Meet our team
There are 7 excitable people behind the scenes of GG2WD! Here’s the scoop on each of us:
Amanda Aitken Verrall
Hi! I’m Amanda, the founder and CEO of The Girl’s Guide to Web Design. I’m an incurable entrepreneur with a thing for empowering women to wake up to magical new possibilities. I also love whales & dolphins, tropical temps, pasta, wine, and getting down on a dancefloor. 
I taught myself to design websites when I was 13 (I’m 30 now), and I’ve spent many years creating soul-centric sites and blogs for others via my web and branding studio, Better Than Chocolate. But in 2011, I decided that it would be MUCH more fun to pass on everything I know to women who want to DIY their own web presence – and The Girl’s Guide to Web Design was born!
Connect with Amanda:
Amanda’s sites: The Girl’s Guide to Web Design
Better Than Chocolate Branding & Web Design
AmandaAitken.com
Follow Amanda on Twitter: @AmandaAitken
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Justin Verrall
Hi ladies! I’m Justin, and I’m Amanda’s husband – as well as the COO at The Girl’s Guide to Web Design. After devoting 9 years of my life to sales, marketing, and product management at a large software company, I snapped up the chance to hop on the GG2WD bandwagon. No complaints so far!
My job is to make sure that all of you benefit HUGELY from this incredible online course, so whether you’ve already signed up, or you need some help deciding if it’s right for you, I hope you’ll get in touch! Yes – I want you to flood my inbox!
Need buy-in from your spouse or significant other? I’ll even call him or her personally to talk about it (with your permission, of course). Go ahead and shoot me a message at justin [at] girlsguidetowebdesign.com.
In my downtime (AKA when I’m not in GG2WD mode), I first and foremost enjoy spending time with my beautiful and talented (as you’re all probably aware) wife, Amanda. After that, I’m an avid snowboarder, trumpeter, scotch taster and traveler – and I love just about everything that has to do with the great outdoors.
I look forward to working with and hearing from you ladies in the coming months! Don’t hesitate to reach out to me!
Connect with Justin:
Justin’s site: Operation Slim JV
Follow Justin on Twitter: @SlimJV
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Jamie DuBose
Hey there! I’m Jamie DuBose, and I’m not “just” a VA. I’m an online virtual visionary with a splash of project manager and a pinch of personal assistant. It’s my job to keep things running smoothly behind the scenes at Girl’s Guide to Web Design. I manage all aspects of our customer service department including answering your general questions about the course, remedying any technical snags you might encounter, and happily responding to our customer service emails.
In addition, I bring Amanda and Justin’s GG2WD vision to life by implementing systems and strategies that support our long-term plan and maximize our efficiency and productivity. They get to relax and have confidence in the big picture because all of the small print and fine details are being covered by yours truly.
I will admit – most of my “downtime” is spent fueling my own creative passions and nurturing my business vision for Zenplicity. When I’m not in business mode, I love spending time exploring the Washington D.C. area with my fantastic hubby and adorable two-year old daughter, cooking up cuisine inspired by my international travels, and enjoying happy hour with our friends.
Connect with Jamie:
Jamie’s site: Zenplicty
Follow Jamie on Twitter: @ZenplicityNow
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Stephanie Cleary: one of our amazing Student Support Gurus who answers student questions in our private Facebook group!
Hi! I’m Stephanie, and I’m very excited to be part of the Girl’s Guide to Web Design family. I came to web design through a rather circuitous route – umm, I have a writing degree and did financial planning for a living – where did web design come from? Well, I stumbled on it by blogging: I realized I was having just as much fun changing the look of my blog as I did actually writing it, if not more! I knew I had found my “thing”. I’ve always been a bit of a geeky girl – in a good way though, I hope! – and web design lets me geek out over some very cool stuff. It lets my left brain (hello coding!) and right brain (yay colors!) play together in ways that not much else does. And since I’m pretty much split down the middle between being a numbers/math/logic girl and a color/paint/glitter girl, web design just…fits me! So, when Amanda asked me to be part of the Girl’s Guide support team, I jumped at the chance. If I can help and encourage the ladies (and men!) of GG2WD a fraction of how much Amanda has helped and encouraged me, I’ll consider
it a more than fair trade.
Connect with Stephanie:
Stephanie’s site: Pink Peacock Studio
Follow Stephanie on Twitter: @Pen_Says
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Stephanie Steyer: one of our amazing Student Support Gurus who answers student questions in our private Facebook group!
Stephanie Steyer is an independent graphic designer working in the beautiful foothills of Northern California. Stephanie graduated with her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Graphic Design from the California College of the Arts. She worked as a designer for Michael Vanderbyl, Kit Hinrichs at Jonson, Pedersen, Hinrichs, and Shakery, and Michael Manwaring. After her time at these notable firms, she co-founded the San Francisco-based design firm Patrick Coyne/Stephanie Steyer Design Office. In 1986, Stephanie moved with her partner Patrick to Palo Alto, CA, to work at Communication Arts magazine. After fourteen years at the magazine, she felt it was time for something new and ventured back out onto her own. Stephanie designs everything from corporate identities, logos, and brochures to books, websites and powerpoint presentations. She also does interior design work and loves to take photographs.
The very first website that Stephanie designed was for Communication Arts in 1995. The internet looked very different in those days! Learning HTML was very useful for her career, but it wasn’t until the very first class of “The Girl’s Guide to Web Design” that she finally grasped CSS and WordPress. “I love the finesse and control that I can achieve with CSS. It makes web design fun instead of frustrating, plus I really like coding my own designs!” Stephanie is a member of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), and the proud mom of two amazing kids, who are now in college!
Connect with Stephanie:
Stephanie’s site: Creative Wisdom Studios
Follow Stephanie on Twitter: @DesignSteph
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Katy Martin: one of our amazing Student Support Gurus who answers student questions in our private Facebook group!
A love of art catapulted Katy towards an Honors Degree in Design in Visual Communications, with a photography major, at the University of Technology in Sydney, Australia. While at Uni, Katy swapped the Aussie summers for US winters, working (a.k.a ski bumming) in the Colorado ski resort town of Steamboat Springs. She ultimately opted out of the big city bright lights for marketing in the ski industry. She worked her way up the corporate ladder for 8 years at ResortQuest Vacation Rentals, managing the Colorado websites’ content, search engine optimization strategies, revenue management, direct mail (and email), and so much more.
In 2011 she jumped from the corporate ship to team up with a friend, and dive into their own small business, Colomark Marketing. During the transition from work-life to happy-happy-joy-joy balanced-life, Katy discovered Amanda and the GG2WD. The course filled the coding gaps Katy was missing and empowered her to take on the web design world again! In turn, she strives to empower small business owners to take charge of their online marketing, laying the foundation for them with beautifully designed websites that both search engines and customers love! She is brimming with creative ways you can use your website and social media to seduce your customers and make money. And she now dreams in code.
Connect with Katy:
Katy’s site: http://colomark.com
Follow Katie on Twitter: @seolsearchkaty
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Chili:
Hi ladies! I’m Justin and Amanda’s Puggle named Chili! I’m a 5 year old Beagle/Pug mix and was rescued by Justin and Amanda in late March 2013. Here at GG2WD when I’m not under Amanda or Justin’s desk keeping them company and ensuring they stay on task, I’m going for walks, playing fetch and watching television. I love sleeping, eating and basking in the sun. My favorite movies are Turner and Hooch and 101 Dalmatians.
