I’m Rosie, and I’m the Director of Community for Stack Overflow and for the Stack Exchange Network. I’ve been working with communities in tech since 2012 myself and prior to that I worked with student communities in academia. After working with communities for almost twenty years at this point, I have never warmed to the term community manager. I get it. It’s the industry standard for the profession, but I’ve never “managed a community.” I think community “management” at its core is supporting and enabling communities to manage themselves, with the Community Manager (CM) there to be (to borrow a phrase from the early days of Stack Overlow) a human exception handler. So, if we’re not exactly “managing” these incredible communities, what do community managers do? Think of us as listeners, problem-solvers, and crucially, the vital link between the company and the legions of passionate community members. But that’s merely scratching the surface. There’s a whole world of activity that happens behind the scenes, and I’m excited to pull back the curtain on our unique Community Department here at Stack Overflow.
Since its inception in 2009, community hasn’t just been part of the company—it’s been the very heart, backbone, and soul. Over the past decade and a half, as the Stack Exchange Network has grown—and with it hundreds of communities—community management here has also grown and evolved. Over a year ago, the Community Team became the Community Department, and that wasn’t just a name change; it’s a reflection of the value we place on community. It’s the outward demonstration that community is not an afterthought here. The department is led by Senior Vice President of Community Philippe Beaudette, who reports directly to CEO Prashanth Chandrasekar and serves as a member of our senior leadership team.
At Stack Overflow, the Community Department is split into four teams. These teams are managed by Philippe Beaudette, Cesar M, and me. While there is crossover and collaboration between teams, they each have a specialized focus:
- Community Engagement and Enablement (Led by Rosie): This team is your go-to for site governance and operational matters raised by moderators and community members. Think elections, handling site setting change requests, and ensuring the smooth functioning of your communities. They also spearhead initiatives that celebrate the contributions of community members, curators, and moderators, such as the ten-year anniversary site celebrations and Stack Gives Back. This team is probably closest to the “traditional” work of a community manager in other places.
- Trust and Safety (Led by Cesar M): Ensuring a safe and welcoming environment for everyone is paramount. This team works to prevent harassment, address PII concerns, and tackle any behavior that violates the Code of Conduct. They are also the guardians of the integrity of our processes and the Q&A voting system. Much of their work is often unsung because they are pros at catching and handling incidents before they become issues.
- Community Support (Also Led by Cesar): When you reach out through the “Contact Us” pages on our sites, you’ll likely connect with this team. They handle most of the direct inquiries from community members and new visitors to the site. They also collaborate closely with our engineering team to resolve site maintenance issues.
- Community Strategy (Led by Philippe): This team focuses on the bigger picture, driving strategic initiatives for the community. It includes Rosie and Cesar in their respective areas, Slate, the Community Strategy Lead, and Berthold, the Principle Community Manager, who manage special projects and explore new ways for users and sites to thrive.
There are also shared responsibilities across the department. All Community Department members spend part of their week serving as liaisons to different product teams and departments within the organization. As liaisons, community managers serve as the voice of the community for product managers, engineers, designers, and researchers, ensuring that product decisions are informed by the impact they currently have and will have when updates our released to users. And they serve as the voice of the company to the communities, as we announce and roll out new features and products. Liaisons own community communications and bring feedback and concerns that are raised to teams so they have the full picture.
If you spend time on the main and Meta sites on the platform, you may have noticed more staff throughout the company (including senior leadership) posting and chiming in on conversations. The Community Department is focusing on fostering more authentic communication between users and Stack Overflow employees. This year, you can expect even more behind-the-scenes glimpses like this, along with community-focused content on our blog and podcast. We’re excited to take this journey together. Stay tuned.
