Author Archives: Michelle Schulp Hunt

About Michelle Schulp Hunt

Michelle is based in Minneapolis, MN, and is currently the Director of UX Engineering at Lone Rock Point. She has previously collaborated with clients ranging in size from solopreneurs to enterprise as an independent consultant. Michelle employs a strategy-based approach to design and development focused on solving tangible problems and achieving real goals based on how people think. She loves the open source community, and when she is not pursuing professional, personal, or wellness goals, she enjoys giving back through speaking and connecting with others. Her passions are communication and empowerment, and she believes in the power of "Why?"

The 2016 WordCamp Schedule Is Live!

It’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for!

We are extremely excited to present to you the 2016 WordCamp Minneapolis schedule for the weekend of May 20th-22nd. It is jam-packed with quality content from our speakers covering a wide range of topics, from development and design to content, marketing, and community involvement.

View The Schedule

Stay tuned for more details to come, but we’ve got information up there about our new Foundation Friday tracks (a hands-on deep learning experience to get you started with using, designing, or developing for WordPress), our popular social brunch with lightning talk presentations, and all of our weekend sessions.

Getting Started

WordCamps are exciting events filled with knowledge, but we have gotten feedback that they can sometimes be overwhelming, and it’s hard to know what tracks you should be attending. This is true whether you are a first-time attendee, or maybe just aren’t quite sure what you want to get out of it.

We heard your concerns, and created something for you! If you’re already comfortable with where you want to go, we’ll have some great talks for you to attend, but if you want some guidance, stick around in the main auditorium at 9am for Getting Started. We’ll provide you with a clear path for navigating WordCamps and introduce you to our tracks.

Each of the talks following (at 10am) will serve as a perfect introduction to that track and set the tone for the talks the rest of the day.

Haven’t got your tickets? Get them here! They’re selling quickly, so don’t delay, because we’d love to have you join us!

Get Tickets

Become A Microsponsor and Support Women In Tech

Introducing Community Microsponsor tickets for WordCamp Minneapolis

WordCamp Minneapolis 2015. Photo © 2015 Kristine Leuze

We hear from many people who want to help support WordPress and WordCamps, but that traditional sponsor levels don’t really fit what they are looking for. Often, these are individuals or small businesses that use WordPress and want to help out. We hear you, which is why we are pleased to be offering Microsponsor tickets this year!

A microsponsor ticket gets you general admission to the weekend conference (Saturday and Sunday) plus a shoutout on our sponsor page thanking you for your extra contribution! As you know, we work really hard to put on a quality event at such a low, accessible price, so we appreciate everyone in the community that wants to give a little extra!

WordCamp Supports Women In Technology

In addition to being involved with WordCamps, I am very passionate about empowering women to get involved with code and technology, which is why I also volunteer and mentor for Girl Develop It Minneapolis. Recently, in addition to standard classes, Girl Develop It Minneapolis has started to offer an entire Front-End Developer series. A cohort of women take all the classes together, participate in extra study sessions and meetups, and get real hands-on learning about modern web development workflows. It’s a joy to be a part of, and something I want to support beyond just mentorship.

Your microsponsor ticket will not only help us put on a successful WordCamp, but helps offset the cost of special discount tickets we are offering to their winter Front-End Developer cohort to come join us for WordCamp and continue their web education!

Get A Microsponsor Ticket Now

Want to Volunteer for WordCamp Minneapolis?

Are you looking for a great opportunity to get involved with the WordPress community?

We are in search of WordPress enthusiasts eager to lend a hand! WordCamps would not be possible without a strong volunteer base of people like you. If you’ve been thinking about attending WordCamp Minneapolis and want to help out, we would love to have you join us! We have tons of positions, from setup to registration to the Happiness Bar to helping with the rooms and everything in between. Sign up now to get on our volunteer list, which includes a ticket to WordCamp, some special swag, and of course our gratitude!

Call for Sponsors

WordCamp Minneapolis is looking for sponsors for our 2016 event.

Sponsoring WordCamps is a rewarding experience for companies of all sizes, giving you lots of positive visibility and good karma. Plus, it’s a great way to give back to the WordPress community.

Why sponsor WordCamp Minneapolis?

By sponsoring WordCamp Minneapolis, you show your support for the WordPress project, that free, open source software has enriched your life and/or business; you also contribute to the growth of your local WordPress community.

WordCamps are run entirely by volunteers and the only funds available are those from ticket sales and our sponsors. We strive to keep ticket prices low ($20/day or less) to ensure accessibility to freelancers and small business owners with limited funds. However, that introduces a challenge when it comes to having a suitable venue, food & beverages for hundreds, technical capabilities, support services, and top-notch speakers. We literally cannot do it without you!

That’s where you come in.

Whether you would love to feed us lunch, willing to perform a service we are in need of, or have a spare $1,000 lying around, we absolutely appreciate that help. With a wide variety of sponsorship levels and ways you can contribute, we have something that fits nearly any budget.

Ready to help us out?

Download our sponsorship information document to get some more details, and then fill out the form below. Our organizing team will be in touch. Thank you so much for helping!

Apply To Speak At WordCamp Minneapolis!

Speaker Applications are now CLOSED, thanks to everyone who applied! We’ll be announcing speakers in the coming weeks.

Our theme for WordCamp this year is “Creating Intention.”

We feel that our best work is always done when we have a sense of the greater purpose behind it. So, we want to explore the reasons why we do things, whether that’s development, design, content, teaching, learning, or strategy.

In addition to the typical rules for speaking at a WordCamp, there are a few other things we are looking for:

Represent a diverse range of voices from the local and national community, including experienced speakers and new speakers with a passion for their topic.
Emphasis on connecting with other creative and tech communities outside the WordPress space, or outside the typical presenters we normally hear at WordCamps.
Appeal to an audience with a broad skillset, especially the thriving development, design, and blogging communities here in Minneapolis
Present a variety of topics on WordPress, including Web Development, Design, Technology, Writing, SEO/Marketing, and other fields as they relate to using, building, creating, and improving WordPress sites, themes, plugins, and products

What does that mean for your talk submissions?

Topics presented should focus not just on “what to do” or “how to do” something, but why it should be done and the purposes behind it.
Special consideration to talks that can promote cross-disciplinary collaboration, applying lessons from one field/area to another, or the importance of learning/education
We want to encourage diversity (of opinions, of people and backgrounds, of voice, and of skillsets)

Additional thoughts for potential speakers:

Talks do not have to be specifically about WordPress, but must relate to WordPress in some way, whether it’s using WordPress, building/developing/designing for WordPress, enhancing WordPress, or interacting with the WordPress community
Calling JavaScript developers! In light of the call to “Learn JavaScript Deeply” in 2016, we are trying to have a dedicated JavaScript track on Sunday afternoon, from beginner to intermediate (and possibly advanced)
Calling design thinkers! We’d like to try to run a design/”design-thinking” track both days. This isn’t just visual design, but user inferfaces, user experience, animation, and cross-disciplinary applications of design thinking principles in other fields
Calling strategists, writers, bloggers, and content producers! The web wouldn’t exist without content, and we want to hear from you about creating it purposefully
Looking for 45 minute talks (including Q&A), and a few lightning talks. We are also open to panels or multi-person talks.

Know someone you’d like to hear speak?

If you know a person who is a great speaker, or maybe a new speaker with tons of knowledge to share, and would like to nominate them to speak, get in touch via our Contact Form and let us know who it is, where they are located, and what it is they speak about, as well as a way for us to get in touch.

Ok, enough introductions… apply now!