Change in Fedora leadership
One of the things I like most about the Fedora Project is the
opportunity for people to move and grow in (and out) of different
roles and responsibilities. The position of Fedora Project Leader,
in particular, has never been a long-term leadership position, but one
that regularly invites new people to assume the role and bring new
ideas and new energy to the project. I would like to take this
opportunity to share some of my thoughts about being the Fedora
Project Leader, and inform you of upcoming changes in Fedora
leadership. Any time we make leadership changes in Fedora, we that
that challenge seriously, and do everything we can to make the
leadership transition as smooth as possible.
Although I've been using Fedora since the split from Red Hat Linux,
it's only been the past five of six years that I've really been an
active contributor. Sure, I was hanging out on the mailing lists,
trying out the pre-releases and reporting bugs, but I didn't really
consider myself a part of Fedora. It wasn't until I got started with
the Docs team and attended my first FUDCon that I truly caught the
spirit of the Fedora community. Since then, I've thoroughly enjoyed
rubbing shoulders with people who are infinitely smarter than me, and
I've learned a tremendous amount -- both about the technical bits and
bytes, and also about free software communities. And for the last
little while, it's been my honor and privilege to serve the community
as the Fedora Project Leader. The role of Fedora Project Leader isn't
an easy role, but I am proud of the things we've been able to
accomplish both within the distribution and within the community
during my tenure. We've had three solid Fedora releases during my
time as FPL, each one with a myriad of new features. I've worked hard
to expand our international outreach, and to get more international
representation on the Fedora Board. We've updated the Fedora website.
We've improved our quality assurance processes. We've been able to
deliver Fedora images for the Amazon EC2 cloud on release day. We've
improved our translation system. I'm thankful for all those who have
worked hard to help drive Fedora forward. Now is the time for me to
pass the torch to the next Fedora Project Leader.
As you probably already know, Red Hat employs the FPL to ensure
someone is accountable to Red Hat and the rest of the community for
the Fedora Project as a whole. After all, many Fedora leaders have
referred to the FPL as "the one throat to choke" when it comes to
Fedora. The FPL is still subject to the same process as any other Red
Hat hire, though, and ultimately Red Hat is responsible for that
decision. It is imperative that the decision be a good one for the
entire Fedora community, so the Fedora Board is consulted about the
selection. This process has continued to work well for several
previous FPLs, and the Board provided positive feedback about our
selection this time around, too.
I'm happy to announce that Red Hat has selected Robyn Bergeron to be
the next Fedora Project Leader. Robyn has proven herself in the
Fedora community over the last several years, and I have complete
confidence in her abilities to lead the Fedora Project. In addition
to planning FUDCon Tempe in 2011 and helping to lead the Marketing and
Cloud SIGs within Fedora, Robyn has been an integral part of many
other Fedora events and endeavors. Most recently, she has held the
role of Fedora Program Manager, helping to ensure that we all stay on
schedule and helping the Fedora feature process stay on track. Please
join with me in welcoming Robyn into her new role, and in giving her
your help and support in her new role. I'll be working with Robyn
over the next weeks and months to help her in the new role.
--
Jared Smith
Former Fedora Project Leader