About Me:
Hi, I'm Nikki! I have been working with Drupal since Drupal 5. I'm currently a Senior Technical Architect at Kanopi Studios where I'm tech leading Drupal 8 sites. In addition to working at Kanopi, I'm a full-time PhD student at Arizona State University, where I'm studying software engineering ethics and the politics of data and data collection.
In 2016, I founded the Drupal Diversity and Inclusion Working Group, and was its leader until this past April. I'm also the founder and lead developer of Open Demographics, a project designed to open source the creation of demographic forms. You can read Dries' recommendation for adoption of Open Demographics here
In 2017, I won the Aaron Winborn Award, the community’s highest honor for community service. Read more about that here
At TEDxASU, I spoke about how to collect demographic data. You can watch my TEDx talk.
I was nominated for the Red Hat Women in Open Source Awards. Read more about that here.
Board meeting attendence:
1
Have you served on a board or committee?:
Yes
If so, tell us about it.:
I led the Drupal Diversity and Inclusion Working Group for two years, and in that leadership I developed experience working with planning, setting and achieving goals for building more inclusive spaces in a technical community.
I created DD&I after seeing a need in the community. I ran the meetings and selected the initial leadership team, empowering people who expressed interest and giving them a space and platform to work on these goals.
I was invited to join the initial governance initiative. I ran a meeting, collected the feedback, and put that together into a blog post.
What perspective will you bring to the board when discussing strategic topics?:
My perspective combines development expertise, community engagement, and academic knowledge: my 21 years (and counting!) as a software engineer helps me think about Drupal from a programmer's perspective. My years as an activist and community leader has given me deep roots in the Drupal community and empathy for community workers. My work as an ethics researcher helps me to think about the ways the technology we make together impacts both us as the makers and our users. No other candidate has this experience.
What existing board topics are you most passionate about? and why?:
I'm interested in conversations about how to move the Drupal project—and especially the Drupal community—forward. The Drupal user base is a diverse, global community, and I’d like to see those perspectives reflected in our leadership, values and strategic choices.
What additional strategic topics would you like to introduce?:
A consideration of the ways Drupal as a technology influences, powers and transforms communities would be a powerful addition to our project strategy. I’m also interested in the ways that we collect demographic data on drupal.org and how we can use that information to improve our community.
I often ask the question “What can we do to empower technologists to act ethically as individuals and community members?” Some examples of this are: encouraging people to think expansively when they collect demographic information, considering what kind of client projects they’re willing to take on, or improving the ways that they set up local meetups and who they’re including.
What unique skills would you bring to the board?:
In line with my perspective as a developer, community advocate and ethics researcher, I bring skills related to each of these areas: I have built Drupal sites in both small shops and large enterprise corporations and have a balanced perspective of the needs of developers working with Drupal. I have engaged with Drupal Association staff about issues related to community safety and inclusivity. I regularly speak and write about ethics within software engineering communities, including Drupal.
As a result, I am uniquely qualified to talk about the ways that Drupal as a technology impacts the individuals within the community.
How have your past contributions to Drupal prepared you for board candidacy?:
Founding the Drupal Diversity and Inclusion Working Group was invaluable preparation. Leading DD&I gave me experience interacting with many areas of the community, especially during the difficult community events leading up to Drupalcon Baltimore.
I have keynoted DrupalCamp Costa Rica and TexasCamp and spoken at many other camps. At all of those events, I’ve been able to lead sprints and talk with community members about their pain points. You can see a list of my talks and listen to recordings at http://drnikki.github.io/talks
Why should we vote for you?:
The Drupal community has supported my work with DD&I to make the community safer and more inclusive. Members of the community recognized my contributions and work by selecting me for the Aaron Winborn award in 2017. I led community summits, helped steer governance discussions, and as a result, the DA invited me to governance board meeting. Dries has given me his vote of confidence by recommending my Open Demographics project for Drupal.org.
Joining the Drupal Association Board feels like a natural transition into a different kind of service to the Drupal community. I’ve spent so much time contributing to the community because I believe in the power of technology, especially when that technology is created communally. I believe that our community is powerful, and I want be a part of using that power to make spaces that are safe for everyone.
Questions for the Candidate