We are shaking things up a bit this year at Wordcamp US. In addition to our “regular” presenters and workshops, we are creating a track that is focused on the WordPress Community.
There will be four areas that the Community Track will touch on this year:
- Meetups
- WordCamps
- Diversity / Inclusion
- Kids / Youth
We have different people active in the WordPress community leading workshops and panels. Each leader will also have a diverse team collaborating and presenting with them. Some of these team members are still being finalized, but we wanted to introduce the topics, formats, and these dears who we are calling “area captains” or moderators/emcees.
We announced two of our Community Track presenters on Friday, and we are back with two more today.
Creating A Welcome And Diverse Space
Format: Workshop
Preliminary Description
This workshop will be focused upon helping members of the WordPress community (both newcomers and long-time members) to self-examine to see how the WordPress community can better accept and communicate with a variety of historically under-represented groups.
Important questions to be covered will include the following:
- How can we attract and retain more WordPress: contributors, speakers, Meetup attendees, etc. from diverse backgrounds?
- What lessons can we learn from other communities?
- What are practical, necessary, steps that people (from organizers to meetup attendees) can take?
Area Captain: Jill Binder @JillBinder
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Jill Binder
Jill Binder leads the Diverse Speaker Training group in the WordPress.org Community Team (with a 50% sponsorship from Automattic) which encourages underrepresented people to speak at WordPress events. She helped organize the first BuddyCamp and, for three years, co-organized WordCamp Vancouver. She was named one of the top 100 Influencers of WordPress in 2014 by Torque Magazine and one of the top 10 Women of WordPress by CloudWays.
Running a Successful Contributor Day
Format: Panel Discussion and Q & A
Preliminary Description
This panel discussion will feature helpful tips from a diverse group of Contributor Day organizers.
It will also cover:
- How these events have evolved from their original format.
- How both seasoned and new Contributor Day organizers can improve their events.
- How these events can be held in conjunction with a WordCamp, or as standalone events.
- How these events can build community.
Emcee: Cal Evans @CalEvans
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Cal Evans
Many moons ago, at the tender age of 14, Cal touched his first computer. (We’re using the term “computer” loosely here, it was a TRS-80 Model 1) Since then his life has never been the same. He graduated from TRS-80s to Commodores and eventually to IBM PCs. For the past 15 years, Cal has worked with PHP and MySQL on Linux, OSX, and Windows. He has built a variety of projects ranging in size from simple web pages to multi-million dollar web applications.
When not banging his head on his monitor, attempting a blood sacrifice to get a particular piece of code working, he enjoys building and managing development teams using his widely imitated but never patented management style of “management by wandering around”.
These days, when not working with PHP, Cal can be found working on a variety of projects like Day Camp 4 Developers. He gives motivational talks to developers around the world. If you happen to meet him at a conference, don’t be afraid to buy him a shot of Rum.
Cal is based in West Palm Beach, FL – US where he is happily married to wife 1.35, the lovely and talented Kathy. Together they have 2 wonderful kids who were both smart enough not to pursue a job in IT.
You don’t want to miss out on WordCamp US 2019! There will be speakers, workshops, childcare, an incredible sponsor hall, the annual WordFest party, and more. Get your tickets to WordCamp US today!