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Brian Gardner

Head of Community at WP Engine

@bgardner Phoenix joined Dec 2011

briangardner.com github.com/bgardner Slack: @Brian Gardner
    Teams Core

    Bio

    Hey, I’m Brian Gardner—a designer inspired by simplicity, fueled by espresso, and refreshed by running. I love to write in my free time.

    Suede is the expression of that philosophy—a design system for shaping how people discover you, what they believe, and why they choose you.

    Beyond my independent work, as Sr. Manager, Developer Relations at WP Engine, I lead technical content that educates and supports developers. Collaborate closely with our Agency, Events, and Media Partner teams while maintaining a strong pulse on the WordPress ecosystem.

    On the personal side, we recently moved to Phoenix, Arizona, which has brought a renewed perspective on work, lifestyle, and purpose.

    WordPress Origin Story

    My journey as a creative entrepreneur started in 2006 when I was working for an architectural firm as a project manager. I had a good job, but it wasn’t a great job.

    I taught myself how to use WordPress and was the first person to sell premium WordPress themes. I revolutionized the market. In my first month, I made $10,000, which grew to $20,000, $40,000, and $80,000 the following months.

    Some days I feel as though it was pure happenstance—that it was merely a stroke of luck and I was in the right place at the right time. Other days, I embrace the fact that I was smart enough to seize the opportunity which presented itself.

    Badges

    CODE
    5 badges
    Core Contributor '22 Meta Contributor '22 Pattern Author '22 Plugin Developer Theme Developer

    Current Job

    Head of Community
    Present
    WP Engine

    Recent impact

    Score weights high-impact work (commits, releases, approved translations, props) at 3x routine activity.

    Last 30 days
    1contribution
    high1
    medium0
    score3
    Last 90 days
    3contributions
    high3
    medium0
    score9
    Last 12 months
    8contributions
    high5
    medium3
    score18

    Team focus

    Share of contributions across teams during the last 365 days

    WordPress releases

    Contributed to 11 releases
    • 7.1
    • 7.0
    • 6.9
    • 6.7
    • 6.6
    • 6.5
    • 6.4
    • 6.3
    • 6.2
    • 6.1
    • 5.9

    Time commitment

    5 hours per week of sponsored contribution time

    Contributions

    Type
    September 2026
    Sep 12 Sat · 20:13
    Themes med
    Created ticket #291127 on Themes Trac:
    THEME: Suede – 0.4
    August 2026
    Aug 22 Sat · 13:28
    Themes med
    Created ticket #287604 on Themes Trac:
    THEME: Suede – 0.3
    Aug 07 Fri · 02:46
    Themes med
    Created ticket #284981 on Themes Trac:
    THEME: Suede – 0.2.7
    March 2026
    Mar 31 Tue · 16:12
    Core med
    Created issue #76936 in the WordPress/gutenberg repository:
    Navigation overlays: Social Icons block gap is being zeroed out (margin-top: 0;)
    Mar 03 Tue · 14:45
    Core med
    Created issue #76089 in the WordPress/gutenberg repository:
    Outline button variation in patterns not rendering in site editor
    December 2025
    Dec 04 Thu · 14:38
    Themes med
    Created ticket #246232 on Themes Trac:
    THEME: Indio – 0.9.4
    October 2025
    Oct 22 Wed · 22:38
    Core med
    Created issue #72609 in the WordPress/gutenberg repository:
    Add UI to Global styles to allow managing border radius presets
    Oct 06 Mon · 17:49
    Themes med
    Created ticket #236192 on Themes Trac:
    THEME: Indio – 0.9.3
    September 2025
    Sep 13 Sat · 17:59
    Themes med
    Created ticket #233348 on Themes Trac:
    THEME: Indio – 0.9.2
    June 2025
    Jun 26 Thu · 21:10
    Themes med
    Created ticket #222510 on Themes Trac:
    THEME: Indio – 0.9

    Contributor

    3 plugins

    Themes

    2 themes