WCUS Lead
One person sets the overall direction, makes final calls when squads disagree, and represents WCUS to the WordPress Foundation.
Organizing structure
12 squads. One mission. The people behind WordCamp US.
WordCamp US is built by a volunteer organizing team that splits into 12 squads. Each squad owns a specific function of the event — from speaker curation to accessibility to the website you're reading right now.
How the team is structured
Three layers, one goal
Squad Leads
12 leads — one per squad. Typically 6-10 hours/week. Owns squad-level decisions and accountability.
Squad Members
1-4 members per squad. Typically 2-5 hours/week. Execution work that keeps each squad moving forward.
The 12 squads
What each squad owns
Accessibility & Wayfinding
Mission: Make WCUS accessible to every attendee. Venue accessibility audit, sign language coordination, sensory-friendly spaces, wayfinding signage.
Attendee Communications
Mission: Keep attendees informed. Pre-event emails, day-of logistics communications, post-event recap, attendee survey.
Community (Contributor Day)
Mission: Make Sunday Aug 16 a great hackathon. Coordinate the 25 contributor teams, onboard newcomers, manage on-site logistics.
Design
Mission: WCUS looks great in every surface. Event branding, social graphics, signage, slide templates, swag, livestream graphics.
Finance
Mission: Keep the books balanced and transparent. Budget oversight, sponsor invoicing, vendor payments, final reconciliation.
Marketing
Mission: Get the right people in the room. Pre-event communications, social presence, news posts, press relations.
Programming (Speaker) Curation
Mission: Build the strongest possible program. Review submissions, balance tracks and formats, manage the speaker selection process.
Speaker Logistics
Mission: Set up speakers to succeed on stage. Timing, room assignments, AV, rehearsals, travel support for confirmed speakers.
Sponsorship Sales
Mission: Bring sponsors to the table. Outreach, tier conversations, contracts, renewals from previous WCUS sponsors.
Sponsorship Operations
Mission: Deliver what we promised sponsors. Booth logistics, branded touchpoints, on-site activation, deliverables.
Volunteer
Mission: Build and run the volunteer crew. Call for Volunteers, scheduling, pre-event training, day-of coordination.
Web / Technology
Mission: Every digital surface works. The website, speaker portal, sponsor portal, schedule software, volunteer tools.
Squad Lead role
What Squad Leads are accountable for
Set squad scope and timeline. Break it into actionable work for squad members.
Weekly squad meetings and Slack presence. Unblock members when they get stuck.
Represent the squad in cross-squad coordination meetings.
Make squad-level decisions and document them in the squad's Notion/Drive.
Hand off to the WCUS Lead when something needs cross-event arbitration.
Post-event retrospective writeup. What worked, what didn't, what next year's lead should know.
WCUS Lead role