Author Archives: Hari Shanker R

About Hari Shanker R

I am an experienced Community and Project/Program Management Professional. Until July 2025, I served as the Community Program Manager (formerly known as "Super Deputy") on the Make/WordPress Community Team, where my focus was on making the WordPress Community the best it can be, through events and other community-led efforts. I used to lead the Contributor Working Group of WordPress, where we built, and successfully ran three editions of the Contributor Mentorship Program, which resulted in a net total of 150 active contributors for WordPress. I also co-led the Five for the Future Program, and was also involved in other contributor initiatives such as the WordPress Contributor Health Dashboard project. I also used to be a fully-sponsored contributor to the WordPress open source project for over four years from 2020 through 2024. Even though I don't work with WordPress on a day-to-day basis these days, the software has a close place in my heart. I strongly believe that open source tech and the open web have the potential to make the world a better place. I have had a rather diverse career with significant experience in the domains of Retail Banking, Print & Web Journalism, Web Development, Entrepreneurship, Event Management, Professional Blogging, and Education. Outside of work, I enjoy writing (blogging) as a hobby, and I'm a compulsive bibliophile. I'm also a happily married pet parent to three cats.