David Mertz

2014 Board Member.

TBD (Description).

Affiliation: Gnosis Software (own company); D. E. Shaw Research; O'Reilly; ...

Marc-Andre Lemburg

2014 Board Member.

I've been board member in the years 2002-2004 and then again since 2010.

PSF things I've been working on in 2014/2015:

• ran the PSF Python Brochure project, which has so far been a great success by providing a nice tool for Python community members to promote Python; the first edition was available for PyCon 2014 in Montreal, the second for PyCon 2015; also see the PSF Python Brochure wiki page
• continued worked with the Python Events Calendars team to run a central place where Python users can lookup Python events; calendars are shown on https://www.python.org/events/python-events/, http://www.pycon.org/ and also available as map mashup.
• took the European PSF Conference Kit to several conferences (EuroPython, FOSDEM, PythonCamp Cologne) to show PSF support; created new carry-on displays for StephaneWirtel to use for Python events in Belgium and France.
• created and sent out giveaway marketing material for use at Python conferences and by user groups (flyers, stickers)
• promoted the PSF at conferences in Europe, giving talks and available as contact for people interested in the PSF (EuroPython, PyCon UK, PyCon DE, FOSDEM, PythonCamp Cologne)
• managed the central PSF domain management account at Gandi.net, transferred and registered more domains to that account
• created and managed the central PSF SSL certificate management accounts at StartSSL and Gandi.net
• administered the Python, Jython and PSF wiki systems together with the volunteers on the pydotorg-www mailing list, helped setup the new editors scheme to prevent wiki admin burnout due to very frequent spamming and vandalism of the wikis.
• administered the http://www.pycon.org/ page and the pycon.org DNS record (which I've owned from 2003-2012 before contributing it to the PSF
• ran the new Python Job Board team together with initially 30 volunteers; pushed for jobs app implementation changes and worked on the final ones to be able to finally launch the new Python Job Board on 2015-03-19
• contacted new potential PSF sponsors as part of creating a more diverse PSF marketing strategy
• built closer relationships with the Raspberry Pi Foundation, getting joint blog posts running and investigating possible closer collaboration on education workshops
• a lot of the above relates directly with my PSF work to create closer ties with the Python community

in addition to the usual PSF board and trademark committee work.

Things I'd like to focus on for 2015/2016:

• integrate the PSF more into the global Python community and make it's organizational structures more diverse and international
• make more use of the new PSF work group setup and work out the organizational details for this
• push for getting the python.org website setup with a real CMS in order to attract more content contributors and maintainers
• create a marketing work group to (a) develop a more diverse marketing strategy for Python which doesn't only focus on developers, (b) create more marketing material and tools to enable Python user groups and evangelists to better promote Python in their local and professional settings, and (c) create more Python merchandise
• rewrite the Python trademark policy to make it more readable and straight forward
• get the PSF to adopt more community friendly PyPI terms & conditions
• if we can get PSF funding, help create a second volume of the PSF Python Brochure

I'd like to continue my work as director and look forward to another year serving on the board.

Other Python community projects I'm involved in:

• EuroPython Society (EPS) - I'm a board member of the EPS, which is the organization running the EuroPython conference series; this uses a work group structure similar to the one the PSF wants to use, but we actually have it working already for the 2015 edition
• Python Meeting Düsseldorf (PyDDF) - Together with Charlie Clark, I started a local Python user meeting series in Düsseldorf in 2012; we're having quarterly meetings with talks, discussions; videos are available in our PyDDF YouTube Channel

If you want to see more details about what I've done for the Python community, please see my wiki home page.

Affiliation: eGenix.com GmbH, Germany

Alex Gaynor

2014 Board Member

I've served as a board member for the past two years.

In the last year, here are some of the things I've worked on:

• Served as a member of the PSF Sprints and Outreach and Education committees
• Collaborated with the infrastructure committee on a variety of projects
• Served as co-chair of the PyCon program committee

Affiliation: I'm employed by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs

Nick Coghlan

2014 Board Member.

I have been a part of the Python community for more than a decade, a CPython core developer since 2005, and a member of the Board of Directors since 2014.

As a PSF board member, my two primary concerns would be addressing the challenges the PSF faces around volunteer burnout (including for Board members), as well as continuing to address the long term structural risks potentially impacting the sustainable operation of PSF provided infrastructure and services.

Key perspectives I believe I bring to Board discussions:

• Experienced CPython core developer
• Heavily involved in the Python software distribution & deployment ecosystem
• Employed by a major commercial redistributor of Python
• Professional training and experience in infrastructural risk management

Specific initiatives I would personally be aiming to advocate for and participate in over the 2015/2016 Board term include:

• Providing additional community visibility into the ongoing activities of the PSF Board through the [[PythonSoftwareFoundation/ProposalsForDiscussion/StrategicDecisionMakingProcess]] proposal
• Enhancing the PSF's ability to suitably recognise contributions to the broader Python community through the [[PythonSoftwareFoundation/ProposalsForDiscussion/FellowshipRecognitionProgram]] proposal
• Providing a more constructive framework for discussions regarding the allocation of PSF funds and effective direction of volunteer time and energy by capturing and clearly documenting agreed strategic priorities for the PSF as proposed in [[PythonSoftwareFoundation/ProposalsForDiscussion/StrategicPriorities]] (which also includes clearly documenting things the PSF isn't doing itself, as other organisations are better positioned to handle them)
• Working with the PSF Events Coordinator and other PSF Directors to finalise and publish the "International PyCon Prospectus" (a proposal developed in collaboration with a number of conferences the PSF has previously sponsored). The intent of this proposal is to allow other organisations to easily sponsor multiple regional conferences via the PSF, rather than having to arrange payment individually with each conference throughout the year
• Working with Selena Deckelmann on a Strategic Hiring Plan proposal for the PSF, with the aim of enhancing the PSF's core staff and volunteer management capabilities to help reduce the incidence of volunteer burnout within the Python community

Affiliation: Nick Coghlan works for Red Hat.

Kushal Das

2014 Board Member

Description: TBD (Will fill up after reaching India).

Affiliation: Kushal Das works for Red Hat.

Brian Curtin

2014 Board Member

I have served on the board for the past three terms and have been involved in the PSF for the past four. Prior to being elected, I helped kickstart the PSF Sprints Committee, have been involved in PyCon's organization - namely around promotion and publicity communications - since 2010, and became a core developer of CPython in 2010.

Through a lot of the work I do for PyCon, from making various announcements to sharing news to user groups around the world, I'm connected in some way with Python communities around the globe. In June 2014 I represented the PSF as a speaker at PyCon Russia, and through other travel for work or conferences, I've spent a lot of time talking with people on what they do, what they need, and what the PSF is there for. Through those conversations and efforts, I believe that I bring a perspective to the board and the greater foundation that represents a lot of the people and ideas that permeate our communities.

A lot of the things I'd like to improve for the PSF in the coming year are communications focused. I've served as the communications officer since joining the board, and I'd like to continue doing so and improve our reach there. We've had on-and-off board reports due to a number of factors, but I'd like to find a communication channel that works best that will balance between under-sharing and over-saturating with information. I'd also like to move us off of the current blog platform and into something that will both enable more collaborative writing and also introduce a set of checks and balances for review - Blogger is an antiquated platform that often causes more trouble than it's worth.

Overall, I'd like to continue my general efforts and support of the PSF's mission and help us share not just our work but the work of those around the globe who share in that mission. This year we've begun to grow partnerships with two organizations - Django and NumFOCUS - and for all involved we need to be able to tell that story. We've gotten better at it this year, and I'd like to help us continue that on that trajectory.

Affiliation: Rackspace

Please use the following format:

Candidate Name
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*2014 Board Member.* or *New Board Member.*

Description.

Affiliation: ...

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