It’s kind of a big deal, and we’re super excited to be a part of it. WordCamp US (WCUS) is happening this weekend, December 2-4, in Philadelphia, PA. It’s the last year that Philly will play host, so we expect this year’s WCUS to be especially eventful.
Not only does WebDevStudios (WDS) have 11 team members who are attending, but our very own COO Lisa Sabin-Wilson is a featured speaker, tackling the topic of BuddyPress as the Foundation for Training, Distance Learning and Support for Business and Government on Saturday, December 3 at 11:30 a.m. in Liberty Bell – Room 120.
Additionally, we have two team members who are actively involved in putting it all together. Both Brad Williams, WDS CEO, and Jodie Riccelli, WDS Client Strategist, have been co-organizers of WCUS for the past two years.
Because the WDS team is a distributed one (meaning we work remotely, from all over the US and Canada), most of our WCUS attendees are simply looking forward to seeing and interacting with each other in person. But there are other things on their to-do lists, as well. Read below to find out what, and follow WDS (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) and our team members on social media, as we will be sharing our experiences (even the embarrassing ones) online.
Be sure to also follow hashtag #WCUS to get the scoop on everything happening.
Lisa Sabin-Wilson, WDS COO and WCUS Speaker
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Speaking in front of 750+ people.
Is there anyone in particular you are hoping meet?
Cory Miller and Matt Danner from iThemes. They are some of my favorite WordPress people.
What are you looking forward to?
I didn’t get a chance to go to WordCamp US last year, so I’m looking forward to experiencing a WordCamp of this size.
Brad Williams, WDS CEO and WCUS Organizer
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Hanging out with new and old friends in the WordPress Community
Why is attending WCUS important?
WordPress is amazing because of the community and this is THE biggest community event of the year!
Brian Messenlehner, WDS CTO
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The State of The Word, because it’s always interesting to hear cool WordPress stories from the past year and what some of the goals are going to be for 2017. Also, I hope he mentions WebDevStudios again like he has over the past few years.
What else are you looking forward to?
Hanging out with friends and meeting new ones.
Jodie Riccelli, WDS Client Strategist and WCUS Organizer
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The After-Party!
Is there anyone in particular you are hoping meet?
Looking forward to seeing fellow WebDev peeps.
What else are you looking forward to?
Just excited to see everyone coming into Philadelphia to enjoy the city and learn WordPress!
Brad Parbs, WDS Back-End Developer Lead
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What are you looking forward to at WCUS?
I’m excited to go back to Reading Terminal for lunch, as well as some great Hallway Track sessions.
Cristina Holt, WDS Account Manager
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WordPress & SEO in 2016 with Joost de Valk.
Is there anyone in particular you are hoping meet?
Finally shake hands with the Lisa Sabin-Wilson.
Anything else you’re looking forward to?
Cheesesteaks, cheesesteaks, and Yuengling.
Corey Collins, WDS Front-End Developer Lead
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I’m always looking to just learn ANYTHING new or different from what I already know. There are some great talks around accessibility, which is a topic I’m striving to learn more and more about. I also like to get out of my comfort zone and learn about things I haven’t had a chance to work with yet, like the WP REST API.
WCUS can’t be all serious. What are you really looking forward to?
I have heard stories about the mythical Philly Taco – a beautiful cheesesteak wrapped in a giant slice of pizza. If I don’t finally eat a Philly Taco this weekend, I’m banning myself from entering Philly for the next year. Aside from food, which dictates 95% of the decisions I make in life, I’m always stoked to see my friends at WDS and my friends outside of WDS who are a part of the greater WordPress community.
Jerry Wood, WDS Back-End Developer
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Learning more about blogging and how to increase exposure through blogging. It’s something I do once in awhile for WDS, but most of my posts are technical, and not really geared towards the everyday WordPress user. I’m also looking forward to picking the brains of many commercial plugin developers, how they got started, what they’re doing now, etc.
What seminar or event are you most looking forward to?
Looking forward to two seminars, actually: Finding Your Voice by Blogging (Chris Lema, Saturday at 4:15 p.m.) and So You’ve Released a WordPress Product… Now What? (Ines van Essen, Sunday at 11:30 a.m.).
What else are looking forward to?
Personally, I’m looking to just get out of the state for awhile. Having beers with co-workers, and hanging out with like minded peeps. As a remote worker, there aren’t many others like me around my area.
Other WDS team members attending WCUS this year are Gary Kovar, Back-End Developer; Brian Mayer, Project Manager; and April Williams, Operations Manager.