Ubuntu Women Leadership Nomination For Melissa "elky" Draper
- Email: m e l i s s a [at] m e l d r a w e b [dot] c o m
- IRC: elky
Launchpad Profile: https://launchpad.net/~melissa
Wiki Profile Page: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MelissaDraper
Bio
LoCo Contributions:
LoCo Coordination
Back before the LoCo Council was even thought of, I used to run weekly meetings in which ideas and advice were shared between the global LoCo teams and helped coordinate documentation of LoCo best practices.
I have played a part in mentoring other LoCo Teams including those for New Zealand, Venezuela and Singapore.
Ubuntu Australian LoCo Team contact
I have been the Ubuntu Australian LoCo team membership since 2006. Linux.conf.au Open Day 2007 and 2008 demo booth.
- Regional Membership Board for Asia-Oceania
- As a RMB Board Member for Asia-Oceania, I've evaluated the contributions of many members over the past few years.
- IRC Council
- For 2 years I was on the IRC Council. The IRCC is responsible for liasing with freenode, managing core channels, protecting the namespace from squatters, and beyond. I have been a senior IRC Op since 2006.
- Ubuntu Women
- I have been involved with the Ubuntu Women project since 2006. I have always been open to discussion with new women who need guidance or counsel. Since I am an IRC Op in #ubuntu-women, I am listed on the Ubuntu Women website under people to approach if "I encountered rude behaviour at Ubuntu-Women".
- Developer Summits
Attended the first Mt View UDS
Attended UDS Sevilla
- Outside Ubuntu
2008-2009 - Linux Australia Council, Ordinary Member.
2009-2010 - Sydney Linux Users Group, Secretary.
Active in LinuxChix/AussieChix.
Expos and conference booths: Sydney Education Expo 2008 (Linux Australia Council), Sydney OpenCeBIT 2008 (Linux Australia + AussieChix), Software Freedom Day 2007 (in a region of 100k, street stall).
Future Goals for team
During the past release I've worked with Amber and have managed to achieved parts of the aims I set down in January.
First and foremost, I plan to run initiatives to increase the visibility of the women who are already proudly within our midst, especially those who are regular users. We were all regular users once! By encouraging these women out from the cloud of invisibility by offering alternative ways to contribute their experiences, it will help to break down a major psychological barrier that still exists. Women are interested in their computers. Documenting their path to discovering Ubuntu is a great way to do this and I am already putting the framework together for these schemes.
I achieved the above through a series of competitions; firstly an International Women's Day story competition, and currently the team is running a World Play Day photo competition]]. Both competitions have had (both canonical and non-canonical) sponsorship support, have been well received and have gained significant exposure for the project.
I don't anticipate that there will be a repeat of this activity until first quarter next year, as we must now convert the attention in to involvement.
Continuing to encourage the existing liasons between Ubuntu Women and the other Ubuntu Teams (Beginners Team, Developer groups, Marketing groups, etc) will provide a pathway for the regular users to follow if they so choose. Seeking to properly document and expand the mentor network within these and other community areas will expand the options of these women.
In relation to the above, the wiki revamp I initiated shortly before the appointment process in January has seen a surge of localisation activity thanks to the "Please translate this wiki!" section on the wiki's front page and the attention we received from the International Women's Day contest. There has been some translation mentoring within the Quebec LoCo as a result.
As well as furthering the mentoring overhaul to have coverage of a suitable variety of options such as documenation, development, marketing, I would like the next release to see a big push towards localising the Ubuntu Women project in to many more languages. So far the wiki translations for French and Italian sections have a substantial portion translated, and there is a start to Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese. There is also recent news that an Italian Ubuntu Women's team has formed within the Italian LoCo! I want to see more of that and plan to help it happen. I would like to investigate setting up a localisation team with in the UW project.
Most importantly, I intend to nurture a safe environment close to the core of the Ubuntu project for the women who need somewhere that their experiences can be discussed candidly and be acknowledged and be given the support to work through them, whilst making sure to encourage, document and build the confidence of those who have managed to grow beyond that need to fulfil their potential through horn-tooting and mentoring initiatives.
I feel that the above has been successfully handled in the past release period. The #ubuntu-women channel has split off a special focus channel called #ubuntu-women-project for project-related discussion, and this allows project discussion to be logged whilst maintaining the option to socialise in relative privacy for those who need or want it.
The team identity revamp is also looking to be an exciting phase of activity with the potential for a new logo and plans for a massive overhaul of the team's website. This is an important undertaking that will allow us to blog events and document our achievements more transparently. I believe that with the website refresh there may be a place for a publicity team that would also bridge to groups like the Marketing team, UWN, etc.
To summarise
- Convert competition attention in to participation
- Continue the revitalisation of the mentoring programme
- Encourage and facilitate localisation (as part of mentoring)
- Continue to foster a nurturing safe space
- Facilitate the identity revamp and website refresh
- Investigate the feasibility of a localisation team and a publicity team
Testimonials
If you are unable to edit this page, please leave your testimonial at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MelissaDraper
Here others can offer testimonials in the following format:
Melissa has been involved with the project for several years and in this past cycle has worked hard on our new competitions that have not only positively raised the profile of the project within the community, but vastly improved the resources the project has it it's disposal. Amazing work, Melissa! -- lyz 2010-05-24 16:46:35
Melissa's work on the competitions has been great, a real positive and high profile activity for the team. I am sure her technical skills and hard work will be a great asset to the leadership team. -- alanbell 2010-05-25 08:19:49
Testimonial content - @SIG@ (which will insert your name and datestamp)