Nikole Garcia

Hey there! I'm a WordPress Engineer & full-stack LAMP developer who currently focuses on user-centered, mobile-first solutions for WordPress and Shopify sites. I also help clients address their security, hosting, and optimization needs.

Career Highlights

• 20+ Years of professional industry experience in a variety of environments
• Successfully ran a small business for 15 years
• Worked both directly with clients and on teams with technical and non-technical professionals
• Recruited, organized and lead a team of volunteers for county-wide local educational projects
• Designed and implemented technical educational programs for elementary students, high school teens, and adults
• Strong background in science, math, technology and marketing
• A lifelong learner who can adapt to new technology in a wide variety of situations
• Excellent at troubleshooting and problem solving

Education & Training

Skills & Tools

• LAMP Stack: Linux, Apache, MySQL/MariaDB and PHP
• JAM Stack: Gatsby, React, Vue, and Markup
• Integrations: DNS, SSL, mailing lists, marketing tools, e-commerce, membership
• Optimization: CDN, caching, speed testing, code cleanup
• Back End: PHP, database administration, security, server administration
• Front End: HTML, CSS, JS, Sass, user flow
• Software Packages: WordPress, Shopify (liquid), Squarespace, Laravel
• Hosting: Apache/NGINX, cPanel, AWS (Lightsail/EC2/S3), most commercial WP hosting (like LiquidWeb, WP Engine, Pantheon, Digital Ocean, Flywheel, Pagely, Siteground)

Community Engagements

I grew up in a time when there were no role models for me as I was learning to code and entering the industry, so I am passionate about giving back. I'm also a rare extrovert in tech - I get energized by new ideas and community building, so I like to be a part of the tech community (both online and offline) as much as I can.

• Speaker, WordPress Accessibility Day (2022) I will be speaking on developing WordPress themes with an accessibility-first mindset.
• Hacktoberfest Participant (Github/Digital Ocean) (2019, 2020, & 2022) In the past, I have contributed to a variety of local open source projects as part of the annual October hackathon. This year, I am going to try to build out a larger project to use as a teaching tool.
• Mentor & Educational Liason, Bitforest Academy (Connected Lane County) (2020 to Present) We coached 3 local high school students (a developer, an artist, and an art/tech specialist) through creating their own video game as a team. We focused on real-world employment skills, teamwork, and industry connections. I helped students explore careeer paths, manage their time, and cope with the stresses of real-world situations in the industry.
• Board Member, Bitforest (game development community) (2020 to Present) I help shape decisions for the organization, attend regular meetings, vote on issues, direct educational initiatives, and lead the audit committee.
• Board Member, Lane Computer Science Regional Advisory Committee (2019 to Present) I meet with educators, community organizations, and industry partners to help shape computer science education and create opportunities in computer science for students.
• Mentor, Project-Based Mentorship Programming (Connected Lane County) (March 2022) I helped a local high school student with a web development project over the course of several weeks, acting as a teacher, advisor, and soundboard.
• Speaker, BIPOC Girls Career Exploration Day (Lane ESD / Connected Lane County) (March 13, 2022) I gave a presenation on my life and career, and answered questions from local students on how to get into tech.
• Mentor/Volunteer, codeORcreate (Connected Lane County) (February 2020, December 2020, & December 2021) I helped teams of high school students plan, organize, execute, troubleshoot, and showcase their digital projects in weekend hackathons.
• Presenter, Eugene Web Devs (August 2018 and September 2019) In addition to be a regular at the monthly meetings, I have also had the opportunity to present to the group. [WordPress Security: A Walkthrough of an Attack Video and Repository] [Headless WordPress with JS Video and Repository]
• Co-chair, Eugene Code Camp (Summer 2019 to Present) I help facilitate meetings and assist anyone with questions about their coding projects. [Group Website]
• Attendee, Local Meetups In order to further my education and listen to other perspectives, I attend regular meetings and seminars for a variety of local groups like PyEugene, Bitforest (game development), Elm Eugene, Eugene Cybersecurity, Eugene Area SQL Server User Group, Eugene-Springfield­ Startups, Technology Association of Oregon in greater Eugene, and Eugene Tech.
• Hack For A Cause Steering Committee Member (Fall 2019 through April 2020) I am the volunteer coordinator and mentor wrangler for the next annual event, helping to create a solid support staff for the hackers and the event. [Event Website]
• Eugene Coding Initiative Founder (2018 to Present) I create opportunities for both minors and adults in the community to learn about technology and how they can advance their knowledge of the topic. I hold original events and programs, as well as support other groups with their own programs. [Website]
• Grant Winner, US Ignite (Fall 2018 through Spring 2019) I received a $10k grant to create educational programming for children using coding and LEGO wi-fi enabled robots. [Press Release]
• Hack For A Cause Mentor (April 2018 and April 2019) I provide support to the hack participants in terms of resources, project ideation, code troubleshooting, and team formation. [Event Website]
• Speaker, TAO Ignite (February 2019) I was selected to present at a local Ignite event, where each speaker gets 5 minutes, and must use 20 slides with each slide advancing automatically after 15 seconds. Topic: Normalizing diversity in technology education. [Presentation Video]
• Presenter, Open Eugene Festival (December 2019) I presented at a local open source conference. Topic: Open education and what it means.
• Volunteer Coder-in-Residence Instructor, Connected Lane Coder-in-Residence Program (Spring 2018 to Present) I teach blockly-based coding to local 4th and 5th grade children.
• Gigabot Master, Connected Lane Coder-in-Residence Program (December 2017 to Present) Working under a Mozilla Foundation grant, I created the classroom-ready wifi-enabled LEGO Gigabot (Jimmy-Kyle), all learning materials, the building instructions, and the training materials used by the teachers and volunteers in the program. I also recruit and lead volunteers for the program, network the bots to work in each school, and ensure the program runs as smoothly as possible from the volunteer and technology sides.
• Gigabot Instructor, Mozilla Foundation (July 2018) I conducted a training session in Kansas City, Missouri, on all of the equipment and materials created for the local Gigabot program, so that the program could be replicated in other areas.
• Eugene Women in Tech Co-Leader (2018-2019) EWIT provides networking and social opportunities to women working in tech or tech-adjacent careers. I help run social and networking events, and connect members in the community. [Website]
• Board Member, Churchill High School Engineering Academy (2015 to 2018) I provide assistance to the program and mentorship opportunities for the kids.

Relevant Coursework & Continuing Education

• Unix Tools
• Creating Web Documents
• Oral and Social Communication
• Managerial Leadership
• Geometry, Trigonometry, Calculus
• Entrepreneurship for Engineers
• Software Infrastructure for E-Commerce
• The Complete React Developer Course
• The Ultimate Vue Crash Course
• The Complete React Native + Hooks Course
• Learning GatsbyJS in 2 Hours
• Gatsby JS: Build Gatsby static sites with React & WordPress
• Advanced CSS & Sass
• CSS Bootcamp - Master CSS (CSS Grid / CSS Flexbox)
• The complete VUE JS course
• Vue JS Essentials with Vuex and Vue Router
• Nuxt.js
• React - The Complete Guide (incl Hooks, React Router, Redux)
• Vue - The Complete Guide (w/ Router, Vuex, Composition API)
• Learn Python 2
• Learn R

Personal Interests

When I'm not involved in tech or education, I am at home with my kids and dogs. I work with a local animal rescue to save dogs from high-kill shelters and find them new homes, so we ususally have a foster dog or two around as well. I enjoy playing video games with my friends. I am also a huge Marvel fan and I love any great story that I can lose myself in.