[CALUG] Tux.org Candidates For Elections

[David A. Cafaro]

Hello All,

The following people have all volunteered to participate on the Tux.org board.  There are 9 slots and we have 8 volunteers, which means all will be elected unless they decline.  There will still be an election to confirm the support of the members of the linux community.  The first voting will be tomorrow at the NoVaLUG meeting, followed by CALUG next week and DCLUG the week after that.

Here are the candidates:

Ainsley Gibson (CALUG)
Jay Koby (DCLUG)
Fredrik Nyman (NoVaLUG)
David Lesher (DCLUG)
Mark Metz (NoVaLUG)
Charles Kiss (DCLUG)
John Franklin (NoVaLUG)
Chuck Frain (CALUG)


Here is some info about the candidates:


******** Ainsley Gibson (CALUG) ********

Ainsley comes from a Chemistry background but has been working with Linux in High Performance Computing for nearly a decade now.  He interested in helping the Linux community and OpenSource ecosystem.

******** Jay Koby (DCLUG) ********

I'm currently pursuing my BS in Information Systems at UMBC, minoring in Computer Science and History.  Currently, I'm also working in the Computer Science/Electrical Engineering department on campus as a *nix sysadmin.  I've been a Linux user since grade school, when I installed Red Hat 6.2.

******** Fredrik Nyman (NoVaLUG) ********

I've been using and benefiting from Linux for many, many years, and would like to give back to the community.

******** David Lesher (DCLUG) ********

A current lead member for the Tux.org systems admin team, David has been contributing to Tux.org for many years, 

******** Mark Metz (NoVaLUG) ********

I'm a scientist by trade, not an IT person by training, but enthusiastic about learning and helping with Linux and OpenSource.  My marketable qualities for Tux.org would be communication, education, and outreach.  My platform is educating the average person about Linux and open source, and teaching people how to do everyday computing with Linux and open source.

******** Charles Kiss (DCLUG) ********

Comes from a Graphics background and is interested in help Tux.org find a new place in the modern Linux world.

******** John Franklin (NoVaLUG) ********

In 2009, I founded my own company which now provides support and custom development for websites using Drupal.  As part of that, I support a few Drupal modules including the LM PayPal and ClickHeat modules. I'm currently working with the other site admins for NoVaLUG to update and improve the NoVaLUG website.  I also currently serve on the local board of the MIT Enterprise Forum of Washington DC & Baltimore, a 501(c)(3) dedicated to educating entrepreneurs and those who want to head that calling.

As a board member of Tux.org, I'd like to start by modernizing the Tux.org site, then work to reconnect Tux.org with LUGs around the country, and finally kick off an annual LUG Leadership Conference bringing all the LUG heads to one place for a week long event to share what they're doing, what they've found to be effective and what to avoid when helping people learn open source and Linux.

******** Chuck Frain (CALUG) *********

About Chuck Frain:

Chuck has been involved professionally in computers since the mid 90's. After first being introduced to Linux via a small floppy disk distro whose name has been forgotten (maybe Slackware, though not sure). Joined the UMBC LUG around October of '97 and actively learned and participated with the group for a while. 

Maintaining an interest and using Linux professionally and as a hobby for several years, he started using Linux as a primary machine at home around 2003 and has been the main desktop ever since. In 2007 started the Ubuntu Maryland Local Community Team and ran that for four years. About the same time as that group was started he began attending the Columbia Area Linux Users Group which he since become a respected leader in. After stepping down as leader of the Ubuntu Maryland Loco team he co-founded the Open Source Maryland group. 

As a part of the various groups, he has given well received presentations on topics ranging from media streaming, home networking, to GPG and several other topics. He has organized various events for the groups outside of the regular meetings including field trips to the NSA crypto museum and Software Freedom Day events. 

Why he's running for the tux.org board:

Chuck sees the opportunity of helping to run the Tux.org group as a chance to do something interesting with a larger group. He'd like to see the Tux.org group take a more active role in helping local Free and Open Source groups. Try to find ways to share information between groups in the region to make all the groups stronger. It will be an interesting experience to find out what a new group of people can do to drive the next iteration of the Tux.org project from the inside, if elected.


Thank you all!

-David


David A. Cafaro <dac at cafaro.net>
Cafaro's Ramblings:  www.cafaro.net