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The Community-led World Conference
A fantastic 2-day agenda is under work to bring unlimited value to the Community-led World Conference 2025. Stay tuned for updates!
Where Community Professionals come to learn and connect
At the heart of London Community Week is the Community-led World Conference, a two-day flagship event featuring expert-led keynotes, hands-on workshops, interactive roundtables, and high-impact networking.
Beyond the conference, the week is packed with the Community Strategy Hackathon, Unconference Plus, and community-led fringe events, offering endless opportunities to connect, learn, and grow.
🚀 Join us for a week that will shape the future of community-building.
Meet the people who will transform your career forever
Join us solo or with your team and leave with a vibrant network of peers, mentors, and friends to elevate your impact and growth.
Level up your strategy with proven methods
For every challenge you face, there’s a community leader who’s already conquered it. Get insights and answers from those who’ve walked the path.
Leave with ideas that drive success to your role and brand
Focus on what matters to you and tailor your experience to tackle your unique community-building challenges.
What will be the experience for the attendees in 2025?
The Community-led World Summit 2025 is a two-day event featuring expert-led keynotes, hands-on workshops, interactive roundtables and valuable networking opportunities. Whether you’re a community builder, customer success leader, or marketing professional, this is the must-attend event for anyone passionate about driving impact through community-led growth.
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+ Best-in-Class Speakers
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+ Keynote Presentations
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+ Roundtables & Workshops
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+ Community Builders
Inspiring Talks and Keynotes
Hear from top community leaders and innovators as they share strategies, insights, and lessons to elevate your community-building efforts.
Richard Millington, Rosie Sherry, Brian Oblinger are already keynote speakers confirmed!
Interactive Panels
Join lively discussions with experts addressing the biggest challenges and opportunities in community leadership today. Interactive question system will be available for all attendees. If you have any suggestions for topics for a panel you'll love to see just let us know!
Networking Opportunities
Connect with fellow community professionals and expand your network and leverage new opportunities for your business and your career.
Workshops & Flash Talks
Participate in hands-on learning sessions designed to help you develop actionable skills in an intimate, distraction-free setting.
The Perfect Location: Plexal, Stratford, London
A 200-seater events theatre with a 21 square metre LED screen and bespoke theatre lighting that’s connected to an indoor park and bleachers.
Centre Stage
A 200-seater events theatre with a 21 square metre LED screen and bespoke theatre lighting that’s connected to our indoor park and bleachers.
Centre Stage
Comfortable seating area to enjoy the agenda, and network with community builders.
Plexal Park - Sponsors
The grass is always greener in our indoor park, which is a popular space for breakout sessions, lunches and networking drinks.
Bleachers - Silent Workshops Area
Our light-filled tiered seating bleachers space lends itself perfectly to informal presentations and workshops.
Centre Stage Roundtables
Enjoy topic-based Roundtables led by our speakers.
Meeting & Recharge Room
Use it to take an unmissable call, or to take some time off and recharge to continuing the day.
Check a few sessions from the Community-led World 2024
Agenda 2025
July 09th - Shine Stage
July 09th - Bright Stage
July 10th Shine Stage
July 10th Bright Stage
July 09th - Shine Stage
Doors open & Breakfast
Plexal
09/07/2025
8:15 am
Come early in the day, check-in and use this hour to connect with fellow community builders.
Warm-up and Welcome
Shine Track
09/07/2025
9:10 am
Let's kick things off with a few words from Francisco Opazo, Founder of Community Week welcoming our Emcees Margaux Miller and Jennifer Serrat.
Surprise Speaker
Plexal
09/07/2025
9:25 am
10 Practical Ways to Put Community at the Heart of Your Business
Tom Ross, Founder Learn.Community
Tom Ross, Founder Learn.Community
Shine Track
09/07/2025
9:50 am
Community shouldn’t just be a buzzword - it should be the engine that drives your business. In this session, you’ll learn 10 tried-and-tested strategies to integrate community into your company’s DNA. You’ll walk away with immediately actionable tactics to increase engagement, retention, and long-term success for your business.
Impact of data science communities on accelerating medicine development
Vera Hazelwood, AstraZeneca
Vera Hazelwood, AstraZeneca
Shine Track
09/07/2025
10:10 am
In this session, discover the story behind building a global community of over 4,000 data scientists at AstraZeneca over four years. Learn how it all started, what worked (and what didn’t), and the measurable impact this internal community has had on collaboration, innovation, and the acceleration of medicine development.
Perfect for those curious about large-scale community building in regulated industries — and the power of internal networks to drive real-world change.
The Magic of Developer Relations: How Tech Communities Drive Business Growth
Megha Arora, Founder DevRel Squad
Megha Arora, Founder DevRel Squad
Shine Track
09/07/2025
10:30 am
Ever wondered how developers discover, trust, and adopt new technologies? It's not just about coding but relationships, storytelling, and community. In this talk, I'll demystify Developer Relations (DevRel) and show how it helps businesses scale by turning developers into loyal users and brand advocates.
Whether you're in marketing, sales, or leadership, you'll learn why DevRel matters for developer-first and developer-plus products, how it bridges the gap between technology and business, and how companies like Apple, Microsoft, and startups use it to build trust and drive revenue.
Coffee Break
Plexal
09/07/2025
10:45 am
30 minutes to grab a coffee and to start building connections and everlasting friendships.
PANEL
Panel: AI-powered Communities: Efficiency in Operations and Moderation
Moderated by Francisco Opazo, Founder Led by Community
Moderated by Francisco Opazo, Founder Led by Community
Shine Track
09/07/2025
11:15 am
How can AI actually help you run a community—not just sound good in a deck?
In this panel, Francisco Opazo is joined by three seasoned community professionals who are already using AI to streamline moderation, automate workflows, and supercharge engagement without burning out.
Expect honest stories, tools that actually help, and a discussion on what’s next for AI in community operations. Whether you're curious, sceptical, or already experimenting—this is for you.
Panellists:
- Lorena Seco de Herrera Ortega, Senior Community Manager, Advania
- Claudia Cafeo, Senior Community Specialist, Zapier
Community Building: The Next Frontier in Scientific Discovery
Ilker Akansel, Community Strategist and Ecosystem Builder
Ilker Akansel, Community Strategist and Ecosystem Builder
Shine Track
09/07/2025
11:50 am
Do you think that, like in the films, scientific breakthroughs are achieved in the middle of the night by a lone researcher in a lab coat? It takes a village, and nowhere more so than in scientific research!
Science is naturally collaborative and research communities rose on each others’ shoulders for ages. And, 2025 is the time when these communities adopt professional community building in droves, as when scientific research communities come and work together, they can find an expedient solution even to a raging global problem.
Based straight in the heart of science and research in Cambridge, UK, let Ilker tell you the fascinating stories on how community helped scientific breakthroughs, and how you can be involved as a community builder.
KEYNOTE
Don't let the social networks have all the fun
Rosie Sherry, CEO Ministry of Testing, Founder Rosie.Land
Rosie Sherry, CEO Ministry of Testing, Founder Rosie.Land
Shine Track
09/07/2025
12:10 pm
In a world where social networks dominate, change at a whim and often don't really serve us, I will share our story on how we are doing things differently.
At Ministry of Testing we're building our own platform and our internal motto is to not let the social networks have all the fun. We're doing this as a small team, not outside funding and with audacious goals.
I'll show you the ideas we are stealing, what innovation looks like and how we are doing it better than the social networks.
Lunch Break
Plexal
09/07/2025
12:50 pm
60 minutes to grab a lunch and to continue building connections and everlasting friendships.
Q&A TIME
Designed to Behave: How Architectural Principles Shape Human Experience Across Physical and Digital Environments
Jillian Bejtlich, Community Program Manager, Calendly
Jillian Bejtlich, Community Program Manager, Calendly
Shine Track
09/07/2025
1:50 pm
From the curves of an emergency exit corridor to the structure of an online forum, architectural design shapes not only how spaces look but how people behave within them. This session explores the shared principles of architectural design such as spatial hierarchy, flow, boundary, visibility, and affordance - and how they influence human behavior and social outcomes in both the built environment and digital ecosystems.
In physical spaces, thoughtful design can foster inclusion, collaboration, safety, or movement, subtly guiding actions through cues embedded in form and layout. Similarly, digital environments - from community platforms to learning interfaces - can either empower or constrain users depending on their navigability, openness, and affordances for interaction. Drawing on examples from urban planning, digital community design, and behavioral psychology, this presentation highlights the critical role of architecture - both tangible and intangible - in shaping experiences, relationships, and outcomes.
Participants will leave with a deeper understanding of how to apply design thinking holistically, blending physical and digital architecture to intentionally cultivate desired behaviors and community dynamics.
Creating Impactful Community Experiences in a Fast-Paced Workplace
Drew Pontikis Head of Social Learning, PwC UK
Drew Pontikis Head of Social Learning, PwC UK
Shine Track
09/07/2025
2:15 pm
At PwC, we support our Technologists to grow and develop their skills to better serve our clients and our business. We support Communities of Practice to foster learning and a collaborative environment, and in recent years this has led us to holding some of our largest community led events yet.
This talk will tell the story of GenAI Connect, a learning event attended by nearly 2000 of our people from across the UK and beyond. At an organisation of our size this was a major challenge, involving us working with a number of our technology partners to deliver a meaningful learning experience for our people. We will talk about the approach we took and the challenges we faced, how we went about hosting and organising and - most importantly - the on-going value created and how we've tracked it.
Attendees will learn:
- How to empower internal communities to lead impactful initiatives, drive engagement, and innovation by taking ownership of large-scale learning events.
- How to break the tried and tested approaches used before to create more meaningful learning experiences.
- How to measure and track long-term impact beyond the event and ongoing value of learning events through feedback loops, applied skills, and measurable outcomes.
The Next Wave: Engagement + ROI in the Age of AI
Derek Andersen, Founder Bevy & Startup Grind
Derek Andersen, Founder Bevy & Startup Grind
Shine Track
09/07/2025
2:35 pm
Tying community engagement back to business value is no longer a nice to have —it’s a requirement. While engagement metrics like page views and event attendance are easy to track, the real challenge lies in connecting community to meaningful business outcomes.
In this session, Derek Andersen—CEO of Bevy and founder of Startup Grind—will unpack the next evolution of community building: one that balances authentic engagement with measurable ROI. Drawing from real-world examples at companies like Google, Salesforce, and Atlassian, Derek will explore how top brands are:
- Moving beyond vanity metrics to tie community to pipeline, retention, and product adoption
- Building systems and frameworks to measure community impact using AI
- Empowering advocates and contributors to drive scalable outcomes
- Aligning community efforts across departments—from Marketing to Customer Success to Product
Whether you're a community practitioner or an executive championing community internally, this talk will equip you with a modern blueprint to elevate your strategy, protect the community, and prove its value.
Building the Amplitude Community: 27k members in 2 years with 2 people
Esther Trapadoux, Head of Community, Advocacy, and Customer Marketing at Amplitude
Esther Trapadoux, Head of Community, Advocacy, and Customer Marketing at Amplitude
Shine Track
09/07/2025
2:55 pm
Esther Trapadoux is Head of Community and Advocacy at Amplitude - a publicly traded analytics platform used by some of the biggest companies in the world including Square, adidas, Atlassian, Ford, Dropbox, Walmart, Kahoot!, Zoom, and many more. Since launching the user community two years ago, the team 15k members in year one, and 27k+ members in year two with a team of just two people, making it a highly influential force within the Amplitude user base.
What you’ll learn:
- Why you need to ruthlessly find your differentiator and create value immediately
- Building a community like a product and drawing from product development principles
- Tackling community growth through rapid experimentation and learning
What skills will matter most to community teams going forward - How slowing down to do things that don't scale will give you the right inputs to execute at top speed
Q&A TIME
Creators, Community, and Collaboration: Inside Patreon’s Ambassador Program
Erin Owenby, Community Programs Manager, Patreon
Erin Owenby, Community Programs Manager, Patreon
Shine Track
09/07/2025
3:40 pm
Hear how the community inspires enthusiastic partnership in Patreon's Creator Ambassador Program. In this session, Patreon's Community Programs Manager will share how the program creates meaningful pathways for creators to connect—with each other and with Patreon’s team—driving product adoption, building trust, and fostering connection.
Q&A TIME
The Future of Led by Community and Community Week
Francisco Opazo, Founder Led by Community
Francisco Opazo, Founder Led by Community
Shine Track
09/07/2025
4:05 pm
Hear how the community inspires enthusiastic partnership in Patreon's Creator Ambassador Program. In this session, Patreon's Community Programs Manager will share how the program creates meaningful pathways for creators to connect—with each other and with Patreon’s team—driving product adoption, building trust, and fostering connection.
KEYNOTE
Communicating Impact: How To Build Compelling Insights Reporting
Brian Oblinger, Strategy Consultant & Founder Community Strategy Academy
Brian Oblinger, Strategy Consultant & Founder Community Strategy Academy
Shine Track
09/07/2025
4:25 pm
In this session, you’ll learn how to turn raw data into interesting insights and communicate the value of your community through regular reports to key stakeholders. Brian will walk you through how to create reports that people actually want to read and help you gain their understanding and buy-in.
You will walk away knowing how to:
- Understand the audience for your report
- Choose a format, structure, and cadence
- Design for ease of consumption and clarity
- Avoid common reporting pitfalls
- Strategically leverage reporting to get what you want
Day 1 Closing
Shine Track
09/07/2025
5:05 pm
Let’s close out Day 1 with a few final words from our Emcees, Margaux Miller and Jennifer Serrat, before handing it back to Francisco Opazo, Founder of Community Week, to wrap up the day.
July 09th - Bright Stage
The Story of Impact Hub: Why Social Impact Needs Community
Izzy Ahrbeck, Head of Community, Impact Hub Berlin
Izzy Ahrbeck, Head of Community, Impact Hub Berlin
Bright Track
09/07/2025
9:50 am
What happens when you combine impact-driven work with intentional community design? In this session, we’ll explore the decade-long journey of Impact Hub Berlin and the wider Impact Hub Network, a global movement at the intersection of entrepreneurship, social innovation, and community.
You’ll hear how Impact Hub builds environments where collaboration is not left to chance, but actively designed. From the architecture of our physical spaces to our programming and partnerships, we’ve experimented, failed forward, bootstrapped, and learned what it takes to create thriving ecosystems to make our part of the world a better place.
In this session, you'll learn how to:
- Turn lessons and “failforwards” into stronger community practices
- Use values-driven community design to unite and grow your community
- Design meaningful event formats that tap into your community’s needs
- Grow for the sake of impact, not for the sake of profit
Whether you’re building communities for social good, innovation, or systems change — this session will challenge your thinking and offer practical takeaways on how to build spaces that gather people who give a sh*t.
Leading with Belonging: Using Community Strategies to Boost Retention and Engagement
Luca Buchholz, Business & Team Coach
Luca Buchholz, Business & Team Coach
Bright Track
09/07/2025
10:10 am
Belonging is a powerful force that fosters connection, trust, and engagement in the workplace. It is more than just an emotional need; it is a key driver of employee satisfaction and retention. When employees feel they belong, they are more engaged, productive, and committed. But how can leaders cultivate belonging strategically to improve retention and overall engagement?
This session is for community professionals and business leaders looking to create a culture of belonging that enhances engagement, productivity, and retention. It will explore actionable community-driven strategies to build inclusive environments. Attendees will walk away with practical tools to foster belonging, promote loyalty, and strengthen team collaboration.
With Great Community Comes Great Responsibility
Imran Hussain, Community Designer, GOV.UK Design System
Imran Hussain, Community Designer, GOV.UK Design System
Bright Track
09/07/2025
10:30 am
Running a community is often seen as a win-win situation. However, many overlook the ethical complexities of working with community members, treating them differently than they would treat the users of a service.
Join community expert Imran, who runs one of the UK’s biggest design communities for the GOV.UK Design System, to explore the challenges of ethical community design. Learn how to build sustainable communities, maintain balanced power dynamics, and create an inclusive environment that benefits all parties.
Coffee Break
Plexal
09/07/2025
10:45 am
30 minutes to grab a coffee and to start building connections and everlasting friendships.
The Remote Culture Code - How to Spark Belonging and Build Community From Anywhere
Isabel Ruiz, Community & Events Manager
Isabel Ruiz, Community & Events Manager
Bright Track
09/07/2025
11:50 am
In today’s remote-first world, culture isn’t built in break rooms. It’s crafted intentionally across time zones, Slack threads, and virtual spaces.
In this 15-minute talk, Isabel Ruiz shares lessons from nearly a decade in Customer Success and Community Management, including her experience building connection and culture in fully distributed teams. Learn how to go beyond engagement metrics to spark real belonging, activate remote champions, and foster a thriving virtual community. Whether you’re starting from scratch or scaling an existing remote culture, this session offers practical tools and fresh inspiration to help your people feel seen, connected, and valued — no matter where they log in from.
Key Takeaways:
- Belonging isn’t a buzzword – Learn why remote employees crave connection and how to build meaningful culture across screens.
- Small actions, big impact – Discover simple yet effective ways to create engagement and connection in a distributed team.
- Elevate your connection builders – Identify and empower the champions who bring your remote community to life.
Lunch Break
Plexal
09/07/2025
12:50 pm
60 minutes to grab lunch and to continue building connections and everlasting friendships.
Q&A TIME
Creating An Events Agenda for and with your community
Ewa Magiera, Community Manager, Grafana Labs
Ewa Magiera, Community Manager, Grafana Labs
Bright Track
09/07/2025
1:50 pm
In this session, you'll learn a quick-as-lightning list of tips and tricks to build your events programme for and with your community:
- Brainstorming ideas and gathering feedback (no, not just the feedback form)
- Tips and tools (no, not just the newsletter) to reach your audience for online and offsite events
- How social proofing and basic understanding of graphic design helps expand your speaker base
- Getting great speakers on a budget: handling tricky speaker fees
These trips and tricks helped Ewa scale an events programme for YunoJuno community from 1 event per year with 3 attendees to more than 20 online webinars with an average audience of 40 - now ready to share them with you!
Active listening tools for understanding your community
Andrea Dos Anjos, Community Specialist
Andrea Dos Anjos, Community Specialist
Bright Track
09/07/2025
2:15 pm
Discover what active listening is and gain practical tools to implement it in your daily life. You will learn how to build solid and trusting relationships with your audience and community.
Together we will reflect on our traditional listening habits and how we can improve them to adopt a more active approach. A successful brand or project is one that is close to its community, actively and consistently understanding its motivations, concerns and needs.
Stop Chasing Engagement—Design for Usefulness
Karin Berkowitz, Community Manager, Torq
Karin Berkowitz, Community Manager, Torq
Bright Track
09/07/2025
2:35 pm
Forget vanity metrics. The most sustainable communities are built by solving real problems in public. Learn how to build systems where your members don’t just “engage”—they teach, solve, and share because it helps them win. We’ll walk through proven programs that sparked high-value peer support and self-sustaining knowledge flows.
How do humanitarians learn? Communities of Practice for Humanitarian Action
Esther Grieder, Director of Membership Engagement, NetHope
Esther Grieder, Director of Membership Engagement, NetHope
Bright Track
09/07/2025
2:55 pm
Many humanitarians move regularly between organizations and locations, are required to adapt quickly to new situations, balance emotional intelligence and practical ability, and often to stay focused under acute pressure and stress. Despite this, there is no single agreed professional course or certification for humanitarian work, and much of the learning must take place on the job.
This session will give an overview of what and how humanitarians are required to learn, and where Communities of Practice make a huge contribution to ongoing professional development and support.
By the end of this, you'll learn how to:
- Build practical and emotional skills in fast-changing environments
- Create development pathways without relying on formal certification
- Leverage Communities of Practice to strengthen learning and support
Coffee Break
Plexal
09/07/2025
3:10 pm
30 minutes to grab a coffee and to continue building connections and everlasting friendships.
Q&A TIME
Community as a growth strategy: turning engagement into real business impact
Ruthie Berber, Director of Community, Grow Therapy
Ruthie Berber, Director of Community, Grow Therapy
Bright Track
09/07/2025
3:40 pm
Community isn’t just a feel-good initiative—it’s a powerful driver of retention, referrals, and brand trust. But too many companies treat it as a marketing tactic rather than a strategic asset. Ruthie has built and scaled communities that have grown 3X in engagement while directly supporting business goals.
In this session, she’ll share what actually works (and what doesn’t) when it comes to making community a real growth engine, from designing programs that serve both members and the business to measuring impact in a way leadership understands.
July 10th Shine Stage
Doors open & Breakfast
Plexal
10/07/2025
8:15 am
Come early in the day, check-in and use this hour to connect with fellow community builders.
Warm-up and Welcome
Shine Track
10/07/2025
9:15 am
Let's kick things off with a few words from Francisco Opazo, Founder of Community Week welcoming our Emcees Margaux Miller and Jennifer Serrat.
The Three Levels of Community Strategy
Nikki Thibodeau, Regional Vice President, Digital Engagement & Community, Calix
Nikki Thibodeau, Regional Vice President, Digital Engagement & Community, Calix
Shine Track
10/07/2025
9:30 am
She may not have coined the concept—but she’s mastered the craft.
In this talk, Nikki breaks down the Three Levels of Community Strategy, showing how each layer builds toward stronger engagement and real business results. With real examples and practical insights, she’ll demonstrate how thoughtful community design can drive engagement, product adoption, case deflection and more, leading to measurable ROI.
Attendees will leave understanding the framework, along with fresh ideas for aligning community efforts with broader organizational goals. Whether you're launching your first program or scaling an existing one, this session will help you think more strategically about the role community plays in long-term success.
Regaining Trust and Rebuilding Culture: Lessons from Personio You Can Apply to Any Community
Mohammed Mohammed, Community Manager, Personio
Mohammed Mohammed, Community Manager, Personio
Shine Track
10/07/2025
9:50 am
A year ago, Personio's international customer community had a simple, pervasive problem: customers were not helping to solve each other's problems. This led to a lack of trust in the international community - from customers and internal departments within Personio. No one talked about the community because there wasn't much to talk about. So, the problem the community team had on their hands was to take a space from zero peer-to-peer engagement to a sustainably high level. This presentation is about how the team got there.
In this session, you'll:
- Learn why starting with 1:1 connections lays the foundation for a stronger community.
- Discover the power of going analog before scaling your programs.
- Find out how to turn early active members into your founding cohort.
- See why surprise recognition beats scheduled rewards every time.
- Explore how peer-to-peer boosts can drive deeper engagement, even beyond your core content.
Fireside chat with a Bettermode customer
Mo Malayeri, CEO & Co-founder, Bettermode
Mo Malayeri, CEO & Co-founder, Bettermode
Shine Track
10/07/2025
10:10 am
How to Avoid Being A Red Flag Community Builder
Paz Pisarski, Co-Founder, The Community Collective
Paz Pisarski, Co-Founder, The Community Collective
Shine Track
10/07/2025
10:30 am
Learn how to steer clear of the red flag decisions communities make that cause inconsistent growth, member churn, and misalignment with business goals. This session unpacks the habits, systems, and mindsets that quietly sabotage community success and instead, shows you how to build one that’s trusted, impactful, and built to last.
Key takeaways:
- Understand the red flag decisions that derail community builders
- Learn how to avoid broken systems that block growth
- Unpack how to shift from reactive to strategic mindsets
Coffee Break
Plexal
10/07/2025
10:45 am
30 minutes to grab a coffee and to continue building connections and everlasting friendships.
PANEL
Agencies and Consultants building thriving communities
Moderated by Tali Vasilevski, SaaS Community Builder & Consultant
Moderated by Tali Vasilevski, SaaS Community Builder & Consultant
Shine Track
10/07/2025
11:15 am
More and more brands are turning to agencies and independent consultants to design, launch, and grow impactful communities. But what does it really take to do this work successfully?
In this panel, leading community consultants and agency pros will share lessons learned from the field — from strategy and operations to client education and managing expectations. Whether you’re building communities for clients or exploring consulting yourself, you’ll take away insights on what works, what doesn’t, and how this space is evolving.
Panellists:
- Pete Heslop, Managing Director, Steadfast Collective
- Jan Biller, CEO & Partner, Glowing Blue
- Christina Garnet, Chief Community Officer, HeyOrca & Founder, Pocket CCO
Smart Events, Smarter Communities: Leveraging AI to Power Engagement
Adam Parry, Co-Founder & Editor, Event Industry News
Adam Parry, Co-Founder & Editor, Event Industry News
Shine Track
10/07/2025
11:50 am
Explore how AI tools—from automation to analytics—can transform community-led events into smarter, more scalable experiences. Learn how to use data to personalise engagement, automate workflows, and free up your team to focus on meaningful connections.
Key Takeaways:
- Practical AI tools to streamline event planning and follow-up
- Ways to use AI for personalised member experiences
- Framework to assess what should (and shouldn’t) be automated
Keynote
Building Community Through Events and Experiences
Moderator: Kelsey Robb, Global Community, Events & Experiences, Google
Moderator: Kelsey Robb, Global Community, Events & Experiences, Google
Shine Track
10/07/2025
12:10 pm
Leveraging the power of thoughtfully designed events and experiences to cultivate thriving and inclusive communities, both online and offline. Kelsey will share best practices for designing engaging events that foster connection, learning, growth, and a sense of belonging for all participants, drawing on her experience leading large-scale initiatives.
Key Takeaways:
- Learn practical strategies for designing events that encourage meaningful interaction and build strong community bonds.
- Understand how to create inclusive environments within events to ensure all participants feel welcome and valued.
- Discover how to leverage both online and offline events to foster a cohesive and engaged community.
Lunch Break
Plexal
10/07/2025
12:50 pm
60 minutes to grab lunch and to continue building connections and everlasting friendships.
Q&A TIME
Stop throwing spaghetti at the wall: Design purposeful community activities
Anamaria Dorgo, Founder & Community Experience Designer, Handle with Brain
Anamaria Dorgo, Founder & Community Experience Designer, Handle with Brain
Shine Track
10/07/2025
1:50 pm
Let's explore how we can move from random community program design to intentional, strategy-aligned design.
Using a simple framework as our anchor, this session will show you how to balance your members’ needs with your organization’s goals, so your community is powered by meaningful engagement and participation.
Through real-world examples from the field, you’ll learn how to articulate your community’s purpose, identify the behaviors that matter, and design experiences that actually support them.
When CS Meets Community: A Perfect Match
Julian Lindhorst, Enterprise Customer Success Manager, Gainsight
Julian Lindhorst, Enterprise Customer Success Manager, Gainsight
Shine Track
10/07/2025
2:15 pm
Like any great relationship, CS and Community need trust, communication, and a little charm.
Learn from a CSM and former Community Manager how to win over your Customer Success team, show them the love, get them invested, and build a partnership that delivers value for customers (and each other).
Beyond Support: How Community Drives Retention and Product Innovation Inside HeyOrca’s Customer Experience Strategy
Christina Garnet, Chief Community Officer, HeyOrca & Founder, Pocket CCO
Christina Garnet, Chief Community Officer, HeyOrca & Founder, Pocket CCO
Shine Track
10/07/2025
2:35 pm
From the curves of an emergency exit corridor to the structure of an online forum, architectural design shapes not only how spaces look but how people behave within them. This session explores the shared principles of architectural design such as spatial hierarchy, flow, boundary, visibility, and affordance - and how they influence human behavior and social outcomes in both the built environment and digital ecosystems.
In physical spaces, thoughtful design can foster inclusion, collaboration, safety, or movement, subtly guiding actions through cues embedded in form and layout. Similarly, digital environments - from community platforms to learning interfaces - can either empower or constrain users depending on their navigability, openness, and affordances for interaction. Drawing on examples from urban planning, digital community design, and behavioral psychology, this presentation highlights the critical role of architecture - both tangible and intangible - in shaping experiences, relationships, and outcomes.
Participants will leave with a deeper understanding of how to apply design thinking holistically, blending physical and digital architecture to intentionally cultivate desired behaviors and community dynamics.
Lessons and Pitfalls of Building an Ambassador Community from the Ground Up
Emma Wyatt, Head of Community, Grammarly
Emma Wyatt, Head of Community, Grammarly
Shine Track
10/07/2025
2:55 pm
Building an Ambassador community from scratch is both exciting and challenging. In this presentation, I’ll uncover the key lessons learned and common pitfalls to avoid from my experience launching Grammarly's ambassador program and community. I'll share the steps from crafting a solid strategy to fostering authentic engagement and avoiding vanity metrics.
Attendees will gain practical insights to ensure their advocacy community thrives. Perfect for community professionals looking to build a program that drives real impact and long-term advocacy for their organization.
Coffee Break
Plexal
10/07/2025
3:10 pm
30 minutes to grab a coffee and to continue building connections and everlasting friendships.
Q&A TIME
Surprise Speaker
Shine Track
10/07/2025
3:40 pm
Community Launch Strategy
Jen Durkee, Community Manager, Moveworks
Jen Durkee, Community Manager, Moveworks
Shine Track
10/07/2025
4:05 pm
Kickstart your community’s success with a strategic approach designed for impactful growth from day one. Jen specializes in creating tailored launch strategies that set your community up for long-term success. From identifying your target audience and defining community goals to selecting the right platform and crafting a compelling content plan, we ensure every aspect of your launch is meticulously planned. Let us help you build excitement, attract the right members, and create a strong foundation for a thriving, engaged community.
In this session, you'll learn:
- A clear understanding of how to define your community’s purpose and goals
- A framework for identifying and attracting your ideal members
- Tips for choosing the right platform based on your community’s needs (and your budget)
- A launch checklist to keep you organized and focused
- Content planning ideas to build momentum and engagement from day one
- Proven tactics to generate buzz and excitement before and after launch
KEYNOTE
Break Down Silos
Richard Millington, Author & Founder, FeverBee
Richard Millington, Author & Founder, FeverBee
Shine Track
10/07/2025
4:25 pm
his session is designed to equip attendees with the tools and strategies needed to transform community into a driver of efficiency, engagement, and revenue across the customer lifecycle—from onboarding and support to advocacy and growth.
What attendees will learn:
- Create a Unified Customer Journey: Learn to connect touchpoints across onboarding, support, advocacy, and renewal through community-driven approaches.
- Engage Customers at Scale: Discover how to integrate community techniques with digital channels to deliver personalized, value-driven experiences without increasing headcount.
- Drive Growth Through Community Marketing: Explore actionable tactics to nurture advocates and drive growth through community-marketing activities.
- Break Beyond Silos: See how community strategies can align marketing, sales, and customer success teams to achieve shared goals and scale efficiently.
- Equip your team with the skills to unlock the full potential of your community.
This workshop will provide the blueprint for scaling your customer journey while maximizing efficiency and impact. Discover a unique opportunity to gain a competitive edge.
Day 2 Closing
Shine Track
10/07/2025
5:05 pm
Let’s close out Day 2 with a few final words from our Emcees, Margaux Miller and Jennifer Serrat, before handing it back to Francisco Opazo, Founder of Community Week, to wrap up the summit.
July 10th Bright Stage
Scaling Small: Building a Community with Intention and Culture First
Paula Bekinschtein, Founder & CEO, CONEXEN
Paula Bekinschtein, Founder & CEO, CONEXEN
Bright Track
10/07/2025
9:30 am
Bigger isn’t always better—especially when it comes to community. With CONEXEN, I’ve taken a thoughtful approach to scaling, focusing on preserving its culture and quality over rapid growth. Keeping event sizes intimate and deliberately resisting the pressure to expand too fast has been a cornerstone of our success.
In this session, I’ll share how being intentional about growth has not only helped us win awards but also created a tight knit, highly engaged network of professionals. You’ll hear about how I assembled a lean (and remote!) event team, balanced resource limitations with high-quality delivery, and turned down opportunities that didn’t align with our vision. If you’re a community builder grappling with the tension between growth and maintaining your community’s soul, this session is for you.
The Living Map: How to Balance Hands-On Community Contributions with Product Integrity
Adrian Singer, Senior Community Strategist
Adrian Singer, Senior Community Strategist
Bright Track
10/07/2025
9:50 am
Imagine thousands of people editing a map in real-time. The potential for chaos is high! There is an inherent tension between empowering a distributed community of map editors and maintaining product quality. Based on the Waze case with its 15-year map editor community, learn how to balance hyperlocal knowledge with global consistency and prevent misuse by errant users while fostering ownership.
In this session, you'll learn:
- How to balance local knowledge with global consistency
- How to prevent misuse or abuse
- How to foster true ownership in community-led products
Speak Up, Level Up: Navigating Tech Events with Impact
Joanna Moćko-Łazarewicz, Global Event Manager
Joanna Moćko-Łazarewicz, Global Event Manager
Bright Track
10/07/2025
10:10 am
Join Joanna on a journey through the often underestimated realm of speaking at tech events. As a Community & Events Lead in the niche tech industry, she's seen the magic that happens when we overcome the fear of public speaking.
In this session, she'll share her experiences encouraging and managing teams to embrace the stage, detailing how this not only skyrocketed our brand and business but also contributed to our community.
Let's bust the myths and discover the real perks of industry event speaking. From boosting brand visibility to unlocking unexpected opportunities, speaking engagements can be a game-changer. But it's not just about personal success—speaking at conferences allows us to improve the quality of our industry by sharing valuable learnings. If you've ever hesitated about public speaking, let's explore how it can be your secret weapon for success in the competitive tech landscape while simultaneously elevating the industry as a whole. Get ready to speak up, level up, and make your mark, contributing to a community!
What you’ll walk away with:
- Simple ways to create safe, low-pressure speaking opportunities inside your team
- Strategies to support first-time speakers
- Ideas to spot and nurture hidden talent
- Tips to turn internal talks into external visibility
- Ways to measure and celebrate the ripple effect of knowledge sharing
Building Value-Driven Communities for Lasting Impact
Erica Isotta Surace, Co-founder, Community-led Growth, Events & B2B Partnerships, the D2 collective
Erica Isotta Surace, Co-founder, Community-led Growth, Events & B2B Partnerships, the D2 collective
Bright Track
10/07/2025
10:30 am
Communities are more than just connections; they’re ecosystems for innovation and collaboration. Drawing from my experience leading the D2 Collective, I'll share actionable strategies to build, grow, and sustain communities that deliver value for members and stakeholders.
Coffee Break
Plexal
10/07/2025
10:45 am
30 minutes to grab a coffee and to start building connections and everlasting friendships.
Panel
How to Build an Effective Community Strategy for Your Business
Kateryna Bova, Founder & Community Consultant, BÓVA Agency
Kateryna Bova, Founder & Community Consultant, BÓVA Agency
Bright Track
10/07/2025
11:50 am
Kateryna has huge experience working with clients on developing community strategies, and one thing she knows for sure is that businesses often struggle to turn their great ideas into a structured, actionable plan with clear and measurable goals.
In this session, she'll dive into:
- How to conduct a company audit to identify what works and what doesn’t across departments.
- The importance of market research and CustDev in understanding your target audience’s needs.
- Key elements to include in your community strategy, specifically within the community track.
- How to align community goals with objectives from other departments to ensure synergy.
Plus, she'll share real-life case studies to highlight what works and how to avoid common mistakes.
This topic will be especially helpful for Community Managers who are building community strategies from scratch, or consultants.
Lunch Break
Plexal
10/07/2025
12:50 pm
60 minutes to grab lunch and to continue building connections and everlasting friendships.
Q&A TIME
UX for Communities: Designing Member Experiences That Matter
Estela Valeova, Marketing Community Team Lead, Printify & Printful
Estela Valeova, Marketing Community Team Lead, Printify & Printful
Bright Track
10/07/2025
1:50 pm
We talk a lot about growth and engagement, but at the end of the day, people stay in communities where they feel seen, heard, and valued.
This session is all about weaving empathy into every touchpoint: how we talk, how we listen, and how we respond. I’ll share real stories and simple tactics that help build trust and resilience, even when things get tough.
Let’s make empathy your community’s secret superpower.
Totally not boring Community Management: research, analysis, and reports
Alla Zhdan, Community Development Lead, Women in Machine Learning & Data Science
Alla Zhdan, Community Development Lead, Women in Machine Learning & Data Science
Bright Track
10/07/2025
2:15 pm
Community management isn't just about good vibes and engagement posts—there's a whole world of strategy, structure, and storytelling behind the scenes. This session dives into the often-overlooked but essential work that makes communities thrive. Whether you're building from scratch or scaling a global network, you’ll learn how to use data, insights, and reporting to make smarter decisions, prove your impact, and keep your community growing.
In this session, Alla will share insights and best practices about:
- Community research: how to investigate other communities, how to make user interviews, how to structure info, and how to gather insights from it.
- Community analysis: what info to gather, how to work with community data (job profiles, experience, location, reviews, etc.), what CRMs and other tools are there for you (including AI).
- Community reports: from regular reports about the state of the community for your manager to year-in-review reports.
Q&A TIME
From Zero to Hero: Building a Thriving Community with Strategic Precision
Sarah Masterton-Brown, Head of Community, Mews
Sarah Masterton-Brown, Head of Community, Mews
Bright Track
10/07/2025
2:35 pm
Launching a customer community can feel daunting, but a well-thought-out strategy makes all the difference. In this session, she'll share her experience at Mews, where they built a thriving online community from scratch, achieving 1,000 members within eight months.
This session will provide actionable insights, including the importance of deep customer understanding, strategic soft launches, and internal stakeholder engagement. She'll also share tactics for identifying and nurturing super users, aligning community tools for growth, and prioritising impactful actions over busywork.Finally, she'll highlight the continuous value of customer-centric feedback loops to maintain relevance and drive long-term success.
Whether you’re starting fresh or revitalising an existing community, this session offers a roadmap to deliver measurable results and sustainable growth.
Bridging the Gap Between Community and Product: Turning Conversations into Roadmaps
Tali Leibowitz, Global Community Builder
Tali Leibowitz, Global Community Builder
Bright Track
10/07/2025
2:55 pm
Great community teams don’t just spark conversations—they turn them into action. This session explores how community professionals can become powerful allies to product teams by capturing real user feedback and translating it into valuable insights. You'll discover how to build feedback loops that product teams actually use, and how to position community as a strategic function that directly influences the roadmap.
In this session, you'll learn:
- How to surface and package community insights for product teams
- Lightweight feedback loops that actually work
- Making community indispensable to company strategy
Coffee Break
Plexal
10/07/2025
3:10 pm
30 minutes to grab a coffee and to continue building connections and everlasting friendships.
Q&A TIME
Surprise Speaker
Bright Track
10/07/2025
3:40 pm
Start Small and Experiment: The Community Experimentation Journey
Jan Biller, CEO & Partner, Glowing Blue
Jan Biller, CEO & Partner, Glowing Blue
Bright Track
10/07/2025
4:05 pm
Too often, community initiatives focus on platforms, processes, and resources—without knowing if the community will actually succeed. Do we truly understand our potential community, or are we just assuming it will work?
The hard truth: many community initiatives fail, leading to wasted resources and frustration. But what if we could test our ideas before going all-in?
With over a decade of experience in community building and Design Thinking, we’ve developed the Lean Community Cycle—a framework based on hypotheses and experiments. Its seven steps help community builders start small, minimize risk, and validate their community’s potential before making big investments.
In this session, Jan will share how experimentation can lead to stronger, more sustainable communities—and why starting small is the smartest way to grow big.