Who are you?
I'm Nina Zakharenko. I went to my first PyCon US in Santa Clara in 2013, and fell in love with the Python community. Since then, I've co-chaired PyCascades, taught Python to hundreds of students, and given talks, workshops, and keynotes at Python events around the world, including the closing keynote at PyCon US 2019. Professionally, I've held roles at Microsoft and Google focused on Python, open source, developer communities, and supply chain security. These days I work for myself, and I'm running as an independent candidate.
I served on the PSF Board of Directors from 2020 to 2023, including as Communications Co-Chair and Co-Vice Chair. After spending time recharging, I'm running again because I believe the Python community is entering a period of significant change, and I'd like to contribute my relevant experience to a community that has been central to my life and career for over a decade. Outside of work, I love to be creative with hobbies like 3D printing, ceramics, and stained glass artwork.
What would you bring to the PSF Board of Directors?
Three years of board experience, along with perspective from working across industry and community. During my previous term, I worked on initiatives around grants and helped introduce a more accessible membership tier. I also learned the less visible side of board work: fundraising, executive oversight, and recruiting new directors. That means I can start contributing quickly, and invest time in helping new directors onboard as well.
I've been involved in Python from many angles: as a software engineer, a conference organizer and speaker, and a teacher. At Microsoft and Google, I focused on open source and software supply chain security, and managed Microsoft's sponsorship and event presence at PyCon US and other Python events for several years. The PSF exists at an intersection of community, education, infrastructure, and sponsorship, and I believe directors with hands-on experience in those areas will help the PSF adapt to new challenges ahead.
What motivated you to run for the PSF Board of Directors?
What's pulling me back in 2026 is the sense that the landscape is changing quickly, both within and around the Python community. How open source is funded, maintained, and secured looks very different than it did a few years ago. So do conference attendance and sponsorship. As an educator and speaker, I'm hyper-aware that AI tools are changing how people learn to program, contribute to projects, submit to conferences, and share their knowledge. I believe the PSF, through its policies, grants, and working groups, has a role to play in how Python is taught in the age of AI, so that a new generation of programmers learns to read, comprehend, and debug code, and make meaningful contributions to open source.
This isn't new territory for me. I've worked on these problems as a contributor, an organizer, a PSF director, and in industry roles focused on open source and security. I'm running because I believe my experience is particularly relevant to the challenges the PSF faces today.
What problem or challenge do you want to address if you are on the board?
One of the biggest challenges is financial sustainability: as a non-profit, the PSF relies on donations to keep operating and provide critical services, like PyPI, that millions depend on.
While we'd like to see companies contribute in proportion to their use of Python, I'd love to help the board find new ways to bring in funds beyond events like PyCon US. After the PSF withdrew from a strings-attached NSF grant in October 2025, supporters donated over $150,000 and 295 new members joined within two weeks. I want to keep that momentum going through small recurring pledges from those with the means to give, and by spreading the word about employer donation matching at large tech companies.
The other side of the coin is how those funds are used: compensating the PSF's small staff fairly, and sustaining the grants and programs that shape the next generation of Python programmers. Those programs should reflect our global community, and continued outreach beyond North America and Europe is paramount. The $25 supporting membership we introduced during my last term opened the door to more people, and I believe there are more opportunities like it to welcome members from all over the world.
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Note from the election administrators:
Want to learn more about this candidate or ask them a question?
Check out their nomination statement.
Check out their AMA thread on discuss.python.org.
