Improving Transparency:
I count myself among the most passionate Drupal evangelists and believe the Drupal community to be a healthy, diverse and inclusive one. As the community grows and the governance of Drupal evolves, there will be new challenges to overcome and I am motivated by helping to overcome them. The challenges include:Who are you? (biography/background)
Why should members vote for you? (qualifications)
https://www.drupal.org/u/zoocha-will
I have been involved in the Drupal community for about 15 years and have been a regular speaker at Drupal events internationally. I have been a session reviewer for DrupalCons in Europe and North America for the last 5 years, more recently leading the Agency & Business track for DrupalCon Europe. I also lead the Drupal Swag Shop Working Group, am a director of Drupal England & Wales and DrupalCamp England and am active in the Network of European Drupal Agencies (NEDA), an initiative that is now collaborating with the DA on the plans for a ‘Drupal International Federation’.
The qualifications I want to highlight are centred around my industry and community insights. My experience in both client side (end user) and agency side roles gives me a rounded perspective of the CMS market, how it is navigated by buyers and how it is sold by agencies. Furthermore, with the UK (and Europe more widely) a significant market for Drupal, with strong growth prospects, I feel that representation on the board is important.
I live in Cambridge (UK) with my wife, Anabel and our dog, Daisy. In my spare time, I play tennis and bridge.
In 2009, I co-founded Zoocha, which has grown to become a global digital agency specialising in Drupal and working with clients including United Nations, University of Cambridge, Alzheimer’s Society and British Tourist Authority. With a team of over 90 incredible people, Zoocha is headquartered in the UK and has offices in Spain and Brazil.
- How can we extend the reach of the Drupal brand and proposition to drive growth for DCP’s and generate sustainable revenues for Drupal?
- What needs to happen to ensure ‘commercialization’ of Drupal does not negatively affect the community or the quality of the product?
I also bring a community perspective, not only as one of the leaders of the Drupal community in England, but also through my leadership of teams in Spain and Brazil who are increasingly participating in their local Drupal communities.
- How can we improve collaboration and transparency of decision making as responsibilities are increasingly split between paid team members at the DA and community volunteers?
- Sharing the workload fairly. This is from two perspective:
- not over burdening a small group of highly committed community members
- not concentrating decision making and control in the hands of a few
Why are you running for a board seat at the Drupal Association? (mission/motivation)
Prior to Zoocha, I worked in digital product management and digital marketing, specialising in e-commerce.
Growing the ‘Maker’ Community:
A significant contributor to Drupal’s success is the symbiotic relationship it has with digital agencies, and the Drupal Certified Partner (DCP) framework is a powerful enabler for future growth and success. With the launch of Drupal CMS and the initiative to scope a ‘marketplace’ platform, the maker community poised to enter a new era of growth and diversity. I am motivated by the desire to help answer 2 important questions:
