I'm running for the Open Source Initiative Board of Directors

The 2019 election for the Open Source Initiative Board of Directors is upon us, and I'm running for a seat on the board as an Individual Member.

The Open Source Initiative (OSI) is a shadowy cabal global non-profit organization that is primarily responsible for maintaining the Open Source Definition and list of approved Open Source Licenses, in addition to promoting and representing the wider open source community. If you use or care about open source software, the OSI impacts you!

Why am I running?

There are three main things that I'd like to accomplish as a board member:

You can read more of the specifics of my platform on the OSI election wiki.

Why vote for me?

My platform is actionable, specific, and measurable. For example, when I say I want to grow the OSI's membership, this isn't just a platitude: I'm running a membership drive to recruit 25 new members and I've nearly met my goal already! If you vote for me, it's easy for you to hold me accountable to these specific commitments.

I have a cross-cutting, boots-on-the-ground view of the challenges and needs of the FOSS community. I'm active as a developer in many different open source communities: the Python community, the Clojure community, the JavaScript community, the Kubernetes and CNCF communities. I bring a new, broad perspective to the Board as a primarily technical contributor from communities who are not yet deeply involved with the OSI, and pledge to represent their interests.

As a packager, I have a practical understanding of software licensing and redistribution. Defending the Open Source Definition isn't just about ideology for me: threats to the FOSS commons directly impact my work as a downstream developer. Packaging FOSS for distribution in Debian, applying patches, and sharing derivative works all require a deep understanding of the practice of software licenses and copyright. Hence, I have important and applicable experience for license review.

This sounds great, sign me up!

If you like what you've seen here, I'd be thrilled if you considered joining the OSI as a new member and voting for me.

You can sign up for a membership here.

Do let me know if I was your inspiration for joining, as I'd love to count you towards my membership drive! You can reach out via Mastodon, Twitter, or email. I'll also make sure to send you a reminder to vote in the election. Voting opens Monday, March 4 at 12:00am PST and closes Friday, March 15 at 11:59PM PST.