Candidates for the GNOME Foundation 2009 Elections

Below you will find a list of candidates who are running for the GNOME Foundation Board of Directors. A short summary statement from each candidate and a link to their full candidacy announcement is provided to help you learn more about them. We encourage all voters to read the full candidacy statements and related discussions on Foundation Board Elections 2009 and foundation-list@gnome.org.

When deciding who you should vote for, please carefully consider the various tasks the Board of Directors must perform. This overview may be helpful. Keep in mind that the board will make a number of important decisions and will also have to perform many tasks which require a significant amount of time and effort and the ability to work and communicate with other people, companies, and the media. The board of directors will represent GNOME to companies and the world in a very real way. It is a good idea to strive for a well-balanced board consisting of people with various backgrounds, skills, and perspectives.

Additional elections details can be found on the GNOME Foundation Web Site.

If you have any questions, please send them to either foundation-list@gnome.org or to us at elections@gnome.org.

Candidates for the GNOME Foundation Board of Directors

1. Behdad Esfahbod
Affiliation: Red Hat
Full statement at http://live.gnome.org/FoundationBoard/Elections2009/BehdadEsfahbod

I've been serving on board for 2.5 years now and have been holding the title of President of the Foundation and Chairman of the board for the current term. Fortunately the experience is not as painful as it used to be, thanks to Stormy. I think we are in a very good shape on the organization side, but there's a storm coming (no pun), with all the GNOME 3 planning, messaging, marketing, etc. So I like to stay on board to help with it all.

2. Brian Cameron
Affiliation: Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Full statement at http://live.gnome.org/FoundationBoard/Elections2009/BrianCameron

I am running for re-election for the board because I love GNOME, the community, and free software. I also believe that I can help make the GNOME foundation and community successful. I have done work with GNOME accessibility and feel strongly that the community needs to further outreach to meet the free desktop needs for all people, regardless of income, location, gender, or level of ability.

3. Diego Escalante Urrelo
Affiliation: SMB Training till end of May (not GNOME related), then, none
Full statement at http://live.gnome.org/FoundationBoard/Elections2009/DiegoEscalanteUrrelo

I'm Diego, 21, from Lima - Perú. Some of you know me as a pesky bug triager, others as an even peskier (is that even a word?) patch submitter and others as a pesky almost spam mail source. I've been doing GNOME related stuff since 2006 although I really got more involved only in 2007, since then I've done code work for Epiphany and other modules, mostly fixes or small features (I did woohoo bar for Ephy! -firefox stole my idea, I swear). I'm deeply in love with GNOME as a project and community :-). Since December 2008 I've been serving in the Board replacing Jeff.

4. Germán Póo-Caamaño
Affiliation: None
Full statement at http://live.gnome.org/FoundationBoard/Elections2009/GermánPóoCaamaño

I am a contributor since 2000 and I am running for the Foundation Board because I want to help Gnome and its community from a different perspective and bringing an independent voice. I want to see the communication from Foundation Board's to its community improved. I will work to empower contributors, work groups and local communities.

5. Hubert Figuiere
Affiliation: None
Full statement at http://live.gnome.org/FoundationBoard/Elections2009/HubertFiguiere

I have been involved with Free Software for a decade or so, mostly working on the application side: AbiWord, gnote, etc. I have attended several Free Software conferences as resources permitted and given talk on several occasion. I have a true faith in GNOME and what it brings to users of Free Software, and I truly believe that's where the future is.

6. Jorge Castro
Affiliation: Canonical Ltd.
Full statement at http://live.gnome.org/FoundationBoard/Elections2009/JorgeCastro

I would like to extend my contributions to GNOME. I work with community people on a daily basis and I know my organizational skills will benefit the project. To use an ice hockey term I prefer to just "put my head down and skate" to get things done. I know this will be hard work but I am committed to helping GNOME be successful.

7. Lucas Rocha
Affiliation: litl
Full statement at http://live.gnome.org/FoundationBoard/Elections2009/LucasRocha

I've been part of the Foundation Board for almost 2 years now. My impression is that the Foundation is gradually improving every year as an organization. GNOME is in a very important moment now with a lot of important changes to come. I think I can be very helpful on making sure Board supports the community in the best way possible towards the GNOME 3 goals.

8. Og Maciel
Affiliation: rPath Inc
Full statement at http://live.gnome.org/FoundationBoard/Elections2009/OgMaciel

The GNOME Project has allowed me to take my first steps into the world of collaborative projects and long nights of translation sprints. Due to my open minded attitude, I have been able to get involved in many different projects and work with a great number of interesting people. My passion is in the community aspect of these projects and how to better integrate new comers and volunteers with the rest of the community. I am also extremely interested in how we, the open source community as a whole, can leverage this immense pool of ideas and projects, and use it to the benefit of all. If elected to the board, I will bring in my experience of building communities and guiding/enabling users to become more active in the GNOME Project. After all, the GNOME Project IS about people! I will also push to make accessibility a high priority for the project.

9. Srinivasa Ragavan
Affiliation: Novell
Full statement at http://live.gnome.org/FoundationBoard/Elections2009/SrinivasaRagavan

I love GNOME, free software and the community. I care for it. I'm contributing to GNOME for the last 6 years, by means of code, bugs, patches and features. I want to contribute more in non-code terms being in the board. I'm confident I can do it. Every GNOME board I have seen is awesome, unique and ever-improving. I'm sure, I would add my best to it.

10. Vincent Untz
Affiliation: Novell
Full statement at http://live.gnome.org/FoundationBoard/Elections2009/VincentUntz

Hi, here I am, Vincent, 7 gnome-years old now. I'm running for the Foundation Board this year, after thinking hard about it. I believe the Foundation is doing great; it's certainly not perfect, but my feeling is that things have improved in the past few years. Being on the Board is the way I choose to make sure this goes on. Of course, I could pretend I'm perfect and... wait, I'm not perfect?

Additional Elections-related Information

Ballots will be sent out via e-mail to everyone who's registered to vote on Tuesday, June 3rd, to the address provided with registration. If you need to change the address to which you want your ballot sent, please contact elections@gnome.org as soon as possible. People will vote by returning the ballot via e-mail. A public archive of the ballot returns will be available after the elections end on June 17th.

Also, keep in mind that there is a 2-person maximum on the number of people affiliated with any one company that can be on the board: if more than 2 persons from one company get elected, only the top 2 vote getters will get on. You will be able to vote for up to 7 candidates of your choice, with no restrictions, except that you cannot vote more than once for the same candidate.