PSF Welcomes Hudson River Trading (HRT) as a Visionary Sponsor

[May 13, 2026] – The Python Software Foundation (PSF) is excited to announce that Hudson River Trading (HRT), a global leader in quantitative trading, has made a commitment to support Python and the PSF as a Visionary Sponsor. 

HRT’s "Visionary" sponsorship—our highest tier—will help to support the foundation’s core work of advancing and protecting the Python programming language and supporting a diverse and international community of Python programmers. HRT is the first quantitative trading firm to become a PSF Visionary Sponsor, alongside companies including NVIDIA, Google, Fastly, Bloomberg, Meta, and Anthropic. Contributions at this level directly fund the critical work that keeps Python thriving, including:

• CPython Development: Ensuring the core language remains fast, stable, and modern.
• PyPI Infrastructure: Maintaining the Python Package Index, which serves billions of downloads to developers worldwide.
• Community Programs: Supporting Python workshops, events, and user groups globally, as well as hosting PyCon US each year.
• Security Initiatives: Hardening the ecosystem against supply chain vulnerabilities.

A Shared Commitment to Python

Hudson River Trading is no stranger to the power of Python. As a leading multi-asset class quantitative trading firm, HRT relies on Python for research, data analysis, and engineering workflows. With this donation, HRT is giving back to the tools that empower their engineers and helping to ensure that Python remains flexible, effective, and welcoming in the ways that have made it one of the most popular programming languages in the world. Read more about Open Source at HRT on this page.

“Python is a cornerstone of HRT’s research and trading infrastructure. Our engineers use Python extensively to build cutting-edge tooling that enhances our developer workflows, and we believe strongly in contributing to the open source software that makes our work possible. We are proud to support the PSF as a Visionary Sponsor helping to safeguard Python as a robust, accessible, and community-driven language for years to come.”  – Prashant Lal, Partner at Hudson River Trading

“Part of HRT's edge is our engineering, and one of our core values is 'Make It Better'. Our support of the Python Software Foundation – alongside our contributions to many other open source projects – reflects our desire to remain active, collaborative participants in the OSS engineering community over the long term, for the benefit of all.” – Hashem, Lead Software Engineer at Hudson River Trading

“At HRT, we’ve always believed that the best way to advance Python is by working hand-in-hand with the community. Our internal work on lazy imports gave us deep expertise in the problem space, and we channeled that experience directly into open collaboration by contributing to the development of PEP 810. We pride ourselves on being exemplary participants in both the trading markets and the open source community, and our sponsorship of the Python Software Foundation reflects that genuine spirit of collaboration.” – Pablo Galindo Salgado, Lead Software Engineer at Hudson River Trading

As part of its ongoing participation in the Python ecosystem, HRT will be open sourcing some of its own projects and announcing additional OSS contributions later this year. To learn more about HRT’s open engineering, research, and data science roles, visit https://www.hudsonrivertrading.com/careers/. 

The PSF is grateful for Hudson River Trading’s support, alongside that of each of our Visionary Sponsors, and we hope you will join us in thanking them for their commitment to  the PSF and the Python community!

About Hudson River Trading (HRT)

Hudson River Trading (HRT) is a leading quantitative trading firm at the forefront of technical innovation in global financial markets. Every day, we bring together the world’s sharpest minds to collaboratively solve challenging problems and build technology that will drive the future of trading. Leveraging one of the world’s most sophisticated computing environments for research and development, we trade across asset classes and time horizons on more than 200 markets worldwide. We are a leading voice advocating for fair and transparent markets everywhere and dedicated to creating a better trading landscape for all. For more information, visit www.hudsonrivertrading.com. 

About the Python Software Foundation (PSF)

The Python Software Foundation is a US non-profit whose mission is to promote, protect, and advance the Python programming language, and to support and facilitate the growth of a diverse and international community of Python programmers. The PSF supports the Python community using corporate sponsorships, grants, and donations. Are you interested in sponsoring or donating to the PSF so we can continue supporting Python and its community? Check out our sponsorship program, donate directly, or contact our team at sponsors@python.org!

Announcing PSF Community Service Award Recipients!

The PSF Community Service Awards (CSAs) are a formal way for the PSF Board of Directors to offer recognition of work which, in its opinion, significantly improves the Foundation's fulfillment of its mission to build a vibrant, welcoming, global Python community. These awards shine a light on the incredible people who are the heart and soul of our community– those whose dedication, creativity, and generosity help the PSF fulfill its mission. The PSF CSAs celebrate individuals who have been truly invaluable, inspiring others through their example, and demonstrates that service to the Python community leads to recognition and reward. If you know of someone in the Python community deserving of a PSF CSA award, please submit them to the PSF Board via psf@python.org at any time. You can read more about PSF CSA’s on our website. 

The PSF Board is excited to announce 5 new CSAs, awarded to Inessa Pawson, Kafui Alordo, Kalyan Prasad, Maria Jose Molina Contreras, and Paul Everitt, for their contributions to the Python community. Read more about their work and impact below. 

Inessa Pawson 

Inessa Pawson has been a tireless and dedicated contributor to the Python ecosystem for over eight years. She has led the PyCon US Maintainers Summit since 2020, not only shaping the event but actively opening doors for others to participate–onboarding new contributors and supporting attendees with characteristic warmth and care. 
 
Beyond PyCon US, Inessa has spearheaded the Maintainers and Community Track, the mentorship program, and the Teen Track at the SciPy Conference, and co-founded the Contributor Experience project, reflecting her deep commitment to making the Python community more inclusive and accessible. She brings that same dedication to her roles on the NumPy Steering Committee, the scikit-learn survey team, and the SPEC (Scientific Python Ecosystem Coordination) Steering Committee. As a leader on the pyOpenSci Advisory Council, Inessa has been instrumental in advancing the organization's mission to support open and reproducible science.

Kafui Alordo

Kafui Alordo has spent years building and nurturing the Python community in Ho, in the Volta Region of Ghana. What began for Kafui as volunteer coaching at the first Django Girls Ho workshop grew into co-organizing the second and third editions, and eventually leading the workshop as its primary organizer, while also lending his expertise as a coach and co-organizer at Django Girls events across Ghana. Recognizing that sustainable community growth starts with welcoming total beginners, Kafui introduced a coding bootcamp initiative for his user group that has broadened participation and helped new learners find their footing in Python. 

Kafui’s landmark achievement came with the organization of PyHo, the first-ever regional Python conference in Ho, which drew attendees from diverse backgrounds across the country. His impact has also extended well beyond Ghana, most recently stepping into the role of remote chair on the PyCascades organizing team.

Kalyan Prasad

Kalyan Prasad's journey in the Python community began in 2019 as a volunteer with the Hyderabad Python User Group (HydPy), one of India's largest Python communities, and he has grown steadily into one of its most consequential leaders. His dedication to PyConf Hyderabad has been especially remarkable–contributing across the CFP, program, and sponsorship teams, serving as co-chair in 2022, and stepping up as chair in both 2025 and 2026, representing four consecutive years of conference leadership at the regional and national level. 

At the national scale, Kalyan also served as co-chair for PyCon India 2023. Kalyan's commitment extends well beyond India, as he actively contributes to the broader Python ecosystem as a reviewer, mentor, and program committee member for conferences around the world. His care for community safety is further reflected in two years of service on the NumFOCUS Code of Conduct squad, ensuring that Python spaces remain welcoming and respectful for everyone. Kalyan has also joined the PSF Diversity & Inclusion Working Group this year, contributing to inclusion efforts. 

Maria Jose Molina Contreras

Maria Jose Molina Contreras has been a dedicated and wide-ranging contributor to the Python community, with deep roots in both Spanish-language and PyLadies initiatives. She has been a core organizer of PyLadiesCon since its inaugural edition in 2023, serving as co-chair in 2024 and 2025, and her tireless leadership helped make the most recent edition the most successful in the conference's history, raising over $55,000 in funds to support PyLadies members and chapters around the world. 

Maria’s commitment to Spanish-speaking Pythonistas is equally impressive: she contributes to the Python Docs ES initiative, coordinates events for Python en Español on Discord, and co-founded the PyLadies en Español initiative, including leading the PyLadies presence at PyCon US. At EuroPython, Maria has volunteered since 2023 and taken on growing responsibility, leading community booths, PyLadies events, and community organizer efforts in 2024 and 2025. She has also served as a reviewer for PyCon US Charlas since 2020 and has been a speaker at numerous conferences including PyCon US, EuroPython, and PyConES, sharing her expertise with audiences across the global community. 

Paul Everitt

Paul Everitt's relationship with Python stretches back to the very beginning! Paul was present at the early PyCons and played a foundational role as an incorporating member and director on the PSF's first Board of Directors, helping to establish the organization that supports Python to this day. Decades later, his commitment to the community remains as strong as ever, demonstrated through his long tenure as a Developer Advocate at JetBrains/PyCharm, where he has championed the company's sustained investment in Python open source. 

Paul’s advocacy extends beyond any one project, as he has provided support to smaller but important ecosystem projects like HTMX and remained a regular, encouraging presence at Python conferences and on podcasts. Most recently, Paul proved that his contributions are not merely historical–he co-authored PEP 750, introducing template strings (t-strings) as a significant new feature in Python 3.14, demonstrating a continued willingness to roll up his sleeves and shape the language itself. Whether writing PEPs, giving conference talks, or simply championing the people who make Python great, Paul’s generous and enthusiastic spirit is an invaluable gift to the Python community. 

Strategic Planning at the PSF

The Python Software Foundation (PSF) is excited to share that the PSF Board has been developing a strategic plan to guide the foundation's direction over the next five years. We are sharing the high-level goals today to collect feedback and commentary from the Python community. A full draft with detailed objectives will be published in early June for public feedback, and the board hopes to adopt the plan in July 2026, to be reviewed annually going forward.

Why now

The Python ecosystem is growing and changing fast. PyPI hosts over 800,000 projects and serves tens of billions of downloads per month. The Developers-in-Residence program has grown from a single role to a team spanning CPython development, security, and PyPI safety, proving that targeted investment in core infrastructure works. Last year's fundraiser showed that the community and sponsors are willing to support the PSF's mission when provided the opportunity.

The foundation also faces challenges. As we shared in November, the PSF's assets and yearly revenue have declined and costs have increased, while the demand for the foundation's work grows faster than its capacity. Last year we had to pause the Grants Program after reaching the budget cap earlier than expected. These pressures are part of why the board committed to a strategic plan: the foundation needs a clear framework for making hard choices about where to focus.

The PSF Board has discussed strategic planning over the years, including at the 2024 board retreat. This year, we committed to turning that discussion into a concrete plan. The process included numerous interviews with PSF Staff, community members, and participants across the Python ecosystem. After interviews, the PSF Board went through a prioritization exercise, followed by a series of dedicated and structured board discussions.

The direction

The plan has two parts: 

I. Organizational Goals: How the PSF operates across all its activities, and
II. Program Goals: Where the PSF directs its work and resources. 

We invite your feedback on all of the goals in both parts of the plan (See the “How to participate” section below). 

I. Organizational Goals: How we operate

1. Financial Sustainability: Diversify the PSF's revenue so the foundation is not dependent on any single source.
2. Building a Resilient Foundation: Strengthen governance, financial oversight, and knowledge management so the organization can survive transitions and operate transparently.
3. Diversity and Inclusion: D&I is not treated as a standalone effort. D&I is a lens for all PSF decisions and activities.
4. Transparency and Community Trust: Increase visibility into how the PSF makes decisions and uses its resources, as the community's trust in its governance is the foundation of the PSF's credibility.
5. Community Empowerment and Self-Sufficiency: Support Python communities in building their own capacity through collaboration and shared resources.
6. Strong Partnerships and Collaboration: Partner with organizations that distribute, extend, and depend on Python, as well as with community groups across the open source ecosystem.

II. Program Goals: Where we focus our work

• Secure Python's Software Supply Chain and Distribution Infrastructure. PyPI is critical global infrastructure, and supply chain security goes beyond the index. Python reaches users through many channels beyond python.org and PyPI, which makes collaboration with distributors essential.
• Responsibly Grow and Advance Critical Python Infrastructure. The PSF stewards PyPI, CPython, python.org, pip, and more. Growth needs to match staffing capacity and sustainable funding.
• Foster a Thriving, Connected Global Python Community. Support the global Python community through events, grants, and working groups, while empowering regional communities to be self-sufficient.
• Develop the Next Generation of Python Developers. Make Python accessible to newcomers and remove barriers for underrepresented groups.

How the plan works

We developed this strategic plan to cover a five-year period. The board will review progress annually with community input, review whether priorities need to shift, and publish the results so the community can see how we are tracking. The intention is for the strategic plan to be flexible and adaptive, so that it can effectively guide the PSF’s priorities as the ecosystem continues to grow and evolve, rather than a static document that begins to collect dust on the shelf.

We developed the plan to set direction–not implementation details. How to carry it out is the job of PSF Staff, and the specifics will evolve as we learn what works. Once adopted, the plan will directly inform how the PSF allocates its budget and staff time and how it seeks funding.

How to participate

If any of these goals matter to you, or if you think we are missing something important, we want to hear from you.

We welcome you to email strategy@python.org to share your thoughts. This is the best way to reach us asynchronously.

You can also join the conversation with us at:

• PSF Board Office Hours on May 12 and June 9th, on the PSF Discord. We hope to spend both of these sessions focused on discussing the strategic plan with people from the community.
• PyCon US 2026 at the Members Lunch and a dedicated Open Space session. We know only a small fraction of our community will be present at PyCon US this year, so we warmly welcome you to engage with us on Discuss and via the email address provided above.
• A Python Discuss thread is available for open community discussion. We welcome you to join in with feedback and comments. 

A full draft with detailed objectives under each Program Goal will be published in early June for community feedback via this blog, Python Discuss under the PSF category, and social media. The feedback window for this year will close before the July 8th PSF Board meeting.

This plan will shape what the PSF does and how it spends its resources for the next five years. If you use Python, contribute to it, or participate in communities around it, you have a stake in shaping its future.

Jannis Leidel, PSF Board Chair, on behalf of the PSF Board of Directors

Announcing Python Software Foundation Fellow Members for Q1 2026! 🎉

The PSF is pleased to announce its first batch of PSF Fellows for 2026. Let us welcome the new PSF Fellows for Q1! The following people continue to do amazing things for the Python community:

Bill Deegan

Website, LinkedIn, GitHub, X

El-karece Asiedu

LinkedIn

(James) Kanin Kearpimy

Linktree

Jonas Obrist

Kristen McIntyre

Lucie Anglade

Website

Phebe Polk

Philippe Gagnon

Sarah Kuchinsky

Mastodon, Bluesky

Simon Charette

LinkedIn, GitHub

Sony Valdez

Website, GitHub

Stan Ulbrych

GitHub, Mastodon

Steve Yonkeu

Website, GitHub

 

Thank you for your continued contributions. We have added you to our Fellows Roster.

The above members help support the Python ecosystem by being phenomenal leaders, sustaining the growth of the Python scientific community, maintaining virtual Python communities, maintaining Python libraries, creating educational material, organizing Python events and conferences, starting Python communities in local regions, and overall being great mentors in our community. Each of them continues to help make Python more accessible around the world. To learn more about the new Fellow members, check out their links above.

Let's continue recognizing Pythonistas all over the world for their impact on our community. The criteria for Fellow members is available on our PSF Fellow Membership page. If you would like to nominate someone to be a PSF Fellow, please send a description of their Python accomplishments and their email address to psf-fellow at python.org. We are accepting nominations for Quarter 2 of 2026 through May 20th, 2026.

Are you a PSF Fellow and want to help the Work Group review nominations? Contact us at psf-fellow at python.org.

PyCon US 2026: Why we're asking you to think about your hotel reservation

The PyCon US 2026 team has already covered some of the fun, unexpected, and meaningful reasons you’ll want to stay in the PyCon US hotel block. The PSF wants to use our blog to give a different angle, to keep being transparent with you, and share a little bit of real talk on the economics of holding a conference in the US at this moment in time. The short version is, if you’re joining us in Long Beach, please book the official PyCon US hotels through your PyCon US 2026 dashboard, because bookings in our hotel block are critical to the economic viability of the event.

Context on hotel bookings & PyCon US

For many years, PyCon US has relied on hotel booking commissions to help pay for our conference space. This helps us keep the event tickets affordable and to continue offering Travel Grants to community members who might not otherwise be able to attend PyCon US. Once your event outgrows academic spaces, donated conference rooms, or theatre spaces, working with the hotels is the industry’s standard way to pay for a professional convention center space. You commit to a certain number of hotel nights blocked off at nearby hotels, based on your event’s numbers from previous years, and in return, you get a reduced rental charge at the convention center. If you sell enough rooms, you additionally earn a small percentage of the revenue from those rooms, i.e. a commission. If, on the other hand, you don’t sell enough rooms, you owe damages to the hotels–essentially paying the full rate for the rooms they reserved for your event but didn’t sell. 

This system has worked well for the PSF and PyCon US until this year. At the height of the pre-pandemic years, we brought in over $200,000 in hotel commissions. Even last year in Pittsburgh, we fully sold out one hotel and our total commission in 2025 was a healthy $95,909. Unfortunately, this year our hotel bookings are far behind the level they need to avoid damages, let alone earn any commission. We attribute this largely to the sad but understandable decline in willingness of international attendees, as well as some vulnerable domestic attendees, to travel to PyCon US, given the current environment. The bottom line is, if PyCon US hotel booking trends continue at their current pace, the PSF is on track to owe over $200,000 in damages under our hotel contracts.

We are not alone in this. The travel industry has been talking about the slump in foreign visitors to the US for months. The decline in foreign tourism revenue is also making the hotels less interested in being generous with our rates, contracts, and deadlines, since most hotels have seen declines in their bookings all year, not just during our event. Everyone is feeling the squeeze.

Where we’re at now

PyCon US ticket sales are only lagging by a bit. Local attendees buy their tickets later, which is something we anticipate, but this year’s hotel bookings are lagging by a lot compared to last year:

PyCon US Ticket sales as of April 10, 2025: 1,565

​​​​PyCon US Ticket sales as of April 12, 2026: 1,333

Hotel nights sold as of April 10th, 2025: 3,155 

Hotel nights sold as of April 12th, 2026: 2,192

Hotel nights we need to sell by April 20th, 2026 to avoid damages: 3,338

Additional Hotel nights needed by April 20th, 2026 to avoid damages: 1,146

The PSF signed a contract for the Long Beach venue back in July of 2023. At that time we couldn‘t have foreseen this current situation where interest in coming to the US has sharply declined due to increased risk. In response, we have focused on attracting more domestic attendees, and that has been going pretty well, but it hasn’t made up for the macroeconomic and geopolitical impacts on our attendance. 

How you can help

We’ll need as many of our attendees as possible to book the official conference hotel before the deadline: The first hotel block closes on April 20th, and the last block closes April 24th. 

Booking the official conference hotel helps us keep PyCon US running and affordable and it’s also a lot of fun to stay where the action is. If you are planning to join us at PyCon US this year (and we hope you can because there are a lot of great things happening at the event this year!) then we hope you will consider booking an official conference hotel. 

To book in our hotel block, first register for the conference, and then book your room directly from your attendee dashboard. If you need help or would like to reserve a group of rooms, please contact our housing partner Orchid: 1-877-505-0689 or help@orchid.events. Our hotels page has a full list of the four hotel options and their deadlines.

A final note

We want to thank you for your commitment to the community that makes PyCon US the special event it is. We hope to see you there to learn, collaborate, and share lots of fun moments. 

For all those who can’t be at PyCon US this year for whatever reason: you will be sorely missed and we hope to see you at a future edition of the event!

 

Reflecting on Five Years as the PSF’s First CPython Developer in Residence

After nearly five wonderful years at the Python Software Foundation as the inaugural CPython Developer in Residence, it's time for me to move on. I feel honored and honestly so lucky to have had the opportunity to kick off the program that now includes several wonderful full-time engineers. I'm glad to see the program left in good hands. The vacancy created by my departure will be filled after PyCon US as the PSF is currently focused on delivering a strong event. I'm happy to share that Meta will continue to sponsor the CPython Developer in Residence role at least through mid-2027. The program is safe.

Łukasz with PSF's Security Developer in Residence Seth Larson and PyPI Safety & Security Engineer Mike Fielder at PyCon US 2025

As a member of the Python Steering Council during Łukasz’s tenure as Developer in Residence, I express my personal gratitude for his dedication to the CPython project and the larger Python community. I know I echo the sentiment of everyone who has served on the Council during his time as DiR. He has defined what it means to be a Developer in Residence - a position that is incredibly important to the smooth operation of the CPython project, in large and small ways, visible and hidden. Our bi-weekly meetings gave the Steering Council a detailed, unique, and invaluable contemporaneous perspective on what’s happening in CPython. Łukasz leaves big shoes to fill, and we wish him all the best in his next endeavor. It’s comforting to know that he will continue to be a Python leader and member of the core team.

-- Barry Warsaw; Python Steering Council member 2026

In my time as a developer in residence, I personally touched some pretty amazing projects like the transition to GitHub issues from bugs.python.org, the replacement of the mostly manual CLA process with an automated system, the introduction of free threading to Python, and the replacement of the interactive shell in the interpreter. And between the thousands of pull requests I've reviewed or authored, and the many less glamorous tasks like content moderation and keeping the lights on when it comes to core workflow, I've interacted with some amazing individuals. Some of them are core developers now. I've witnessed the full-time paid developer in residence roster at the Python Software Foundation grow from one person to five.

As for me, ever since seeing it for the first time in 2013, I had dreamed about moving permanently to Vancouver BC. This dream is coming true soon. As part of that move, I'm joining Meta as a software engineer on the Python Language Foundation team. In any case, I'm not disappearing from the open-source Python community. I'll be seeing you online and maybe even in person at Python-related conferences.

Applications to Join the PSF Meetup Pro Network Are Back Open

Following the introduction of the PSF Community Partner Program, the Python Software Foundation (PSF) is pleased to announce that we have reopened the application for Python Meetup groups to join the PSF’s Meetup Pro Network! We’re very excited to bring back this offering to the Python community after applications were temporarily suspended under the broader PSF Grants Program pause last August. Make sure to check out the PSF’s Meetup Pro Network documentation page for more information on how to apply. 

Reopening applications for the PSF’s Meetup Pro Network is a small but meaningful step forward for our community support-focused programs. The rest of the PSF Grants Program remains on hold while we work through important considerations, such as what we can responsibly budget and how the program will be structured for long-term sustainability. We look forward to sharing more updates when possible. 

The PSF welcomes your comments, feedback, and suggestions regarding the reopening of the PSF Meetup Pro Network on the corresponding Discuss thread. We also invite you to join our upcoming PSF Board or Grants Program Office Hour sessions to talk with the PSF Board and Staff synchronously. If you wish to send your feedback privately, please email grants@python.org. 

About the PSF’s Meetup Pro Network

The PSF manages a Meetup Pro account and adds qualified Python-focused Meetup groups to the overarching PSF Meetup Pro Network. Meetup organizers no longer pay for Meetup subscriptions once they become part of the PSF’s network. We currently have 109 groups in the PSF Meetup Pro Network, which costs the PSF $15/month per group.

The PSF can run reports on Meetup activity, such as the number of interested attendees and events. Management of membership and events is left to the group’s organizers. Any registration fees or deposits for RSVPing or paying for registration to an event are also managed solely by the Meetup organizer. 

Once a Meetup organizer accepts the invite to join, a notation will be shown under the group name: “Part of Python Software Foundation Meetup Pro Network.” Check out the Meetup Pro overview page for more information.

Criteria and how to apply

We've made the application process and criteria as simple as possible, so Python Meetup groups around the world can easily get the support they need. Along those lines, we’ve kept the requirements short and sweet—to qualify for the PSF’s Meetup Pro Network, a Meetup group must:

• Offer content that is majority Python related
• Include or link to a Code of Conduct in the About section of the Meetup page
• Hold at least 2 events per year (virtual or in-person)

To apply, fill out the short application form on psfmember.org, that asks for basic contact information, as well as gathers information related to the criteria listed above. Make sure you have an account on psfmember.org and that you’re signed in! A PSF Staff member will reach out with any questions or provide the steps needed to add eligible groups to the PSF Meetup Pro Network. 

About the Python Software Foundation

The Python Software Foundation is a US non-profit whose mission is to promote, protect, and advance the Python programming language, and to support and facilitate the growth of a diverse and international community of Python programmers. The PSF supports the Python community using corporate sponsorships, grants, and donations. Are you interested in sponsoring or donating to the PSF so we can continue supporting Python and its community? Check out our sponsorship program, donate directly, or contact our team at sponsors@python.org!

Join the Python Security Response Team!

Thanks to the work of the Security Developer-in-Residence Seth Larson, the Python Security Response Team (PSRT) now has an approved public governance document (PEP 811). Following the new governance structure the PSRT now publishes a public list of members, has documented responsibilities for members and admins, and a defined process for onboarding and offboarding members to balance the needs of security and sustainability. The document also clarifies the relationship between the Python Steering Council and the PSRT.

And this new onboarding process is already working! The PSF Infrastructure Engineer, Jacob Coffee, has just joined the PSRT as the first new non-"Release Manager" member since Seth joined the PSRT in 2023. We expect new members to join further bolstering the sustainability of security work for the Python programming language.

Thanks to Alpha-Omega for their support of Python ecosystem security by sponsoring Seth’s work as the Security Developer-in-Residence at the Python Software Foundation.

What is the Python Security Response Team?

Security doesn't happen by accident: it's thanks to the work of volunteers and paid Python Software Foundation staff on the Python Security Response Team to triage and coordinate vulnerability reports and remediations keeping all Python users safe. Just last year the PSRT published 16 vulnerability advisories for CPython and pip, the most in a single year to date!

And the PSRT usually can’t do this work alone, PSRT coordinators are encouraged to involve maintainers and experts on the projects and submodules. By involving the experts directly in the remediation process ensures fixes adhere to existing API conventions and threat-models, are maintainable long-term, and have minimal impact on existing use-cases.

Sometimes the PSRT even coordinates with other open source projects to avoid catching the Python ecosystem off-guard by publishing a vulnerability advisory that affects multiple other projects. The most recent example of this is PyPI’s ZIP archive differential attack mitigation.

This work deserves recognition and celebration just like contributions to source code and documentation. Seth and Jacob are developing further improvements to workflows involving “GitHub Security Advisories” to record the reporter, coordinator, and remediation developers and reviewers to CVE and OSV records to properly thank everyone involved in the otherwise private contribution to open source projects.

How can I join the Python Security Response Team?

Maybe you’ve read all this and are interested in directly helping the Python programming language be more secure! The process is similar to the Core Team nomination process, you need an existing PSRT member to nominate you and for your nomination to receive at least ⅔ positive votes from existing PSRT members.

You do not need to be a core developer, team member, or triager to be a member of the Python Security Response Team. Anyone with security expertise that is known and highly-trusted within the Python community and has time to volunteer or donate through their employer would make a good candidate for the PSRT. Please note that all PSRT team members have documented responsibilities and are expected to contribute meaningfully to the remediation of vulnerabilities.

Being a member of the PSRT is not required to be notified of vulnerabilities and shouldn’t be to receive “early notification” of vulnerabilities affecting CPython and pip. The Python Software Foundation is a CVE Numbering Authority and publishes CVE and OSV records with up-to-date information about vulnerabilities affecting CPython and pip.

Python is for Everyone: Inside the PSF's D&I Work Group

We are living in a moment where diversity and inclusion work is being actively undermined. 

From policy changes to corporate rollbacks, the gains we’ve fought for are being questioned and dismantled. Having lived in different countries and been part of many diverse communities, I’ve seen firsthand what happens when people feel excluded from spaces they want to be part of. As the chair of the Python Software Foundation’s Diversity & Inclusion Work Group for the past two years, I want to share what we’ve been doing, why it matters, and the incredible people making it happen. 

When I took on this role, I realized how much work the workgroup has already invested in that nobody knew about. This article is a reflection on our journey, the challenges we face, and where we’re heading. I want to share our story because I believe it matters.

Why This Matters

You might be asking yourself: Why invest so much energy in diversity and inclusion work, especially now when it’s being questioned and de-prioritized?

But we all know the truth: barriers exist everywhere. A meetup announcement only in English. Documentation that assumes reliable internet. Examples that reference things unfamiliar to most of the world. Code of conduct violations without clear guidance for organizers. Communities wanting to start but not knowing where to begin.

Because the Python community is global, and it should feel that way. When someone discovers Python in Nigeria, Brazil, India, or anywhere else in the world, they should see a community that welcomes them. They should find resources in their language, examples that reflect their context, and people who understand their challenges.

Diversity isn’t just about representation. It’s about making Python better. More approachable. More accessible. Different perspectives lead to better solutions, more creative problem-solving, and software that works for more people. When we only hear from one type of voice, we miss opportunities to improve.

Right now, when diversity and inclusion efforts are being rolled back in many places, it’s tempting to stay quiet. But that’s exactly why we need to speak up about the work we’re doing. The Python Software Foundation made a commitment: to support a diverse and international community of Python programmers. The D&I Work Group exists to make that commitment real, tangible, and actionable.

---

How The Diversity and Inclusion Workgroup Started

The PSF Board created the Diversity & Inclusion Work Group in 2020 with a clear purpose: to amplify the Python Software Foundation’s mission of supporting a diverse and international community. It was a good idea. People wanted to join.

Members came from different regions around the world, excited to be part of the group and looking forward to creating an impact because all of us, in one way or another, felt something was missing: the need to amplify and embrace diversity through more inclusion.

Most discussions related to diversity and how we could spread awareness. The chats on our Slack channel were active with people sharing different opinions and resources.

PyConUS D&I Panel Discussions

We held interesting annual D&I panels where we discussed important topics which are often set aside. In 2022 and 2023 at PyCon US, we spoke about the lack of representation on the board, why the board lacked global representation, the lack of representation from core developers in other parts of the world apart from the US and Europe despite the huge representation of Pythonistas around the world, and how people could contribute to changing that representation.

PyConUS 2022 D&I Panel Discussion

Participating D&I Workgroup members: Georgi Ker, Reuven Lerner, Anthony Shaw, Lorena Mesa

PyConUS 2023 D&I Panel Discussion

Participating D&I Workgroup members: Marlene Mhangami, Débora Azevedo, Iqbal Abdullah, Georgi Ker

PyConUS 2024 D&I Panel Discussion

In 2024, we invited different Python community leaders: Abigail Mesrenyame Dogbe, Dima Dinama,Jules Juliano Barros Lima, Jessica Greene, and Mason Egger, who shared about their work, their involvement, and their challenges as community leaders.

Participating D&I Workgroup members: Débora Azevedo, Georgi Ker

PyConUS 2025 D&I Panel Discussion

In 2025, due to political changes happening around the world, we invited Cristián Maureira-Fredes, Jay Miller, and Naomi Ceder to the D&I Workgroup panel to talk about “The Work Still Matters: Inclusion, Access, and Community in 2025.”

Participating D&I Workgroup members: Alla Barbalat, Keanya Phelps

The panels were great. The discussions in our workgroup were great. But something was still not going right.

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Building a Global Work Group

In 2024, when I took on the role of chair, the D&I Work Group was at a crossroads. The PSF Board had created it to amplify the Foundation’s mission, and there was genuine interest from the community, but without a clear direction or structure, momentum had faded. People wanted to join, but they didn’t know what the group would actually do.

I knew we needed two things: a clear purpose and genuine diversity in our membership. Not just diversity as an abstract goal, but real representation from the regions where Python communities were thriving.

I started by doing research that I could share with the rest of the workgroup members. I went through the Python.org calendar, cataloging events and projects happening around the world. What I found was that Python communities were active everywhere (as expected), but they weren’t really represented in our Work Group’s leadership. I identified regional gaps and proposed a structure that would ensure fair representation: North America, South America, Africa, Asia, Oceania, the Middle East, and Europe.

The current representation as of October 2024 across regions is as follows:

• North America: 3
• South America: 3
• Asia: 3
• Europe: 3
• Africa: 3
• Oceania: 1
• Middle East: 2

It is important to note that each member has the freedom to choose which region they represent. As a D&I Workgroup, we do not dictate regional representation. This decision is entirely up to the individual, ensuring that members represent the region where they feel most connected or comfortable. We also shared which countries would be represented in which region to be explicit for interested parties.

We launched a public outreach campaign to the community. People applied, and the group voted to bring in new members. For the first time, we had a WorkGroup that truly reflected the global Python community.

But diverse perspectives meant many different ideas. In two workshop sessions, we listed every initiative people wanted to pursue, grouped them by theme, discussed priorities, and filtered down to three focused initiatives we could realistically accomplish with volunteer time and resources.

These three initiatives are:

1. Concentrate on Outreach to Communities - Creating resources and templates to help communities improve their D&I efforts
2. How to Setup a Local Python Community - A comprehensive guide for organizers starting new user groups
3. Continue Collecting Survey Feedback from the Python Community - Gathering data to understand where we need to focus

The three initiatives we’re working on aren’t abstract goals. They’re about giving people the tools and support they need to build inclusive communities where they are. And of course, there are many other things we would like to work on. But filtering down to what we can concentrate on right now will give us better results, and we will continue to move on and work on the others as we progress.

We meet twice monthly across different time zones. We noticed that monthly meetings aren’t frequent enough, coordination is challenging, and volunteer time is limited. But we’re learning and adapting.

This wasn’t just about having good ideas. It was about creating a sustainable framework where a volunteer group could actually make progress.

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Meet the Members of the Workgroup

The heart of the D&I Work Group is the people who show up, month after month, to do this work. They come from different regions, different backgrounds, and different parts of the Python ecosystem. We have 19 active members representing all regions and a PSF staff member included.

Welcoming New Members

We’re excited to welcome our five new members: Kalyan Prasad, representing Asia, Julio Batista Silva representing Europe, Abhijeet Mote representing North America, Theresa Seyram Agbenyegah and Emmanuel Ugwu representing Africa. They will bring fresh perspectives and energy to our work.

Thanking our Former Members

We also want to acknowledge and thank our former members who have contributed to the D&I Work Group: Miguel Johnson, Marlene Mhangami , Tereza Iofciu, Iqbal Abdullah,Cynthia Xin, Mariam Haji and Boluwaji Akinlade. Their dedication helped shape what this group has become, and we’re grateful for everything they contributed.

Our current members:

South America (3 members)

• Débora Azevedo
• Juliana Barros Lima (Jules)
• Karolina Ladino Puerto

North America (4 members)

• Keanya Phelps
• Alla Barbalat
• Marie Nordin - PSF Staff
• Abhijeet Mote - New member!

Asia (3 members)

• Sayantika Banik
• Georgi Ker
• Kalyan Prasad - New member!

Europe (3 members)

• Jimena Escobar Bermúdez
• Filipe Laíns
• Julio Batista Silva - New member!

Middle East (2 members)

• Reuven Lerner
• Ali Tavallaie

Africa (3 member)

• Mannie Young
• Theresa Seyram Agbenyegah - New member!
• Emmanuel Ugwu - New member!

Oceania (1 members)

• Nathan Bransby

PSF Staff Member

We also have Marie Nordin - PSF Staff from the PSF staff as a voting member of the workgroup. Marie provides crucial support and coordination, helping bridge our initiatives with the broader PSF mission and ensuring our work has the resources and visibility it needs to succeed. Her dedicated support and active participation have been instrumental in helping us move from discussion to action.

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Looking Forward

The D&I Work Group can’t do this work alone. Real change happens when every Python developer, every community organizer, every person writing documentation or teaching a workshop thinks about inclusion in their own context.

You don’t need to join a work group to make a difference. You can:

• In your local community: Start a Python meetup in your area. Make it beginner-friendly. Announce it in multiple languages if your region is multilingual. Choose accessible venues.
• In your workplace: Mentor someone from a different background. Share knowledge with junior developers. Advocate for diverse hiring and inclusive team practices.
• In your open source projects: Write clear documentation. Add examples that reflect different use cases. Make your contribution guidelines welcoming to newcomers. Consider what barriers might prevent someone from contributing.
• In your daily work: Question assumptions. When you write code examples, ask: “Would this make sense to someone who doesn’t share my context?” When you organize an event, ask: “Who might feel excluded, and how can I change that?”

We all know that Python’s success isn’t just about the language. It’s about the community. And that’s the hard truth. The more diverse that community is, the more use cases we discover, the more creative solutions we find, the more people benefit from what we build together.

Diversity and inclusion work isn’t a side project or a “nice-to-have”. It’s how we ensure Python remains a language for everyone, everywhere. It’s how we make sure the next generation of developers (wherever they are, whatever their background) sees Python as a community they can be part of.

The work is hard. The progress is slow, and it’s often invisible. But it matters. Every small action compounds. Every person who chooses to be intentional about inclusion makes it easier for the next person.

That’s what keeps us going in the workgroup. That’s why we show up every month. If you want to learn more about the D&I Work Group, get involved, or share your own experiences with building inclusive communities, you can write to us at diversity-inclusion-wg@python.org. 

We’re always learning, and we’d love to hear from you.