Dear Members,
I have been honored to serve nearly two years as a Director of TDF and
will be seeking another two year term.
I've been a volunteer for the project since late 2011, early 2012. I
began my journey into the project as a relatively early member of the
Quality Assurance team. There I found a home and colleagues who embraced
me, showed me the ropes, and encouraged me to take on more
responsibility within the project as time passed. Due to this
encouragement and camaraderie, I see it as my responsibility to pass on
the skills that I've learned, to encourage others to take on more
responsibility, and to encourage an overall community feeling. In the
early days of Quality Assurance I remember a number of very talented
individuals largely working individually - today we have a thriving
community, a busy chat, and a friendly environment for new comers with
any background.
Today, as a member of the BoD, much of my time goes to oversight of
multiple projects (QA, Marketing, Documentation, Certification) but I
still try to find time to work within QA and make sure that I'm giving
my time where it is needed most. As a member of the Board I was quite
involved in the Android tender which led to the release of the Android
based editor, encouraged and was involved with hiring a Quality
Assurance Contractor, involved in several other tenders, the new grant
request available to members to request funds from the Foundation, and a
list of other things.
My main mission is to create an environment where contributors thrive.
It's that simple. I believe in funding tools that are requested, in
encouraging and actively participating in our community to ensure that
new comers feel welcome, and in thinking about "how can we do better."
I am unaffiliated, that is, I do not work for a company doing business
on or around LibreOffice. In fact, I think I bring a unique perspective
as I have no formal background in software at all, nor do I work in the
industry. Instead, my background is in US Law, I will be taking the
California BAR exam next July and will be a practicing attorney
(crossing fingers) by August of next year. Given my background (both my
location and my professional expertise) and my proven dedication over
the years to building a strong community, I believe I am in a good
position to continue representing the interest of you (our wonderful
members).
My goals moving forward:
+ Continue to help QA as much as feasible;
+ I would like to get more involved with Documentation, to help the
process of building long term goals and listen for feedback about what
tools would help move us forward;
+ Education - I'd like to see some movement in education, in particular
in the United States, for getting fresh blood in the project. I've said
this publicly before but I do believe that there is a big opportunity to
build a community within higher ed in the US;
+ UX - I've been thrilled to see the UX/Design team make huge strides,
I'll be reaching out to their team asking them how the BoD can continue
what those "doers" have been doing over the past few months;
+ Blog/Transparency: This has been an ongoing issue with myself and
unfortunately, I did not get there this year. I hope to write more blogs
and help members approach the BoD with questions/concerns/etc... with
regards to transparency and decision making generally.
I'm happy to field questions if any of you have some. I can be contacted
at this email or on IRC at #libreoffice-qa (jmadero).
Warmest Regards,
Joel Madero