Change in Fedora leadership

One of the things I like most about the Fedora Project is the opportunity for people to move and grow in (and out) of different roles and responsibilities. The position of Fedora Project Leader, in particular, has never been a long-term leadership position, but one that regularly invites new people to assume the role and bring new ideas and new energy to the project. I would like to take this opportunity to share some of my thoughts about being the Fedora Project Leader, and inform you of upcoming changes in Fedora leadership. Any time we make leadership changes in Fedora, we that that challenge seriously, and do everything we can to make the leadership transition as smooth as possible. Although I've been using Fedora since the split from Red Hat Linux, it's only been the past five of six years that I've really been an active contributor. Sure, I was hanging out on the mailing lists, trying out the pre-releases and reporting bugs, but I didn't really consider myself a part of Fedora. It wasn't until I got started with the Docs team and attended my first FUDCon that I truly caught the spirit of the Fedora community. Since then, I've thoroughly enjoyed rubbing shoulders with people who are infinitely smarter than me, and I've learned a tremendous amount -- both about the technical bits and bytes, and also about free software communities. And for the last little while, it's been my honor and privilege to serve the community as the Fedora Project Leader. The role of Fedora Project Leader isn't an easy role, but I am proud of the things we've been able to accomplish both within the distribution and within the community during my tenure. We've had three solid Fedora releases during my time as FPL, each one with a myriad of new features. I've worked hard to expand our international outreach, and to get more international representation on the Fedora Board. We've updated the Fedora website. We've improved our quality assurance processes. We've been able to deliver Fedora images for the Amazon EC2 cloud on release day. We've improved our translation system. I'm thankful for all those who have worked hard to help drive Fedora forward. Now is the time for me to pass the torch to the next Fedora Project Leader. As you probably already know, Red Hat employs the FPL to ensure someone is accountable to Red Hat and the rest of the community for the Fedora Project as a whole. After all, many Fedora leaders have referred to the FPL as "the one throat to choke" when it comes to Fedora. The FPL is still subject to the same process as any other Red Hat hire, though, and ultimately Red Hat is responsible for that decision. It is imperative that the decision be a good one for the entire Fedora community, so the Fedora Board is consulted about the selection. This process has continued to work well for several previous FPLs, and the Board provided positive feedback about our selection this time around, too. I'm happy to announce that Red Hat has selected Robyn Bergeron to be the next Fedora Project Leader. Robyn has proven herself in the Fedora community over the last several years, and I have complete confidence in her abilities to lead the Fedora Project. In addition to planning FUDCon Tempe in 2011 and helping to lead the Marketing and Cloud SIGs within Fedora, Robyn has been an integral part of many other Fedora events and endeavors. Most recently, she has held the role of Fedora Program Manager, helping to ensure that we all stay on schedule and helping the Fedora feature process stay on track. Please join with me in welcoming Robyn into her new role, and in giving her your help and support in her new role. I'll be working with Robyn over the next weeks and months to help her in the new role. -- Jared Smith Former Fedora Project Leader