Tickets Available! CMX Summit - May 1 & 2, 2025 - San Francisco Bay Area, CA
In this new session from Jono Bacon, he will share the key lessons he has learned in driving tangible engagement from working with over 200+ companies across a broad variety of industries across his 27 year career. This will cover topics such as community design, content, video, incentives/rewards, breaking through corporate silos, and more.
This will be packaged up into a practical set of lessons, principles, and stories that CMX attendees can apply right away, and Jono will share stories, examples, and more to bring these career-spanning learnings to life.
Developer relations isn’t just organic marketing—it’s a long-term investment in people. But how do you make the case for advocacy when it doesn’t always fit neatly into a funnel? And how do you extend that spirit of advocacy beyond your community and into your internal team? This panel dives into building a culture of advocacy—through powerful storytelling, qualitative feedback, and creating internal and external feedback loops that drive real results.
Even the most engaged communities hit plateaus—but they don’t have to stay there. True community transformation isn’t just about engagement; it’s about transforming your members. When people experience real change within a community, they don’t just participate—they advocate. And when members evolve, your business grows.
In this tactical keynote, you’ll learn:
How to spot early warning signs of stagnation before they impact retention
Five high-impact shifts to reignite momentum and drive deeper engagement
How to create an environment where members experience real, personal transformation
Why transformed members become your biggest advocates—fueling organic growth and retention
Actionable strategies backed by data and real-world case studies
A thriving, transformative community isn’t just good for engagement—it’s the engine for long-term business success.
Hot Takes Sessions are bold, fast-paced deep dives where speakers share unfiltered, controversial, or under-discussed insights on community building in just 7 minutes. Expect rapid-fire wisdom and actionable takeaways-no fluff, just straight-to-the-point expertise.
What if you stopped measuring community engagement for measurement's sake? What if your members weren't prompted, notified, and pinged to all hell to remind them to engage...engage...ENGAGE!
Join Gianna Whitver, CEO & co-founder of thriving 3,600-member community the Cybersecurity Marketing Society for a quick, blunt, and potentially controversial speed session on engagement metrics. In 7 quick minutes, she'll share exactly what the Society measures and the metrics they choose to leave behind - and, most importantly, WHY.
Because...nothing will kill your community faster than making engaging a full-time job for your members!
Speaker: Gianna Whitver
A future built by only a few can never serve all. This session will take a look at the emerging field of product equity and what practical steps the tech industry can take to ensure more meaningful engagement of marginalized communities at every step of the innovation lifecycle, from problem formation to data collection to post-deployment. The session will draw from real world examples of how companies changed the way they built products and offer recommendations for how communities themselves can advocate for better engagement.
Speaker: Zaki Barzinji
Discover the key strategies and operational systems behind a self-sustaining, member-led community. You'll unlock the secrets to how to foster member autonomy, streamline processes, and build a culture where your community grows—even when you're not in the room.
You don’t win a race by just being the fastest driver. It’s not enough on its own. You have to know how to maneuver. You have to study and research the course you are going to race. You have to know your own weaknesses. You have to know the weaknesses of your competitors. You’ve got to have the right pit crew, gear, and obviously, you need a great car. AND with all of those things top of mind, you still need to be the first across the finish line and pass the checkered flag.
Erica and Holly learned an immeasurable amount from each other in the five years they worked together – especially when they came across something they wanted to approach in different ways. Erica always wanted to go as fast as possible, and Holly wanted to take time to think through every last detail. In this workshop, they share how melding together two very different approaches can ultimately result in achieving a huge win.
You’ll leave this workshop with real-life examples that show the successes and failures of the different approaches and a set of core questions that will allow you to maintain the delicate balance of fast yet thoughtful when you launch a new community initiative. Ready, Set, Go!
Great communities aren’t built on guesswork—they’re co-created with feedback, transparency, and trust. Armin, Maria, and Whitney will share how to make feedback part of your foundation from day one: from onboarding to retrospectives, cultural barriers to anonymous input. Learn how to collect specific insights, close the loop, and show your community that their voices matter. Feedback isn’t a form—it’s a foundation.
In this hands-on masterclass, you’ll tackle real-world community challenges using proven frameworks and techniques from FeverBee. Through interactive case studies and group collaboration, you’ll learn how to analyze problems, design better community experiences, and make strategic decisions with confidence.
This session will equip you with the tools to identify core challenges, weigh trade-offs, and develop actionable solutions that drive engagement and growth. Whether you're scaling a new initiative, securing executive buy-in, or revamping your community experience, this session will give you the strategic playbook you need to succeed. Expect a fast-paced, high-impact workshop designed to challenge your thinking and level up your approach.
As a community manager, you have an incredible opportunity—to be the bridge that transforms random online strangers into real friends. You are a connection concierge. In this keynote, you'll discover the key actions that make friendships not just form, but stick, grow, and thrive. You'll learn how to attract the right people to your space and create the kind of connections that keep them coming back. If you want your members to say, “Joining ___ community was one of the best decisions I ever made,” you don’t want to miss this session. Learn how to make your community a place where real friendships flourish—and you’ll pick up a few tips for your own friendships too.
Hot Takes Sessions are bold, fast-paced deep dives where speakers share unfiltered, controversial, or under-discussed insights on community building in just 7 minutes. Expect rapid-fire wisdom and actionable takeaways—no fluff, just straight-to-the-point expertise.
Community is often an afterthought in GTM strategy—but it shouldn't be. In this hot take, I’ll dive into how to break down internal silos and why aligning your community efforts with your GTM engine is key to earning C-suite buy-in and unlocking the BUDGET! By leveraging the customer flywheel, you can ensure your community plays a central role in the entire customer journey, from acquisition to advocacy. Hold on tight as I share how to partner with your GTM teams and make them your champions—because getting everyone on board is the secret to securing the resources and impact your community needs to thrive.
Speaker: Gianna Scorsone
Great communities don’t just happen, they’re designed. The best UX principles aren’t just for apps; they shape how people navigate spaces, engage, and feel a sense of belonging.
Drawing from real-world examples in hospitality, city planning, and design, this talk explores how setting the right tone, managing expectations, and reducing friction can transform your community.
Speaker: Pete Heslop
Burning Man Project is a global non-profit arts organization dedicated to bringing people together to foster a more creative, connected and thriving society. It has a 25+ year volunteer regional network that spans 34 countries, which has grown organically with the help of ten guiding principles. Join a founding organizer of its Regional Network for a look back and to the future. What began as an experiment in temporary community has become a year-round, globally distributed network and a community of many communities. What lessons can you learn and what questions can you ask yourself about your network?
Join us as we announce the winners of this year’s awards LIVE on stage!
After a full day of learning and inspiration, it’s time to unwind! Join us for Happy Hour—drinks and snacks are on us. Mingle with fellow attendees, chat with our amazing sponsors, and swing by their booths to snag some swag.
Plus! Don’t miss your chance to meet Kat Vellos and get your copy of We Should Get Together: The Secret to Cultivating Better Friendships signed in person.
Dinner plans? This isn’t an official CMX activity—you’re on your own to make it happen—but we highly encourage you to mix it up and grab a few people you haven’t met yet for a bite. While you're out, snap a pic, post it, and tag CMX + your new dinner crew. We’ll pick one photo at random—and everyone in it gets a free ticket to CMX Summit 2026. Eat well, connect deeply, and you just might win big.
We’re throwing an exclusive bash for speakers, sponsors, Connect Directors, and CMX VIPs—and you’re invited (if you’re in the know 😉). Join us at Club Fox for a night of connection, celebration, and good vibes.
Want in? Upgrade your conference ticket for $150 and get access to the room where it happens. Email Beth to ask how (beth@bevy.com).
Why Attend: This session will empower you with the insights and strategies needed to build inclusive, impactful communities that drive meaningful change. Whether you're a customer marketer, a community builder, or someone passionate about making a real impact, you’ll walk away with actionable knowledge on how to elevate your community, empower individuals, and create an environment where success is shared.
This fireside chat will explore how to use the power of storytelling to best present the value and impact that an online community plays in an organization to the different stakeholders for executive buy-in and cross-departmental support. We will discuss how ESRI has achieved and presented the impact of its community, the challenges, and the best practices for measuring the community’s success.
Key Takeaways:
- Achieving executive buy-in for community initiatives
- How to build in stakeholder-focused storytelling to your community strategy
- Best practices for measuring the success of online communities
- ESRI’s path to community success
As AI becomes increasingly integrated into our work, community managers stand at a critical crossroads of challenge and opportunity. This panel will discuss how AI gives community management a golden opportunity with community-generated content and authentic human connections at scale.
Join our discussion as we explore practical approaches for community professionals to lead rather than follow the radical progress in AI. You'll leave with actionable advice on strategizing your community management for success in an era where human signals shine brightest in a machine world.
Hot Takes Sessions are bold, fast-paced deep dives where speakers share unfiltered, controversial, or under-discussed insights on community building in just 7 minutes. Expect rapid-fire wisdom and actionable takeaways—no fluff, just straight-to-the-point expertise.
In a world filled with distractions and surface-level interactions, how can we design experiences that truly bring people together? Christina Hug, Founder of BoardingPass, introduces the AWE Framework—Anchor, Weave, and Elevate—a powerful approach to fostering deep, meaningful connections within communities. Drawing from over 15 years of experience building global communities in the tech and creative industries, Christina will share how to Anchor experiences in purpose, Weave awe into design, and Elevate connections beyond small talk. This session will provide actionable strategies to create transformative moments that leave participants with a sense of belonging and trust. Attendees will walk away with a clear framework for designing awe-inspired experiences that drive authentic engagement and lasting relationships.
Speaker: Christina Hug
This session will cover the essentials and mindset needed for a Community leader to communicate the value to executives across the organization. Understanding how to measure Community value in the context of the business you're in and knowing your audience are critical success factors for any Community leader. Attendees will walk away with a deeper understanding of how to break down complex valuation models into simple statements. This will enable better preparation for communicating value for the executive at hand whether you are speaking to Head of Support, Education, Marketing, Customer Success, Sales or Engineering.
Speaker: Dani Weinstein
What happens when AI enters the chat? We’re talking about how AI is reshaping community-building—from automating workflows to enhancing engagement—and what the near future of community looks like. Whether you’re experimenting with new tools or doubling down on tried-and-true strategies, this session will give you a peek into what’s working (and what’s next).
Join us for an insightful session led by The Community Community (TCC) Board Members, Jocelyn Hsu (Co-Lead) and Nikki Thibodeau (Founder), as they dive into what makes TCC unique.
Get a peek behind the curtain to understand the considerations around applications: How can you be exclusive while being inclusive? How do you ensure less bias during application reviews?
Then, through the lens of their onboarding process, they'll showcase what sets TCC apart, including the 90-day deactivation policy and the emphasis on context-rich posts.
Whether you're a newcomer or a seasoned community professional, this session will provide valuable insights and practical tips to help you build intentionally and apply these principles to your own community. Come learn, engage, and take away actionable strategies to enhance your community-building efforts.
Want a promotion, new program, more budget, or another headcount? In this interactive workshop with Brian Oblinger, a former executive, you'll learn how to identify what you really want, craft a clear narrative, sharpen a concrete ask, and present to an executive audience to gain approval. Participants will role play real-world scenarios with Brian to build the skills, experience, and confidence to successfully engage leadership at their organizations.
