Naoko McCracken is originally from Fukuoka, Japan. She studied graphic design in the United States, including a high school exchange program in Missouri. She has since worked for advertising agencies and written books. McCracken is now employed by Automattic, a distributed company with 128 employees across 26 states and 24 countries. She believes in continually learning, helping colleagues, and communicating to sustain businesses through open source ideas and passionate customers.