I knew this day would come at some point. It is time for me to say farewell to the GNOME Foundation in my capacity as the Interim Executive Director.
Last summer, Rob McQueen messaged me in mid-June asking if I could come on and help GNOME out as the Interim Executive Director. I had applied for the position the year before, and so he was familiar with my work. Some of the other board members knew me well, too – Karen Sandler and Michael Downey had both crossed my paths many times through SustainOSS. Rob wanted me to start as soon as possible, and to fill in as much as I could.
I told him, in no uncertain tones, that this was flat-out impossible.
First, I was one week away from moving to New Zealand from Vermont. The international move had been planned for a couple of years, and was right in the middle of happening. I had signed on to do a PhD at Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington. I already had a job as one of the co-organizers of CURIOSS and SustainOSS, where I also hosted a weekly podcast. And I had a job as a language consultant, making languages for novelists. I didn’t have a house lined up in Wellington. I would be arriving in winter.
Rob asked very nicely. Somehow, I said yes – on the condition that I would do it part-time, and that they would ramp up their efforts to find a permanent ED as soon as possible, and that under no account would that be me. I signed up for a two-month contract.
That was ten months ago. I went on to renew the contract for another month, and then another two. For the last five months, I have been working with very limited hours and helping where absolutely necessary.
Today, I am happy to say that I am rolling off, because a new Executive Director – a permanent one – has been hired. I am overjoyed. This is exactly what GNOME needs, and I think that he is the right person for the job.
My time has been exceedingly difficult. In the first couple of days on the job, I realized that I would be needed back at GUADEC in Denver, so I flew back from New Zealand for it. I met many on the staff and the board for the first time. For many reasons, that week was incredibly stressful. Slowly, slowly, things got better.
I feel that I have done very little; all of the gains happened with the help of others.
Because of Zana’s leadership and amazing institutional memory, and Michael Downey and Pablo Correa Gómez’s meticulous financial help, we were able to pass a balanced budget through the board, on time. Thank you.
Because of Rob’s long hours and all-encompassing understanding of GNOME, we were able to secure more funding from the Dalio Foundation to help move us forward. Thank you.
Because of Allan Day’s incredibly steady hand and ceaseless effort, we were able to navigate some incredibly difficult conversations that the board was having. Thank you.
Because of the staff – Kristi, Anisa, Zana, Melissa, and Caroline – we managed to host not just a fantastic GUADEC, but also other great events around the globe. Thank you.
Because he was open to be peer-pressured into taking it, Julian Sparber made amazing minutes from all of the meetings we attended. Thank you.
Because of Bart, everything kept running. I think this is what Bart does. Thanks Bart.
Because of Holly’s generosity, I was able to take over much more smoothly. Thank you for your time, Holly.
Because of Federico Mena Quintero and the Code of Conduct Committee, many issues were resolved with contributors, and I’m not talking only about elephants in rooms. I cannot overstate how hard this work is and how much of a struggle it is to do it well. I’m constantly grateful for them keeping spaces safe.
That also applies to other people in the community – thank you, Sri Ramkrishna, Deepesha Burse, Justin Wheeler. I’m missing people. I’m grateful anyway.
Because of Thibault Martin, I was able to figure out what was going on and how to ensure that everyone under STF contracts got paid. Thibault, I miss our almost daily meetings! Thank you.
Because of people in the wider community, I was able to get expert help for tough questions. Thank you to our lawyers, our accountants, and, of course, people like Deb Nicholson of PSF and Robin Riley of Matrix and Leah Silen of NumFOCUS and Gunner of Aspiration and Abby Cabunoc Mayes of SustainOSS and Duane O’Brien and so many, many others. There are many, many people in open source and in the computing space that rely on or support GNOME without ever being thanked, and in some cases without knowing it. Thanks to my partner, Julia – she woke up for those 2:00am board meetings, too (although she mostly fell back asleep). Thank you.
Cassidy Blaede and Philip Chimento stepped up to fill board seats, and because of them we have a stronger board. Karen Sandler, you’re my favorite person. Erik Albers, your calm presence kept all of us on track at the GUADEC board meetings. Thank you.
Because of our sponsors, and everyone on our advisory board, GNOME is able to continue doing what it does. Advisors, thanks for smiling and nodding as I said nothing at all over nachos in Denver. You’re doing the good work. Thank you.
And then, of course, there’s the rest. People like Sid T – I’ve rarely met someone as dedicated and perseverant as Sid. It’s because of him that MacStadium is now sponsoring us. Sid, thank you.
Adrian, thank you. Marie, thank you. Tobias, thank you. Alexandre, thank you.
I could, and should, go on. I know I’ve missed people. I’m not perfect. My time here wasn’t perfect. I’ve lost many, many hours of sleep, not only due to the 2:00am calls, but because some of the decisions I have had to deal with have stretched me, and made me so much more appreciative of the work of other executive directors I know who run similar foundations. (Karen and Michael, when do you sleep). I’ve made mistakes. They are my own, and I am sorry.
Since starting, I have had a single minded goal to make sure that GNOME survives until the next executive director and that I make their job easier. I hope I have succeeded in that goal. But, again, I didn’t accomplish that on my own. That’s not how an Interim Executive Director works. For the last few months, Allan, Rob, Julian, and Zana have been working overtime to allow me to focus on my own work. I am thankful for them, and I think you should be, too.
Steven will do a great job. I wish you the best time of it, Steven – you couldn’t ask for a better community to work with.
I am not, in fact, dying, although this does sound rather eulogaic. I’m just going to spend more time as a user now. I might even have time to post updates on this blog. I hope so.
Reach out whenever, anyone, everyone. I like connecting people. And I like doing what I can to help. You can find me on Mastodon, at my website, and at https://richard.social. Or at richard@gnome. I’ll keep checking it.
Until then,
Thanks.
P.S. It really is pronounced /gno:m/, it’s just so much more fun that way. And the foot logo should stay, alright, it’s a good logo.