Ruby Central Panel

by Allison McMillan, Chelsea Kaufman, Neil McGovern, Marty Haught, and Valerie Woolard

The Ruby Central Panel at RubyConf 2022 features a discussion among board members of Ruby Central, including Executive Director Neil McGovern. The panelists introduce themselves and share their backgrounds, highlighting their connections to the Ruby community. The panel covers the role and responsibilities of Ruby Central, explaining its history and activities. Ruby Central, established in 2001, organizes major conferences like RubyConf and RailsConf and supports community-driven initiatives such as RubyGems. The group discusses the benefits of the merger with Ruby Together, emphasizing its intention to strengthen support for open-source development within the Ruby community. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are highlighted as priorities, with the board implementing measures like blind review processes for submissions to ensure equitable representation at events. Key points include:

Ruby Central's history and evolution, including the establishment of RubyGems and RailsConf.
Ongoing initiatives aimed at supporting the global Ruby community, particularly in fostering dialogue around diversity and representation.
The logistical challenges faced in organizing conferences and the efforts to adapt and thrive post-pandemic.
The importance of community feedback in shaping Ruby Central's future direction and initiatives.
An overview of planned improvements for RubyGems, including infrastructure funding and new educational opportunities for community members.

The panel concludes by inviting community members to engage with Ruby Central through ideas and support, underlining that the organization exists primarily for the community's benefit. The conversation wraps up on a lighter note with a discussion about the panelists’ favorite karaoke songs, fostering a sense of fun and community spirit among participants.

00:00:00 Ready for takeoff.

00:00:16 All right, we're going to close out today’s conference with a panel of Ruby Central board members, primarily, and Neil McGovern, our Executive Director. Do you all want to introduce yourselves while I step off the stage?

00:00:29 Yeah, thanks everybody for being here today. To start off, can you give your name, title, and a little background on how you came to be involved with Ruby Central?

00:00:41 Sure! Hi, my name's Neil McGovern. I'm the Executive Director of Ruby Central. I started about a month ago, so it’s been fantastic to meet everyone from the community and really get to know people.

00:01:12 Hi, I’m Chelsea Kaufman. I’m new to the board; I’ve been on for just about two months now, but I've been involved in the Ruby community for a long time. I actually launched my company in 2014 at RubyConf San Diego, and I have been really involved in the San Diego Ruby community. I'm excited to bring my community building and education experience to the board to help that community grow.

00:01:40 Hello! I’m Allison McMillan. I’m a VP of Engineering at QuotaPath, and I’m currently the board president. I’ve been on the board for about three years. My first RubyConf was as a scholar in Miami, where I did a lightning talk. I owe a lot to the community, which gave me amazing support and mentorship.

00:02:01 After being a scholar and getting involved in the community, I helped plan the scholar guides program. A few years back, I joined the Ruby Central board when they were expanding, and I was happy to be a part of it to give back to this wonderful community.

00:02:41 Hi, I’m Marty Haught, director of engineering at Hashicorp. I’m the board treasurer. I joined as a board member in 2012, but prior to that, I got into the Ruby community in 2006. I started the Boulder Ruby Users Group, and I’ve organized conferences since 2007.

00:03:11 I co-organized MountainWest RubyConf with Mike Moore, and I started my own conference in 2010 in Boulder called Rocky Mountain Ruby. When I joined Ruby Central in 2012, I brought my experience of event organizing to help shape our events moving forward.

00:03:53 Great! Thank you. The most visible thing that Ruby Central does is plan and run conferences, such as the one you're all attending right now.

00:04:04 But what are some of the other things that the nonprofit is responsible for?

00:04:49 Sure! Obviously, we host RubyConf and RailsConf, but we are a nonprofit as well. We exist as a 501c3 in the US, which means we're a publicly supported charitable nonprofit. We aim to support the community around here and ensure everyone has a good experience not just at the conference but with Ruby more generally. Recently, we’ve hosted rubygems.org and various sponsorship and scholarship programs, and we’re looking to expand those in the upcoming year.

00:05:41 Can you give us an overview of the history of Ruby Central and how it works now?

00:06:02 Yes! Ruby Central was formed in 2001 when the first RubyConf was organized in Tampa, Florida. I think around 30 people attended that conference, and you can find that history online. The organization was formed to organize conferences, and shortly after, in 2004, RubyGems was born out of RubyConf. Before that point, there wasn’t a standardized way to package Ruby code.

00:06:59 RubyGems was created to address that need, allowing you to run the gem command anywhere, providing a repository of gems that you could leverage. Ruby Central played a crucial role in maintaining the infrastructure that supports RubyGems, which we continue to fund today.

00:07:50 We also started RailsConf in 2006 due to the high demand, as the original RubyConf began to sell out. O'Reilly stepped in to help run RailsConf after a few years since Ruby Central didn’t have the capacity to organize it alone. There’s been a lot of change over the years, and after some time, the founding board members decided to step down.

00:08:38 I joined the board in 2011 alongside a few others, and we’ve expanded the board to include more members over the years to better manage the organization's growth.

00:09:12 In 2019, we expanded the board to six members as there was a lot of work to do to support events and initiatives. Then came 2020, and as we know, things changed drastically.

00:09:53 By 2019, we started exploring what more we could do to support the growth of the Ruby community globally. After the pandemic hit, we recognized we were heavily dependent on in-person conferences for revenue.

00:10:34 Since then, we’ve been looking at how to continue supporting the community while experimenting with various formats, including virtual conferences and hybrid events.

00:11:12 Ruby Central merged with Ruby Together last year. What does that merger mean for the organization and the Ruby community?

00:11:57 Ruby Together was a membership-based organization that focused on supporting open-source development within the Ruby community. The merger combined our efforts, allowing us to work under one centralized organization to better serve the community and support developers.

00:12:42 There’s been discussion around diversity, equity, and inclusion work. What are your thoughts on that topic and Ruby Central's role in it?

00:13:28 Listening to George’s talk the other day opened my eyes to how our community can unite around such vital topics. Ruby Central has the opportunity to set an example during our conferences and ensure diversity among speakers, staff, and attendees. It’s important for us to celebrate diversity and create a safe space for everyone, making Ruby Central a voice for underrepresented groups.

00:14:31 This has been a priority for Ruby Central for a long time. Since around 2013, we’ve implemented blind review processes for CFPs to minimize bias and make events more welcoming.

00:15:02 The different vibe at this conference isn’t accidental; it’s the result of conscious efforts over the years.

00:15:43 One vital thing to understand is that the Ruby Central board has been actively pursuing diversity and has established a code of conduct for our events. We focus on representation at our conferences, ensuring that our processes and events promote inclusion.

00:16:17 What do you think is the most important thing for people to know about Ruby Central?

00:16:50 I want you to know that we try really hard. These board members are all volunteers. We engage in thoughtful discussions and remain open to conversations with community members.

00:17:04 Ruby Central exists for the community. We want to hear your thoughts and celebrate your successes. If we’re not performing as you expect, we want to know about it so we can improve.

00:17:50 It’s essential to understand that our organization is in a transition phase. We’re growing and maturing, and while there might be mistakes along the way, we’re here to learn and improve together.

00:18:32 We’ve received a submitted question regarding our lack of presence in Europe. Why do Ruby and RailsConf always have to be in the U.S., and why don't we have an official Ruby-related conference in Europe?

00:19:07 One of the issues is bandwidth logistics. In 2019, we discussed better ways to connect with the Ruby community outside the U.S., including the possibility of creating committees of advisors to help serve those communities.

00:19:57 We’ve realized we need to do better and ensure Ruby Central represents Rubys worldwide.

00:20:34 What is the easiest and hardest thing about putting together these conferences?

00:21:05 One of the easiest things is knowing people are interested in attending and supporting our events. The hardest part can be the logistics involved in executing a successful event, especially when it comes to maintaining the vibe of the conference based on the co-organizers' vision.

00:22:23 There are challenges we face, like turnover and adapting to changes stemming from the pandemic. It requires us to revisit our previous choices and find ways to improve.

00:23:05 What would you like to see happen going into Ruby Central's future?

00:23:53 I see a future of supporting RubyGems significantly better, with funding from companies and grants, including government support to improve infrastructure and Ongoing 24/7 monitoring.

00:24:39 We need to find ways to support maintainers of core gems and develop sustainable grant programs to help initiatives thrive.

00:25:31 We should look into continuing education opportunities throughout the year that are more accessible, as well as ways to help new members integrate into the community.

00:26:16 As an organizational development enthusiast, I’m excited about Ruby Central’s growth process and the opportunities for us to build a stable foundation.

00:27:05 How can people in the community get involved with Ruby Central?

00:27:47 Please email me if you’re interested in contributing ideas or support. It's crucial for us to know what the community wants and needs from us.

00:28:23 We’re also developing committees that focus on various aspects of our work, providing community members ways to contribute their time and skills.

00:29:00 A final question submitted is about our love for karaoke. What are your go-to karaoke songs?

00:29:49 I prefer fun karaoke songs with group sing-alongs, like Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody or something everyone can join in on.

00:30:08 I enjoy musicals, and my go-to is ‘Do You Hear the People Sing’ from Les Misérables. I often try to sing both roles in ‘Suddenly, Seymour’ from Little Shop of Horrors.

00:31:17 Thank you very much to our panelists, and thank you all for being here!