2026 Board Candidate: Deepa Venkatraman

Community Elections and Referendums
1

Hi all,

It’s been my honour to serve as Treasurer since June 2025 and on the Board since November 2025 when the Board appointed me to Karen Sandler’s vacant seat. I’m advancing my candidacy for election this year.

I care about GNOME’s mission: building a platform that is accessible, empowering, and available to everyone. I believe the Foundation exists to enable that mission through programs, events, funding individual contributors, and creating opportunities for people to collaborate and grow. To do that effectively, the Foundation needs to be healthy — financially and otherwise.

I strongly advocate for ambition in vision, and pragmatism in planning. Responsible stewardship of the Foundation means supporting GNOME today while strengthening its ability to support GNOME in the years ahead. That requires clear information, thoughtful governance, and a willingness to invest in our future.

My initial focus as Treasurer was therefore to bring clarity to the Foundation’s financial position. Based on this understanding, we developed a balanced budget for 2025-26. Working alongside the Executive Director and our accounting team, we are also establishing more timely financial reporting and regular reviews.

This has helped the Board make informed decisions — including investing in fundraising efforts. The moderate success we saw contributed to the launch of the Fellowship program, while still maintaining a balanced budget. My goal would be to create a virtuous cycle where stronger fundraising enables more programs, contributor support, conferences, and community initiatives, which in turn attract more funding and participation.

I had the pleasure of hearing about some of your ideas and concerns during FOSDEM this year, and I look forward to continuing those conversations and helping steer the Foundation towards the community’s priorities.

My background in running an employee-owned coop (nilenso), consulting, entrepreneurship, and finance has given me practical experience in governance, budgeting, and long term planning. I believe these provide a strong foundation for me to contribute positively in this role.

Thank you for your consideration.

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My details:
Name: Deepa Venkatraman
Email: deepa@gnome.org
Corporate affiliation: nilenso (nilenso.com)

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GNOME Board of Directors Foundation Elections 2026 - Candidates
2026 Board Endorsements
2

I strongly second Deepa’s candidacy.

Thank you for all your hard work this past year, Deepa.

3

Deepa is one of the best treasurers that the GNOME Foundation has ever had, if not the best. Her strength is in bringing clarity and insight to complex issues, not just in relation to finances, but also in other Board discussions.

Thanks for running Deepa!

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4

I am very thankful to have Deepa as a Treasurer in the board. She is very precise, patient when explaining the reports and knowledgeable.

Happy to second her candidacy!

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5

Hi all,

I missed mentioning this in my original post: My partner Arun Raghavan is currently serving on the Board.

Best,
Deepa

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6

I strongly support Deepa’s candidacy! She’s been an incredible asset to the board and Foundation as treasurer. I would be thrilled to continue to serve alongside her.

7

Late to the party but I definitely second/third/forth/fifth everything that’s been said here. Deepa has been very generous and patient with her time and expertise in the finance committee, supporting the audit, working directly with the accounting team and reviewing books, reporting and policy, as well as supporting reports for the board and structuring the information that makes the most sense to everyone.