# Lea Verou

> Lea Verou is a Greek-American web standards leader, MIT researcher, and creator tools advocate whose fingerprints are on the web itself. She has designed web technologies now baked into every major browser, built 30+ open-source projects with nearly 2 billion npm downloads (including PrismJS and Color.js), authored the bestselling CSS Secrets (O'Reilly, 2015), and served as an elected W3C Technical Architecture Group member. A PhD candidate at MIT CSAIL in Human-Computer Interaction and Programming Language Design, she consults for Google, Mozilla, and Stripe, leads the State of HTML survey, and has delivered 100+ conference talks worldwide - always live-coding.

- **Role:** PhD Researcher at MIT CSAIL
- **Organizations:** MIT CSAIL, W3C CSS Working Group, W3C Technical Architecture Group, TC39, Font Awesome
- **From:** Lesbos, Greece
- **Nationality:** Greek-American
- **Education:** Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, Athens University of Economics and Business, Master's degree, MIT, PhD in Human-Computer Interaction & Programming Language Design (in progress), MIT CSAIL
- **Known for:** Designed multiple web technologies now implemented in all major browsers, Created PrismJS syntax highlighter with nearly 2 billion total npm downloads, Created Color.js with 50+ million npm downloads

## Career timeline

- **2005** — Began professional web development as a freelancer
- **2008** — Co-founded Fresset Ltd, Greek web development company managing community websites reaching ~1% of Greece's population
- **2012** — Joined W3C as Developer Advocate; became Invited Expert to W3C CSS Working Group
- **2012** — Elected to W3C Technical Architecture Group (TAG), reviewing proposed web technologies for 4 years
- **2013** — Sold Fresset Ltd; adopted mother's surname Verou in her memory after her mother's passing
- **2014** — Began PhD at MIT CSAIL in HCI and Programming Language Design
- **2015** — Published CSS Secrets (O'Reilly Media), translated into 8 languages
- **2017** — Co-authored first CSS Specification with Tab Atkins Jr. and Elika J. Etemad
- **2018** — Co-taught 'User Interface Design & Implementation' at MIT
- **2020** — CSS Secrets named 'The Best CSS Book' by Chicago Tribune
- **2023** — Launched first State of HTML survey, influencing browser vendor roadmaps
- **2025** — Awarded 'Pathfinder for Standards' by OpenJS Foundation (October 2025)
- **2025** — Led State of HTML 2025 survey (6,223 responses collected July-September 2025)

## Achievements

- Designed multiple web technologies now implemented in all major browsers
- Created PrismJS syntax highlighter with nearly 2 billion total npm downloads
- Created Color.js with 50+ million npm downloads
- Co-authored 5+ CSS Specifications
- Authored CSS Secrets (O'Reilly, 2015) - bestselling, translated into 8 languages
- Elected to W3C Technical Architecture Group (2012-2016)
- Invited Expert in W3C CSS Working Group since 2012
- TC39 participant (JavaScript standards body)
- Delivered 100+ conference talks worldwide with live-coding style
- Awarded 'Pathfinder for Standards' by OpenJS Foundation (October 2025)
- Co-designed MIT course that became permanent curriculum
- Named 'The Best CSS Book' by Chicago Tribune (2020) for CSS Secrets
- 30+ open-source projects totaling ~2 billion total npm downloads
- Consulted for Google, Mozilla, and Stripe

## Latest updates

- **2025-10** — Awarded 'Pathfinder for Standards' by OpenJS Foundation for contributions to web standards
- **2025-09** — Completed State of HTML 2025 survey data collection (6,223 responses), results used to influence browser vendor priorities
- **2025-07** — Launched State of HTML 2025 survey after one-year hiatus, featuring 31 new web platform features
- **2026-04** — Continues PhD research at MIT CSAIL, web standards work with W3C and TC39, and consulting engagements

## Links

- Website: https://lea.verou.me/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leaverou/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/LeaVerou
- GitHub: https://github.com/LeaVerou

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/lea-verou
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-04-21