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Nominee for 2024 Python Software Foundation Board Election

Filipe Laíns

  • Previous Board Service: New board member
  • Employer: Quansight Labs
  • Other Affiliations: Python Core Developer, Python Packaging Authority (member), PSF (contributing member), Arch Linux (package maintainer), pyOpenSci (maintainer)
  • Nominee Statement:

      Introduction 👋

      Hi everyone! My name is Filipe Laíns (they/them or he/him), and I am a self-taught developer from Portugal. I really enjoy tinkering with things and understanding how they work, which is how I got started with programming. My hobbies include electronics, physics, and culture. A lot of my time away from the computer is spent traveling and watching live shows.

      Feel free to jump to the goals section if you don't have much time to look at my background and motivation!

      Experience 🐍

      I have a deep technical background in both Python, and Linux packaging, and am currently employed at Quansight Labs, where I work on Python packaging. I am also a Python core developer and an active contributor to Scientific Python ecosystem.

      Here are some relevant key points of my experience:

      You can find more details about my technical work on my website and Github profile.

      As part of my work, I have also done a lot of outreach onto to many different parts of the Python community. The goal being to make sure they are heard and their concerns are taken into account during packaging and CPython development.

      On top of my technical background, I also have experience in community building and am an active member of the community.

      Outside Python, I have been volunteering and helping organize several local community events for many years, with a focus on culture, music, etc.

      Motivation 💭

      I am very passionate about the Python community and want to make sure everyone feels heard, included, and have the resources they need.

      One thing in particular I want to advocate for is a better user and developer experience. I believe this can be achieved by combining more outreach into Python communities and placing more resources on the Python packaging ecosystem. Seeing the work of the current board on supporting the Python core team, I am confident similar strides can be made on the Python user experience — particularly the new user experience — by putting resources into it.

      From my experience, both on the technical side and my outreach work, UX and packaging are critical areas that haven't been receiving much funding or attention. I believe the PSF can make a big impact on this, and that's what I want to advocate for. Over the years I have talked with many users about their frustrations, difficulties, and overall experiences in using Python for a wide variety of applications, so I feel strongly about my ability to advocate for them.

      Goals 🎯

      • Improve the user experience for new users, lowering the barrier of entry to Python, and programming in general.
        • E.g. Improve the process of getting started with Python, by improving the documentation, SEO, user experience (UX) consistency, binary distribution methods, etc.
      • Support the Python packaging community by providing them with the resources needed to achieve a better and more cohesive user experience.
        • E.g. Fund user experience (UX) and developer experience (DX) research and technical viability discovery work.
      • Engage with external stakeholders (e.g. distributors), as needed, in order to ensure the integrity of the Python distribution. This contributes to the two goals listed above.
      • Continue the PSF's work on supporting the Python core team, ensuring the longevity of the language.
      • Encourage collaboration between the various different Python communities and user groups, making sure everyone feels part of, and represented, in the Python community.
        • E.g. Reach out to user groups, and event organizers, for feedback more often. Create bridges between different parts of the community. etc.
      • Create a better path of discussion between the technical teams and the end users, by trying to incorporate feedback from user groups into the technical decision/design process.
        • E.g. Invest in user-advocacy work. Reach out to user groups and create and ask for UX and DX feedback. Have people who are skilled in UX and have some technical background act as bridges between users and technical stakeholders. etc.
  • Nomination Statements:
    • Nomination by: Dawn Wages

      It's been a pleasure getting to know Filipe over the past few years. Our discussions over the health of the Python community have been thoughtful and much appreciated in my time on the board. Filipe has a perspective on the Python ecosystem, lowering barriers to entry and creating patterns that reduce friction, that transcends to the people in the community.

      I am confident that Filipe is a volunteer that takes care to research and understand the human systems supporting the Python language, identify potential points where the community could benefit from thoughtful and empathetic effort, listen to outside perspectives and then drive forward actions keeping in mind members needs over ego. I would be happy to work with them on the Python Software Foundation Board.

      We've specifically had conversations about packaging in the Scientific Python context, safety at Python events, programs that support the sustainability of Python projects and creating pathways for new developers.

    • Nomination by: Cristián Maureira-Fredes

      I have known Filipe for a couple of years, and I was very surprised since the beginning by the amount of community work he has been doing in the many communities he has been involved in.

      Having a community driven personality and a technical background that's supported by his roles as CPython core developer and member of the PyPA, I believe he will keep improving the communication between those entities and the PSF Board.

      With a person focused on packaging and user experience in the board, I believe the scope of the board of directors will be improved, and they could manage to open a few research positions to improve the UX and DX aspects of Python.

      On a personal level, he is a very kind person, and I believe that his personality will not disturb the current board, and will find ways to position his opinion without generating disruptions.

    • Nomination by:

      With enthusiasm, I nominate Filipe Lains for the PSF board. I admire the work that Filipe has done in the Python community. They are a devoted Python core developer and also have been involved in leading the packaging summit for the past few years at PyCon US - a really important and challenging area that needs more support from people like Filipe. Filipe also cares a lot about the community and some of the usability issues that are particularly challenging those newer to Python. These issues are exactly the type of things that we need people to stand up for on the PSF board. Filipe also cares about the community. Most recently Filipe has become more involved in pyOpenSci - an organization that is bridging the gap between the scientific Python community and the greater Python community particularly in the package area.