Yoast Care fund: An interview with Estela Rueda

Today we’re interviewing Yoast Care fund recipient Estela Rueda, who received a nomination from Ahmed Chaion. Ahmed nominated her for everything she does as a regular contributor to the Make WordPress Design Team. Let’s find out what she does exactly! But first, nominator Ahmed would love to tell you why he nominated Estela:

Nominator Ahmed Chaion: “When I joined the Make WordPress Docs & Design Team, I noticed that each team is pretty busy with their regular work. It wasn’t easy for new contributors to get settled in right away. As COVID -19 emerged rapidly, things became more difficult than ever. Being the kind-hearted person she is, Estela was welcoming towards any contributor who asked a question and helped to onboard them. She always tries to motivate new contributors and she has motivated me throughout 2020. I believe a lively, always smiling, and charming soul as Estela Rueda deserves this recognition from the community.“

Let’s get to know Estela Rueda

Thank you for those wonderful words, Ahmed. Now, let’s get to know this always smiling contributor by asking her some questions:

Hi, Estela. Could you tell us more about what you do?

I design websites, and I am also a WordPress consultant advising clients with what plugins and themes they should be using for their sites, including the design and sometimes WordPress.

Why do you think that you got nominated?

I really don’t know. I hope it is due to the contributions I made last year. In 2020 I set myself a goal to contribute a minimum of 10 hours a week to the project. I think 10 hours a week is a long time cumulatively when you are a freelancer. But I think I have accomplished a lot of things.

So tell us, why WordPress?

It started a long time ago when I developed my first website using pure CSS, which was long before WordPress even existed. I received this computer magazine full of tutorials and was comprehensive in nature from this kid named Matt, and he was very young back then. He was amazing, and somebody recommended to me saying that since I am not a developer, I should try WordPress instead of coding that I did in the beginning.

So I started doing it, and the first time I tried WordPress, I almost had a heart attack reading the codex documentation, which was impossible to read, and I ran away from WordPress. Probably after 2 or 3 years later, I came back to WordPress, and it was more developed. There were more themes available not only from WordPress but also from premium ones, including plugins. So I found it easier to work with, and I love it.

Who is your WordPress hero and/or mentor?

My WordPress mentor is Tammie Lister, and my WordPress hero has to be Mel Choyce-Dwan. Mel is very young, but she does a lot of work, and she inspires me.

What would you love to do in the future?

I am going to continue contributing to the project. I am going to finish the design for HelpHub for the user documentation and continue working with the Make WordPress Design Team as the Official Team Rep. Also, I want to participate in another major release of WordPress, probably for 5.7, as I must admit that being part of the WordPress 5.6 major release was an awesome experience. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me for further information or assistance.

Thank you for this interview, Estela. And for all of your contributions to the WordPress community! If you’re reading this and know someone like Estela who deserves a nomination for our Care fund, just go to our Yoast Care page to nominate them!