Barely nine months after her inauguration, the GNOME Foundation revealed that Holly Million will be stepping down as Executive Director, effective July 31, 2024. Richard Littauer, a veteran in the open-source community, has been appointed as the Interim Executive Director to ensure a seamless transition.
Holly Million’s tenure, though brief, was marked by substantial contributions, including the drafting of a comprehensive five-year strategic plan and securing pivotal fiscal sponsorship agreements with GIMP and Black Python Devs.
Additionally, her efforts in financial management culminated in a break-even budget that fortified the Foundation’s financial reserves. Holly thanked the community as she prepared to depart and shared her aspirations: “I’m very proud of what I have accomplished… I will be pursuing a PhD in Psychology and dedicating myself to my own private practice.“
The choice of psychology is not surprising given Holly Million’s main occupation, namely, professional shaman. Yes, you read that correctly. That’s one of the things that puzzled many open source proponents about her appointment, taking into account Million’s zero experience in open source projects and her main field having nothing to do with it. But no matter. That’s in the past now.
The new leader, Richard Littauer, steps into the interim role with a robust open-source project management and community development background.
His previous roles included organizing at SustainOSS and CURIOSS, serving as the sustainability coordinator at the Open Source Initiative, and managing the community development at Open Source Collective.
His extensive experience is a major asset in steering the Foundation through its current transition phase.
The GNOME Board of Directors has expressed immense gratitude to Holly for her dynamic leadership and strategic initiatives that have positioned the Foundation for future success.
The Board is planning to search for a permanent Executive Director, and further details will be announced following the GUADEC conference.
In light of this, the upcoming Annual General Meeting at GUADEC in Denver promises to be a crucial gathering for the GNOME community. It will offer a platform for dialogue and planning the next steps in this period of change.
For more information, visit the official announcement.
