WP Engine, the WordPress technology company, announced the appointment of Tarsha McCormick as the company’s first Vice President of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Culture and Engagement.

“I am incredibly honored and excited to have Tarsha join our team,” said Heather Brunner, Chairwoman and CEO for WP Engine. “With an extensive background as an HR professional, Tarsha has spent more than 20 years at ThoughtWorks, helping the company make meaningful and durable change on issues of representation in the technology industry. As a values-led company, she is exactly the kind of strong, passionate leader we want to help us continue to infuse diversity and inclusion in everything we do.”

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Prior to joining WP Engine, McCormick was the North America Head of Diversity, Inclusion and Social Change for ThoughtWorks, a global IT consulting company, where she was responsible for the strategic thinking and work related to making the organization more diverse and inclusive. Under her leadership, ThoughtWorks was named the AnitaB.org Top Companies Winner for Women Technologist in 2016, 2017 and 2018, and Top Companies Leader (top 25th percentile) in 2019 and 2020. In 2019 she was named a finalist for Advocate of the Year at the Women in IT Awards – New York.

Before joining ThoughtWorks, McCormick worked as a benefits representative/consultant with Hewitt Associates (Aon Hewitt), and began her professional career as a social worker. She has a Master of Business Administration degree from the Keller Graduate School of Management and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Illinois State University. With a passion for mentoring and helping others, Tarsha proudly served for three years as a member of the advisory board for Per Scholas Atlanta, a not-for-profit that provides tuition-free technology training to unemployed and underemployed adults seeking careers as IT professionals.

“WP Engine has a well deserved, global reputation for being a leader in equality and inclusion and I’m honored and excited to be able to apply my energy and experience to build on that leadership and help take us to the next level,” said Tarsha McCormick. “Diversity and inclusion is a journey, not a destination, and I’m excited to continue to make strides toward creating a workplace and company culture that both reflects our Core Values, and is welcoming and inclusive for all.”

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Walking Its Talk: A History of Prioritizing Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Since WP Engine was founded in 2010, creating a workplace that fosters diversity, equity and inclusion has been a company-wide priority. Providing an on-ramp into the technology industry, one-third of WP Engine employees do not have college degrees but have backgrounds at coding academies and non-degree training programs. WP Engine makes significant investments in new hire training and continuous learning and development opportunities for all team members. Chairwoman and CEO Heather Brunner is a signatory of the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion pledge, the largest CEO-driven business commitment to advancing diversity and inclusion in the workplace. In 2020, WP Engine participated in the Check Your Blind Spots tour, which was designed to give people the opportunity to learn about and explore ways to mitigate unconscious bias in their everyday lives. In November 2020, WP Engine refreshed its Core Values to purposely imbue each with language that deeply reflects its commitment to diversity and inclusion, alongside its mission to inspire both organizational and personal growth.

Through its Open Doors program, WP Engine empowers its employees to foster a sense of belonging through a diverse, inclusive workplace by supporting Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), which are company-recognized, voluntary, employee-led groups that are aligned with WP Engine’s Core Values. These groups include ROAR, which empowers women to drive their paths to professional success through education and advocacy; RISE, which increases awareness of the perspectives and experiences of Black, Indigenous and People of Color within the tech industry; and HUE, which focuses on creating a safe, inclusive environment for the acceptance and representation of the LGBTQIA+ community.

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