Last Monday, Mary Hubbard introduced herself as the new Executive Director of WordPress.org through her first message on P2, inviting the community to a one-hour Q&A session that took place on Friday. This Zoom event, announced on the Make WordPress Slack channel, saw participation from 82 attendees, including Matt Mullenweg.

The Q&A format allowed for open questions and discussions, which meant attendees were able to interact freely during the session. Mary addressed many questions regarding her connection to WordPress, her professional background, and her vision for the project.

Mary revealed her identity as a product-oriented professional, having previously worked at TikTok Americas. She emphasized her background working with Matt Mullenweg at Automattic, making it clear that her focus lies within product development and delivery. While not an engineer, Mary expressed her eagerness to contribute to future Core releases, acknowledging the invitation she has already received from the release squad.

During the discussion, Mary underlined the significance of defining the phases of the WordPress roadmap, which is vital for the community’s understanding of the project’s direction and particularly the development of Gutenberg. Francesca Marano from XWP supported this notion, asserting the need for project and product management along with a clearly defined roadmap.

Mary noted her previous lack of visibility and acknowledged the necessity to improve this aspect moving forward. She indicated her intent to be more present in the community, mentioning her new blogging platform and plans to participate in future WordPress events.

When asked about her perceptions of the major challenges facing the WordPress community, Mary identified three crucial areas:

1. The decline in new event attendees despite an increase in WordCamp events.
2. The need for clarity regarding the commercialization of WordPress and the community’s role within it.
3. The stagnation in innovation and the barriers faced by newcomers in contributing to discussions.

Mary expressed a desire to create an inviting environment for new community members, emphasizing the importance of short wins to boost their confidence and engagement.

As for her responsibilities, Mary underscored that community engagement is a top priority, recognizing some feelings of alienation among current members and offering her apology for it. Her willingness to take accountability as she steps into this role is seen as a promising sign for the community.

Toward the end of the session, Matt affirmed his commitment to the users and the community, advocating for open discussions around conflicting ideas and emphasizing the importance of constructive debates.

Mary has encouraged anyone wishing to reach out to her to connect via Slack or email, expressing her commitment to maintaining transparent communication. She also plans to attend the upcoming "State of the Word" event in Tokyo and may participate in WordCamp Asia in the Philippines.

In line with her focus on overcoming resistance to change, Mary’s insights can be followed through her contributions on various platforms, including an article featured on Entrepreneur.com.

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