This is a part of the Council Elections Interviews series. Voting is open to all Fedora contributors. The voting period starts on Thursday, 19 November and closes promptly at 23:59:59 UTC on Thursday, 3 December 2020.

Interview with Tom Callaway

Questions

Why are you running for the Fedora Council?

To help Fedora to continue to grow and improve. I think my experience working with Fedora at Red Hat combined with the perspective I have gained from seeing how Amazon uses Linux and open source makes me a strong addition to the Council.

What do you see as Fedora’s place in the universe?

The Fedora community’s place in the universe is to provide a welcoming and inclusive home to those who wish to provide a positive experience built on the foundations of free software and open source. We work with the wider FOSS ecosystem to make it easier to use, with a focus on integrating the latest improvements.

How can we best measure Fedora’s success?

I feel that we can best measure Fedora’s success in a number of ways. First and foremost, data related to our users. How many downloads we have is a nice start, but data on how many people actually use what they download would be ideal. Secondly, tracking active contributors in our community. We should constantly be creating opportunities for people to contribute and recognizing those who are currently contributing.

What big changes does Fedora need to make in the next five years in order to continue to be successful?

I believe we need to invest in continuing to improve the user experience, whether that is on the desktop, in embedded devices, in the cloud, or within containers. Identifying real-world pain points, building solutions to address them, then retesting to see if they have positive impact. I also think we need to be constantly investing in our community, because the people are what make Fedora strong and healthy. We should continue our efforts to promote inclusiveness and diversity, with a focus on recognition and mentorship.