I have been on the Board of Directors since 2024 and my two year term is coming to an end. I’m standing for re-election this year.
I have 8 years experience on the GNOME Foundation Board of Directors, first from 2015 to 2021, and then more recently since 2024. I’ve been Secretary, then Chair, then Vice-President.
It’s been my honour to serve as President since August 2025, and have been the acting Executive Director since that time. This means that I’ve been managing much of the organization for the past 9 months. I’d like to continue working in that capacity, if the community is willing.
The Foundation has been in the process of reinventing itself in recent times. We’ve been reducing overheads, improving efficiency, raising more funds, and delivering new programs. If you follow my blog, you’ll see that we’ve made significant progress, changing and consolidating our internal platforms, improving financial reporting, building up our fundraising capacity, and launching the Fellowship program.
But there is much more to be done. The four priorities right now are:
Completing the internal reorganisation. Our new processes need documenting, we have a new role that we are hiring for, and there are aspects of the internal organisation that still need attention.
Boosting revenue. Increased income is essential if we are to have a resilient Foundation that can invest in the GNOME project. Our public fundraising has a long way to go and is something that we need to invest in more. We also need to develop our programs so that they can attract dedicated funding.
Rebuilding trust. It has been a rocky ride for the Foundation over the past few years, and we need to improve our relationship with community members. The work we’ve been doing puts us on the right path, but I would like to have more engagement with the community.
Enhancing project support. With healthier finances we can use the Foundation’s funds to do more things to help the project. There are things we could be doing that would directly benefit the project (my personal favourites - internships, community management). As we make progress on our other areas, the task then becomes to channel the fruits of that work back to the project.
That’s what I’d work to achieve over the next two years, and I think we can make some significant progress during that time.
I wholeheartedly second Allan’s candidacy! His work as President and acting Executive Director has been nothing short of incredible. He—along with the Executive Committee, board, and staff—has helped streamline so much of the operational overhead of the Foundation. It has allowed us to make more informed decisions, update policies to address long-standing issues, and deliver on initiatives like the GNOME Fellowships program.
I have decided to withdraw my candidacy from this election, and have requested that the Membership and Elections Committee remove my name from the vote.
When I announced my candidacy, it was with a view to continuing the work that I have been carrying out as President, a post which I took on in August last year. It has been demanding work, which has been incredibly challenging at times, not least because of some difficult decisions we have had to make as an organisation. However, the work has also brought positive results in a short space of time, with improved finances, significant internal streamlining, and the launch of our new Fellowship program. I had genuinely believed that, through that work, it would be possible to get the GNOME Foundation and project to a more positive place than it has been the past few years. Sadly, my optimism has been crushed by the infighting, personal accusations, and deliberate misinformation that have marred this week’s election debate.
The President role has taken a toll on me personally, both in terms of my mental health, and having less time for my family. I was willing to make that sacrifice when I felt that my work could lead GNOME to a more positive situation. However, this week’s events have caused me to re-evaluate. I no longer feel inclined to sacrifice personally when some members of the GNOME community are so willing to undermine everything we are trying to achieve. In choosing to withdraw, I’m reclaiming my time and energy for myself and my family. I am relishing the prospect of not having to deal with the back room manoeuvring outside the board which is currently plaguing the Foundation.
My instinct is to step back entirely. However, I recognise that, given that the Foundation is in the middle of internal role transitions, I am needed in post to continue our operations. I will therefore offer to the board that I can stay on in a more limited officer capacity until those transitions are complete.
This is horrible news Allan, I had been following the work that you have been doing on gitlab for a while and the progress you made in such a short time was incredibly admirable and impressive. You have left the foundation in a much better place today and it’s very much appreciated. I’m sorry that I didn’t find the time to thank you for the job you were doing before now.
I’m so very sorry to read that Allan. I enjoyed your Foundation updates, they were giving me confidence about the direction and that things were improving and moving ahead — as Steven nicely summarized in his look back on the past 12 months. Your announcement this week the new Friends of GNOME initiative will fund 2 Fellows to work on GNOME was wonderful news.
I’m sorry this election took such a toll on you. Wishing you and your family well. Thank you for everything you did and wanted to do.
On behalf of the GNOME Foundation Membership Committee, we’ve removed Allan as a candidate for the upcoming elections ( GNOME Foundation 2026 Elections Candidates ), his name won’t appear in the ballot we’ll be sending out to all Foundation members on the 15th of June.