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Robin Ginn

Apr 28
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OpenJS World Announces Full Schedule

By Announcement, Blog, OpenJS World

Join the open source JavaScript community at OpenJS Foundation’s free virtual global conference

The OpenJS Foundation is excited to announce the full schedule of keynote speakers, sessions and workshops for OpenJS World, the Foundation’s annual global conference. From June 23 to 24, developers, software architects, engineers, and other community members from OpenJS Foundation hosted projects such as AMP, Dojo, Electron, and Node.js will tune in to network, learn and collaborate. 

We will also use this time to celebrate the 25th anniversary of JavaScript. OpenJS World will showcase several key JavaScript contributors, many of whom will be leading JavaScript into the next 25 years.

Due to continuing COVID-19 safety concerns, OpenJS World 2020 will now take place as a free virtual experience, at the same dates and time: June 23 – June 24 on the US Central Time Zone. If you have already registered and paid, we will be in touch with you about your refund.

The conference will include inspiring keynotes, informative presentations, and hands-on workshops that are aimed to help the OpenJS community better understand the latest and greatest of JavaScript technologies. 

Today we are excited to announce keynote speakers, sessions and hands-on workshops that will be joining us at OpenJS World! 

Keynote speakers

Session Highlights Include

  • Chronicles of the Node.jsEcosystem: The Consumer, The Author, and The Maintainer – Bethany Griggs, Open Source Engineer and Node.js TSC Member, IBM
  • Deno, a Secure Runtime for JavaScript and TypeScript – Ryan Dahl, Engineer, Deno Land
  • Fighting Impostor Syndrome with the Internet of Things – Tilde Thurium, Developer Evangelist, Twilio
  • From Streaming to Studio – The Evolution of Node.js at Netflix – Guilherme Hermeto, Senior Platform Engineer at Netflix
  • Hint, Hint!: Best Practices for Web Developers with webhint – Rachel Simone Weil, Edge DevTools Program Manager, Microsoft
  • Machine Learning for JavaScript Developers 101 –  Jason Mayes, Senior Developer Advocate for TensorFlow.js, Google
  • User-Centric Testing for 2020: How Expedia Modernized its Testing for the Web – Tiffany Le-Nguyen, Software Development Engineer, ExpediaGroup

The conference covers a range of topics for developers and end-users alike including frameworks, security, serverless, diagnostics, education, IoT, AI, front-end engineering, and much more. 

Interested in participating online in OpenJS World? Register now. 

Also, sponsorships for this year’s event are available now. If you are interested in sponsoring, check out the event prospectus for details and benefits. 

For new and current contributors, maintainers, and collaborators to the Foundation, we are hosting the OpenJS Foundation Collaborator Summit on June 22, 25 and 26th. This event is an ideal time for people interested or working on projects to share, learn, and get to know each other. Learn more about registering for the OpenJS Collaborator Summit. 

Thank you to the OpenJS World program committee for their tireless efforts in bringing in and selecting top tier keynote speakers and interesting and informative sessions. We are honored to work with such a dedicated and supportive community!

Apr 09
Love1

The OpenJS Foundation turns one

By Blog

We’ve just crossed the one year anniversary since the Node.js and JS Foundations were merged last March to create the OpenJS Foundation. So many folks pulled together to bootstrap OpenJS and based on that thoughtful and thorough work, we were quickly set up as a positive place for future growth. We didn’t want to let this milestone pass without saying a big thank you to the JavaScript communities for making the first year as a Foundation absolutely wonderful!

We know it’s not an easy time for our global community. Feelings of isolation and scarcity are real, and we hope this community can be a safe place to learn, collaborate and grow. Engaging with you all online has made us feel more connected and helps brighten our days. As we reflect on the one year since forming, we wanted to send sincere thanks to everyone who made our first year so special.

Thank you for the warm and inviting welcome! My first year on the job has been a dream come true thanks to this amazing community. 

Thank you to our newest Incubating Projects Node Version Manager (nvm), Fastify, AMP and Electron. Your trust in the Foundation to be good stewards of your important technology is an honor that we do not take lightly. We look forward to being your partner and witnessing the incredible things to come. 

Thank you to ALL of our projects and the project maintainers, collaborators, and contributors. Our Foundation would not exist without you and the value you bring to our entire community. In the spirit of bringing everyone together, we were proud to partner with this community on two OpenJS Foundation Collab Summits, bringing all projects together. You can go to https://github.com/openjs-foundation/summit to get more info and see a list of past and future events. And, yes, like everyone around the globe, we are adjusting to the new normal and are looking to expand our abilities to run highly useful virtual events. Stay tuned!

Thank you to each member of the Cross Project Council and Board of Directors for their dedication and tireless effort in ensuring the best version of our Foundation continues to emerge. We have made incredible progress and know our future is bright because we have such strong, passionate and smart leaders at the helm. 

Thank you for the excitement and valuable feedback surrounding the Node.js Certifications. We launched the professional certification program to support the future of Node.js development in October. The two certification programs – OpenJS Node.js Application Developer (JSNAD) and OpenJS Node.js Services Developer (JSNSD) – are aimed at Node.js developers and are designed to demonstrate competence within the Node.js framework. The programs were developed in partnership with NearForm and NodeSource and are available immediately. Additionally, thank you to NearForm, NodeSource, and TrueAbilty for their partnership and expertise in getting these off the ground!

Thank you to our newest members Netflix, Skyscanner, and Vincit for joining the foundation and investing in the future of open-source JavaScript. Also, thank you to all of our members in their support for the OpenJS Foundation. If you are not already a member and are interested in learning more, we are happy to talk through the amazing benefits. 

What’s next
While no one has a crystal ball that can predict exactly what’s in store for us as a Foundation this coming year. But one thing is for sure, it will be just as exciting and fast-paced as the first year. We will continue to add new projects and members while growing our shared resource pool for the benefit of our community. Things like more cross-project support, ecosystem-wide focus on security and overall growth will certainly be part of our year. 

Get Involved!
As we head into year two, we are looking for lots of ways for new folks to get involved! We’d love to collaborate with you.

Mar 16
Love5

OpenJS Foundation congratulates GitHub and npm

By Announcement, Blog, In The News

The stability and security of an open source package management public registry for JavaScript developers has been a constant theme that I hear from communities across the OpenJS Foundation. Today, it was announced GitHub will be acquiring npm with a commitment to keep the public registry open. This is positive on several fronts, and a logical step to ensure confidence in the npm public registry for JavaScript developers.

GitHub is already used extensively by JavaScript communities, and is well-aligned to support this vast ecosystem. In fact, the 2019 GitHub Octoverse survey has JavaScript as the most popular programming language by repo contributors. Running a reliable service at the npm size is something that GitHub can surely do well.

Companies large and small trust GitHub. Because 80-90 percent of all modern apps are built with open source, and over 95% of the world’s websites use JavaScript, this acquisition further bolsters confidence in JavaScript as a critical technology to modern web, cloud and AI apps. 

Last but not least, I know and trust the GitHub leadership, including Nat Friedman, Erica Brescia, Martin Woodward and more who for many years have been collaborating across the industry for the greater good. We’ve worked with them in the trenches on OSS projects and community engagements, with friendship along the way. They have the experience to build upon the important contributions by many, which made npm the leading open source package management resource it is today. 

Congratulations GitHub and npm! We look forward to continuing our work with you all, together with our members and JS communities in new and productive ways.

[Disclosure: I’m a recent Microsoft alum, GitHub’s parent company]

Robin Ginn

Executive Director, OpenJS Foundation

Oct 23
Love1

OpenJS Certification Program: Pricing Feedback

By Announcement, Blog, Certification

By Robin Ginn, Executive Director at the OpenJS Foundation

Since launching our Node.js professional certification program yesterday, we’ve received feedback and concerns around the pricing of these exams. As a foundation that exists to support open source projects, we aim to continually improve from community input. For those who have taken the time to offer up their suggestions, we really appreciate it.

We will continue to explore ways to make the Node.js certification program more open and accessible for diverse communities including a broad range of socioeconomic backgrounds and geographical locations. We’re seeking to partner with community-focused organizations who can potentially bridge gaps and create access, of course pending the specific solution. 

We are eager to collaborate with the community on the best solution and would invite anyone interested in providing further feedback on these initiatives to let us know by filling out this form or directly mentioning the OpenJS Foundation on Twitter. 

In the coming weeks, we plan to provide an update on the program.
If you have further questions, check out the Node.js Certification FAQ on our OpenJS Foundation Certification page. You can also send feedback and ideas directly to me at rginn@openjsf.org.

Sep 25
Love1

Making an Impact Through Developer Communities: Why I’m Joining the OpenJS Foundation

By Blog

Mom: You’re leaving Microsoft for a nonprofit?! 

Me: Yes! It’s an amazing privilege and opportunity.  

I’ve always taken great pride in working for Microsoft, and my family felt the same way. It’s pretty easy to describe the positive impact the company makes around the world. So I explained why I was proudly joining The Linux Foundation to be the Executive Director of the OpenJS Foundation, a new organization formed by the recent merger of the JS Foundation and the Node.js Foundation.  

Together with the industry and developer communities, I will be helping steward one of the largest developer ecosystems. The OpenJS Foundation is the neutral home for more than 30 JavaScript projects including Appium, Dojo, jQuery, Node.js, and webpack. 

We’re talking millions of downloads of these technologies, Mom. 

What convinced me to make the move?

  1. Developers, and the communities that support open source projects, have long been my heroes. Through my roles in technical marketing, I’ve given a voice to the people behind our customers’ open source projects – and the stories they tell inspire. The best stories arise when the industry is working together through open source collaboration. I saw this most recently in my time working with healthcare developers, from solving frustrating interop problems with electronic health records, to improving the lives of those with chronic disease. The OpenJS Foundation is a platform to support JavaScript developers and to communicate how these technologies are contributing to fundamental changes in the world around us. 

  2. JavaScript, with its vast developer base and engaged community, has all the right ingredients to grow and flourish. There’s a lot at stake when a developer takes a bet on a technology. The OpenJS Foundation is entrusted to grow and sustain the projects that many companies depend on. That’s an immense responsibility that is taken seriously and I’m humbled to support. I’ve seen these communities in action over the years. Members here are collaborating in powerful ways through the Foundation. Examples include organizing community events like Node+JS Interactive (see you on Dec 11 in Montreal!), community management support, and technical and governance guidance with experienced mentors. 

  3. It’s always the people. Long before Microsoft joined the Linux Foundation, the Linux Foundation team and its members supported Microsoft, and Microsoft supported Linux Foundation projects. I’ve worked with a lot of awesome people at the LF along the way. When we created the .NET Foundation, the leadership team at the LF helped guide us. When the Node.js Advisory Committee became an LF project, the LF program team pros worked wonders with the founding organizations to grow the Node.js Foundation. The LF and its member project participants not only share code, they share best practices across the industry. 
People gather at last year’s Node+JS Interactive

I may need to tighten up my “why OpenJS Foundation” elevator pitch for family functions, but my pride is hard to miss. I’m excited to jump in and start working to support the future of this valued and necessary ecosystem. I’m ready to listen, learn, and be a champion for transparency and inclusion. I’m looking forward to working with each of you!

This blog also appears on Robin’s LinkedIn. Check it out here.

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