First we would like to say thank you to everyone who applied for the 2016 vExpert program. I’m pleased to announce the list 2016 vExperts. Each of these vExperts have demonstrated significant contributions to the community and a willingness to share their expertise with others. Contributing is not always blogging or Twitter as there are many public speakers, book authors, CloudCred task writing, script writers, VMUG leaders, VMTN community moderators and internal champions among this group.

I want to personally thank everyone who applied and point out that a “vExpert” is not a technical certification or even a general measure of VMware expertise. The judges selected people who were particularly engaged with their community and who had developed a substantial personal platform of influence in those communities. If you feel like you were not selected in error, that’s entirely possible.

The judges may have overlooked or misinterpreted what you wrote in your application. Email us at vexpert@vmware.com and we can discuss your situation as well as provide feedback and guidance on what you can do to receive the award. We looked at all of the 2015 activities to determine the voting results. We will open the second half 2016 applications around May / June which will only allow for two voting periods this year.

If you were selected as a vExpert 2016, we will be conducting the on-boarding throughout the next few weeks so hold tight and expect future communication from us soon. To be listed in the vExpert Directory, you must have a VMTN Community account. We will provide instructions on how to create your own directory listing as well as how to gain access to the private forum in the next communication. We will send the welcome email to the email address provided in your vExpert application. Congratulations to all the vExperts, new and returning and we’re looking forward to working with you.

Command + F away and find your name if you can’t wait for the welcome email. The 2016 vExpert welcome email will go out Monday, February 15th along with access to the vExpert private community.

Thank You,

Corey Romero, and the VMware Social Media & Community Team