2024 Nomination
Thank you Thomas for the nomination, and for yours, Carol’s, and some other folks private very kind words.
I had the incredible good fortunate to meet Guido and discover Python back in 1994, and am so grateful that I’ve been able to make it part of my career ever since. Beyond that, I’ve been gifted to meet so many amazing people through our shared love of Python and its community.
As Thomas mentioned, I served on the 2019, 2020, and 2021 SCs, and I have been a release manager back in the dark, pre-Python3 days. If you entrust me with a return to the SC, my focus will be on these three broad categories.
Relevance
What amazes me is how this little language I fell in love with 30-ish years ago has grown into arguably the most popular programming language on the planet. It’s perhaps not so astonishing when you consider that Python has always been adaptable to the exciting domains of the day, and its readability and power appeals to professional programmers, domain experts who consider programming a secondary activity, beginners, students, and casual coders alike. Keeping the Python language, and the CPython implementation relevant for the next 30 years involves technical improvements, both incremental and revolutionary. Faster CPython, GIL removal, C API modernization, and packaging ecosystem improvements are examples of these technical developments, already underway in most cases, but complex enough and touching so many corners of Python’s user base, that managing these changes and taking a holistic and comprehensive view of them is key to their success and adoption.
Sustainability
The technical residency programs have had a huge impact on the sustainability of Python and its ecosystem. The Security DiR positions, along with the CPython DiRs, help ensure Python’s sustainability by recognizing the right balance between the amazing volunteer community and paid full-time professionals, focused on keeping Python secure and stable. Working with the PSF, a key goal towards long-term sustainability includes ensuring a stable funding stream for these positions, identifying other needed positions and available funding sources, and working with other corporations and non-profits committed to Python’s success, always with the right balance and coordination of our volunteers. We should also ensure that large events such as annual and regional Pycon are available to anyone, regardless of their financial resources.
Longevity
2024 will mark the 30th year since I found Python… or perhaps since it found me. I’m committed to giving back to a language and community that has given me such a wonderful life. One thing is almost certain - myself and many of the other leaders who have collectively and wonderfully built this language we all love so much, and the community that is so welcoming and fulfilling, won’t be the ones to take Python to its next 30 years. And I firmly believe that Python will and should be around for another 30 years, despite the impossibility of predicting what the technology landscape will look like. I’ve been overjoyed to see a constant influx of volunteers and their growth into leadership positions, doing incredibly innovative work, always with an eye toward what is best for the language, its reference implementation, and the vast and varied community that surrounds it. I know that I learned so much by working on Python; it’s an amazing way to build a career or just have some fun in your spare time. Let’s continue to ensure that the institutions and processes that lead to Python’s success continue to evolve and adapt to best practices, and that new contributors are nurtured and mentored, with an eye to helping them achieve their goals, whether it’s domain expertise, community building, or technical leadership. Let’s encourage, honor, and celebrate new thinking, dedicated volunteerism, diversity, and inclusion.
About me
I work for Snowflake, the data cloud platform provider, where I am the area architect for our Python portfolio. Python is easily one of the most important languages on our platform.