This year I decided to run for the NANOG Board of Directors and I wanted to elaborate what I would like to accomplish if elected. The election for NANOG Board of Directors will be held October 19 -21, 2020. Please mark your calendar and see my full profile at https://www.nanog.org/participate/elections-nominations/2020-board-candidates/board-candidate-tom-kacprzynski/
Being in the industry for the last sixteen years, I have been involved in operating a number of network types such as enterprise, datacenter, private backbone and CDN networks. Throughout these years I’ve gained the technical and organizational knowledge at established and lean startup businesses. My roles ranged from technical network engineering/architecture to leadership as department head of network engineering and software development teams along with network sourcing.
Since 2018, I was selected for the NANOG program committee and currently serving my second term. Additionally I serve as community organizer in creating a local Chicago/Midwest community of network operators. Since 2014 I have started the Chicago Network Operators Group, which is modeled after NANOG, as a vendor neutral organization. Producing nine successful conferences for the last six years has provided me with experience on working with vendors, navigating conference venue logistics, acquiring sponsors, curating content with the program committee and running the finances of the organization. The experience of running it provided me with a very relevant background that I believe would be directly applicable for the NANOG Board of Directors.
If I have the honor to serve the NANOG community as a member of the board, my goals would focus on growth and strength of the community:
Mentorship Program – The NANOG members and the overall community is composed of some of the most talented Internet experts with wealth of industry knowledge. My goal would be to create a structured mentorship program. This program would consist of mentor matching, training, goal setting and evaluation. It would strengthen NANOG and the network operations community. Within the first year, I would like to work with the board and staff to ensure a pilot mentorship program is started.
Regional NOGs Blueprint Program – I’m of the opinion that one way to grow our community is to enable other smaller NOGs as a feeder program to NANOG. This blueprint program would help organizers create their local NOGs at a smaller scale, similarly what I have done in Chicago. Within the first year, my goal would be to work with the board and staff to pilot this program.
Job Board – With the recent economic changes, I am in full support of enabling the NANOG community to create an online job board where companies can post job openings and be able to match them with NANOG members. This would be similar to other tech organizations such as ACM or IEEE, but specific to the network operators field. Within the first year I would work with the board and staff to ensure NANOG has a functioning site.
I hope to count on your support during this year’s election. If you agree on my program would you also please consider endorsing me to your friends, colleagues and perhaps leave a statement of support at https://nanog.org/participate/elections-nominations/2020-candidate-statement-support-form/ ?
Thank you,
Tom Kacprzynski