Be Polite. Be Helpful.
Media release: 2007-04-09 Women's technical group LinuxChix announces new leader
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DATE: 9 April 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Mary Gardiner
Women's technical group LinuxChix announces new leader
The women's technical group LinuxChix has appointed a new international coordinator, Mary Gardiner, replacing previous coordinator Jenn Vesperman, who resigned after six years running the organization.
Mary Gardiner's primary focus as coordinator will be on forming a closer relationship with the regional chapters, enabling the LinuxChix community to better reach potential and existing women Free Software users worldwide. Gardiner will also be investigating other ways that LinuxChix can reach a larger audience and help its members engage with the Free Software community. She intends to be coordinator of LinuxChix for two years. Gardiner, a resident of Sydney, Australia and a postgraduate student in computing, has been active as a volunteer in LinuxChix since 2000.
Mary Gardiner was chosen as the new coordinator by her predecessor Jenn Vesperman from among three candidates -- the others were Terri Oda and Noirin Plunkett -- following discussion and an indicative vote by the LinuxChix volunteer community. Jenn Vesperman stated that "Mary, Noirin, Terri: your peers respect you and trust you and think you would all three do a great job... This is probably the hardest single choice in my tenure: but at least I can't make a wrong choice. It's just a choice between good choices." After announcing Mary Gardiner as her replacement Vesperman concluded by asking the community to also congratulate Oda and Plunkett on being close seconds.
Mary Gardiner will be the third LinuxChix coordinator, following Deb Richardson, who founded LinuxChix in 1999 and ran it until 2001, and Jenn Vesperman, who ran LinuxChix from May 2001 until March 2007. LinuxChix thanks Jenn Vesperman for her hard work as coordinator of LinuxChix over the last six years.
About LinuxChix
LinuxChix is an international group of Free Software users and developers, founded in 1999 with the aim of "supporting women in Linux." Founder Deb Richardson described it as an alternative to the "locker room atmosphere" found in some online technical forums and gave LinuxChix two core rules: "be polite" and "be helpful".
LinuxChix has been continually active for eight years and its forums have attracted over one thousand members worldwide. In addition, it has over fifteen active regional chapters, including LinuxChix Africa, LinuxChix India and LinuxChix Brazil.
For additional information on LinuxChix or its new coordinator contact media-at-address-removed or visit www.linuxchix.org.