Owning one’s expertise, especially in the developer space, can seem daunting. Open source software provides almost everyone the chance to share your knowledge and feel the accomplishments of contributing.

As a designer first and a WordPress developer secondly, I’ve shied from helping to work on WordPress’ uber-organized core. There are opportunities to get in on team calls and at Wordcamps, but it always seemed a bit “beyond” me.

At WSC2015, I was happy to find open source an interesting and challenging way even for non-devs to contribute.

One of the easiest ways to get started is to create an account on Github. The great thing about Github is it gives a quick bootcamp on how Git works, how projects are organized, and finding projects and friends. For developers this is old hat, but it’s still useful to get the basics down. Beyond this there are guides to CSS, JavaScript and much more for best practices.

You can search out projects depending on your interest, but often well-organized repositories label different issues and programming languages, making it easier to find what you want. Offering fixes and ideas is a great way to pitch in, but  design and copywriting are areas requiring an expert hand too.

Some other open source project resources include:

• CodeMontage
• OpenHatch

Down the road, WSC2015 had attendees put together a three-month plan of what we planned to contribute, on speaking, writing and coding. I know I’ll be more confidently checking out WordPress’ core, to see where I can add my touch.

It’s hard to walk away from a conference like WSC2015 without being inspired: From the women with whom I attended, to the draining work I put in to writing, speaking and coding, inspiration was everywhere.

Of course, it’s easy to walk away with a notebook full of notes and a swag bag and file it all away.

Luckily, I can’t fathom forgetting any of it.

More women than ever are joining tech, yet we often only see men, even at the lowest levels. Imposter syndrome and downplaying our accomplishments is common to many women, so we rarely step up. Yet, our voices need to be heard more than ever, to inspire and lead today’s girls to be tomorrow’s tech leaders.

One of the biggest takeaways I had from the conference, is that no matter how basic one’s knowledge, there’s always someone looking to learn it. To make it easier for that person than we had it, to break down barriers and demystify tech is an important mission: We all have something to share.

It doesn’t only benefit others: I know I’ve become a better teacher over the years, running classes and workshops. And when one of my students can keep their website in great shape and get excited about it, I know I’ve made a difference.

But beyond that, I’ve shared something I’ve mastered, and am building my own reputation and expertise. On my worst days at work, it’s what keeps me going for more great ones.

For me, this means applying to more WordPress WordCamps to speak, and so far I’ve been accepted to Denver. I’m reviewing other conferences to see where I might fit, and I’ve been blogging more frequently across several outlets. I’ve also joined an open source nonprofit to help rebrand their efforts, pro bono.

Where has your inspiration taken you since WSC2015?