Raquel is the founder of WonderlandCurious, a tech event consultancy dedicated to creating innovative, people-first experiences. With over a decade of leadership and contribution in the WordPress ecosystem, she brings deep community roots and real-world business perspective to everything she builds. In 2010, Raquel founded Mode Effect, a WooCommerce-focused agency she led and successfully exited in 2020.

Over the years, Raquel has been an active contributor to WordPress through WordCamp Phoenix (2015–2024), WordCamp US (2017–2019), and local WordPress meetups since 2014, as well as WooCommerce meetups since 2018. Today, she is channeling that experience into PressConf, a conference designed to bring candid, unrecorded conversations to the leaders shaping the WordPress economy.

A perpetually curious soul with a passion for community building, Raquel believes deeply in the power of meaningful connection wherever her feet land. Outside of work, she is a recent graduate of full-time parenthood and embraces life with wanderlust, a love for music and the outdoors, a playful sense of sass, and a deep connection to her big, Indigenous family.

Reimagining WordPress Through Vision, Business & Community

At this year’s State of the Word 2025, we found ourselves immersed in high‑level strategy and core development announcements. Amid the stats and release notes, one conversation stood out – our talk with Raquel. Her perspective offers a fresh, unapologetic lens on where WordPress is and should be headed: toward maturity, collaboration, and business‑first thinking.

In fact, her first real exposure to what would become “State of the Word” dates back to its earlier days, back when the address was still part of WordCamps.

“The first one I went to was in 2012,” she said, looking back. “Back when it was part of WordCamps. Then, in 2014, a funny story, I ended up in Matt’s keynote slide. Not on purpose; I was with someone wearing Google Glass. They featured the glasses, not me.”

Her memory of those early events is fond but tinged with realism. She acknowledges the grassroots energy, the spontaneity, but also sees how far the ecosystem has come.

“People started WordPress as a hobby,” she said. “They built a plugin, maybe for fun or a side hustle. Over time, some of them got thousands of downloads. Some of them built companies. Now we’re talking about infrastructure, enterprise, hosting, and agencies. The game changed.”

I personally know this first-hand, from running a template and plugin company – it starts small, and before you know it, you own a huge part of the ecosystem. 

For Raquel, that evolution demands a different kind of space, one where founders, executives, and industry leaders can gather outside of the overall community vibe and dig into business strategy, growth, and sustainability.

On Event Strategy: When “Smaller” Means More Strategic

With the shift from large community-driven WordCamps to curated, invite-only formats like State of the Word, Raquel sees opportunity, not exclusion.

“You can still be somewhat exclusive without being exclusionary,” she told me. “There’s value in intimacy in a room where everyone understands what’s at stake. When you want real conversations, big ideas, and commitment, smaller rooms make sense.”

She’s careful to distinguish intention from gatekeeping. Her interest lies in building spaces with purpose, not simply restricting access.

“If we want the industry to take WordPress seriously as more than a hobbyist platform, we need to show up differently in the tech world. We need serious conversations about money, scale, infrastructure, and enterprise clients. That doesn’t come from hallway chatter at a WordCamp.”

In Raquel’s eyes, there is room for both community-first events and business‑first events. WordCamps remain vital. But for those invested in growth and longevity, different formats are required.

The Birth and Purpose of PressConf

PressConf is Raquel’s attempt to build precisely that space. The second year of the event was underway, and she explained its origins, goals, and ethos with conviction.

“PressConf was born out of what Pressonomics used to be, the business heart of WordPress. I wanted to resurrect that idea: a place for people who are making money with WordPress, to come together, collaborate, strategize, and build.”

And build it intentionally: no expo halls, minimal fluff, and no distractions.

“We don’t record. We keep it small. We don’t do 50 sessions over four days. We do 11 sessions across two days. That’s because we want people to be present. To network. To think. To connect.”

She likened the process to “clawing the hallway-track people out of WordCamps and putting them in one room,” where real, consequential conversations happen.

Sponsors are part of the model but not in the traditional sales-booth sense. For Raquel, sponsorship is about partnerships, not pitches. She sees PressConf as a bridge: between hosting companies and agencies, between product builders and enterprise operators, and between ambition and execution.

“We’re not here to sell software to beginners. We’re here to build the backbone of WordPress for people running agencies, hosting companies, and infrastructures. The ones who care about scale, quality, and clients.”

On Sponsorship, Timing, and Event Dynamics

Running an event like PressConf isn’t easy. Raquel was candid about its financial and strategic logistics.

“Yes, we accept sponsors. But it’s a balance. Ticket price matters. It signals value. It filters for people who understand what we’re doing. Sponsors help offset costs, but we don’t want to sell influence. We want to build trust.”

She acknowledged that timing is tricky, especially with global events like WordCamp Asia overlapping. Still, she’s pragmatic.

“The overlaps? It’s unavoidable. Events are everywhere now. For some companies, C‑levels come to PressConf. Field teams go elsewhere. It’s about fitting into the season. We’re doing our part.”

PressConf’s location and timing – in Arizona, ahead of flagship US WordCamps is intentional, she said. It reflects a long-term plan to anchor the event alongside larger, community-driven gatherings while maintaining its own strategic identity.

Challenging the Narrative: Why WordPress Needs More Than Community

What stands out about Raquel’s voice is this: she isn’t anti-community. She’s pro-growth. She thinks WordPress needs to evolve not just in its codebase, but in its posture. In how it shows up. How it networks. In how it builds for clients, for enterprise, for real businesses – not just hobbyists.

“WordPress began with the underdog spirit,” she said. “That helped build libraries, plugins, and passion. But if we want to compete with big platforms – in enterprise hosting, e-commerce, SaaS, we need to step up. We need a presence that says ‘we’re serious,’ without losing what made us grassroots.”

To her, that means raising the bar across the board: event quality, business operations, service offerings, and strategic thinking. She believes that only then will WordPress become a true contender in the broader web ecosystem.

What’s Next: Where Raquel and PressConf Go From Here

When I asked Raquel what’s next for her personally and for PressConf, her answer was measured but optimistic.

Her immediate next stop is CloudFest Global, a major hosting and infrastructure conference in Europe. From there, she plans to return to shaping PressConf for 2026, evolving the format, onboarding more executive-level attendees, and doubling down on partnerships that respect long-term value.

“We’re not chasing scale for scale’s sake. We’re chasing impact. Real work. Real businesses. Real growth.”

Why Raquel’s Vision Matters — Especially Now

As WordPress grows and diversifies, voices like Raquel’s are crucial. She embodies a bridge between legacy and future, hobby and enterprise, community spirit and business reality.

In a landscape crowded with plugins, frameworks, and shiny new page builders, she’s asking us to consider not just what we build, but how we build — and with whom.

PressConf isn’t just another entry in the event calendar. It’s a signal that WordPress isn’t just surviving. It’s maturing. It’s entering a phase in which infrastructure, reliability, reputation, and enterprise readiness matter as much as open-source ideals.

And if you ask her? That’s exactly where it should be headed.

Find out more about PressConf at: https://pressconf.events