Dr. Dawn Foster
@geekygirldawn.bsky.social
Open source strategy consultant, Director of Data Science / Governing Board member at CHAOSS, OpenUK board, runner, sci-fi, 3D printed designs, vegan, world traveler. Opinions my own.
I had a great time teaming up again with Stefka Dimitrova for an episode of the CHAOSScast podcast where we talked about responsibly sunsetting open source projects. You can learn more about the Sunsetting Practitioner Guide linked in the show notes. Enjoy!
podcast.chaoss.community/123
podcast.chaoss.community/123
Practitioner Guides: #6 Sunsetting an Open Source Project
**CHAOSScast – Episode 123**
This episode of the CHAOSScast features hosts Harmony Elendu and Alice Sowerby, along with guests Stefka Dimitrova and Dawn Foster, discussing the process of sunsetting op...
podcast.chaoss.community
November 13, 2025 at 2:48 PM
I had a great time teaming up again with Stefka Dimitrova for an episode of the CHAOSScast podcast where we talked about responsibly sunsetting open source projects. You can learn more about the Sunsetting Practitioner Guide linked in the show notes. Enjoy!
podcast.chaoss.community/123
podcast.chaoss.community/123
I'm super excited to learn that I won a CNCF TAGGIE award today! The TAGGIE award is given to individuals who have done the most to advance the CNCF Technical Advisory Groups. www.cncf.io/announcement...
CNCF 2025 Community Awards
Honorees span end users, maintainers, mentors, and long-time contributors, reflecting the strength and diversity of the cloud native ecosystem Key Highlights ATLANTA, KUBECON + CLOUDNATIVECON NORTH…
www.cncf.io
November 12, 2025 at 8:04 PM
I'm super excited to learn that I won a CNCF TAGGIE award today! The TAGGIE award is given to individuals who have done the most to advance the CNCF Technical Advisory Groups. www.cncf.io/announcement...
Thanks to All Things Open for the post about our OSSEU panel focused on building a sustainable pipeline of open source contributors!
🚀 NEW on We ❤️ Open Source 🚀
Contributor shortages threaten the future of open source. Dr. Dawn Foster joins a global panel to explore how education + mentorship can grow the next gen of contributors.
Read the article: allthingsopen.org/articles/bui...
#WeLoveOpenSource #OpenSource #OSS
Contributor shortages threaten the future of open source. Dr. Dawn Foster joins a global panel to explore how education + mentorship can grow the next gen of contributors.
Read the article: allthingsopen.org/articles/bui...
#WeLoveOpenSource #OpenSource #OSS
November 7, 2025 at 8:08 AM
Thanks to All Things Open for the post about our OSSEU panel focused on building a sustainable pipeline of open source contributors!
Reposted by Dr. Dawn Foster
OpenUK Awards 25 Community Category sponsored by Arm, Shortlist is live, congratulations to the shortlisted nominees: Andy Piper, @universalviewer.io (universalviewer.io), and Daniel Gale 🍾🥂🏆
#openukawards #opensource #community
#openukawards #opensource #community
November 4, 2025 at 1:00 PM
OpenUK Awards 25 Community Category sponsored by Arm, Shortlist is live, congratulations to the shortlisted nominees: Andy Piper, @universalviewer.io (universalviewer.io), and Daniel Gale 🍾🥂🏆
#openukawards #opensource #community
#openukawards #opensource #community
I had the pleasure of attending the very first Digital Resilience Forum in Madrid, Spain this week where industry leaders, policy makers, governments, and others discussed and collaborated on ways to make our digital infrastructure more sustainable and resilient. fastwonderblog.com/2025/10/30/o...
Open Source Software Driving Digital Resilience, Sovereignty, and Sustainability | Fast Wonder
fastwonderblog.com
October 30, 2025 at 2:46 PM
I had the pleasure of attending the very first Digital Resilience Forum in Madrid, Spain this week where industry leaders, policy makers, governments, and others discussed and collaborated on ways to make our digital infrastructure more sustainable and resilient. fastwonderblog.com/2025/10/30/o...
You still have a few more days to submit your CHAOSScon EU talk and get the most out of your FOSDEM trip!
Are you already planning your FOSDEM trip? Do you need a talk to get travel approval? CHAOSScon EU is the Thursday before FOSDEM, and our CFP is open until November 2! Join us to chat about metrics, project health, and related topics! chaoss.community/chaosscon-20...
October 28, 2025 at 3:26 PM
You still have a few more days to submit your CHAOSScon EU talk and get the most out of your FOSDEM trip!
We’re spending a long weekend in Madrid. I’ve been eating so many delicious potatoes, but not getting enough green veggies, so I just ordered a Russian salad as a starter. This is how I learned that it’s basically a potato salad 🤣
October 26, 2025 at 7:32 PM
We’re spending a long weekend in Madrid. I’ve been eating so many delicious potatoes, but not getting enough green veggies, so I just ordered a Russian salad as a starter. This is how I learned that it’s basically a potato salad 🤣
I'm excited to announce the latest in our CHAOSS Practitioner Guide Series on the topic of Assessing Viability! OSS is everywhere, but some projects are more viable than others. This guide has a framework for assessing the viability of the OSS projects you use.
fastwonderblog.com/2025/10/23/a...
fastwonderblog.com/2025/10/23/a...
Assessing the Viability of Open Source Projects | Fast Wonder
fastwonderblog.com
October 23, 2025 at 1:55 PM
I'm excited to announce the latest in our CHAOSS Practitioner Guide Series on the topic of Assessing Viability! OSS is everywhere, but some projects are more viable than others. This guide has a framework for assessing the viability of the OSS projects you use.
fastwonderblog.com/2025/10/23/a...
fastwonderblog.com/2025/10/23/a...
Are you already planning your FOSDEM trip? Do you need a talk to get travel approval? CHAOSScon EU is the Thursday before FOSDEM, and our CFP is open until November 2! Join us to chat about metrics, project health, and related topics! chaoss.community/chaosscon-20...
October 21, 2025 at 6:33 AM
Are you already planning your FOSDEM trip? Do you need a talk to get travel approval? CHAOSScon EU is the Thursday before FOSDEM, and our CFP is open until November 2! Join us to chat about metrics, project health, and related topics! chaoss.community/chaosscon-20...
Did you know that CHAOSS has a bunch of Working Groups (WGs) that anyone can attend? On Wednesday, @andrewnez.bsky.social will be at the Funding Impact Measurement WG to share data about open source project funding. You can find details about all of our meetings at chaoss.community/chaoss-calen...
chaoss.community
October 20, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Did you know that CHAOSS has a bunch of Working Groups (WGs) that anyone can attend? On Wednesday, @andrewnez.bsky.social will be at the Funding Impact Measurement WG to share data about open source project funding. You can find details about all of our meetings at chaoss.community/chaoss-calen...
I was thrilled to be invited to participate in the Turing Way fireside chat about governance along with @richlitt.bsky.social and @claredillon.bsky.social with hosts Jennifer Tridgell and Arielle Bennett-Lovell. Here's a summary with a link to the video. fastwonderblog.com/2025/10/16/t...
The Turing Way Fireside Chat about Governance | Fast Wonder
fastwonderblog.com
October 16, 2025 at 12:53 PM
I was thrilled to be invited to participate in the Turing Way fireside chat about governance along with @richlitt.bsky.social and @claredillon.bsky.social with hosts Jennifer Tridgell and Arielle Bennett-Lovell. Here's a summary with a link to the video. fastwonderblog.com/2025/10/16/t...
It's not too late to register for OSPOlogyLive Lyon on November 5–6! It's free to attend, and there are some great topics on the agenda with a mix of presentations, interactive breakout sessions, and networking. It's going to be fun! community.linuxfoundation.org/events/detai...
OSPOlogyLive Lyon 🇫🇷 | LF Online Community
In-person Event - Join the 7th edition of OSPOlogyLive in Lyon (presentations, project workshops, and roundtable sessions) to help organizations navigate open source management, strategy, and OSPO ope...
community.linuxfoundation.org
October 16, 2025 at 7:35 AM
It's not too late to register for OSPOlogyLive Lyon on November 5–6! It's free to attend, and there are some great topics on the agenda with a mix of presentations, interactive breakout sessions, and networking. It's going to be fun! community.linuxfoundation.org/events/detai...
Reposted by Dr. Dawn Foster
My friend Matt Inman made a great comic about AI…
A cartoonist's review of AI art - The Oatmeal
This is a comic about AI art.
theoatmeal.com
October 8, 2025 at 12:47 AM
My friend Matt Inman made a great comic about AI…
Reposted by Dr. Dawn Foster
CHAOSScast Episode 120: Practitioner Guides: #5 Demonstrating Organizational Value #devopsish
CHAOSScast Episode 120: Practitioner Guides: #5 Demonstrating Organizational Value
In this episode of CHAOSScast, Harmony Elendu hosts a discussion with Dawn Foster and Bob Killen to discuss their extensive experience in open source and detail the motivations behind the creation of the CHAOSS Practitioner Guides. These guides aim to help practitioners navigate the overwhelming amount of data related to open source projects and understand how to improve project health and sustainability. The discussion covers strategies for communicating the business value of open source efforts to leadership, framing contributions in a way that resonates with organizational priorities, and prioritizing investments in critical projects. Press download now!
podcast.chaoss.community
October 8, 2025 at 12:34 PM
CHAOSScast Episode 120: Practitioner Guides: #5 Demonstrating Organizational Value #devopsish
In addition to the CHAOSS guide about demonstrating the organizational value of your open source efforts, @mrbobbytabl.es and I recorded a podcast about it! I also have a session at OSPOlogy Lyon (Nov 5 & 6) on this same topic (registration is open & free)!
fastwonderblog.com/2025/10/07/m...
fastwonderblog.com/2025/10/07/m...
More about Demonstrating Organizational Value | Fast Wonder
fastwonderblog.com
October 7, 2025 at 1:42 PM
In addition to the CHAOSS guide about demonstrating the organizational value of your open source efforts, @mrbobbytabl.es and I recorded a podcast about it! I also have a session at OSPOlogy Lyon (Nov 5 & 6) on this same topic (registration is open & free)!
fastwonderblog.com/2025/10/07/m...
fastwonderblog.com/2025/10/07/m...
I hope you'll join me in Lyon for the free OSPOlogyLive event on November 5 & 6! We have several CHAOSS related talks, and it's going to be a lot of fun 🎉 community.linuxfoundation.org/events/detai...
OSPOlogyLive Lyon 🇫🇷 | LF Online Community
In-person Event - Join the 7th edition of OSPOlogyLive in Lyon (presentations, project workshops, and roundtable sessions) to help organizations navigate open source management, strategy, and OSPO ope...
community.linuxfoundation.org
September 30, 2025 at 3:50 PM
I hope you'll join me in Lyon for the free OSPOlogyLive event on November 5 & 6! We have several CHAOSS related talks, and it's going to be a lot of fun 🎉 community.linuxfoundation.org/events/detai...
Did you know that the CHAOSS project has a working groups that anyone can participate in? Our next OSPO WG meeting is on Thursday, and we'll be talking about measuring the value of your open source efforts. Details are on the CHAOSS Calendar chaoss.community/chaoss-calen... Join us!
CHAOSS Calendar - CHAOSS
chaoss.community
September 30, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Did you know that the CHAOSS project has a working groups that anyone can participate in? Our next OSPO WG meeting is on Thursday, and we'll be talking about measuring the value of your open source efforts. Details are on the CHAOSS Calendar chaoss.community/chaoss-calen... Join us!
How do we educate the next generation of open source contributors? This is what Ruth Ikegah, Leslie Hawthorne, Stephen Walli, and I discussed at the recent #OSSummit EU in Amsterdam. Here's my blog post with a few more details along with the video of the session. fastwonderblog.com/2025/09/27/e...
Educating the Next Generation of Open Source Project Contributors | Fast Wonder
fastwonderblog.com
September 30, 2025 at 2:22 PM
How do we educate the next generation of open source contributors? This is what Ruth Ikegah, Leslie Hawthorne, Stephen Walli, and I discussed at the recent #OSSummit EU in Amsterdam. Here's my blog post with a few more details along with the video of the session. fastwonderblog.com/2025/09/27/e...
Reposted by Dr. Dawn Foster
I'm looking forward to attending the Digital Resilience Forum on October 29 in Madrid! I'm particularly interested in the discussions around digital sovereignty and OSS sustainability. It's free to attend, and you can request your ticket and get other details by visiting digitalresilienceforum.com
September 3, 2025 at 6:39 AM
I'm looking forward to attending the Digital Resilience Forum on October 29 in Madrid! I'm particularly interested in the discussions around digital sovereignty and OSS sustainability. It's free to attend, and you can request your ticket and get other details by visiting digitalresilienceforum.com
At OSSEU, I talked about power dynamics, rug pulls, and corporate impacts on OSS sustainability. The point of the talk was that OSPOs can think strategically about what the power dynamics mean and how to anticipate / mitigate the risks associated with rug pulls.
fastwonderblog.com/2025/09/18/w...
fastwonderblog.com/2025/09/18/w...
What can your OSPO do about power dynamics, rug pulls, and other corporate impacts on OSS sustainability | Fast Wonder
fastwonderblog.com
September 18, 2025 at 2:50 PM
At OSSEU, I talked about power dynamics, rug pulls, and corporate impacts on OSS sustainability. The point of the talk was that OSPOs can think strategically about what the power dynamics mean and how to anticipate / mitigate the risks associated with rug pulls.
fastwonderblog.com/2025/09/18/w...
fastwonderblog.com/2025/09/18/w...
My OpenUK blog post, The Shifting Power Dynamics in Open Source: Rug Pulls, Relicensing and Forks, just went live! I hope you enjoy it. openuk.uk/blog-shiftin...
The Shifting Power Dynamics in Open Source: Rug Pulls, Relicensing and Forks - OpenUK
Relicensing and forks have shifted the power dynamics across OSS.
openuk.uk
September 16, 2025 at 3:13 PM
My OpenUK blog post, The Shifting Power Dynamics in Open Source: Rug Pulls, Relicensing and Forks, just went live! I hope you enjoy it. openuk.uk/blog-shiftin...
Reposted by Dr. Dawn Foster
Our Call for Participation for FOSS Backstage is now officially open!
Find all the important information you need at a glance in our new blog post.
Read the blog post: <a href="https://26.foss-backstage.de/call-for-participation-is-now-open/" class="hover:underline text-blue-600 dark:text-sky-400 no-card-link" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="bsky">26.foss-backstage.de...
Submit your proposal: 26.foss-backstage.de...
Find all the important information you need at a glance in our new blog post.
Read the blog post: <a href="https://26.foss-backstage.de/call-for-participation-is-now-open/" class="hover:underline text-blue-600 dark:text-sky-400 no-card-link" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="bsky">26.foss-backstage.de...
Submit your proposal: 26.foss-backstage.de...
Call for Participation is now open! – FOSS Backstage 2026
Learn about our Call for Participation and how you can become an active part of FOSS Backstage 2026.
26.foss-backstage.de
September 1, 2025 at 7:30 AM
Our Call for Participation for FOSS Backstage is now officially open!
Find all the important information you need at a glance in our new blog post.
Read the blog post: <a href="https://26.foss-backstage.de/call-for-participation-is-now-open/" class="hover:underline text-blue-600 dark:text-sky-400 no-card-link" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="bsky">26.foss-backstage.de...
Submit your proposal: 26.foss-backstage.de...
Find all the important information you need at a glance in our new blog post.
Read the blog post: <a href="https://26.foss-backstage.de/call-for-participation-is-now-open/" class="hover:underline text-blue-600 dark:text-sky-400 no-card-link" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="bsky">26.foss-backstage.de...
Submit your proposal: 26.foss-backstage.de...
I wrote a blog post about how OSPOs can take a more strategic approach to conference talks based on some work that I did at previous companies to get the right people speaking at the right events, including improving talk acceptance rates.
fastwonderblog.com/2025/09/07/h...
fastwonderblog.com/2025/09/07/h...
How OSPOs Can Take a More Strategic Approach to Conference Talks | Fast Wonder
fastwonderblog.com
September 8, 2025 at 3:48 PM
I wrote a blog post about how OSPOs can take a more strategic approach to conference talks based on some work that I did at previous companies to get the right people speaking at the right events, including improving talk acceptance rates.
fastwonderblog.com/2025/09/07/h...
fastwonderblog.com/2025/09/07/h...
Here's the 5th blog post in my recent series about governance. This one talks about open source project ownership along with the pros, cons, and risks associated with individual, corporate, and foundation ownership.
fastwonderblog.com/2025/08/31/g...
fastwonderblog.com/2025/08/31/g...
Governance Part 5: Overall Ownership of a Project | Fast Wonder
fastwonderblog.com
September 3, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Here's the 5th blog post in my recent series about governance. This one talks about open source project ownership along with the pros, cons, and risks associated with individual, corporate, and foundation ownership.
fastwonderblog.com/2025/08/31/g...
fastwonderblog.com/2025/08/31/g...
I'm looking forward to attending the Digital Resilience Forum on October 29 in Madrid! I'm particularly interested in the discussions around digital sovereignty and OSS sustainability. It's free to attend, and you can request your ticket and get other details by visiting digitalresilienceforum.com
September 3, 2025 at 6:39 AM
I'm looking forward to attending the Digital Resilience Forum on October 29 in Madrid! I'm particularly interested in the discussions around digital sovereignty and OSS sustainability. It's free to attend, and you can request your ticket and get other details by visiting digitalresilienceforum.com