Tammie Lister receives the Yoast Care fund for her contribution to the WordPress community

Meet Tammie Lister, a valued member of the WordPress Community Team! Dennis Ploetner nominated her for the Yoast Care fund for her commitment and valuable contributions to the community. Let’s learn more about this passionate WordPress enthusiast.

Nominator Dennis Ploetner: “Tammie accepted right away to participate as a speaker at Rome Core Days. She has been active in the WordPress Community since 2006. She was co-leading the design lead, the first phase of the Gutenberg release, and the WordPress block editing experience. Tammie has also led projects within theme experience around WordPress.”

Let’s get to know Tammie Lister

That’s quite an introduction, Dennis. We would love to get to know Tammie even better. That’s why we asked her some questions about her work and her passion for WordPress:

Hi, Tammie Lister! What do you do?

I contribute to WordPress and work across full-stack products. My work focuses on building WordPress products and collaborating with or designing existing products. I can be found consulting, designing and developing, and I also love a good roadmap.

Why WordPress?

I came to Open Source before I came to WordPress. My initial answer to this significantly differed from my one today. It was initially because I was tormenting my code, trying to stick together a blog.

Time has changed, and WordPress is my Lego kit of options, with which I can build as little or as much. My why is because I have grown with the project, the possibilities to make today, and the products created here.

What did you work on?

I have been lucky enough to work across most project areas. These included being part of the theme review team, design team, and core. I recently worked on default theme triage and the past default themes.

As a core committer and contributor, I have contributed to triage, participated in releases, and become a component maintainer. A little while ago, I was the design lead for releasing phase one of Gutenberg. Aside from product making, I also had the privilege of co-organizing WCEU and a few local WordCamps.

What contribution or moment are you most proud of?

My first answer is that I am proud to be part of the project. It is profound to say I was part of something that is shipped and used by many as a product maker.

The most significant impact was the first default theme release I co-led, Twenty Sixteen, in 2015. As a theme creator, I remember that moment, which stays with me today.

From a project perspective, it was being part of Gutenberg, and that was when I was proud of so many people more than myself. Being proud of those collaborating and proud as someone leading work is a gift I consider valuable and grateful.

What would you love to do in the future?

I would be part of clearing away issues, tickets, and patches that no longer fit. Part of this is increasing triage, but some of it requires closing more than is done today. I did some of this work in the default theme queue earlier this year and wish to continue in other areas. Then, we can ease the job for those focusing on features and make it easier to see what projects need work and where the actual bugs and issues are.

Practically, as far as features go, I want to focus on any area that empowers those creating. This includes extensibility and components, as well as the design system. The design system also includes how parts can be adopted into other areas and what needs clearing up first. The more potential and opportunities we have to build, the more products we will thrive and develop, which is a sign of a healthy project.

Thank you for this interview, Tammie, and for all of your contributions to the WordPress community! Do you know someone like Tammie Lister who also deserves to be in the spotlight? Go to our Yoast Care page and nominate them right away.