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Nominee for 2026 Python Software Foundation Board Election

Georgi Ker

  • Previous Board Service: 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026
  • Employer: Independent
  • Other Affiliations: Sovereign Tech Agency Fellowship, PSF D&I Workgroup, PyLadiesCon, PyPodcats, EuroPython Society, PyCon TH, PyCon APAC, PyLadies BKK
  • Mission Alignment: This candidate affirms their nomination and positions are aligned with the current mission and bylaws of the Python Software Foundation.
  • Nominee Statement:

      Hi, I'm Georgi

      I am running for another term after serving three years on the PSF Board, including as Treasurer and currently as Vice Chair.

      Who am I?

      I currently live in Amsterdam, enjoying the canals, fabulous Pride celebrations, and the Netherlands' pragmatic relationship with weed. Much of my earlier community work was rooted in Asia, and I believe the PSF's global representation remains incomplete. More recently, I have been increasingly involved with PyLadiesCon, EuroPython, and other international Python communities.

      I am not running because I believe that serving one term automatically earns me another.

      I am running because the past three years have shown me much more clearly where the Foundation is strong; where it is fragile; what is no longer working; and where it urgently needs to adapt.

      I have spent my time trying to understand how the PSF actually works, not only how it appears from the outside. This has meant learning about its governance, finances, staffing structure, legal responsibilities, and the limits of what the Board can accomplish without the right systems and expertise behind it.

      My three years on the Board

      Year One: Understanding the Foundation

      • Learned how the PSF operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
      • Studied its governance, legal responsibilities, finances, staffing structure, and relationship with the Python community.
      • Focused on understanding what Directors are legally, financially, and practically responsible for.

      Year Two: Serving as Treasurer

      • Stepped into the Treasurer role to understand the PSF's financial structure more thoroughly.
      • Raised concerns about the lack of a clear financial runway.
      • Proposed stronger budgeting policies and more regular financial planning.
      • Saw how staffing and operational challenges can prevent Board decisions from being implemented, even after problems have been identified.

      Year Three: Serving as Vice-Chair

      • Took on additional responsibility through the Executive Committee.
      • Participated in additional meetings, document reviews, staff discussions, and difficult organisational decisions.
      • Helped move the PSF's long-delayed strategic planning process forward.

      My wider community work

      PSF Diversity and Inclusion Workgroup

      I have been a member of the PSF Diversity and Inclusion Workgroup since 2020 and have served as its Chair since 2024. During this time, I introduced recruitment, membership, representation, and voting processes, expanded the Workgroup’s global representation, established regular monthly meetings and clearer areas of focus, helped launch its public website, and just recently created monthly Discord office hours to connect directly with the community.

      Other community work

      My priorities for the PSF

      Create realistic budgets and financial projections

      • The Foundation should not continue planning around outdated financial assumptions.
      • The Board needs a clear understanding of runway, risks, commitments, and future operating costs.

      Reduce dependence on PyCon US

      • PyCon US was once a reliable source of profit for the Foundation but the economics and risks of large conferences changed significantly after COVID.
      • PyCon US should remain an important community event, but it should not be expected to carry the financial future of the Foundation.

      Build sponsorship around Python itself

      • Companies benefit from Python throughout the year, not only during one conference.
      • Sponsorship should support Python as a language, its infrastructure, security, legal protection, and global ecosystem.
      • The PSF needs income sources that reflect Python's importance as global infrastructure.

      Safeguard Python

      • Protect Python's trademarks, copyright, infrastructure, and long-term stewardship.
      • Ensure that the Foundation remains capable of defending the language and its identity as its use continues to grow.

      Improve transparency

      • Communicate Board decisions, financial priorities, strategic progress, and organisational challenges more clearly.
      • Help the community understand not only what decisions were made, but why.

      Review the PSF's business model

      • The PSF must professionalise the support around the community without professionalising the community out of Python. It is the unique model of Python.
      • Consider reserving a small number of Board seats for appointed directors with expertise the Foundation specifically needs.
      • Ensure that capable community members are not overlooked simply because they are less visible or less well known.

      A request to voters

      Board service is not a recognition award. It is not simply about attending meetings, representing a region, or being visible at conferences. Directors carry legal, financial, organisational, and fiduciary responsibilities. They may have to make difficult decisions whose consequences will remain long after their term has ended.

      Representation matters. I would be proud to continue representing communities across Asia and the wider global Python community. But representation cannot be the only measure used to select a Board.

      Visibility is not the same as governance experience. Popularity is not the same as preparedness.. Whether or not you vote for me, please take the time to learn about every candidate. Look beyond the names you recognise. Consider what each person understands, what they have already done, how much time they can realistically give, and whether they are prepared for the responsibility.

      I do not mind if I am not elected. Holding a Board seat is not more important to me than seeing the PSF governed well. But I ask every voting member to think carefully about whom they elect and why.

      The next few years matter.

  • Nomination Statements:
    • Nomination by: Iqbal Abdullah

      We need Georgi.

    • Nomination by: Freilla Mae

      I'm nominating Georgi Ker for re-election to the PSF Board. Georgi has served as a Director since 2023, leading the Diversity & Inclusion Workgroup and consistently pushing for stronger representation from the APAC Python community. She co-founded PyLadies Bangkok, helped build PyLadies Global, and has organized PyCon Thailand, PyCon APAC, and PyLadiesCon. She's a PSF Fellow and received the PSF Community Service Award in 2020. Her continued presence on the board matters — she brings a community-first, ground-level perspective that keeps the Foundation connected to underrepresented parts of the Python world.