DSF announces winner of the 2015 Malcolm Tredinnick Memorial Prize

The Django Software Foundation (DSF) is proud to announce the winner of the 2015 Malcolm Tredinnick Memorial Prize: Russell Keith-Magee!

Russ – also known by his IRC handle freakboy3742 – has been a member of the Django Core team for 10 years. He has regularly mentored new core contributors giving them a helping hand to start. Russell has also served as the President of the Django Software Foundation for the last five years. His contributions to the Django community and ecosystem over the years are inexplicable. He is one of the kindest, most welcoming and open members of our community. A true example to follow for all of us.

For these contributions, the membership of the Django Software Foundation wishes to recognise Russ’ as someone who exemplifies the spirit of Malcolm's contribution to the Django community: someone who welcomes, supports and nurtures newcomers; freely gives feedback and assistance to others, and helps to grow the community.

When we approached Russ about being the winner of the award, he commented: "Malcolm was a good friend and colleague, and an inspiration for the whole Django community. I’m deeply honoured to be recognised by the DSF for the work I’ve done. However, while I may be recognised individually, any personal successes have only been possible because of the tireless efforts of the entire Django community. I’m proud to be part of that community, for what it has achieved, and for the open, welcoming and friendly community that it aspires to be."

The Malcolm Tredinnick Memorial Prize is named in honour of a leader of the Django community who suffered a brain aneurysm and passed away in March 2013. Thanks to donations from the Django community, and a generous contribution from Malcolm's family, the award is accompanied by a $1000 cash prize. The hope is that Russ will use the award stipend as a contribution to travel to a community event – a DjangoCon, a PyCon, a sprint – and continue in Malcolm’s footsteps.

Congratulations, Russ!