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Nominee for 2023 Python Software Foundation Board Election

Itamar Ostricher

  • Previous Board Service: New board member
  • Employer: Meta Platforms
  • Other Affiliations: None
  • Nominee Statement:

      I’m Itamar, and I've been an enthusiastic Python user for nearly two decades, and an active Python contributor and community member since 2021.

      Background and Experience

      Throughout my journey as a software engineer on Meta's core Python platform and infrastructure team, I have gained a unique perspective on the widespread use of Python at scale. This experience has allowed me to witness the dynamic interplay between the industry and the community, recognizing the significant role they play in shaping and complementing one another.

      With a deep understanding of the extent to which the industry at large relies on the Python language and ecosystem having solid and healthy foundations, I firmly believe in the responsibility that corporations have to give back, whether through financial contributions or active engagement in the open-source community.

      By advocating for the importance of the sustainability of the Python language and ecosystem, I successfully facilitated continued sponsorship and extended support for the Developer In Residence position. Additionally, I played a key role in prioritizing Cinder’s open-source & upstream strategy (personally contributing multiple issues and PRs), and fostering a closer relationship with the Faster CPython project around our aligned performance goals.

      Drawing upon my experience as a Python user in government, startups, and large technology companies across the Middle East and North America, I offer an international and cross-disciplinary perspective to the PSF board.

      Goals

      If elected to the PSF board, I would consider it an honor to contribute my skills and knowledge to further the mission of the PSF. I am particularly passionate about the following areas:

      • The overall health and sustainability of the Python community and ecosystem. This includes ensuring the PSF has the capacity to sustainably employ developers and other positions for the long-term, as well as enhancing the capabilities of the PSF to deploy resources to support open-source projects and maintainers.
      • Helping individuals within the community to advocate for the Python community in their organizations. I recognize the power of passionate individuals to make a difference and influence their organizations to fulfill their responsibility of giving back to the community.
  • Nomination Statements:
    • Nomination by: Thomas Wouters

      I've known Itamar for a little while, both for his technical work on Cider and his organisational work around Meta sponsorship of the PSF and CPython, and he's one of the people I've had in-depth discussions about what the PSF Board needs and what serving on the Board is like. I like the Board to represent as many different interests and experiences as possible, and I believe Itamar would provide a different point of view to the Board than most candidates would bring, which is both useful and impactful.