Speaker Spotlight – Shanta R. Nathwani

Shanta is an Instructor in Web Design and Capstone Project at Sheridan College and Mohawk College. She specializes in Web Development and Educational Training.

She is a problem solver and have been said to have the patience of a saint. She can explain even the most difficult concepts to the most basic user and has developed training that allow clients to learn for themselves. She thrives on understanding the needs of my clients and believes in making technology as simple as possible and making it fun, which allows our clients to seamlessly incorporate it into their organization.

Shanta holds a Certificate in Business Management and a Bachelors of Commerce Degree from Ryerson University in Information Technology Management. Some of her volunteer activities include being the Alumni Advisor for the Women In Information Technology Management program at Ryerson University, and Assistant Instructor at the Canadian Martial Arts Centre. She blogs at shanta.ca and can be found on Twitter @ShantaDotCa

What’s been your best experience with WordPress?

One of the latest ones has been the discovery of Custom Post Types and Advanced Custom Fields. I know these existed, but lately, I’ve found them to be one of the most amazing pieces of WordPress and little known by the average user/manager.

Tell us a bit about your WordCamp Halifax talk.

I’m going to help you to organize the content on your website. I’m going to talk about the differences between categories and tags, posts and pages, and how you can make these work for you. I’ll even touch upon taxonomies, custom post types and custom fields, so you know what they are.

What’s your favourite thing about attending WordCamps?

Seeing all my awesome WordPress friends! Honestly, doing at least 7 for the last 3 years has been wonderful and I’ve met so many amazing people. It’s like a big WordPress Reunion!

Recommend one to three people in the WordPress world to follow on social media!

1. Morten Rand-Hendriksen (@mor10) – Learned so much from him on Lynda.com. Always willing to answer a question over twitter if I needed it.
2. Michelle Schulp (@marktimemedia) – All round cool WordPress chick. Has organized many a WordCamp and has been very supportive of me in my career, helping where she can. Can explain design in the most simplest terms.
3. Marc Benzakein (@MarcBenzak) – Father of two plus a foster father of many more. Always willing to lend an ear, regardless of all the other things going on in his life. Such wisdom that comes from his pontificating, especially on the WordPress community and why he brings his kids with him to WordCamps.

If you could have any superhero power, what would it be?

Many won’t say this one, but I will: Eternal life. I always find I never have enough time. To do something, to learn something, to get something done, to meet with someone. If there is no worry about how long I have, I can do it all and watch things happen right in front of me, rather than reading about it later. I’ll have all the time in the world to experience, learn, do and see it all.

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