Media Kit

Organizers

Destiny Fox Kanno

Destiny Fox Kanno (Des-tuh-knee Foks Kah-no), going by she/her/they/them, is an Incluu Consultant whose work in Account Management, Product & Project Management, and Customer Service lends itself to various diverse projects at Incluu. Destiny is an avid civil rights and social justice advocate, who recently published a guide on how to support Black people after the George Floyd shooting, continues to raise awareness about equity and inclusion causes and issues around the globe.

Allie Nimmons

Allie Nimmons is a WordPress contributor, video producer, writer, and active community member. WordPress became a primary professional focus for her in 2014, when she taught herself web design and development through the software. She has worked with companies like Kinsta, GiveWP, WP Buffs, WP 101, and Automattic. She is currently the Digital Producer for Master WP, a LinkedIn Learning Course instructor and co-founder of the Underrepresented in Tech database. Allie is mildly obsessed with making lists, growing plants, and knitting. She lives in Austin, Texas with her husband, cat, and dog.

Joe A Simpson

During endless, sun-soaked days, Joe A Simpson Jr works at Metro LA, one of the largest transit agencies in the World, fighting the good fight to ease gridlock around Los Angeles County. He twilights by actively contributing to the WordPress Community as a Team Rep on the Make Accessibility Team, bringing his region’s first WordCamp to Santa Clarita, founding two WordPress-based Meetups (WordPress, Elementor), speaking or volunteering at over 20+ WordCamps. Joe is a fledgling Front-End Web Developer, User-Experience Designer, a11y advocate specializing in WordPress solutions, and the host of the Back Down Memory Lane Podcast.

Niesha Sweet

Niesha Sweet has been leading diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and advancing DEI thought-leadership at Automattic for the past four years and counting. Her drive and passion for creating psychologically safe spaces for everyone to show up as their authentic self has not only increased the feeling of inclusivity at Automattic, but has also led her to spearhead the creation of new services and benefits for colleagues across the globe.To further grow this vision in the wider WordPress community, Niesha co-founded and co-organizes BlackPress, a Slack community for Black and African members in the global WordPress community. At BlackPress, she focuses on program management, partnerships, and connecting the group to local and global organizations focused on uplifting the Black and African community. Niesha resides in the Bay Area, CA with her partner, their two children, and Maltipoo. During her downtime, she enjoys rollerskating, cooking for large family gatherings, and dancing.

Group Statistics

The group current contains 120 members from around the world.

As of September 2020, the group has hosted 9 meetups.

Group History

In 2020, co-founder Destiny Kanno started the Automatic black employee resource group called Cocomattic. She wanted to figure out a way to bring this community the WordPress community space. She teamed up with Niesha Sweet to build BlackPress, focused on bringing more students of color into WordPress. There were talks specifically about targeting HBCUs as well, which is still a part of the groups long-term mission.

Links to Previous Features

WP Tavern: Destiny Kanno and Joe Simpson on Why They Started BlackPress

Post Status: BlackPress: Bringing More Creators into the WordPress Community

The Month in WordPress – June 2022

Important Links

Website: https://blackpresswp.com

Meetup Events: https://www.meetup.com/blackpress-meetup/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/blackpresswp

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/552081169324640

LinkedIn Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14065143/

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View and Download Logos and Images

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is BlackPress just for Black people?
A: No! The goal of BlackPress is to create a place where Black people and people of African descent who use WordPress can come together for support, resources, and mentorship. Non-white allies are welcome in the Slack and at our events.

Q: How much does it cost to join BlackPress?
A: There is no cost to join BlackPress or to attend any of our events.

Q: Who runs BlackPress?
A: BlackPress is organized by volunteers who are employed by different companies. No one company owns or operates the group.

Q: Are events held in person?
A: All events are held via meetup.com and Zoom. We held a small in-person mixer at WordCamp Europe and are planning our in person mixer for WCUS 2022 now!!