The foundation also holds trademarks including the GNOME trademark that it is required to defend.
The foundation was setup to protect the project from legal issues, help fund the infrastructure,and build relationships that lead to fundraising and influence.
You might recall that GNOME had to defend its trademark at least once and was also hit with a patent troll.
Edited to add: The money also goes to help fund GUADEC and hackfests where maintainers meet to work on goals. So there is more than just the executive director - there is a whole team that manages events, finances, and brand.
(I don’t want to dismiss Neil McGovern but I simply have no experience working with him).
This will be interesting to say the least.
> Holly brings three decades of invaluable experience in nonprofit management, having served as a consultant, director of development, executive director, and board member for numerous organizations. Notably, she founded the nonprofit organization Artists United, dedicated to empowering individual artists and fostering collaboration across artistic disciplines for the collective good. Additionally, Holly served as the Executive Director of the BioBricks Foundation, an international, open-source biotechnology nonprofit.
Is it possible that you missed some items somehow? Would cross checking them against the article be a good idea?
Artists United (https://www.artists-united.org/) is not confidence-inspiring. A barely edited Squarespace template with a few pages with a few paragraphs on most, including some unremoved Squarespace boilerplate.
No contact information.
No information on who runs it. Just a "manifesto" and a "call to action".
And which she is trying to remove from historical records as we speak.
https://lunduke.locals.com/upost/4740497/gnome-foundation-hi...
Who decided this seemingly unqualified person, of all unlikely people, was fit for the highest role in managing a multi-decade software project?
This is a shady hire. I wouldn’t be surprised to see personal connections turning out to be the sole factor behind her getting offered this job.
That all said, congrats to the GNOME Foundation and Holly, and I hope you accomplish whatever good deeds you set out to.
She’s a “professional shaman”, and herb “medicine” maker operating on Facebook and Instagram.
No software background at all.
If this is the kind of hires ESG & DEI brings, I think we can already conclude those two to be failed philosophies, and that all the critics have been proven right.
[0] https://lunduke.locals.com/upost/4740497/gnome-foundation-hi...
Quick joke before the omnipresent Dang sounds his warning..
Seriously, I wish her all the best.
