Mika Epstein was among the first speakers we reached out to, and was so excited about contributing to WordCamp Ventura County that she was willing to move a family obligation to be able to speak at our event!

If you have not met her, she alone would be a reason to come. Mika Epstein is the Mika Epstein of WordPress support. If you ever posted a question at the WordPress support forums, chances are that she has seen it, if not answered it herself. She is also part of the Plugin Review team, bringing sanity to the WordPress Plugin Repository.

Like Mike Schroder, she works at DreamHost, where she fills the role of WordPress Support Specialist and Manager, helping her co-workers understand the true magnificence of the software, and answers any kind of WordPress-related question.

Mika, we are very excited to have you!

It is with great pleasure that we announce Mike Schroder as our first speaker for WordCamp Ventura County.

He is an integral part of the WordPress community, contributing to WordPress core with features like Image manipulation in 3.5, or the Heartbeat API in 3.6. Most recently he was also Co-Lead for the 3.9 release, literally shaping the future of the software.

He’s a Los Angeles native, working from DreamHost’s downtown office in LA, and enjoys great coffee and sailing the waters. He’s also one of the nicest and most genuine people you’ll ever meet, very approachable, and always looking for an opportunity to help others.

Mike, we are very excited to have you!

With less than two months to WordCamp Ventura County, planning is in full swing. These events are a community collaboration, and sponsors play a critical role in making WordCamps a success.

This year, we’re looking for a few individuals or organizations to provide the assistance needed for this to be a successful camp. Unlike other Camps, we have a single $250 sponsorship tier—a package that includes name, logo, and description on this site, as well as acknowledgement at the event.

The Camp will be open to approximately 50 attendees, and we’ll have a free live stream (on this site) for those who can’t be there in person. Due to the small size of our camp, we can’t provide complementary tickets with sponsorships.

Want to help make WordCamp Ventura County’s first year a great one? Let us know through the form below.

After we secured the location and were moved to the main WordCamp schedule, it’s time to formally announce WordCamp Ventura County, and share some of our plans!

The Name

We’re calling it Ventura County because our local meetup group covers the entire county, moving around each month to make it easy for all people to attend our meetings. We also felt that a lot more people identified with Ventura County rather than “just” the city of Ventura. And finally it can also be seen as an homage to our sister WordCamp in Orange County, which has set a great example for WordPress events in Southern California.

The Venue

Green Art People is the most unique conference venue you’ll ever visit. It’s a community art center located on the historic Westside of Ventura and is so small, that we will only be able to accommodate 50 people total! This event will be by far the smallest and most intimate WordCamp in the United States all year.

The Speakers

Due to the size of the venue, we will only have one track with seven (or eight) presentation slots. We are beyond excited about the list of hand picked speakers that we were able to land so far! It features leading WordPress Core committers and contributors, including release leads, feature leads, security experts, and all around WordPress mavens. Once we have a confirmation from all seven speakers, we will announce them here.

The Date

WordCamp Ventura County will take place on November 8, this year. We will not have a second conference day. Or a contributor day. But we will have the most magical WordCamp on the calendar! That time of year the average temperature is 70F, so feel free to bring your shorts and sandals and enjoy the beach one more time before Thanksgiving!