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Nominee for 2020 Python Software Foundation Board Election

Nathan Epstein

  • Previous Board Service: New board member
  • Employer: Holocene Advisors
  • Other Affiliations: Supporting member of NumFOCUS, the R Foundation, and Code Nation
  • Nominee Statement:

      I am self-nominating for a position on the Python Software Foundation board out of a strongly held desire to help advance the Python programming language and the essential role that it plays within the ecosystem of scientific computing.

      In addition to the PSF, I am also a supporting member of NumFOCUS, the R Foundation, and Code Nation (where I have served as a volunteer teacher for students in under-resourced high schools).

      I am a regular presenter at PyData and other conferences pertaining to topics in Python programming and data analytics around the world. I've developed several open source packages (within the PyPI repository and otherwise) which have meaningful user engagement. I am the author of numerous publications in academic journals and other online outlets related to software development, machine learning, and mathematics education.

      Primary Objectives:

      • Expand the community of Python developers through outreach programs with a specific interest in students from under-represented demographics. I'm particularly interested in initiatives which leverage Python's ease of use to facilitate adoption among first-time programmers.

      • Promote the essential role of Python within scientific computing by supporting strategically significant projects. This includes both foundational numerical frameworks (i.e. pandas, NumPy, etc.) as well as libraries in more nascent domains (i.e. deep learning, natural language processing, quantum computing, etc.).

      I'm sincerely grateful for your consideration and your shared commitment to the advancement of a strong and inclusive Python community.

  • Nomination Statements:
    • Nomination by:

      I’m nominating Nathan Epstein for a position on the Python Software Foundation board.

      I’ve known Nathan for over 10 years and I think he’d be a terrific asset to the Python Software Foundation board. I met Nathan in graduate school at Columbia and over the past decade have been a friend, collaborator and colleague.

      Nathan is always interested in solving new problems, but the thing that sets him apart is his ability to communicate his solution or framework. Nathan shares his perspective with humility and humor and there are no hard feelings in a disagreement with Nathan, just a new perspective and thought provoking questions. Moreover, Nathan isn’t dogmatic; if he sees a better path forward he’s not afraid to admit a mistake and forward in a new direction.

      Over the years, I’ve grown to admire Nathan’s passion for open-source software and his appreciation for the power that open source software can have to affect positive change. This isn’t just talk. I’ve used several of his open source python packages in my own work and learned from his PyData presentations.

      Nathan would be a tremendous addition to the python board and I’m confident that he’ll find novel ways to contribute to the python community.