Shanta began her career in Real Estate working for a consulting firm working as a Project Manager right out of high school. Her role involved managing residential public housing, reporting on due diligence and maintenance.
She then entered full time university, mid-career, to pursue her Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology Management. While there, she participated in the Co-op Program, working for a real estate investment trust and a bio-energy company, as well as the exchange program, venturing to Hong Kong for half a year. She stayed on after graduation as a Graduate Assistant, becoming an expert in learning management systems, supporting more than 12 professors and 1500 students in a single semester.
One of her more interesting gigs was working on two political campaigns, one for the mayoral race in Toronto during the 2010 election and the other for the provincial race in 2011. During these times, she met thousands of people, escorting the candidates to debates and other functions, sometimes working 15 hours a day, 7 days a week for 3 weeks at a stretch.
After the limelight, she changed gears and moved to Hamilton, where she took on the role of professor in Web Design at Sheridan College as part of the CCIT program, a joint venture with the University of Toronto at Mississauga. There, she taught all three levels of web design, developing the curriculum for all of them, as well as creating the Capstone course for final year students. She was also responsible for developing and teaching WordPress as part of the Women in Tech program at Mohawk College in partnership with the YWCA.
To further her career, she left Sheridan College to pursue a Certificate in Web Development at BrainStation, a 10-week intense course in Full Stack Web Development.
After graduation, she became the Quality Assurance Supervisor at Weever Apps, an emerging software company in Hamilton, Ontario, where she managed the relationships with the customers, and worked with the developers and sales time to serve large clients in the manufacturing sector.
Shanta has spoken at more than 40 WordCamps (WordPress Conferences) across the US and Canada, including Chicago, New York City and Los Angeles since 2012 on numerous topics, typically for beginners, helping them understand the basics of WordPress and countless other events, including Full Stack Toronto, Bifrost Conf and DevTO.
Her volunteer activities include being the Alumni Advisor for the Women in Information Technology Management program at Ryerson University, and Assistant Instructor at the Canadian Martial Arts Centre. She is also the founder of Women in Technology Hamilton (WITHamOnt)
She blogs at shanta.ca and can be found on Twitter @ShantaDotCa
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