This week marks my last as the Executive Director of the WordPress project. My time with WordPress has transformed me, both as a leader and an advocate. There’s still more to do in our shared quest to secure a self-sustaining future of the open source project that we all love, and my belief in our global community of contributors remains unchanged. I have spent nine years working shoulder to shoulder with you, and I didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye.
Together, we’ve built software that changes lives, and working this deeply in open source changes you. You spend every day working on consequential problems with brilliant people, in hopes that what you do today will help people far into the future.
For everyone who was ever led by me – thank you all so much for the trust you’ve given me, and for fighting through the tiniest details to make sure that we always did what was best.
For everyone who has ever led me – thank you all for helping me become the insightful and resilient leader that I am.
Moving Forward
I still believe that open source is an idea that can transform generations. I believe in the power of a good-hearted group of people. I believe in the importance of strong opinions, loosely held. And I believe the world will always need the more equitable opportunities that well-maintained open source can provide: access to knowledge and learning, easy-to-join peer and business networks, the amplification of unheard voices, and a chance to tap into economic opportunity for those who weren’t born into it.
While my next steps aren’t yet clear, I hope to never be too far from this community that taught me so much. And whatever the future holds, remember that you are kind, intrepid keepers of the open source ethos and always honor what brought you here.
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