Thank you and bye (for now), Jill!

Today, I invite you to join me in expressing our collective thanks to Jill Binder (@jillbinder) for her remarkable contributions to the WordPress open sourceOpen Source Open Source denotes software for which the original source code is made freely available and may be redistributed and modified. Open Source **must be** delivered via a licensing model, see GPL. project. After a decade of leadership, Jill has decided to step away from her work with WordPress, so let’s send her off with our best wishes for her next big adventure! 

Jill has been a key player in our community as the leader of the Diverse Speaker Training (#WPDiversity) working group and as the co-creator & maintainer of the Diverse Speaker Training Workshop. Her dedication to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) in the Project has been inspirational. She’s been an incredible mentorEvent Supporter Event Supporter (formerly Mentor) is someone who has already organised a WordCamp and has time to meet with their assigned mentee every 2 weeks, they talk over where they should be in their timeline, help them to identify their issues, and also identify solutions for their issues. and guide, offering motivation, practical tips, and support to aspiring speakers from underrepresented groups. Her dedication to training others to run these workshops propelled this vital work globally; people have taken this workshop in 100 cities in over 50 countries and in 6 languages. Under her guidance, two additional projects were created: a Workshop focused on organizing diverse and inclusive WordPress events and a Diverse Speaker Support channel in the Make WordPress SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/.. Jill’s tireless advocacy has profoundly influenced the diversity of speakers at WordPress events and fostered more inclusive gatherings. Check out the extraordinary impact of #WPDiversity and use the invaluable open-source resources created for WordPress event organizers, underrepresented speakers, Diversity and Community workshop organizers and #WPDiversity workshop translators.

Jil’s next chapter naturally embraces new challenges, including pursuing her passion for art, self-care, and 1:1 DEI consulting for individuals and companies. Please join me in celebrating her numerous accomplishments and to wish her well in her future endeavors. Thank you, Jill!

There’s still more DEIB work to be done! The DEIB working group is keeping the momentum going in the Making WordPress #deib-working-group channel and warmly welcomes your participation.