My name is Jonathan Desrosiers. I’m a Principal Software Engineer at Bluehost, a WordPress Core Committer, and a leader in Open Source. I care deeply about purposeful user experiences, collaborative communities, advocacy for Open Source contributors, the open web, and a well-placed two-seam fastball.
Hi, I’m Jonathan Desrosiers!
Maintaine.rs
The maintaine.rs project is a curated collection of stories from Open Source maintainers. I was honored to be invited as a contributor to the book by submitting a talk I gave at WordCamp Europe 2025 in essay form.
Featured Posts
Here is some of my recent content that I think you’ll enjoy!
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Revitalizing the Stagnant Web: Reflections from WordCamp Canada
The WordPress community can be so strange sometimes. But I mean that in a really good way! The last few days at WordCamp Canada were a great reminder of that. I always walk away from a WordCamp feeling inspired. The conversations, interactions, and things you learn are re-energizing and invigorating. Anyone reading this who has…
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Implementing AI in Open Source Without Losing the Human Touch
AI is changing how we build and collaborate in Open Source. This post explores how to thoughtfully integrate AI into contributor workflows without losing what makes our communities human, creative, and welcoming, and why the most important decisions still belong to us.
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The Ghosts of Unactivated Contributors
Contributors don’t arrive fully formed. They find their way, like hikers choosing different routes up the same mountain. This post explores what it means to activate observers, prevent territoriality, and create space for others to thrive, so the community is not haunted by those who might have stayed if they had been engaged with effectively.
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12 Years Contributing to WordPress
Join me as I reflect on reaching a new milestone in my journey as an Open Source maintainer: 12 years since first contributing to the WordPress project.
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WordPress Content
As a WordPress contributor for well over a decade, I frequently write about challenges, best practices, and thought experiments for the project and the surrounding Open Source Software community.
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The Impact of Open Source Work
The impact of Open Source software often goes unseen, but that doesn’t mean it’s not there. WordPress is designed to be predictable, accessible, and open. And with that people create experiences that are anything but ordinary. WordCamps are an opportunity to share and celebrate the ways WordPress changes lives to rediscover our purpose and value.
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How a Core Committer Thinks: Making Decisions for Millions
I just left the stage in Basel after giving my talk at WordCamp Europe. I am really happy with how it turned out, and I hope others found it insightful. There are some points that have stuck with me that I plan to dive into a bit deeper here on my blog in the coming…
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WordPress Grab Bag: WCEU, WordPress turns 22, new AI team
In a grab bag style post, I cover a few WordPress-related topics that have been on my mind over the last week. This includes speaking at WordCamp Europe, WordPress turning 22 years old, and the new WordPress AI team.
Public Speaking
I frequently speak at WordCamps, WordPress Meetups, and other tech events.
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Let’s attend a WordCamp, eh?
I will be attending WordCamp Canada 2025 representing Bluehost and delivering two talks. One focuses on how to contribute to WordPress, highlighting the challenges new contributors face. The other addresses AI’s role in collaborative communities, emphasizing the importance of human interaction amidst technological advancements. I’m also excited to explore Ottawa.
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Speaking at WordCamp Europe 2025
The official schedule for WordCamp Europe 2025 is live, so I can finally share that I’ll be speaking at WCEU in Basel, Switzerland this June. 🇨🇭🎉 My talk, How a WordPress Core Committer Thinks: Making Decisions for Millions will shed light on how the primary maintainers of the WordPress software decide what ships and what…
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WordCamp Asia Live Stream
Today (February 22nd) I’ll be speaking at WordCamp Asia 2025 in Manila, Philippines. I take the stage at 11:00AM Philippine Standard Time (22:00 EST/19:00 PST for those in the US) to give my talk The Unavoidable Truth: WordPress is Insecure. If you’re unable to join in person, you’re in luck! The event has a free…
Podcasts
I’m an occasional guest on various WordPress related podcasts.
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Episode #182 – WP Tavern Jukebox Podcast
Just prior to WordCamp US in August, I was invited as a guest (again) on the WP Tavern Jukebox Podcast. In addition to speaking with the host Nathan Wrigley, Michelle Frechette also joined the discussion. This episode was focused on the nuanced difference between WordPress.org and WordPress.com. Have a Listen You can listen to the…
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WP Tavern Jukebox Podcast – Episode #174
I recently sat down with Nathan Wrigley and Joe Dolson to record an episode of the WP Tavern Jukebox podcast. We discussed canonical plugins, their role in the ecosystem, and whether it’s appropriate for accessibility features to live in one as opposed to WordPress Core itself.
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A Conversation with Roger Williams
Roger Williams had me on his interview series aimed at promoting the talks at the upcoming WordCamp Asia last week. If you’re curious about my talk, you can check out our conversation on LinkedIn! Featured image credit: CC0 licensed photo by jordipicart from the WordPress Photo Directory.
Latest Puzzles
In my spare time, I enjoy a good puzzle. I keep track of them by posting when I finish one.
