After nearly eight years, 18 DrupalCons, two major releases and six dot releases, thousands of contribution credits, and a million Drupal sites, I am leaving the Drupal Association to take on a new open source adventure at Google. My last day is September 21, 2018, and the board will announce my successor before my departure.

This was certainly a difficult decision for me. It’s easy to fall in love with the Drupal community. You join something bigger than yourself, full of amazing, smart, diverse people, and you gain a wonderful sense of belonging. Plus, the Drupal Association staff is the best team you can ever work with. I’ve never experienced such a strong, caring culture.

Alas, it is time. I stepped into the executive director role to lead a financial turnaround and re-orient our focus on growing adoption. The organization is in great shape and programs like DrupalCon Seattle are now expanded to serve adoption decision-makers and digital marketers. The Drupal Association is on a great path and the next leader has a solid foundation to build upon.

It has been an incredible honor to serve Drupal because of its number one value: Prioritize impact. Helping this community create a positive impact through our collaboration and seeing its butterfly effect ripple across the globe through our community efforts and Drupal sites gave me a great sense of purpose. I treasure the special moments of impact that I witnessed, such as the excitement during DrupalCon Asia or the support and accomplishment Burkina Faso or Philippines community leaders expressed as they launched their first camp with the help of a Community Cultivation Grant, or the pride someone feels when listed as a top 100 contributor for the first time. I am deeply grateful for the gift of experiencing so much global impact—one I never knew I would gain when I first joined the Drupal Association in 2010.

In my eight years, I witnessed Drupal mature into world-class software used by industry giants like NASDAQ, Pfizer, and Harvard. Plus, we shifted from being Drupal hobbyists to a professional community with 70% of contribution sponsored by organizations. Through all of this growth and maturity, Drupal remains special. We help each other achieve our Drupal dreams whether it is becoming masters at writing documentation, hosting a community event, creating new job opportunities, or delivering creative value for clients. It's the impact that we have on each others’ lives that means the most to me. Thank you to all of you who make Drupal a bright spot in a complex world.

I especially want to thank the Drupal Association staff, who have built an amazing team culture where people truly care about each other as well as our mission. This small, but mighty team works tirelessly to serve the community. I’m incredibly proud of what we accomplished, together, from promoting Drupal solutions through industry summits and landing pages to amplifying our community’s diversity by having 40% of DrupalCon speakers come from under-represented groups.

Plus, I want to thank the Drupal Association Board, who provided priceless advice and endless support to me and the staff. I also want to thank Dries for believing in me to take on this role and for being a great partner and advisor over the years. I truly appreciate how he created a distributed model that allows everyone the chance to participate and lead. It creates growth opportunities for all of us. Additionally, I want to thank Adam Goodman, the Board Chair, for elevating our strategic discussions, giving us insights into more impactful ways to serve the community. Adam has been an incredible partner, mentor, and coach. I’m truly grateful for the time and care he invests in Drupal.

Over the years, I have also built so many partnerships (and lifelong friendships) with business owners, partners, community leaders, and open source peers. I am incredibly grateful for all of the ways they support Drupal, the Association, and me through every phase of the project. It’s this level of caring that propels Drupal forward and makes me proud to have achieved so much with them.

Drupal’s future is bright and the community is in good hands. The Drupal Association will work with the community to help grow Drupal adoption with the Promote Drupal Initiative as well as with a re-imagined DrupalCon Seattle. Contribution will be easier with the Gitlab partnership and camps will be better supported with the recent Open Collective partnership. And there’s even more to come, so stay tuned.

I will miss Drupal greatly, but I leave with so many friendships formed. I’m not sure I’ll feel like I truly left.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve all of you. I’m excited to see what the Drupal community achieves next, together. #DrupalThanks