Lara Schenck

Artist, programmer, researcher

Lara speaking in front of a slide that shows a cycle of "Turd driven development"

Speaking

CSS Algorithms

Wait…CSS algorithms? Can one really write algorithms in CSS? Absolutely.

This talk is all about CSS algorithms: what they are, how to write them, and the potential impacts of a word like “algorithm” when it comes to both the CSS in your code-bases and CSS in the larger context of web development.

A recording of CSS Algorithms from Strange Loop 2019.

See a post chronicling the history of this talk: CSS Algorithms: Changelog and Sources.

StrangeLoop
CSS Algorithms – Video, Slides (2019, St. Louis)

Abstractions II
Is CSS A Programming Language? – Slides (2019, Pittsburgh)

React Podcast with Michael Chen
Lara Schenck on CSS Algorithms and Turd-Driven Development (2019)

JSConf US
CSS Algorithms – Video, Slides (2019, San Diego)

CSS Camp
Writing CSS Algorithms – Video, Slides (2019, Barcelona)

CSS Day
Algorithms in CSS – Video, Slides (2019, Amsterdam)

WordCamp Montclair
CSS is a Programming Language – Video (2019, New Jersey)

WordCamp US
Bridging the Gap Between Design & Development with CSS Algorithms – Video, Slides (2018, Nashville)

SIGNAL
Understanding Today’s CSS with Algorithms – Video (2018, San Francisco)

js.la
The Algorithms of CSS – Video (2018, Los Angeles)

CSSConf EU
The Algorithms of CSS – Video, Slides (2018, Berlin)

Lara presenting at a conference with a monster drawing in the background that says 'what is a PL'
CSS Day 2019
On stage speaking at a conference with the slide reading "Is CSS a programming language?"
CSSCamp in 2019
Lara giving a talk on a big stage, with a slide that says "Is CSS a programming language?"
CSSConf EU in 2018

Pre-CSS Algorithms Speaking Events (and Podcasts)

WordCamp Los Angeles
Gutenberg Q&A Panel and co-organizer (2018, Los Angeles)

WordCamp Europe
Let’s Build A Gutenberg Block Workshop (2018, Belgrade, Serbia)

WordCamp San Diego
Let’s Build A Gutenberg Block (2018, San Diego)

ShopTalk Show
The Value of HTML and CSS with Mandy Michael and Lara Schenck (2017)

The Versioning Show
WordPress Development, Freelancing, and Taking Time Off, with Lara Schenck (2017)

Abstractions Conf
The Five-figure WordPress Website (2016, Pittsburgh)

WordCamp Pittsburgh
Vetting and Choosing Themes (2016, Pittsburgh)

SassConf
Why the Designer Failed FizzBuzz (2015, Austin)

Sass Bites Podcast
Road to Sass Conf (2015)

ShopTalk Show
Guest, Episode 171 (2015)

WordPress NYC Meetup
Regular presenter, Archive of Presentations (2013-2016, NYC)

WordCamp Montreal
Sassy WordPress (2014, Montreal)

WordCamp NYC
Freelancing, Real Talk (2014, NYC)

Writing and Teaching

Writing and teaching are surely the most illuminating and most difficult of the things I do. You can’t write about something or teach it without getting to know it inside and out, whether that is something technical or personal.

Writing

Today, I mostly write on my personal blog, but I wrote these articles for other publications (well, mostly CSS-Tricks, it seems) over the years:

Teaching

I think teaching might be my ultimate career destination in tech, but I’m not sure yet. Either way, I love teaching, and have taught WordPress and front-end development at several places over the years, and did a lot of tutoring when I had my freelance business. I haven’t taught any classes in a while, but hope to again, at some point!

Here are some places I’ve taught for in the past:

  • University of Southern California: WordPress Course; 2018
  • Pratt Institute of Design: UI Prototyping in Code, Coding I – II; 2014-2016
  • Decoded: Code in a Day facilitator; 2014-2016
  • General Assembly: Front-end Web Development, lead instructor; 2013-2014
  • Girl Develop It: Hands-on Sass Fundamentals, Coding for WordPress, Building Custom WordPress Websites and Intro to HTML/CSS.
  • CSS-Tricks Office Hours: Organizer; 2015-2016
  • The Tackle Box: Online course teaching WordPress development; 2015-2016