OpenJS Foundation Welcomes Michael Dawson to the Board of Directors!

The OpenJS Board is delighted to welcome Michael Dawson to the Board of Directors as the Node.js Project Representative!

Chosen by the Node.js Project, Michael brings a wealth of experience to the board having acted as the Node.js Project TSC Chair, a member of the Node.js Community Committee as well as being an active contributor to the Node.js Project. Michael sees this appointment as a growth opportunity and is excited to build his experience serving open source communities at the board level. 

In a statement provided to the community via GitHub, Michael says, “I’m interested in representing the Node.js project on the Board and think I’m well positioned to be able to do that effectively. I’m on both the TSC and Community Committee which will make reporting and gathering requests easier. I’m also active across a good number of the teams and working groups which will make it easier for me to reflect the needs of those teams as well.”

In addition, as a Board Member, Michael has a number of commendable goals including to ensure the needs of the Node.js project are considered in decisions that are made, to help the board understand and incorporate any issues raised within the Node.js project and to champion the broader and longer-term initiatives that are important to the success of the project in the long run.

As the Node.js rep to the board, Michael is committed to fully understanding the needs of the Node.js Project and representing those at the board level. His top priorities as a Node.js community member are centered around technical innovation, the continued growth of a diverse community, broader involvement in those supporting CI infrastructure and leveraging end-user feedback to steer the future direction of the Node.js project. 

Michael also looks forward to working to help further the future of the wider JS community and OpenJS Foundation. He is excited by the greater focus and opportunities for collaboration that the OpenJS Foundation puts on the table. Michael says “I see good opportunities to share some of the lessons we’ve learned on in the Node.js Project and vice versa so that all projects end up better off. I think we’ll see advantages from having a single Foundation where JavaScript wide issues can be discussed and addressed.”

Michael is IBM’s community lead for Node.js, where he works to coordinate and lead the work of IBM’s teams that contribute to the Node.js community.  He also works to support IBM’s many initiatives to provide great deployment options (public and private) for Node.js, ensuring the tools and products IBM delivers provide a first class experience for Node.js developers and supporting IBM’s internal and customer Node.js deployments.

Outside of the office he enjoys playing badminton and softball as well as kayaking and paddle boarding.  Extracurriculars also include building things with 3d printers, cnc machines, soldering irons, and building apps to make daily life more fun.