Announcing the WordPress 7.2 Release Squad ![rw-book-cover](https://s.w.org/images/home/wordpress-default-ogimage.png) 🔗 **Source:** [Announcing the WordPress 7.2 Release Squad](https://make.wordpress.org/core/2026/09/09/announcing-the-wordpress-7-2-release-squad/) > [!note]+ Document Notes > --- > tags: [wordpress-core, release-management, open-source-governance, contributor-pathways, wordpress-72-release] > author: make.wordpress.org > source: make.wordpress.org/core > reference: https://make.wordpress.org/core/2026/09/09/announcing-the-wordpress-7-2-release-squad/ > date created: 2026-09-10 > --- > > [!info] Generated analysis — not the author's words. Sections below are machine-written > > from the captured source. Only text inside `> [!quote]` blocks is verbatim from the author. > > Do not quote or attribute any other line to the named author. > # 🏷️ Title: Announcing the WordPress 7.2 Release Squad > ## 🧭 Table of Contents > - [📝 Summary](#-summary) > - [📖 Main Content](#-main-content) > - [🗒️ Notes](#️-notes) > - [📚 References](#-references) > - [🗣️ Paraphrase](#️-paraphrase) > - [📰 Newsletter](#-newsletter) > - [✅ Action Items](#-action-items) > - [🧪 Hypotheses](#-hypotheses) > - [📊 Methodology](#-methodology) > - [❓ Questions](#-questions) > - [🔮 Future Research](#-future-research) > - [💡 Implications](#-implications) > - [🧠 Learning Styles Assessment](#-learning-styles-assessment) > - [📊 Accessibility Assessment](#-accessibility-assessment) > - [🌍 DEIB Assessment](#-deib-assessment) > - [✅ Logical Validity](#-logical-validity) > - [🛡️ DARVO Analysis](#-darvo-analysis) > - [🎯 Conclusion](#-conclusion) > - [🔄 Refactor Appendix](#-refactor-appendix--announcing-the-wordpress-72-release-squad) > ### 🔗 References > - [WordPress 7.2](https://make.wordpress.org/core/7-2/) — the release's Make/Core hub page. > - [Twenty Twenty-Seven: Team Announcement](https://make.wordpress.org/core/2026/04/08/tt7-team/) — earlier post naming the default-theme team in full, including the mentor role. > - [Make Team Reps](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/team-reps/) — the role this cycle leans on more heavily. > ## 📝 Summary > - **What happened.** Make/Core announced the assembled WordPress 7.2 Release Squad on 2026-09-09: a Release Lead (Matt Mullenweg), a Release Coordination lead (David Baumwald), two Tech Leads (George Mamadashvili, Peter Wilson), a Default Theme Design Lead (Henrique Iamarino), two Default Theme Dev Leads (Maggie Cabrera, Carolina Nymark), and three Test Leads (Md Noruzzaman, Jina Parekh, Erick Wambua) — nine named roles total. > - **Why it matters.** This is a governance/authority post, not a technical one: it tells contributors exactly who currently owns scope and technical decisions for 7.2 and for the Twenty Twenty-Seven default theme, and it names the specific low-friction ways to contribute without a squad seat — testing, bug scrubs, triage, documentation. > - **Key stakeholders.** The nine named squad members; Make Team Reps, who the post says now carry more team-level coordination than in past cycles; Juanfra Aldasoro, named as Twenty Twenty-Seven's dedicated lead mentor for new contributors; and four people credited in the closing Props line for reviewing the post and assembling the squad (@jorbin, @desrosj, @annezazu, @4thhubbard). > - **Risks and tradeoffs.** The squad is thin by design — two Tech Leads, three Test Leads, one Design Lead — which concentrates decision-making and depends on Team Reps actually absorbing the coordination work the squad no longer does. The post states volunteers were selected because their "experience and focus best aligned with the needs of the 7.2 release" but gives no operational criteria, so the selection process isn't independently checkable from this post alone. > - **Bottom line.** A routine but concrete Core governance update. The one directly actionable fact for a contributor who wasn't picked is the explicit list of other entry points named in the post, plus the standing Twenty Twenty-Seven mentor program for people new to default-theme work. > ## 📖 Main Content > The post opens by naming the squad (P0–list), then places this cycle in a five-release lineage — 6.7, 6.8, 6.9, 7.0, and 7.1 — as evidence that WordPress 7.2 "will continue the approach of forming a smaller, focused Release Squad" rather than reverting to a larger team. The stated mechanism is a division of labor: the squad now leans more on Make Team Reps (one representative per Make team, e.g., Core, Design, Documentation) to coordinate inside their own teams, which the post frames as reducing both the Release Squad's overhead and the overlap between a Team Rep and that team's own Release Squad Leads. A separate, related practice — capturing "Noteworthy Contributors" from Team Reps near the end of the cycle — is named but not described further in this post. > The post states plainly that volunteer supply outstripped squad capacity ("far exceeded the available squad roles") and that selection ran on experience and focus alignment with 7.2's needs specifically — not a general seniority or tenure standard. It then does directed damage control for people who weren't picked, listing concrete alternate paths: testing, bug scrubs, triage, and documentation. > A separate callout resurfaces the Twenty Twenty-Seven (TT7) default theme team, which already has its own dedicated announcement post from earlier in the year. Beyond the Design Lead and two Dev Leads captured in the squad list, that team also carries a dedicated lead mentor role — Juanfra Aldasoro — and what the post describes as an "intentional focus on creating structured, supported opportunities for new contributors" specifically in default-theme work. This is the one part of the post that names a contribution path for people newer to Core, rather than just experienced volunteers who weren't selected this round. > The post closes with two things: a general thanks to everyone who volunteered or is contributing through testing, triage, documentation, and bug scrubs, and a formal Props line crediting @jorbin for reviewing the post and @jorbin, @desrosj, @annezazu, and @4thhubbard for helping assemble the squad. WordPress Core posts use this Props convention to record unglamorous coordination work that would otherwise go uncredited. > ### 🗒️ Notes > - Squad composition (9 named roles, from the post's own list): Release Lead — Matt Mullenweg; Release Coordination — David Baumwald; Tech Leads (2) — George Mamadashvili, Peter Wilson; Default Theme Design Lead — Henrique Iamarino; Default Theme Dev Leads (2) — Maggie Cabrera, Carolina Nymark; Test Leads (3) — Md Noruzzaman, Jina Parekh, Erick Wambua. > - "Smaller, focused Release Squad" is stated as a continuation, not a new decision — explicitly tied to five prior cycles (6.7, 6.8, 6.9, 7.0, 7.1), each linked to its own call-for-volunteers post. > - Two stated goals for the model: (1) reduce Release Squad overhead, (2) reduce overlap between a Make Team Rep and that team's own Release Squad Leads. The post does not explain how overlap was measured or reduced in past cycles — it's stated as intent, not shown as outcome. > - "Noteworthy Contributors" — captured from Team Reps near the end of the cycle — is named as an existing practice but not defined in this post; no criteria or process given. > - Selection framing: oversubscription ("far exceeded the available squad roles") plus alignment-based selection ("experience and focus best aligned with the needs of the 7.2 release"). No named criteria beyond that phrase. > - Explicit non-squad contribution paths named for people not selected: testing, bug scrubs, triage, documentation. > - Twenty Twenty-Seven (TT7) callout: points back to a dedicated April 2026 team-announcement post; adds that the team includes a lead mentor role (Juanfra Aldasoro) and a stated focus on structured onboarding for new contributors specifically in default-theme work — the only new-contributor-specific detail in this post. > - Props convention: credits both editorial (post review) and organizational (squad assembly) labor by wp.org username, standard practice for Make/Core posts. > ## 📚 References > - [WordPress 7.2](https://make.wordpress.org/core/7-2/) > - [Matt Mullenweg — profile](https://profiles.wordpress.org/matt/) > - [David Baumwald — profile](https://profiles.wordpress.org/davidbaumwald/) > - [George Mamadashvili — profile](https://profiles.wordpress.org/mamaduka/) > - [Peter Wilson — profile](https://profiles.wordpress.org/peterwilsoncc/) > - [Henrique Iamarino — profile](https://profi **Exciting News: The** [WordPress 7.2](https://make.wordpress.org/core/7-2/) **Release Squad is assembled!** * Release Lead: [Matt Mullenweg](https://profiles.wordpress.org/matt/) * Release Coordination: [David Baumwald](https://profiles.wordpress.org/davidbaumwald/) * Tech Leads: [George Mamadashvili](https://profiles.wordpress.org/mamaduka/), [Peter Wilson](https://profiles.wordpress.org/peterwilsoncc/) * Default Theme Design Lead: [Henrique Iamarino](https://profiles.wordpress.org/iamarinoh/) * Default Theme Dev Leads: [Maggie Cabrera](https://profiles.wordpress.org/onemaggie/), [Carolina Nymark](https://profiles.wordpress.org/poena/) * Test Leads: [Md Noruzzaman](https://profiles.wordpress.org/noruzzaman/), [Jina Parekh](https://profiles.wordpress.org/jns141191/), [Erick Wambua](https://profiles.wordpress.org/r1k0/) As with the [6.7](https://make.wordpress.org/core/2024/07/05/wordpress-6-7-planning-proposal-call-for-volunteers/), [6.8](https://make.wordpress.org/core/2024/11/21/wordpress-6-8-call-for-volunteers/), [6.9](https://make.wordpress.org/core/2025/07/11/wordpress-6-9-planning-proposal-and-call-for-volunteers/), [7.0](https://make.wordpress.org/core/2026/01/09/wordpress-7-0-call-for-volunteers/), and [7.1](https://make.wordpress.org/core/2026/05/21/wordpress-7-1-call-for-volunteers/) release cycles, WordPress 7.2 will continue the approach of forming a smaller, focused Release Squad. This streamlined structure places more emphasis on collaboration with the various [Make Team Reps](https://make.wordpress.org/updates/team-reps/), who are encouraged to help coordinate efforts from within their [respective teams](https://make.wordpress.org/). The goals are to reduce the overhead on the Release Squad while still ensuring each Make Team’s contributions and priorities are represented throughout the cycle, and to reduce overlap between a Make Team Rep and that team’s Release Squad Leads. Noteworthy Contributors will be captured from Team Reps towards the end of the release cycle. The number of volunteers far exceeded the available squad roles, so we selected folks whose experience and focus best aligned with the needs of the 7.2 release. If you weren’t selected this time, your contributions are still incredibly valuable, and there are plenty of ways to stay involved throughout the release cycle, including testing, bug scrubs, triage, documentation, and more. Every contribution helps move WordPress forward, and we’re grateful for your continued participation. While the Default Theme (aka Twenty Twenty-Seven) leads are included in the squad above, it’s worth resurfacing the [Twenty Twenty-Seven: Team Announcement](https://make.wordpress.org/core/2026/04/08/tt7-team/) post from earlier this year. In addition to the design and development leads, the team includes a dedicated lead mentor role ([Juanfra Aldasoro](https://profiles.wordpress.org/juanfra/)) and an intentional focus on creating structured, supported opportunities for new contributors to get involved in the default theme effort. Big thanks to everyone who volunteered for the release squad, and heartfelt appreciation to everyone helping move WordPress 7.2 forward through testing, triage, documentation, bug scrubs, and more. Your efforts make this release possible, and there’s a lot to be excited about as WordPress 7.2 comes together! *Props to [@jorbin](https://profiles.wordpress.org/jorbin/) for reviewing this post and [@jorbin](https://profiles.wordpress.org/jorbin/), [@desrosj](https://profiles.wordpress.org/desrosj/), [@annezazu](https://profiles.wordpress.org/annezazu/),* *and [@4thhubbard](https://profiles.wordpress.org/4thhubbard/) for helping assemble the 7.2 release squad.*, Announcing the WordPress 7.2 Release Squad, WordPress Core Team, 01m25rrkang9rd320vwf7ex1pk.