Author: Cate DeRosia

2022 Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship Recipients: Margherita Pelonara, Simona Simionato, and Pooja Derashri

This year’s Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship recipients are Margherita Pelonara, Simona Simionato, and Pooja Derashri, enthusiastic WordPress developers, Meetup and WordCamp organizers, and contributors to the open source project and WordPress community. 

These contributors share the passion of empowering people with WordPress. Whether helping women freelancers succeed in business (Margherita), contributing to the Diversity Speaker Training project (Simona), or being the Team Rep for the Training Team (Pooja), these women succeed in their community goals, and it’s an honor to award the Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship to them.

The WordPress Foundation created this memorial scholarship in 2015, to honor the memory of longtime WordPress contributor Kim Parsell.

This scholarship provides financial support to a woman who contributes to the WordPress open source project, who would not otherwise be able to attend WordCamp US. More information on the scholarship, including past recipients, is available here. 

Thank you to WordCamp US organizer, Michelle Frechette, for this post.

The Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship Returns for WordCamp US 2022

The wait is over! WordCamp US is once again being held as an in-person, and with that the WordPress Foundation’s Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship returns.

Kim’s commitment and valuable contributions to the WordPress open source project are honored at each in-person WordCamp US by the WordPress Foundation. The Foundation’s goal is to further the efforts of other contributors demonstrating Kim’s spirit by helping to ease the burden that travel can bring.

This scholarship is awarded to someone who:

  • Identifies as a woman.
  • Is a WordPress contributor.
  • Has never attended WordCamp US before.
  • Requires financial assistance to attend.

This scholarship provides financial assistance so that the recipient can attend WordCamp US, including travel from the recipient’s home city, hotel stay for the duration of the event, and a ticket to WordCamp US.

Finally, since the WordPress Foundation was unable to offer the scholarship in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year only there will be three (3) scholarships awarded for 2022, 2021, and 2020.

If you meet these requirements and would like to be considered, please apply no later than Sunday, June 26, 2022 at 12 am Pacific. All applicants will be notified by July 12, 2022.

For more details, please visit the WordPress Foundation’s About the Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship page.

Apply for the scholarship today.