Good morning, Jira Guys and Gals.
Yes, it’s been a while. But in the meantime, I did notice a detail. What I consider TJG’s true start was a post I made on August 28, 2019. Yes, if you look at that math, that is officially five years ago now. When I started, I actually made a five-year plan, and according to that, I wouldn’t be writing here anymore. Don’t get me wrong, I love this site and what it’s done for my life, but after five years, I just don’t feel I have much to say I haven’t already said. For anything new that comes up, I have The Jira Life and various speaking roles.
But, rather than write, I saw myself as more of an editor over a group of writers. The only problem with that plan is I never worked to start it. I figured it would just happen – which, as a Jira Admin, I should have known better. But, over the past month, that has changed. I know many people signed on and are already starting to make posts for the site. The only thing holding them up is I really wanted to announce the change to you, the readers, first and introduce you to the newly minted Jira Guys, Gals, and yes, even non-binary pals. Also, a Trello Girl.
So, let’s meet them!
Brittany Joiner – The Trello Girl
Brittany Joiner is a self-proclaimed productivity and automation nerd who loves solving organizational challenges with her suite of productivity tools, such as Trello, Zapier, Raycast, PixieBrix, and more. With a background in marketing and engineering, she has a lot of experience working with projects and productivity challenges across various parts of organizations. She’s a particular fan of the Atlassian Ecosystem as she’s been using Trello for over a decade and jumped feet first into the Atlassian Community when Trello was acquired by Atlassian in 2017.
Since then, she’s been answering questions in the community, sharing content about how people can use Trello, and consulting with folks across the world about how to improve their workflows so they can spend time actually doing the work they need to, rather than organizing it. She’s an Atlassian Creator, and been with the program since it’s pilot. In 2023, she published her first book, Supercharging Productivity with Trello, which is full of nuggets of info for Trello newbies and veterans alike. She continues to put out Trello tips and tricks via her YouTube channel and weekly Trello newsletter. Although she’s spent the most time using Trello, she also uses Confluence and peeks into Jira every now and then, because that’s where all the fun is, according to all her Atlassian friends 🙂 If you want to know when to use Trello instead of Jira, she’ll be happy to show you how to make your dreams come true, no matter what tool you prefer. When she’s not building something or creating content, you’ll find her exploring the world in her camper with her partner, dog, and three cats! And fun fact, she can rap! (She’s got a rap all about Trello, of course… you’ll have to ask her about that!)
Rae Foote – Work/Life Balance Guru
Rae Foote was born and raised in California before moving to New York City in early 2023. She has worked across the education, manufacturing, and software industries, but her love affair with Atlassian, more specifically Jira, came in 2021 when she was thrown head-first into a Product Management role with no prior experience.
After absolutely crushing it and developing what could be classified as either a devout loyalty or a form of Stockholm syndrome with Scrum and Agile, she continues to practice project management and product management in her day-to-day life.
Rae’s passion for mental health, people, and psychology is evident in her content, and she enjoys partnering with Atlassian to talk all things workplace, work life balance, interpersonal relationships, and leadership.
Josh Costella – Atlassian Jedi
Who is Josh?
Great question. That’s me, your friendly neighborhood Atlassian Jedi (Certified Expert Emeritus), Community Leader, and Creator with over two decades of IT leadership under my belt. I’ve been through a ton of tech transformations and Atlassian tools have been my go-to for making sense of the madness. Whether it’s sorting out workflows or just making life easier for the team, I’ve learned that the right tools can really change the game. My goal is always to find smart, practical solutions that not only get the job done but also make work feel a little less like… well, work.
I first stumbled into the Atlassian ecosystem like most great love stories begin… completely by accident but with a sense of destiny. Back in the day (12+ years and counting), I found myself volunteering to setup, administer, and run this new tool my department purchased called Jira. None of us had ever heard of it. I had no training. I was not certified. I was tech savvy but not a developer. But I was given the keys to a Ferrari having never even seen a car before. Did I crash? Many times. Thankfully, I know a good body shop.
The best job I ever had in my Atlassian career was at a company called Nextiva. While there, I was able to hire, train, and mentor a team of amazing Atlassian Solution Specialists. We achieved so much, provided the best level of service in the entire enterprise, and even managed to be the runner up for Team of the Year at Atlassian Team ’22. I’m so proud I got to be a part of that team and watch a group of individuals who had very little Atlassian knowledge or experience become a team that could rival (and beat) the most seasoned Atlassian consultants at any Platinum Solution partner. And the best part? We had fun. Work was fun. I know, I know… that’s rare.
My expertise spans project leadership, stakeholder collaboration, and crafting tech solutions that actually make people’s lives easier (yes, it’s possible!). From improving team efficiency to custom-tailoring SaaS platforms for companies like Siemens, Panera Bread, and Kohl’s, I’ve seen a little bit of everything. Most recently, I was at Praecipio Consulting and soon I will be joining a new company (details under wraps for now). I’m all about helping teams find fulfillment in their work, achieve their goals, and definitely have a little fun along the way. So, if you’re into motivational leadership, business optimization, or just want to swap Atlassian war stories, stick around. I promise it’ll be worth it.
You can find me on LinkedIn and The Atlassian Community.
Nikola Perišić – The Jira Bro
Hey all, my name is Nikola and been an Atlassian engineer for 2 years now. Before that I was the PM for another 2 years and that is how I was introduced to Jira and Confluence. I am the face behind the memes and the channel of Jira Bro. Stay tuned for some posts on TJG!
So, what does this mean?
I’m not intending to disappear entirely. I will (occasionally) be doing my own articles as well, and I’m working with some sponsorships right now. I’m also working to bring on even more talented Jira Admins and Content Creators.
Plus, The Jira Life – which is an entirely different endeavor – is still going strong. But the fact is I don’t think it’s well past time that we go from The Jira Guy to The Jira Guys and Gals (and maybe more!). I’ll be publishing the first post from the new writers alongside this one, so I hope you will show them as much support as you have shown me over the years.
And as always, this is Rodney, asking, “Have you updated your Jira issues today?”
The Jira Guy 