Hello From The New Executive Director

When I was saying goodbye to my last team, one of the final things I said to them was “Leading this organization has been the honor of my career.” 

I should have added “so far.”

I am grateful for the trust the board has placed in me, and I’m honored to be entrusted to lead the important work of the Open Source Initiative (OSI) as our new Executive Director. It is no small thing to take the helm of one of the most enduring nonprofits at the center of the Open Source ecosystem. Especially now, as we all experience tremendous change in the global technology ecosystem. 

The OSI’s historic stewardship of the Open Source Definition has been vital to getting us all to where we are today. We have held the torch for what it means for code to be licensed as Open Source. Because we all have a shared understanding of what this means, the users of Open Source software have been able to spend less time trying to understand their rights to the software and instead focus on creating common solutions to shared problems.

Now, with the rapid rise and evolution of AI technologies, we’ve seen just how important it is to have this kind of shared understanding of what it means for these technologies to be open. And yet, it’s clear that we needed to expand on our existing work to more effectively describe openness as it relates to models, weights, and datasets. The OSI has done great work to kick off the process of creating an Open Source AI Definition (OSAID). My focus will be on ensuring that this work continues in the open: grounded in community input, transparent process, and a commitment to definitions that are practical, durable, and widely understood.

We are also hard at work bringing the voice of the community to global policy discussions. As legislators continue to refine laws that govern technology and the standards that implement them, it is vital that they receive guidance from members of the global Open Source communities. We have already seen the importance of this input through the revision process of the Cyber Resilience Act in the EU, our EU policy devroom at FOSDEM, and our recent efforts as a knowledge partner on Open Source AI at the G7. The Open Policy Alliance is actively tracking bills in U.S. state legislatures that have the potential to impact Open Source software and is providing educational materials to lawmakers. Engagement from the community has measurably improved these policy discussions. The OSI has a great policy & standards team that has been contributing to this work, and I look forward to supporting them as they continue to build these important bridges and ensure that the voice of the Open Source community continues to be heard.

The OSI team is small and deeply committed, and like much of the Open Source ecosystem, it operates under real constraints. Ensuring the sustainability of this team and the work they enable is a priority for me. Sustainability is something I’ve cared about throughout my career, and it’s something I will continue to focus on here.

This is an exciting time for me, and I hope it is for all of you as well. We have a lot of work ahead of us, and I look forward to collaborating with partners, new and old, and engaging with the community as we build our path forward.

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