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Time for Action: How to build D&I in your project

SeaGL 2020

Diversity and inclusion (D&I) is not a new topic in Open Source. But what does D&I work look like in the context of open source communities? Bhagyashree “Bee” Padalkar and Justin W. Flory share lessons learned from five years of volunteering and leading D&I teams in open source communities.

In this talk, Bee and Justin tell the story of how the Fedora Project’s Diversity & Inclusion Team came to be, what common pitfalls and challenges are in D&I work, and a guiding principle behind everything the team does.

Presenters

Bhagyashree

Bhagyashree "Bee" Padalkar, Fedora

Bhagyashree, or Bee as she prefers, is a social activist masquerading as a data wizard during the day. She has been involved with open source communities since 2015 and is actively involved with improving diversity and inclusion in open source.

Justin W. Flory

Justin W. Flory (he/him), UNICEF Innovation

Justin W. Flory is a creative maker. He is best-known as an open source contributor based in the United States. Since he was 14, Justin has participated in numerous open source communities and led different initiatives to build sustainable software and communities.

Starting in June 2020, Justin joined the UNICEF Office of Innovation as a full-time Open Source Software Technical Advisor. Previously, he worked on contract with RIT LibreCorps before starting full-time. In his current role, he supports the UNICEF Innovation Fund and other open source activities within the Office of Innovation. He provides support service and mentorship to cohorts of diverse start-up companies to teams hailing from over 50 countries. At the Innovation Fund, Justin provides hands-on technical mentorship, support services, metrics assessments, and sustainable design for scaling open source communities.

Resources