Mary Thengvall
Co-Host of Community Pulse
Mary Thengvall is a connector of people at heart, personally and professionally. She loves digging into the strategy of how to build and foster developer communities and has been doing so for over 10 years. Mary is the Director of Developer Relations at Camunda, an open source process automation platform. She's the author of The Business Value of Developer Relations (© 2018, Apress).
Mary Thengvall has hosted 96 Episodes.
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Work/Life Blur: Navigating the Grey (Ep 98)
June 6th, 2025 | 29 mins 16 secs
community management, developer experience, developer relations, devrel
Sometimes work stretches beyond “normal” hours, and while we might welcome that when we’re energized by the project, other times it’s a real struggle. In this episode, Jason, PJ, and Mary unpack the difference between working late because we love the job versus doing it just to meet a deadline. They also explore how to recognize when those long hours are a sign of a toxic environment or poor prioritization—and what we can do to push back.
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Vibing on Vibe Coding (Ep 97)
May 23rd, 2025 | 28 mins 49 secs
community management, developer experience, developer relations, devrel
"Vibe coding" is gaining traction as a new way to approach software development—but what does it actually mean? In this episode, we unpack the term, explore how it's shaping the developer experience, and examine its potential to transform developer relations. We'll break down the pros and cons, from faster workflows to new challenges in communication and code quality, and discuss what this shift means for DevRel professionals today and in the future.
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The Decline of Technical Influencers (Ep 96)
April 15th, 2025 | 50 mins 52 secs
community management, developer experience, developer relations, devrel
There has been a lot of chat about the decline of the tech influencer. Where have they all gone? Is tech influence too heavy or too light? PJ, Mary, Wesley, and Jason share their opinions about “capital I” Influencers and where DevRel falls into all of this.
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Looking Back on 2024 and Ahead to 2025 (Ep 94)
February 21st, 2025 | 27 secs
community management, developer experience, developer relations, devrel
The team takes a look back at 2024 and ahead to 2025.
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What is Maturity? (Ep 91)
November 18th, 2024 | 26 mins 25 secs
community management, developer experience, developer relations, devrel
Recently, the topic of DevRel maturity sparked a conversation: What qualities define a mature community and a seasoned team? Join PJ, Jason, Mary, and Wesley as they share their insights on past experiences, current trends shaping the field, and key indicators to monitor as you strive to build a thriving, successful community.
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After Pulse: Bouncing from DevRel
May 21st, 2024 | 18 mins 40 secs
community management, developer experience, developer relations, devrel
This conversation follows up on our discussion about the noteworthy changes in Developer Relations over recent years and how many of our friends and colleagues have chosen to leverage their DevRel skills in new and exciting ways.
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Bouncing from DevRel (Ep 89)
May 15th, 2024 | 44 mins 24 secs
community management, developer experience, developer relations, devrel
Developer Relations has gone through quite a few changes over the last few years. In that vein, some people have found new skills in the ever-evolving world of tech. Along their journey, they moved away from DevRel, but still use those abilities in new ways. So, what is it like when you bounce from DevRel?
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After Pulse: Live Streaming
April 12th, 2024 | 20 mins 13 secs
community management, developer experience, developer relations, devrel
Our hosts elaborate on the notion that, apart from speaking engagements, much of the work undertaken by DevRel professionals remains backstage, yet through live streaming, they can learn publicly and involve community members, overcoming concerns and fostering engaging content for community learning.
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Live Streaming (Ep 88)
April 5th, 2024 | 46 mins 32 secs
community management, developer experience, developer relations, devrel
With the exception of speaking at conferences, much of what we do as DevRel professionals is behind-the-scenes. However, with live streaming, we’re able to not only learn in public, but bring our community members into the experience.
While this can be intimidating, and lead to questions like “what if I make a mistake?” - or - “What if I don’t know all the answers?” - or - “How do I make sure I come across as knowledgeable while I’m also learning?” it can also be a great way to create engaging content that helps your community learn alongside you. -
2023 Year in Review (Ep 85)
December 22nd, 2023 | 40 mins 35 secs
community management, developer experience, developer relations, devrel
Our Community Pulse hosts take a look back at 2023.
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After Pulse: 2023 Compensation & Culture Survey
November 30th, 2023 | 19 mins 29 secs
community management, developer experience, developer relations, devrel
Mary, PJ, and Jason wrap up their conversation of the Common Room survey and what it might mean for the industry moving forward.
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2023 DevRel Compensation & Culture Survey (Ep 84)
November 22nd, 2023 | 46 mins 38 secs
community management, developer experience, developer relations, devrel
As the industry continues to change, keeping a pulse on it becomes even more difficult. Luckily, the team over at Common Room partnered with a number of DevRel professionals (some of whom are on this call!) to create a survey focused on DevRel compensation as well as roles and responsibilities, business impact, success metrics, and personal wellbeing. In this episode, we’ll talk about the results of the survey and learn what we can do to push the industry forward.
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After Pulse: Defining Your Role Before Someone Else Does
August 18th, 2023 | 17 mins 37 secs
community management, developer experience, developer relations, devrel
Don't miss our hosts as they delve back into their takeaways from their conversation with Angie and Evan about the importance of clarifying and concentrating on your role.
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Defining Your Role Before Someone Else Does (Ep 81)
August 10th, 2023 | 39 mins 22 secs
community management, developer experience, developer relations, devrel
As we learned in Ep79, “How We Broke DevRel as an Industry”, sometimes the people in charge may not know how to set you up for success. The tasks you’re expected to do can take you away from your core focus. In today’s episode, we’ll talk through how to define your role and defend your team against that very real possibility of being tasked with items that don’t belong within your purview.
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After Pulse: Who are the Ops Behind the DevRel Curtain?
July 12th, 2023 | 14 mins 14 secs
community management, developer experience, developer relations, devrel
Tune in to PJ and Mary as they revisit their insightful discussion with Danielle and David on the subject of devops.
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Who are the Ops Behind the DevRel Curtain? (Ep 80)
June 23rd, 2023 | 47 mins 5 secs
community management, developer experience, developer relations, devrel
Many see DevRel practitioners as up front, in the spotlight, on stage, or at least with their name on lots of content. What if we told you there were people behind the scenes making community operations their priority? What does that look like, and who are the people making the lives of DevRel folks easier? That’s the topic of today’s Community Pulse episode.