Mindset: How Beating WordPress Hackers Taught Me to Overcome Obstacles and Innovate
- WordPress Security 101: The Basics of Keeping your Site Safe
- Securing WordPress in the Small Business
- eCommerce Security
- Evaluating WordPress Plugins: Strategies for Extending Core Functionality
- How Secure is your WordPress Website? Testing for Vulnerabilities
- Ways Hackers Get into Your Website (and how to stop them)
- Passwords and Authentication
- Website Vulnerabilities: Keeping your internet presence safe
- Phishing and Social Engineering
- Evaluating Security Vendors
Here are the events at which I’ve spoken in the last year or so.
- WordPress Meetup NW Phoenix August 2018 – Evaluating Plugins
- WordCamp Sacramento September 2018 – Evaluating Plugins
- WordCamp Portland October 2018 – Introduction to WordPress Plugins
- WordCamp Seattle November 2018 – Evaluating Plugins
- Rutgers Business School – Small Business Development Center January 2019
- LifterLMS Podcast January 2019
- WordPress Meetup Long Beach, January 2019 – WordPress Security 101
- WordPress Meetup Hollywood, January 2019 – WordPress Security 101
- WordPress Meetup Pasadena, January 2019 – WordPress Security 101
- Rutgers Business School – Small Business Development Center February 2019
- WordCamp Miami March 2019 – WordPress Security 101 & Evaluating Plugins (videos)
- Rutgers Business School – Small Business Development Center March 2019
- WordPress Meetup NW Phoenix March 2018 – Own Your Content
- Rutgers Business School – Small Business Development Center April 2019
- WooCommerce Meetup Phoenix, AZ June 2019 – Securing WooCommerce
- WordPress Meetup EIG Phoenix, AZ June 2019 – Evaluating Plugins
- WordCamp Boston July 2019 – The Hacker Mindset (video)
- WordCamp Minneapolis August 2019 – Evaluating Plugins
- WordCamp Sacramento September 2019 – WordPress Security 101: 4 Ways to Keep your Site Safe
- WordCamp Rochester October 2019 – Evaluating Plugins (video)
- WordCamp US November 2019 – The Hacker Mindset (video | slides)
- WordCamp Seattle November 2019 – The Hacker Mindset
Does your event or business need a speaker with an ability to discuss technical topics in a way that even the most non-technical audience can understand?
Let me know! Send an email to kathy [at] zant [dot] com. It will find me. I can talk about any of those topics, but also many others. Hit me up!