PSF Board nomination AMA - Kalyan Prasad

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I’m Kalyan Prasad, and I’m a candidate for the 2026 PSF Board of Directors.

I’ve been part of the Python community since 2019, contributing as a volunteer, organizer, conference chair, mentor, reviewer, and member of the PSF Diversity & Inclusion Working Group. I was also honored to receive the PSF Q2 2026 Community Service Award for my contributions to the Python community.

If elected, I’d particularly like to focus on building sustainable Python communities, creating pathways for new volunteers to grow into leadership roles, and making participation more inclusive and accessible across regions.

You can read my full nomination statement here:

I’m opening this thread as an AMA, so please feel free to ask me anything about my candidacy, experience, priorities, or what I hope to contribute to the PSF Board.

Looking forward to your questions and the conversation!

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Hey Kalyan!

Happy to see you run. Let me pick your thoughts a bit:

Burnout and the “Same Few People” Problem
This is one of my favourite subject when talking to community people. So you have focused on bringing new volunteers into organizing roles at HydPy. I have written before that in our region, “more people burn out than join in” because there are not enough role models, connections to funding, or support systems. If elected, what concrete board-level actions would you advocate for? i.e such as paid organizer stipends, mental-health support, or structured handover protocols, to ensure that volunteer-driven events in Asia do not collapse when a single individual steps back?

From Awareness to Structural Opportunity
And this question touches on your work in the D&I WG: When I was in the WG, the research I made found that recognition (Fellows, awards) in East and Southeast Asia remains disproportionately low. I frame this as not as a “diversity problem” but as an opportunity problem. How would you use a board seat to turn D&I conversations into measurable outcomes? i.e by reforming grant accessibility, creating targeted recognition pipelines, or allocating board attention to regional equity? Can you share any thoughts on this?

Hope you get all the support you deserve and all the best!

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Thanks for these thoughtful questions Iqbal. Both touch on areas I care about and are part of why I decided to run.

On burnout and the “same few people” problem:

I have seen this first-hand while organizing communities. When knowledge, responsibilities, and relationships sit with only one or two people, the community becomes dependent on them. When they step away, it can be difficult for the next group to continue.

I don’t think funding alone solves this. I would like the PSF to think about community sustainability more broadly succession planning, documentation, sharing responsibilities, and creating opportunities for newer volunteers to gradually take ownership. I’m open to exploring ideas such as organizer stipends, but I wouldn’t promise a particular model without understanding the financial and operational implications. For me, the bigger Board-level question is, are we only helping communities run events, or are we also helping them become sustainable enough to continue when current organizers step away?

On D&I and structural opportunity:

I agree with your framing around opportunity. Good community work happening locally is not always visible internationally. People may be doing valuable work for years but may not have the connections or awareness to access grants, Fellow nominations, awards, or other opportunities.

I would like us to understand this through data which regions are applying for grants, where applications are succeeding, where nominations are coming from, and which communities are not participating at all. From there, we can look at practical actions better outreach, simpler information, helping first-time applicants understand the process, and encouraging recognition of contributors whose work may not be visible internationally. I would be careful about creating recognition quotas or assuming that the Board should decide who deserves recognition. I think these processes should remain fair and community-driven, while also asking whether people across regions have a fair opportunity to enter those processes in the first place. For me, meaningful D&I is not only about who is represented at the end, but also whether people had a fair opportunity to participate in the first place.

Thanks again for raising this. I’d also be interested in learning more about what you found during your D&I WG research, particularly around East and Southeast Asia.

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