Kicking Off DrupalCon Atlanta: Insights from the Community (Part 1)
DrupalCon Atlanta officially kicks off today, and it's the moment the Drupal community has been waiting for. From March 24 to 27, the Hyatt Regency Atlanta has become a home base for developers, strategists, designers, content editors, and contributors from across the Drupal ecosystem.
The schedule is packed: over 100 sessions, hands-on training, summits, Birds of a Feather (BoF) discussions, contribution sprints, and evening socials. And with Drupal 11 on the horizon and Experience Builder gaining traction, there's no shortage of real topics to unpack.
There’s curiosity in the air—people are here to learn, reconnect, and get a feel for what’s next. Booths from long-time Drupal companies are drawing early attention. Keynotes, including the much-anticipated Driesnote, are top of mind. And for many, it’s about more than just sessions—it’s about being in the same room with people they’ve worked with remotely for years.
Ahead of the event, we spoke with attendees about what they’re most looking forward to, which sessions are at the top of their lists, and what they’re hoping to take back to their teams and communities. Here’s what they had to say.
Esmeralda Tijhoff — Open Source Officer at DICTU
For Esmeralda, this is her first time attending DrupalCon in the U.S., and she's treating it like a discovery mission—part research, part relationship-building.
“It's a unique experience. I'm eager to learn what's different from DrupalCon Europe; how is the event set up, who's doing what, what kind of events are there going to be, what kind of tracks are there, who is attending?”
Beyond just attending sessions, she came up with a plan: to meet people she’s known only online.
“I'm compiling a list of all the people I want to meet. People I speak to online or in Slack and who are attending DrupalCon. I want to make lots of connections and start collaborations!”
When it comes to sessions, Esmeralda is focused on the people side of Drupal.
She’s prioritizing the Community Summit and talks about building community in Drupal—whether that's within an organization or around a product. She also mentioned a curated list from the Event Organizers Working Group newsletter that highlights great sessions for event organizers. One standout is a BoF led by Anoop titled "Growing Drupal Beyond Our Limitations." She’s also planning to attend all the keynotes, as well as sessions on Drupal CMS, Recipes, and Drupal 11.
Esmeralda’s takeaways are twofold—one for her role at NEDA, and another for her work with the Dutch government:
“For NEDA, I want to bring back new leads for collaborations, new contacts to work together, ways to become part of already existing projects that are beneficial for Drupal as a brand in Europe and for the local associations and camp.”
And for the Dutch government:
“I want to know more about the innovations coming into Drupal, and how we can implement those. I'm also keen on sharing knowledge about community building. We have nine scrum teams within our department, who all work for a large part from home. These groups need to communicate together, work towards a general Way of Work, share code and share knowledge.”
Esmeralda brings a lot of volunteer experience from the Drupal community and sees this event as an opportunity to exchange insights and perspectives.
Kristen Pol — Senior Technical Consultant at Salsa Digital
Kristen brings a lot of love for the community vibe at DrupalCon:
“I love connecting with the Drupal community... both long-time friends and new faces. I've explained to non-Drupalers that DrupalCon is like having a high school reunion every year [in a good way!]”
As for sessions, she’s focused on the future of Drupal:
“The entire Starshot track and mentoring at contribution day! So many cool sessions… design systems, Experience Builder, Recipes, Drupal CMS… and on and on!”
And what’s she hoping to bring back?
“All the buzz and excitement and new features of Experience Builder and Drupal CMS. Can’t wait!”
Heather Wozniak — Product Owner at OpenScholar
Heather’s excitement is rooted in the face-to-face community connection that DrupalCon makes possible.
“I am excited to have conversations with people in person, about everything from the state of Drupal to their latest projects and personal adventures.”
It hasn’t always been easy for her to feel this comfortable.
“I used to be the nervous new person who didn’t know anyone and had trouble starting a conversation. But now I can’t walk down the hallway or into a session room without seeing someone I recognize.”
After years of working in the community, at local meetups, in issue queues, and at various companies, DrupalCon has become one of her favourite events of the year.
This year, she’s also serving as a local community ambassador, helping others feel welcome and connected.
As for sessions, her top pick is:
“‘The Future of Drupal Core in the Age of Drupal CMS’ with Gábor Hojtsy.”
She shared that, given her current role and where she sees her career going, she’s more likely to work with Drupal Core as a foundation for complex, long-lasting web platforms, rather than lots of microsites. So she’s especially interested in how the core evolves in parallel with Drupal CMS.
Her focus post-event is on evaluating Experience Builder.
“I will be looking to gain a better understanding of Experience Builder, both the features that it offers and how close it is to being production-ready.”
She explained that OpenScholar has a similar layout system, but it’s custom-built. If they could rebuild using Experience Builder, it might improve content authoring and reduce the maintenance burden for devs.
“We will be seeking to learn how feasible it would be to incorporate Experience Builder into our platform and how it would benefit our target audience.”
Mateus Chepp — Business Director at Dexa
Mateus is attending DrupalCon for the first time, and it's a big moment.
“I’m thrilled to meet and connect with the global Drupal community in person. As my first time attending DrupalCon, this is a huge milestone for me.”
He’s been in the DXP space since 2018 but only started diving into Drupal seriously in 2022. Now, he’s excited to soak in the energy, knowledge, and innovation.
His must-attend sessions include:
When we asked what he wanted to bring back, Mateus focused on people:
“Honestly, I’m all about the connections and memories. Sure, the sessions and trainings will be super helpful, but what really makes these events special for me is the people.”
He values informal conversations and shared stories that spark ideas and build community.
“Those conversations always leave me inspired and full of new ideas. So, more than anything, I want to bring back those relationships and the sense of community.”
Eric Wheeler — Web Developer & Sys Admin at Stanford University
Eric kept it simple and powerful:
“100% the Drupal community. Community is so much. It is support, contribution, collaboration, etc. Without community, Drupal would not be what it is.”
His session picks reflect his interest in inclusion, security, and accessibility:
The Neurodivergency SuperPower – How Diverse Teams Function Better
Accessible Slideshows – Button, button, who's got the button?
He’s also looking forward to new community spaces like the New Member and Local Drupal Community Space, BoFs, round tables, and the coffee exchange on March 26th at 11 am.
Eric is a solo dev at Stanford, so he’s hoping to return with practical tools and ideas to help manage and improve their websites.
“I will hopefully bring back some new tools and perspectives on how to better manage our websites.”
These are just a few voices among hundreds at DrupalCon Atlanta. With so many sessions, spontaneous hallway chats, and hands-on contributions happening this week, there’s a lot more ground to cover.
We’ll be back with Part 2, featuring more voices from the community as the event unfolds, and a deeper look at what attendees are engaging with throughout the week. Stay tuned.
Kazima AbbasKazima Abbas is a sub-editor at The Drop Times
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