Ohia ᚛ᚈᚐᚂᚐᚋᚆ᚜ receives the Yoast Care fund for her contribution to the WordPress community

Meet Ohia, a valued member of the WordPress Community Team! Joakim Navarro nominated her for the Yoast Care fund because of her commitment and valuable contributions. Let’s learn more about this WordPress enthusiast.

Nominator Joakim Navarro: “I want to nominate my friend Ohia for the Yoast Care Fund. Ohia is a relentless and creative volunteer in the WordPress ecosystem, based in Granada, Spain. She has led design work, branding, and event-experience contributions for years, while also serving on the Community Team for two years and then as Lead Organizer of the Design Team for WordCamp Europe for two years. Her contributor profile clearly shows a sustained commitment to organizing, design, mentoring, and volunteering. She has made the community better, not for pay but from a place of passion and generosity, aligning with the Yoast Care Fund’s mission to celebrate those who make WordPress stronger. I believe she would be a deserving recipient of the reward and recognition this Fund offers.“

Let’s get to know Ohia

Those are some lovely words by Joakim. Let’s get to know Ohia a bit better and ask her some questions about her work and passion for WordPress:

What do you do in the WordPress space?

In the WordPress space, I show up where design and community meet. I’ve attended or volunteered at about 20 WordCamps, most of them just since 2022, and every one has reinforced why I love this project: people sharing knowledge, building tools, and caring for each other in the open. That habit of “see a need, take action” is what keeps me involved.

A big part of my work is with WordCamp Europe . This year, I’m totally stoked to lead the Design Team for WordCamp Europe 2026. I help set the visual direction for the event and support an international crew of designers who volunteer from all over the world. My job is to build a clear and accessible design system, coordinate contributions, and ensure the team feels confident as we ship site assets, social graphics, venue designs, and the small details that make WCEU feel cohesive.

I also served as WCEU Design Team Co-lead last year and on the Community and Web teams in 2024, where I learned how to build welcoming contributor spaces at scale. Locally, I served as the Design & Web organizer for WordCamp Granada 2024, where I created the branding, website, and the Wajee Wapuu mascot, and translated Granada’s character into WordPress visuals.

Beyond events, I’ve contributed to WordPress releases through the design cohort and mentored in the Contributor Mentorship Program. Outside WordPress, I’m an activist by nature, and I bring that same energy into the community: organizing, advocating for inclusion, and making space for new and unheard voices.

How did you first discover WordPress, and why did you start contributing?

I first discovered WordPress around 2009, while I was living in Asheville, NC. At that point, there were no video tutorials—mostly forums and community posts—so learning WordPress meant reading, asking questions, and figuring things out alone a lot.

Soon after, my activism work pulled WordPress even closer. When I started working at a rape crisis center/nonprofit, we needed a safe, flexible way to publish resources, support survivors, and run campaigns without relying on expensive tools or gatekeepers. WordPress gave us that independence, and I saw how open-source software can be real community infrastructure. I began contributing because I wanted to give back to the project that supported our work, and to help make it more accessible, welcoming, and useful for anyone doing meaningful things with it. If you want the fuller story, I share more here.

What advice would you give to someone starting with WordPress?

Start by building something small and learning in public. Use WordPress Playground to try ideas fast, and don’t be afraid to break things on a test site. Read the docs, sign up for newsletters/Make teams, and ask questions in the support forums on WordPress.org. Most of all, plug into the community: join meetups, volunteer, and go to WordCamps—you’ll level up quickly with people around you.

What’s your favorite WordPress memory or something you’re most proud of?

My favorite WordPress memory is a very personal one: dancing at the Yoast + Bluehost Pride party in Basel. I was waving my kufiya around on the dance floor, fully myself, and it became this unexpected magnet for connection. I ended up meeting Palestinian folks in the WordPress community because of that moment, and it hit me how rare and powerful it is to feel seen without having to translate or shrink parts of who you are. That night was joyful and a little surreal—not because it was flashy, but because it was honest. It reminded me that this community isn’t just about websites; it can be a place where your whole self is welcome, where solidarity shows up in the middle of a party, and where belonging can happen in the most ordinary, human ways.

One of the things I’m most proud of is organizing the first annual cemetery walk as a side event at WCEU 2026. It started as a little spark of an idea—something that felt meaningful, slightly off the beaten path, and rooted in place. Seeing people actually show up, slow down together, and experience the city through that lens felt special. WordCamps can be intense and packed, so creating a space that was reflective, communal, and a bit adventurous reminded me that contribution isn’t only what happens on stage or in a repo. Sometimes it’s about designing moments that help people connect—with the history of where we are, and with each other.

What’s one WordPress project you wish you had more time for?

One WordPress project I really wish I had more time for is design contribution on the backend—specifically in the admin and editor experience. So much of WordPress’s power lives there, and it’s where good design can make the biggest difference for everyday users: clearer flows, less friction, better accessibility, and interfaces that feel calm instead of overwhelming.

I often find myself noticing small moments that could be improved—labels that don’t quite match user intent, screens that could be simplified, features that designers want. But meaningful backend design work needs focused time: following tickets, testing builds, giving thoughtful feedback, maybe even pairing with devs to iterate on solutions. Currently, I primarily contribute through WordCamps and community design work, so my core/back-end contributions are more sporadic than I’d like.

In an ideal world, I’d love to dedicate 5–10 hours a month to this, with part of that time sponsored of course ; ) That amount is realistic for me long-term, and it’s enough to stay actively involved—showing up to design discussions, taking on a smaller ticket or two, and being able to contribute with continuity rather than in bursts. I’m excited by the idea of helping shape the parts of WordPress that millions of people use daily, and I’d love to be a steady, reliable contributor there, not just an occasional one.

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