• 

Joomla! Forum Member of the Month for August 2008

Ron Severdia is the one behind the J org site redesign

Written by Ken Crowder

Who is Ron Severdia you ask? I know who he is. I met in San Francisco a while back during a Pizza Bugs and Fun event. Besides being the Joomla! Member of the Month for August 2008, Ron is also the one of the people behind the shiny new template you are seeing popping up on the Joomla Sites.

Although I already knew the answer to some of these questions before chatting it up with Mr. Severdia, other answers surprised me.

Me: Can you describe your official involvement in the Joomla! project?

Ron: I'm on the Joomla Communications Team, the Joomla Bug Squad, a discussion forum moderator, and I perform a variety of design-related tasks relating to Joomla.

 

Me: What about your unofficial involvement in the Joomla! project?

Ron: Unofficial involvement? Well, OK. The cat is out of the bag....Louis Landry is really a muppet I've been secretly controlling for years now.

 

Me: He's kidding.... isn't he?!?!?

 

Me: What do you do for a full time job?

Ron: I'm a Creative Director (mostly interactive).

 

Me: Tell me about PlayShakespeare.com.

Ron: There's so much to tell. One of my part-time jobs is as an actor and the original inspiration was to avoid carrying around the huge book of Shakespeare's Complete Works. We just did a little story about it in last month's Community Magazine.

 

Me: If you could have dinner with any three people dead or alive, who would it be?

Ron: Geez... the list would be long... I guess I'd have to say William Shakespeare, Jon Stewart, & Steve Jobs.

 

Me: Do you have a favorite quote?

Ron: I once performed in a Noel Coward play where my character said "It's discouraging to think how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit." A great line.

 

Me: Where do you see your involvement in the next 3 years in Joomla! community?

Ron: Hard to say. I guess it depends partially on how much I'm enjoying myself over that period of time. It'll also depend on which direction the project heads and whether or not it's compatible with what I think is important.

 

"Ron's a fine example of a community contributor who is using his skills to contribute back to Joomla." Brad Baker (Sites and Infrastructure Coordinator)

"Ron is a lot of fun to work with, he is very skilled and always produces professional results. Ron is one who cares about helping share Joomla! with the world and communicate clearly what the project is working towards. This is a well deserved honor. Congratulations, Ron!" Amy Stephen (Communications Team)

Add Comment