In the House!
Please welcome speaker

Jill Binder

A public speaking and accent reduction coach for professionals in tech, Jill has empowered more than 600 people across 50 countries. She’s worked with organizations like the WordPress project, Automattic, Adobe, and Drupal. Her workshops have been translated into six languages and have helped diverse voices gain confidence on stage and in the workplace.

As the founder and former Automattic-sponsored lead of the global #WPDiversity group in the WordPress Community team, she ran 99 workshops for underrepresented voices and mentored a large, international group of contributors. In the process,  she won multiple awards and recognition for her public speaking work and for advancing diversity and inclusion in tech.

Before the speaker and diversity work, Jill was a software and web developer. She has had  30 years of experience in the industry. Along with a Computer Science degree and all the hours of debugging that go with the territory. 

Jill lives by the ocean in Vancouver, Canada.

Check out Jill’s Keynote

Jill on the Socials

Give Jill a follow, and don’t miss her talk this October in Ottawa! 🍁

Words of Wisdom

A short note about your talk—what inspired it, what you hope folks will take away

This talk is about the community leadership lessons I learned while leading the global WordPress public speaking group for five years. These aren’t lessons you’ll find in any textbook. They are real stories from working alongside real people with real challenges and very real hearts. I dug deep to uncover the meaningful and authentic stories behind them.

I hope folks walk away with insights on working with international teams (and really, with anyone!) when the unexpected happens in their community.

What keeps driving you to elevate the voices of tech professionals, even after all you’ve accomplished?

There’s nothing like seeing someone experience a personal transformation through public speaking about their work. The first time, it happens while they’re learning how to use their voice and they start to feel empowered. The second time, it happens after they give a successful talk. They begin to feel better about themselves and start to speak up more.

Not to mention the new work opportunities they attract, which can be life-changing. Visibility brings credibility.

I also love seeing audiences sparked by innovative ideas that drive the web forward when speakers bring their authentic selves and fresh points of view.

If you could pass along one thought to the next generation of tech conference speakers, what would it be?

You’re more knowledgeable than you think. Don’t be shy about sharing what you know… It’s more than many people in the room! Even seasoned pros will learn something new from your perspective. You’re an expert in your own experiences, so talk about tech from your point of view.

And now for something a little Canadian 🇨🇦

What comes to mind when you think of Canada?
“I think of those wild July 1st Canada Days in downtown Ottawa, back in the ’80s and ’90s when I was growing up. Everyone wore all kinds of festive and unique red and white things and ran around downtown screaming with pure joy.”

Favourite Canadian artist?
“Another answer that will age me: I really liked the music of Moxy Fruvous from Toronto and The Watchmen from Winnipeg back in the 90s. Alt rock and pop. Both creative, catchy, and spoke to teenage and 20s Jill.”

A Canadian TV show or movie you secretly (or proudly) love?
“I especially loved the TV show on CBC: A Little Mosque On The Prairie. A sitcom about a small Muslim community in a little Canadian prairie town. More recently, North of North was quite good! Another sitcom, this one about an Inuk community in the Canadian Arctic.”

What are you looking forward to doing in Ottawa?

“If I can find the time, I hope to revisit the Byward Market, the independent art-house movie theatres, and the world class art galleries!”