[OSGeo-Discuss] Nomination for Michael Gerlek to OSGeo Board 2011

[Michael P. Gerlek]

I've now posted my candidate statement here:

  http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Board_Member_Nominations_2011#Michael_Gerlek

Thanks again for your consideration.

-mpg



> -----Original Message-----
> From: Michael P. Gerlek [mailto:mpg at flaxen.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, August 09, 2011 10:03 AM
> To: 'OSGeo Discussions'
> Subject: RE: [OSGeo-Discuss] Nomination for Michael Gerlek to OSGeo Board
> 2011
> 
> I'm on vacation right now, so this will have to be short -- I'll write something
> more up when I get home in a few days, but for now let me just make some
> bullet points:
> 
> * Thank you to Aaron for the nomination.  It's a privilege to be nominated,
> and doubly so to be in company of so many other nominees.
> 
> * In addition to the stuff Aaron lists below, I'm working with Howard Butler
> the PDAL (nee libLAS) project for lidar and point cloud support.  It's not a
> formal OSGeo project today, but as it matures it will hopefully become one
> someday.
> 
> * I also worked at LizardTech for a decade, where I championed LizardTech's
> open source initiatives, including bringing open source libraries into their
> projects, financially sponsoring OSGeo annually, and rewriting the licenses
> for their closed-source libraries to be freely distributable within the open
> source world.
> 
> * I know of nothing seriously "broken" within OSGeo today that I want to
> charge right in and start fixing.  Tyler and the board members have done well
> over the past five years.  However, there are two areas I’d like to focus on...
> 
> * First, as Aaron notes below, I'm one of the folks who runs our local chapter.
> We've got a great group that meets monthly, and we've been able to put on
> some great activities -- such as arranging to give talks and panels at local
> conferences, and putting on our own day-long workshop/conference/sprint
> at a local university that was attended by many, many people.  I'd like to see
> the board be proactive in getting more local chapters organized and running,
> as this sort of grass roots work at the individual level is often the best way to
> introduce people to open source and open data.  I've got some ideas on how
> we could help jump-start things.
> 
> * Second, I had the good fortune to serve as editor for the "Open Sources"
> column in GeoConnexions magazine.  We produced two dozen columns over
> two years, all contributed by members of the OSGeo community, covering
> everything from libraries and apps to open data and open curricula.  I have
> also just started a smaller, similar column for the Lidar News magazine.
> OSGeo should work with the media in our industry to identify more
> opportunities like this.  Publishers always want quality content, it's something
> we can provide for little direct financial cost, and it is a good way to get our
> message out and seed development of other marketing-like content.
> 
> Thanks for considering me for the board!
> 
> -mpg
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: discuss-bounces at lists.osgeo.org [mailto:discuss-
> bounces at lists.osgeo.org] On Behalf Of Aaron Racicot
> Sent: Thursday, August 04, 2011 2:22 PM
> To: discuss
> Subject: [OSGeo-Discuss] Nomination for Michael Gerlek to OSGeo Board
> 2011
> 
> I would like to take this opportunity to nominate Michael Gerlek for the
> OSGeo Board.  Michael (known to many as MPG) has been an active member
> of the OSGeo community from the very first planning meetings in 2006.
> He has been a Charter member of OSGeo since 2006 and has actively
> participated in many functions of OSGeo including leading the Visibility
> committee.  Michael also co-founded CUGOS, the regional OSGeo chapter in
> the Pacific Northwest.  He is actively involved in many open source GIS
> projects, and now dedicates himself to full time consulting work in the open
> source GIS space through his company Flaxen Geo Consulting.  He has a long
> history in participating with the OGC and could bring unique experience in
> that arena to the board.  Most importantly his participation in the OSGeo
> board would bring great industry insight, leadership experience, and a true
> dedication to furthering the OSGeo mission.  I strongly encourage the OSGeo
> community to consider Michael as a valuable addition to the board and the
> OSGeo family.
> 
> http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/User:Mpg
> 
> Thanks for your consideration.
> 
> Aaron
> 
> --
> Aaron Racicot
> Z-Pulley Inc.
> aaronr at z-pulley.com
> 360-221-2441
> 
> 
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