Who Are You?

My name is Duane O'Brien.

I am the Head of Open Source at Indeed.

I am running to serve the OSI Board for my first term.

Twitter | GitHub | LinkedIn | Email

What Do You Do?

I work to enable, support, grow, and create open source contributors.

I run initiatives and programs to drive open source participation and get employees more involved in sustaining the open source projects they use every day.

I teach practices and implement policies that help my employer become more active as a member of the open source community. I believe that if a company depends on open source software, they have an obligation to do their part to support and sustain that software, by contributing time, money, and code.

The best way to get a sense for what I'm about would be to view my FOSDEM 2019 Talk : Sustaining FOSS Projects By Democratizing The Sponsorship Process.

What Would You Do If Elected To The OSI Board?

If chosen to serve on the board of the OSI, in addition helping maintain and defend the Open Source Definition, I would help the OSI execute on their missions of advocacy, education, and bridge building by performing three main activities: 

1. Proactive Outreach To Companies Who Have Built Their Business Models Around Open Source Software;
2. Help The OSI Define Discrete Units Of Work That Can Be Performed By Volunteers;
3. Expand Fundraising Efforts By Directly Engaging With A Broader Set Of Companies And Individuals.

Proactive Outreach To Companies Who Have Built Their Business Models Around Open Source Software:

 In the past year we have seen a number of these companies change their licensing strategies in response to what they perceived as threats to their businesses or inadequacies in the currently available licenses. I intend to to build bridges with companies who have built their business models around open source software by performing proactive outreach on behalf of the OSI¹. My goal would be to listen to and understand their concerns. I will connect them to a wider group of open source experts who can help them, and communicate their concerns back to the OSI board. If elected, I commit to publishing transparency notes of these outreach meetings and making them publicly available to all, minus any sensitive or off-the-record information.

Help The OSI Define Discrete Units Of Work That Can Be Easily Performed By Volunteers:

 There is no shortage of work that could be done to support the OSI's mission. There is no shortage of individuals who could take on this work. But there is no easy way for someone to show up and contribute to the OSI, in same way that one can show up and contribute to an open source project. I will help the OSI define discrete units of work that can be picked up by volunteers. I will help the OSI publicize these opportunities, and promote participation by both individual volunteers and by cross-discipline professionals who contribute as part of their work time.

Expand Fundraising Efforts By Directly Engaging With A Broader Set Of Companies And Individuals:

 Fundraising is a personal passion of mine. I will help expand fundraising efforts for the OSI by reaching out to companies who have not committed to donating to the OSI, and by personally engaging with individuals who care about open source, but who have not yet chosen to support the OSI. If elected, I will set a clear, public fundraising goal, and publish regular progress updates.

Thank You

I appreciate your consideration. If you would like to ask me questions or otherwise connect, feel free to reach out on twitter or via email

Footnotes

1. ^ This was one of responses proposed by current OSI Board Member Chris Lamb, in the second part of his "Redis And The Tragedy Of The Commons Clause" presentation, given at CopyLeftConf 2019 - https://2019.copyleftconf.org/schedule/presentation/14/