Why I’m running for the Drupal Assocation board… and why you should elect me.

Voting for the Drupal Association Board begins March 7, 2016 and lasts until March 18. If you want more information about my work in the Drupal community, visit my candidate profile on Drupal.org.

Why I’m running

I have long been an activist — both in the Drupal community and outside of it. In high school, I spent summers canvassing for a national environmental group, and got involved in theatre and writing during the school year. During the early years of my former design studio, the zen kitchen, I focused my client base on non-profits and social entrepreneurs, developing expertise in sustainable print design, branding and marketing for non-profits, and socially responsible businesses.

Since joining the Drupal community in 2008, I’ve been a persistent and vocal champion for designers and other non-code-oriented professionals in the community, even going so far as writing books on project management and design for Drupal. I’m passionate not only about expanding the variety of skillsets involved in Drupal contribution, but in helping more people learn how to use Drupal. Being part of the Drupal Association board will give me an opportunity to work with the community to achieve both of those goals.

What I’ve done

Since 2009, I’ve been a lead organizer of Design 4 Drupal Camp Boston, which brings together the brightest design minds in the Drupal community to share knowledge, talk shop and network with each other. In addition to leading the web team for three years running, I’ve been responsible for recruiting speakers, curating sessions, and (most important!) making sure that people at the Camp have plenty of coffee and a delicious lunch.

I’ve been contributing design and UX work to both the Drupal project and Drupal.org since 2010. Highlights include:

• Playing a key role in facilitating the Front-End Consensus Banana at Drupalcon Austin, which resulted in the Stable and Classy themes in Drupal 8. This included both helping to outline the problem space for the people involved, and making sure the voices involved in the discussion included as much variety as possible.
• Working with the community to redesign the Drupal.org user profile. This included both creating an overall vision for the profile as a Drupal community member’s “Drupal resumé,” and creating a living, annotated prototype of the updated profile.
• Conducting qualitative research into the experiences of Drupal contributors as part of my Master’s Thesis. The final research was published on my blog, presented at DrupalCon Amsterdam, and delivered to the Drupal Association.

Why you should elect me

Being part of the Drupal Association Board gives me the opportunity to do what I do best — helping people from different disciplines reach consensus on issues that matter to them.

Voting for the Drupal Association Board begins March 7, 2016 and lasts until March 18. If you want more information about my work in the Drupal community, visit my candidate profile on Drupal.org.