Wesley Faulkner | DevRel Expert, Community Leader & Public Speaker

About Me

Wesley Faulkner is a podcaster, public speaker, advocate for social change, and a developer relations professional. He has a background in technology, working for companies like AMD, Atlassian, Dell, IBM, and MongoDB. Wesley co-hosts two podcasts: Community Pulse, which explores the challenges and opportunities of community building in Developer Relations, and Radical Respect, which features conversations with Kim Scott on creating more inclusive and equitable workplaces. Wesley is passionate about racial justice, workplace equity, and neurodiversity.

Experience

Jun 2024 - Present: Chairperson, DevRel Foundation
Apr 2023 - Present: Co-host, Radical Respect Podcast
May 2022 - Aug 2024: Sr. Community Manager, AWS
Jun 2020 - Present: Co-host, Community Pulse Podcast
Aug 2010 - Jun 2023: Interactive Advisory Board, SXSW

Activities

10 Mar, 2023: Attended SXSW 2023. Link
06 Dec, 2022: Launched Wesley's Office Hours - A side project to provide consultation on various subjects related to tech, community, disability, race, work, and life. Link
02 Dec, 2022: Went on a Twitch Livestream for Build On Live @ AWS re:Invent 2022. Link
28 Oct, 2022: 2022 State of Developer Relations Report Launch - YouTube Livestream. Link
28 Oct, 2022: Shared the State of Developer Relations Report - 9th Survey 2022. Link
14 Sep, 2022: Provided mentorship at DevRelX Community Session #4. Link
16 Aug, 2022: Spoke on Twitter Spaces - All Things Developer Community.
16 Aug, 2022: Went on a YouTube Livestream - What ultra-successful people who practice DevRel know and do. Link
15 Aug, 2022: Spoke on a YouTube Video - What is Observability? with Liz Fong-Jones | AWS Community Voices. Link
30 Jul, 2022: Went Viral on Twitter.
15 Jul, 2022: Released a video and spoke at AWS Community Day in Columbus, Ohio.
06 Jul, 2022: Received an NFT and joined the NFTY Collective.
18 May, 2022: Participated in a panel - Establishing, Scaling, and Measuring the Impact of Community-Led Growth by Insight Partners. Link
20 Apr, 2022: Attended a networking event - Dinner5. Link
17 Mar, 2022: Judged The 2022 Interactive Innovation Awards at SXSW. Link
17 Mar, 2022: Nominated for a DevRel Award - Greatest Individual Contribution. Link
03 Mar, 2022: Went on a YouTube Livestream - What Is Developer Relations? Link
04 Feb, 2022: Released a video on Twitter.
03 Feb, 2022: Spoke on Twitter Spaces.
12 Oct, 2021: Spoke at diverse ERGs - ADP Thrive Business Resource Group webcast - Seen and Unseen Disabilities. Link
28 Sep, 2021: Taking a headshot - New Headshots. Link
24 Sep, 2021: Spoke on Twitter Spaces - Transformational Community - Global Internet, the Graph, & XPO Technologies.
24 Jun, 2021: Won an award - InterCon USA 2021 - Excellence in Technology Award. Link
24 Apr, 2021: Spoke on Twitter Spaces - The Spring Apple Event and Apple Podcast Changes.
14 Apr, 2021: Went on a YouTube Livestream - DevOps Party Games S02E06 - Eventual Inconsistency (Americas). Link
06 Apr, 2021: Onboarded a Student Mentor - The Twitter Advantage with Wesley Faulkner. Link
30 Mar, 2021: Participated in a Live Stream - DevOps Party Games: Eventual Inconsistency (Americas). Link
19 Feb, 2021: Made a YouTube Video - What is a Video API and What is Its Use? Link
28 Jan, 2021: Went on a Twitch Livestream - DevOps Party Games (Livestream, No Recording). Link
15 Jan, 2021: Went on a YouTube Livestream - CoronaTV. Link
02 Dec, 2020: Spoke at a meetup - Wesley Faulkner & Lorna Mitchell: Twitter Strategies. Link
05 Nov, 2020: Went on a YouTube Livestream - CoronaTV. Link
17 Sep, 2020: Went on a YouTube Livestream - Punch Out With Katie and Kerry. Link
11 Sep, 2020: Went on a YouTube Livestream - TWiT After Hours. Link
01 Sep, 2020: Spoke on YouTube video - How to Become a DevRel? Tips + Stories from the Flyless Community. Link
19 Aug, 2020: Spoke on an interview - Flyless Weekly: Eddie Jaoude - Let's Hear Your Stories of DevRel. Link
17 Jul, 2020: Spoke at a meetup - Neurodiversity in Tech: Meetup #12. Link
11 Jul, 2020: 5 Steps to Combat Racism - YouTube Video. Link
11 Jul, 2020: Made a YouTube Video - Are We All Racist? Link
18 May, 2020: Spoke on an interview - Professional Networking Tips for the Age of Remote Work and Social Distancing. Link
09 Apr, 2020: Went on a YouTube Livestream - Sprinklr Coffee Club with Special Guest Wesley Faulkner. Link
17 Dec, 2019: Spoke at a meetup - The Twelve Clouds of Christmas - Year Nine. Link
31 Oct, 2019: Taught a webinar - A Guide to Professional Networking for Developers. Link
09 Sep, 2019: Spoke on YouTube video - MCC Austin Promo Video. Link
15 May, 2019: OSRAM partners with facilities technology and management company for IoT. Link
21 Nov, 2016: Spoke on YouTube video - Wesley Faulkner, District 2 City Council Candidate. Link
25 Oct, 2016: Spoke on YouTube video - Wesley Faulkner. Link
18 Oct, 2016: Spoke on YouTube video - Wesley Faulkner: District 2. Link
17 Jan, 2011: Spoke at a meetup - Social Media Breakfast Austin TX. Link

Articles

19 Jan, 2026: My Evolution: Learning, Self-Acceptance, and Choosing a New Path. Link
17 Jan, 2026: Following up on the "strategic no". Link
05 Jan, 2026: The Weekend I Helped Get NASDAQ Back Online. Link
21 Sep, 2025: Direct Communication Works Only With Trust. Link
12 Jul, 2025: Big AI Companies Are Undermining Their Own Success. Link
09 Jun, 2025: How to Pitch Smart Ideas When You Don't Have a Budget. Link
26 May, 2025: AI Makes Money in Boxes, Not Bits. Link
11 May, 2025: The Unaddressed Gap in LLMs: Making Memory as Portable as Data. Link
12 Jan, 2023: The Top 10 Articles from the DevRelX 2022. Link
26 Oct, 2022: Wesley Faulkner | My ND Journey: Growth, Trauma, and Intersectionality. Link
20 Oct, 2022: Setting up For Success in Your Next Role: Where to start? Link
12 Oct, 2022: This Is What it Feels Like… ..To Be Bullied Out of A Job You Love. Link
25 May, 2022: Spoke on a magazine interview for Customer Health Magazine by inSided. Link
26 Apr, 2022: Shared a Research Report - The ScaleUp Guide to Community-Led Growth by Insight Partners. Link
17 Mar, 2022: Featured in an article - Small Raleigh Presence at SXSW. Link
16 Mar, 2022: Mentioned in an article - Developer Relations Career Insights from 7 Industry Leaders. Link
14 Mar, 2022: Featured in an article - The Top 100 Influencers in DevRel. Link
19 Jan, 2022: You're Doing It Wrong: Recruiting a DevRel. Link
01 Dec, 2021: Mentioned in an article - Bring a More Inclusive Developer Strategy to APIs. Link
30 Nov, 2021: Mentioned in an article - WTF is Wrong with Open Source Communities. Link
21 Oct, 2021: Mentioned in an article - Guidance for Neurodivergent Job Seekers. Link
06 Sep, 2021: Getting Through Awkwardness in Networking - LeadDev. Link
10 Aug, 2021: Introducing SingleStore Ambassador Program - Blog Post. Link
21 Oct, 2020: My Journey Through DevRel - Blog Post. Link
12 Aug, 2020: Spoke on a magazine interview - Product Marketing Magazine. Link
29 Jun, 2020: Interviewed on TechTarget - Tech's Racial Diversity Problem Meets Its Day of Reckoning. Link
15 May, 2020: Interviewed for TechRepublic - Professional networking tips for the age of remote work and social distancing. Link
30 Mar, 2020: Wrote a Blog Post - A New Way to Connect Community - MongoDB. Link
15 Sep, 2017: Mentioned in an article - Why Atlassian and Slack are sending each other gifts, and how startups should learn to embrace competition. Link
27 Oct, 2016: Mentioned in an article - Austin City Council District 2 Election: Meet Wesley Faulkner. Link
13 Oct, 2016: Mentioned in an article - CIVICS 101: The Race for Austin City Council’s District 2. Link
12 Sep, 2016: Mentioned in an article - More than a yard sign: An incumbent, a boxer, and a tech guy in District 2. Link
24 Jun, 2016: Mentioned in an article - Challengers Emerge for CM Delia Garza's Seat. Link
15 Apr, 2016: Mentioned in an article - Namecheap’s Low-Budget ‘Where’s Waldo’ Stunt Goes Viral. Link

Conferences

16 Mar, 2026: SXSW session: Why Work Sucks (And How We Can Make It Joyful Again). Link
08 Oct, 2025: Tech Week SF 2025: Alpaca MCP Workshop. Link
19 May, 2025: Alpaca Partner Summit. Link
25 Sep, 2024: CMX Global. Link
10 Jul, 2024: AWS Summit New York (New York, NY). Link
02 May, 2024: AWS Summit San Francisco (San Francisco, CA). Link
10 Apr, 2024: AWS Summit Washington, DC (Washington, DC). Link
27 Nov, 2023: AWS re:Invent (Las Vegas, NV). Link
04 Oct, 2023: AWS Summit Toronto (Toronto, ON). Link
07 Sep, 2023: DevRelCon London 2023. Link
12 Jul, 2023: AWS Summit New York (New York, NY). Link
31 May, 2023: Spoke at RenderATL. Link
26 Apr, 2023: AWS Summit Washington, DC (Washington, DC). Link
28 Nov, 2022: AWS re:Invent (Las Vegas, NV). Link
05 Oct, 2022: AWS Summit Toronto (Toronto, ON). Link
12 Jul, 2022: AWS Summit New York (New York, NY). Link
29 Nov, 2021: AWS re:Invent (Las Vegas, NV). Link
20 Oct, 2021: Spoke at Pulumi Cloud Engineering Summit - Conference. Link
12 Oct, 2021: Supported diverse ERGs - ADP Thrive Business Resource Group webcast - Seen and Unseen Disabilities. Link
04 Oct, 2021: Spoke at DevOps Loop - Conference. Link
26 Jul, 2021: Keynoted at THAT Conference - Be Just Like Me... Different. Link
24 Jun, 2021: Spoke at a conference - Cloud Computing: How Big This Bubble Can Grow? Link
19 Jun, 2021: Spoke at Juneteenth Conference 2021 - Getting Through the Awkwardness of Networking. Link
22 Apr, 2021: Spoke at Midwest PHP - Conference: WebRTC: A Basic Overview. Link
12 Mar, 2021: Spoke at MozFest - Conference: Networking for the Neurodiverse. Link
20 May, 2020: Spoke at ng-conf: Hardwired 2020 - Conference. Link
20 Dec, 2019: Spoke at a WordCamp - Conference: How to Get Through the Awkwardness of Networking. Link
25 Oct, 2019: Spoke at a conference - MongoDB .local Chicago 2019: MongoDB Atlas Jumpstart. Link
06 Jun, 2019: Attended DevRelCon - Conference: Developer Experience, Developer Relations, and Developer Marketing. Link
23 Sep, 2016: Spoke at an event - 2016 Council Candidate Forum D2. Link

Podcasts

15 Feb, 2026: TWiT #1071 - Image Pickles. Link
07 Jan, 2026: Community Pulse Episode 102 - 2025 End of Year Wrap-Up. Link
03 Dec, 2025: Radical Respect S4 Episode 2 - Top Down vs Bottom Up. Link
23 Nov, 2025: TWiT #1059 - I'm Interested in Your Toolset. Link
07 Nov, 2025: Community Pulse Episode 101 - Non-tech Communities That Inform Our DevRel Activities. Link
03 Nov, 2025: Radical Respect S4 Episode 1 - Intro to Season 4. Link
03 Oct, 2025: Community Pulse Episode 100 - After Pulse: What's Changed Since Community Pulse Started! Link
10 Aug, 2025: TWiT #1044 - Elephants on the Moon. Link
09 Aug, 2025: Community Pulse Episode 99 - DevRel Tooling. Link
06 Jun, 2025: Community Pulse Episode 98 - Work/Life Blur: Navigating the Grey. Link
23 May, 2025: Community Pulse Episode 97 - Vibing on Vibe Coding. Link
11 May, 2025: TWiT #1031 - My 3 Friends. Link
15 Apr, 2025: Community Pulse Episode 96 - The Decline of Technical Influencers. Link
20 Mar, 2025: Community Pulse Episode 95 - The Importance of Humility and Sincerity in DevRel. Link
21 Feb, 2025: Community Pulse Episode 94 - Looking Back on 2024 and Ahead to 2025. Link
16 Feb, 2025: TWiT #1019 - Nickel for Your Thoughts. Link
03 Jan, 2025: Community Pulse Episode 93 - The DevRel Foundation. Link
12 Dec, 2024: Community Pulse Episode 92 - DevRel Hiring is Broken. Link
18 Nov, 2024: Community Pulse Episode 91 - What is Maturity? Link
02 Oct, 2024: Radical Respect S3 Episode 14 - Ellen Pao Discusses Project Include. Link
18 Sep, 2024: Radical Respect S3 Episode 11 - The Entitlement Gap. Link
28 Aug, 2024: Radical Respect S3 Episode 8 - The Workplace Mental Health Playbook. Link
14 Aug, 2024: Radical Respect S3 Episode 6 - Thinking Differently. Link
31 Jul, 2024: Radical Respect S3 Episode 4 - How Local Governments Can Nurture Respect. Link
24 Jul, 2024: Radical Respect S3 Episode 3 - Understanding Workplace Systems. Link
17 Jul, 2024: Radical Respect S3 Episode 2 - Indivisible. Link
26 May, 2024: TWiT #981 - Grab Your Rabbit. Link
27 Mar, 2024: Radical Respect S2 Episode 24 - Bloviating BS. Link
31 Jan, 2024: Radical Respect S2 Episode 16 - Navigating Institutional Courage. Link
29 Nov, 2023: Radical Respect S2 Episode 8 - Toxonomy. Link
15 Nov, 2023: Radical Respect S2 Episode 6 - What Gets in the Way of Radical Respect? Link
25 Oct, 2023: Radical Respect S2 Episode 3 - A Tale of Two Wesleys. Link
01 Apr, 2023: Spoke on Real as Feedback Podcast - Preventing Bias and Bullying in Workplace Feedback with Wesley Faulkner. Link
20 Mar, 2023: Co-hosted Community Pulse Podcast - Suddenly Unemployed (Ep 77). Link
16 Mar, 2023: Spoke on How To Citizen with Baratunde - A New Shape for the Economy. Link
10 Mar, 2023: Spoke on The OVERFLOW Podcast - How to Position Yourself to Land the Job You Want. Link
28 Jan, 2023: Spoke on Reconfigured Podcast - Wesley Faulkner: AWS, Community Management, DevRel. Link
12 Jan, 2023: DevRel New Year’s Resolutions - Podcast. Link
04 Oct, 2022: The Many Strengths of Neurodivergence - Podcast (Ep. 493). Link
30 Aug, 2022: Spoke on Higher versus Lower Order Thinking with Wesley Faulkner. Link
10 Aug, 2022: Co-hosted a podcast show - Rediscovering In-Person Conferences. Link
01 Aug, 2022: Spoke on a podcast - Community, Trust, and Technology with Wesley Faulkner. Link
10 Jun, 2022: Co-hosted a podcast show - Community Pulse Podcast. Link
09 Jun, 2022: Spoke on a podcast - Developer Advocast: Hiring Developer Advocates (Part 2). Link
08 Jun, 2022: Spoke on a podcast - Developer Advocast: Hiring Developer Advocates (Part 1). Link
24 May, 2022: Spoke at DevRelCon Deep Dives - What Neurodiversity Means for DevRel. Link
19 May, 2022: Spoke on a podcast - Screaming in the Cloud: At the Head of Community Development with Wesley Faulkner. Link
04 May, 2022: Co-hosted a podcast show - Community Pulse Podcast. Link
19 Apr, 2022: Co-hosted a podcast show - Moving from Execution to Strategy. Link
23 Mar, 2022: Spoke on a podcast - Neurodiversity & Intersectionality: A Disclosure Challenge. Link
03 Mar, 2022: Co-hosted a podcast show - Your Content, Their Brand. Link
21 Jan, 2022: Co-hosted a podcast show - DevRel: What's Your Story? Link
11 Jan, 2022: Spoke on a podcast - Screaming in the Cloud: At the Head of Community Development with Wesley Faulkner. Link
13 Dec, 2021: Spoke on a podcast - Neurodivergent in Tech: Greater Than Code. Link
06 Dec, 2021: Spoke on a podcast - How to Build an Awesome Developer Relations Team with Wesley Faulkner & PJ Hagerty. Link
21 Nov, 2021: Spoke on a podcast - This Week in Tech (Ep. 850). Link
18 Nov, 2021: Co-hosted a podcast show - DevRel Resources. Link
16 Aug, 2021: Spoke on a podcast - We Belong Podcast: The Path to Developer Relations. Link
25 Jun, 2021: Co-hosted a podcast show - Community Pulse Podcast. Link
29 Apr, 2021: Co-hosted a podcast show - Community Pulse. Link
17 Mar, 2021: Spoke on a podcast - Day In Day Out Podcast: The Neural Diversity Advocate. Link
06 Mar, 2021: Spoke on a podcast - Productivity in Tech. Link
03 Mar, 2021: Spoke on a podcast - What We Talk About When We Talk About Tech: Talking DevRel and Neurodiversity. Link
14 Feb, 2021: Spoke on a podcast - This Week in Tech (Ep. 810). Link
14 Jan, 2021: Spoke on Software Engineering Daily Podcast - Daily Streaming Video API with Kwindla Hultman Kramer and Wesley Faulkner. Link
13 Jan, 2021: Spoke on a podcast - New Relic Podcast: Spoons and Humans - Thought, Work, and Connection with Wesley Faulkner. Link
11 Jan, 2021: Spoke on a podcast - #causeascene Podcast: Wesley Faulkner. Link
11 Dec, 2020: Spoke on a podcast - Community Signal Podcast: Fostering Inclusivity for Neurodivergent Community Members and Colleagues. Link
10 Dec, 2020: Spoke on a podcast - DevToolsTopia: The Future of Video APIs with Wesley Faulkner. Link
04 Dec, 2020: Co-hosted a podcast show - Community Pulse End of Year Wrap-Up. Link
13 Nov, 2020: Co-hosted a podcast show - Budgets Rule Everything. Link
11 Nov, 2020: Spoke on a podcast - The Common Scents Podcast: Wesley Faulkner. Link
01 Nov, 2020: Spoke on a podcast - This Week in Tech (Ep. 795). Link
11 Oct, 2020: Spoke on a podcast - Punch Out with Us: Wesley Faulkner on Animal Husbandry, Bad Sci-Fi, and Living Off the Grid. Link
05 Oct, 2020: Co-hosted a podcast show - Community Pulse LIVE! - Events in the Pandemic. Link
25 Sep, 2020: Co-hosted a podcast show - After Pulse: DevRel at the Foundation. Link
18 Sep, 2020: Co-hosted a podcast show - DevRel at the Foundation. Link
17 Jun, 2020: Spoke on a podcast - The Ops Show by CTO.ai: Diversity & Neurodiversity in Tech (Ep. 6). Link
08 May, 2020: Spoke on a podcast - Community Pulse: Online Community Management: How DevRel Is Going Virtual. Link
02 Feb, 2020: Spoke on a podcast - This Week in Tech (Ep. 756): Don't Doubt ur Vibe. Link
16 Mar, 2019: Spoke on a podcast - SXSW Interactive Wrap Up with Wesley Faulkner, Myriam Joire, Jeffrey Powers. Link
03 Mar, 2019: Spoke on a podcast - SXSW: How Emotional Intelligence Wins the Day. Link
20 Jan, 2019: Spoke on a podcast - This Week in Tech (Ep. 702): Millsplain It to Me. Link
11 Nov, 2018: Spoke on a podcast - This Week in Tech (Ep. 692): Ravioli for the Recount. Link
01 Jul, 2018: Spoke on a podcast - This Week in Tech (Ep. 673): The Prozac Dash Button. Link
01 Apr, 2018: Spoke on a podcast - This Week in Tech (Ep. 660): Bankwupt. Link
27 Feb, 2017: Spoke on a podcast - SXSW Chat: Wesley Faulkner of Namecheap. Link
11 Mar, 2011: Spoke on a podcast - Small Biz Social Secrets (Ep. 2): Wesley Faulkner. Link
18 Apr, 2008: Spoke on a podcast - The 404: Where All You Gotta Do is Call Randall to Get On. Link

Wesley Faulkner - DevRel Expert, Community Leader & Public Speaker