Carla Pumutxa receives the Yoast Care fund for her contribution to the WordPress community

Meet Carla Pumutxa, a valued member of the WordPress community! Juan Hernando nominated her for the Yoast Care Fund for her commitment and valuable contributions. Let’s learn more about this WordPress enthusiast.

Nominator Juan Hernando: “When we thought local WordPress communities in Galicia and across Spain couldn’t realistically maintain a meaningful social media presence, given the sheer volume of work and the variety of formats it demands, Carla showed up with a smile and rolled up her sleeves without hesitation. What makes her contribution exceptional isn’t just the amount she does, but what she enables in others: she helps everyone around her tell their story. Her work is fundamental to our events, to our marketing efforts, and to the way we reach new people while celebrating those already contributing.”

Let’s get to know Carla Pumutxa

Those are some lovely words by Juan. Let’s get to know Carla a bit better and ask her some questions about her work and passion for WordPress:

Hi, Carla! What do you do in the WordPress space?

As a volunteer in the WordPress community, I’m one of the five organizers of WordPress Coruña, and I’ve been its community manager for almost two years. Last year, I was one of the organizers of WordCamp Galicia as part of the communications team, and this year I’m one of the three co-leads, together with Carlos Longarela and Mónica Saavedra. They are the best lead team I could have ever asked for, and I’m so lucky to be part of it.

I’m also part of the WordPress España marketing team, where I volunteer in the social media section. I’ve volunteered at WordCamp Valencia and WordCamp Madrid, and this year I also volunteered at WordCamp Europe.

If someone had told me two years ago that this was going to be my life, I would have said they were nuts. My life has changed so much since the first time I walked into a Meetup hiding behind a friend. And it didn’t happen just once; it has happened many times since then.

Last year, I was at home sharing stories from WordCamp Europe on the WordPress España Instagram account, thinking how amazing it must be to be there, while also thinking, “I’ll never be there, it’s too huge for me!” And now I’m at the airport on my way back home from there. In just one year.

Every year, volunteering in the WordPress community feels incredible. I’m learning a huge amount, and I’m having a lot of fun doing it.

If you trust in WordPress and do things with your heart, life makes beautiful things happen.

What excites you most about WordPress?

The community. The community is made up of amazing people who always want to help, collaborate, and give back to WordPress everything that WordPress has given to them.

That feeling of belonging somewhere, of being part of a group, and of knowing that they will always encourage you to do amazing things and support you whenever things go wrong, or you have doubts, is priceless.

This hasn’t happened to me just once. It has happened many times when I didn’t trust myself enough to do things that other people believed I could do. And also in smaller moments, like sending an SOS to my co-organizers at WordPress Coruña or WordCamp Galicia because I didn’t know how to do something or because I was in the middle of a messy situation, as well as in huge moments that completely blocked me.

The answer was always: “You have to do it like this”, or “I’ll take care of it, don’t worry”, or “Everything is going to be fine.”

I’ve never felt part of a team the way I do in this community.

I think the WordPress community is a place that makes you a better person and helps you grow professionally.

What advice would you give to someone just starting with WordPress?

Choose where you think you can collaborate, start doing what you enjoy, trust yourself and your instincts, and always try to do your best to help other people. Don’t compare yourself to anyone else, just do what you can and what you feel you have to do. And be kind to people.

At first, they may feel like strangers, but at some point, they become family. They become the people you go for a beer with, the people you help when they need something, and the people who help you when you need it. They’ll be there for you in the good moments and in the bad ones.

Whenever a member of the community is in trouble, many people are always willing to help. I’ve seen it happen several times.

If WordPress has something special, it’s that everybody gives their heart to the community, and together that creates one huge heart that helps and collaborates with the project with one shared goal: making things easier for people who want to build great websites. On the other hand, it also means making life better for the members of the community.

If you want to belong to a group of people who will always collaborate and help with a smile, this is your place.

What’s your favorite WordPress memory or something you’re most proud of?

It’s not just one moment. It happens after every Meetup, every WordCamp, and every side project like WordPress Campus Connect. Every time an event ends, everyone is smiling. And that feeling that everything went well, that everyone learned something and had fun, even when you’re tired, makes me feel that everything is worth it.

If I had to choose one personal moment, it would probably be when Roberto and Celi asked me to go to WordCamp Europe. It was something I couldn’t even dream about. And also, being there with my friends from WordPress Coruña and WordCamp Galicia made the experience even more special. I had one of the best moments of my life, and being part of such a huge event was a dream come true. I learn a lot, and I have a lot of fun. And everyone at WordCamp Europe, including the attendees, organizers, and volunteers, is amazing.

Or when Juan, Sabela, and Wajari told everyone that they thought I could be one of the three co-leads of WordCamp Galicia. What? Are you nuts? What just happened there? I was in a volunteer meeting for WordCamp Madrid, thinking: “This can’t be happening… At what moment did they think of my name?”

My first answer was no, completely out of panic. But as I said, the community always encourages you to do things you think you’re not capable of doing.

Thank you all.

What’s one WordPress project you wish you had more time for?

Every project is a lesson, and you learn a lot from each one of them.

But if I had to choose one project to have unlimited time for, it would probably be a WordCamp. Working with the team before the event, during the event, and after it, organizing everything, and being part of the social media team, is an amazing experience.

And I want to say thank you to everybody I’ve come across during this experience: Juan, for his patience, for always answering my questions, for his help, for everything, and for not kicking my ass; the WordPress Coruña team, María, Dani, Marta, and Leo, for all the support and all the magic they create; Carlos and Mónica, for being the perfect co-leads. This is happening thanks to you. I learn a lot from you and the rest of the WordCamp Galicia team because there are so many people, and every single one of them is special to me and now part of my life.

And the rest of the WordPress España community as well, because even if I can’t name everyone, they are all amazing and will always have a special place in my heart.

And I especially want to thank all the members of the WordPress community in Spain, from Coruña to Galicia and all across the country, not only the volunteers. You all truly changed my life.

And thank you to Yoast for thinking that I deserve this. What???

Thank you for this interview, Carla, and for all your contributions to the WordPress community! Do you know someone like Carla Pumutxa who also deserves to be in the spotlight? Go to our Yoast Care page and nominate them right away.