At FOSS Backstage, we want to shape a program that truly is “by the community for the community”. To achieve this goal, we are honored to have a dedicated program committee of renowned experts in the field of Open Source.
The program committee is responsible for reviewing the session submissions we receive in our Call for Papers, and are thus instrumental in creating the schedule for FOSS Backstage.
Myrle is a Senior Director for Application Observability at Grafana Labs. She has over 20 years of experience as a software developer. Myrle is a member of The Apache Software Foundation, where she has served in multiple ways including through roles in operations and in governance. She’s exuberant about open source and passionate about making software that solves important problems facing humanity.
Ana is the OSPO Program Manager at the TODO Group, an open source project and community of OSPO practitioners who want to collaborate on best practices, tools, and other ways to run successful and effective Open Source Projects and Programs, under the auspices of the Linux Foundation. Formerly she worked at Bitergia, a Software Development Analytics firm, while she finished her MSc in Data Science, whose final thesis focused on measuring DevRel’s success within Open Source development communities
Engaged in the critical exploration of the intersections of technology, art, and socio-ecological justice, Paloma Oliveira is a dedicated community-driven developer and advocate for free and open-source software. Co-organizer of PyLadies Berlin and co-founder of the Zentrum für Netzkunst, she is currently part of the Sovereign Tech Agency, contributing to defining critical open digital infrastructure for European sovereignty. In her own practice, she explores ways of building technologies that center autonomy, equity, and care – also beyond the human.
Dr Lina Boecker is a well experienced lawyer for information technology (IT) law and one of the few experts in the field of open-source-software (OSS) compliance. She advises a broad range of clients from software developers to international OEMs and public research institutions on all aspects of IT-law.
Lina was admitted to the bar in 2011. After having spent nine years (thereof more than five years as a partner) at a Berlin based boutique law firm for IT law, she joined Osborne Clarke as a partner in 2022.
Kanchana Welagedara is a seasoned open source enthusiast with deep and far-reaching contributions to the field. She serves on the Board of Directors and is a long-time member and committer at the Apache Software Foundation. With a strong background in both technical and people leadership at industry giants such as Amazon.com, JPMorgan Chase, and eBay/PayPal, Kanchana brings not only technical expertise but also a profound understanding of the communal and collaborative nature of open source software development in the modern era.