Announcing PSF Community Service Award Recipients!

The PSF Community Service Awards (CSA’s) 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 and benefits the broader 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 CSAs on our website. 

The PSF Board is excited to announce three new CSAs, awarded to Katie McLaughlin, Sarah Kuchinsky, and Rodrigo Girão Serrão, for their contributions to the Python community. Read more about their contributions and impact below. 

Katie McLaughlin

Katie has been a tireless and dedicated member of the Python and Django communities for many years. They have served on the boards of both the DSF and PSF, including as PSF Communications Officer, and was named a PSF Fellow in 2018. Katie has played a big role in the Australian conference community– chairing DjangoCon AU 2017, PyCon AU in 2018 and 2019, and co-chairing PyCon AU 2021– and continues to support PyCon AU as an advisor.

A frequent speaker and keynote presenter at PyCons and DjangoCons around the world, Katie has worked to demystify Python website deployment, highlight the value of all kinds of open source contributions, and call out the impact of contempt culture on developer communities. They are also a regular at sprints, helping new contributors get started and improving onboarding through code and documentation. 

Sarah Kuchinsky

Sarah has been the driving force behind PyCon tutorials for many years, shaping them into the strong program they are today. She has brought skill, care, and consistency to the difficult work of selecting, organizing, and running tutorials, ensuring they provide meaningful learning experiences for attendees.

Beyond logistics, Sarah has a gift for spotting and nurturing talent. She has encouraged new volunteers to grow into leadership roles, building a resilient, collaborative committee that sustains itself year after year. Her outreach has kept reviewers engaged while also welcoming fresh voices, strengthening both the program and the community behind it.

The impact of Sarah’s work is felt by every instructor, attendee, and volunteer who has benefitted from PyCon tutorials, and the community is deeply grateful for her many years of leadership and care. Sarah was also the lead organizer for PyLadies Silicon Valley for over 5 years, is a SoCal Python Co-Organizer, and has contributed to a variety of open source projects.

Rodrigo Girão Serrão

Rodrigo Girão Serrão has made lasting contributions to the international Python community through his leadership, teaching, and generosity. He has helped organize PyCons in Portugal, supported the Python community across Europe, and spoken regularly at PyCons worldwide, making complex topics like descriptors clear and approachable.

Through his website mathspp.com, bootcamps, and self-published books, including the freely available Pydon’ts book, Rodrigo has worked to make Python more accessible and welcoming. His dedication to sharing knowledge and supporting others has had a wide-reaching impact, and the community is grateful for his many contributions.

Announcing the 2025 PSF Board Election Results!

The 2025 election for the PSF Board created an opportunity for conversations about the PSF's work to serve the global Python community. We appreciate community members' perspectives, passion, and engagement in the election process this year. 

We want to send a big thanks to everyone who ran and was willing to serve on the PSF Board. Even if you were not elected, we appreciate all the time and effort you put into thinking about how to improve the PSF and represent the parts of the community you participate in. We hope that you will continue to think about these issues, share your ideas, and join a PSF Work Group or PSF initiative if you feel called to do so.

Board Members Elect

Congratulations to our two new and two returning Board members who have been elected! 

• Abigail Dogbe
• Jannis Leidel
• Sheena O’Connell
• Simon Willison

We’ll be in touch with all the elected candidates shortly to schedule onboarding. Newly elected PSF Board members are provided orientation for their service and will be joining the upcoming board meeting. 

Thank you!

We’d like to take this opportunity to thank our outgoing board members. Kushal Das has been serving on the PSF Board for over ten years– WOW! Kushal has been a part of change after change for the PSF and Python community, serving in PSF Board officer positions, and we are incredibly grateful for his contributions. Dawn Wages quickly became an integral part of the Board during her tenure, stepping up as Treasurer and then Board Chair. Dawn helped guide us through a period of major change– navigating a difficult economy, adapting to the rise of AI, and supporting important shifts in our programs. Thank you, Kushal and Dawn, for your leadership and dedication to the PSF and the Python community. You will be missed and are deeply appreciated! 

Our heartfelt thanks go out to each of you who took the time to review the candidates and submit your votes. Your participation helps the PSF represent our community. We received 683 total ballots, easily reaching quorum–1/3 of affirmed voting members (929). We’re especially grateful for your patience with continuing to navigate the changes to the election processes and schedule, which allows for a valid election and a more sustainable election system.

We also want to thank everyone who helped promote this year’s board election, especially Board Members Cristián Maureira-Fredes and Georgi Ker, who took the initiative to cover this year’s election and produced informational videos for our candidates. This promotional effort was inspired by the work of Python Community News in 2023. We also want to highlight the PSF staff members and PSF Board members who put in tons of effort each year as we work to continually improve the PSF elections.

What’s next?

If you’re interested in the complete tally, make sure to check the Python Software Foundation Board of Directors Election 2025 Results page. These results will be available until Nov 11, 2025.

The PSF Election team will conduct a retrospective of this year’s election process to ensure we are improving year over year. We received valuable feedback about the process and tooling. We hope to be able to implement more changes for next year to ensure a smooth and accessible election process for everyone in our community.

Finally, it might feel a little early to mention this, but we will have at least 3 seats open again next year. If you're interested in running or learning more, we encourage you to contact a current PSF Board member or two this year and ask them about their experience serving on the board.