2025 DSF Board Candidates

Hello, Djangonauts!

If you are one of the regulars on the official Django Discord server, my passion and dedication to both the Django community and framework should be no secret. As a helper, I have helped countless other developers use Django successfully. As a moderator, I do my best to ensure that we have a community that we can all be proud to consider our own, regardless of our background. An environment that is inclusive, diverse, and welcoming. To me, it feels like home, and I hope you all feel the same way.

For those I haven't yet had the pleasure to meet on Discord or elsewhere, I hope we do soon.

About me:

• I have been building on the web since the Geocities days, and have over 17 years of professional experience, meaning I know how to get things done.
• I have experience building and managing communities, including forums and subreddits, meaning I can readily help with the technical and human aspects.
• I am proactive, and lucky enough to have a lot of flexibility in how I spend my time, meaning I can help turn decisions into action.
• I am open-minded, and eager to learn, meaning I am looking forward to working for the community, with the board, rather than wanting to impose my own ideas.
• I am a polyglot speaking more than four languages fluently, meaning I feel connections to others, regardless of geographical borders.

If elected, my goals will be:

• Collaborating with the other board members. Django's popularity and stability is a testament to the fantastic work current and past board members and developers have done, and while I may have my own ideas, I would first want to know more about any backlog, plans, or other issues that need to be resolved rather than bring about drastic changes.
• Efficiently implementing board decisions. While plans may sometimes forcibly change, they at least need someone to take charge of them. I am happy to lend my technical expertise when required, and deal with other roadblocks.
• Community representation. As a fairly visible member of the Django community, I am looking forward to ensuring the community feels represented and heard, and seeing what more we can do to help the community grow.
• Increase representation of non-English speakers. While English is the de facto business language, there are other large markets that would benefit from better support.

As Django nears twenty years of existence, becoming a board member certainly gives us some big shoes to fill, but between my passion, this amazing community's support, and the time I can dedicate to the position, I am confident that I can help the community continue to thrive, make a tangible difference, and better serve the community we all know and love.

Best regards, and best of luck to all the other applicants,

Pat