Thank you to everyone who responded to the original call for volunteers. The response was genuinely wonderful and made clear how much folks care about getting a great default theme out for 7.2. Joining lead designer @iamarinoh, I’m happy to share that @onemaggie and @poena will serve as co-lead developers. @juanfra will be taking on a new role as lead mentor and I want to share a bit about why that role exists.

Those who read through the comments may have noticed @juanfra mentioning his interest in mentoring and sharing his Twenty Twenty-Five experience with new leads. That interest sparked a larger conversation about how to bring a more explicit mentorship focus to this new default theme effort. With a head start on this theme compared to previous years, and with an increasing focus on Education programs in WordPress to help new contributors find meaningful entry points, there’s a real opportunity to do something more intentional here than before. Theme development is one of the more approachable and impactful areas to get involved in. As a result, the explicit mentorship angle is designed to bring more folks into the theme creation process in a structured, supported way rather than hoping people find their footing on their own. @juanfra will be taking point here but everyone working on the theme in a lead role will help make the mentorship approach a reality. 

This goes beyond helping make Twenty Twenty-Seven a reality. It’s about expanding who feels equipped and welcome to contribute to theme work in WordPress more broadly.

If you expressed interest and are keen to contribute, stay tuned as the mentorship angle itself is forming alongside the theme design. More on how to get involved will be shared as the theme takes shape. 

Thanks to @onemaggie @poena @juanfra @iamarinoh for reviewing this post and for stepping up to lead here. 

#7-2, #default-theme, #theme