Who are you?
I'm Helge, 50 years old, originally from northern Norway and now based in Bergen, Norway, married with one child. I've worked with Drupal for over 20 years as a user, developer, and project manager, and hold a degree in philosophy that shapes how I approach problem-solving and community work.
Since 2017 I've organized the PHP Bergen / Drupal Bergen meetups, and since 2024 I've served on the board of Drupal Norway. Outside of Drupal, I enjoy cooking, 3D printing, and open source more broadly.
What does building community mean to you?
To me, building community means bringing people together around a shared goal and giving them a reason to keep showing up — including me.
Over the years I've learned that it's really about building real relationships, not just connections of convenience: staying curious about new people, and making sure new faces feel just as welcome as familiar ones. Above all, it's about sharing knowledge. Even though I might not be the best programmer, I've both learned a lot from others and seen others grow through the knowledge we've shared
What does advocating for Drupal mean to you?
To me, advocating for Drupal means standing up for open source as a model that benefits everyone, not just those who can afford proprietary alternatives. It means helping keep the internet open — built on shared, transparent code rather than closed platforms controlled by a few.
It also means taking security seriously, since trust in open source depends on the community's commitment to building and maintaining software responsibly. Advocating for Drupal isn't just about promoting a CMS; it's about promoting the values behind it — openness, collaboration, and shared responsibility for the tools we all depend on.
Why are you running for a board seat at the Drupal Association?
After more than 20 years working with Drupal — as a user, developer, and project manager — I want to take the next step and contribute more directly to the project's future, beyond what I've done locally through meetups and the Drupal Norway board.
I believe Drupal needs to invest more in marketing and clearly communicating its strengths, especially as the CMS landscape becomes more crowded and competitive. I also think the community needs a balanced, thoughtful approach to AI — embracing the opportunities it offers while being deliberate about how it's integrated into the project and its workflows.
Finally, I'm motivated by the need to bring in more junior developers and contributors; Drupal's long-term health depends on building a pipeline of new talent who can carry the project forward. Running for the board is my way of turning two decades of experience into a more active role in shaping where Drupal goes next.
Why should members vote for you?
I bring over 20 years of hands-on experience with Drupal, combined with a varied professional background spanning sales, marketing, development, and project management. That combination is exactly why I want to focus on two things I see as key drivers for Drupal's future: marketing Drupal more effectively toward large and public sector organizations, and making Drupal accessible to younger generations of developers and contributors.
Since my time as a student at university, I've been involved in volunteer projects, and I've carried that same commitment into organizing the Bergen meetups and serving on the Drupal Norway board — experience that's taught me how to bring people together around a shared goal. I want to put that experience to work for the Drupal Association, helping the project grow both its institutional reach and its next generation of contributors.
What is your favorite Drupal moment or memory?
One of my favorite memories is from an early Drupal Bergen meetup, where a group of shop employees showed up completely bewildered — they'd actually meant to go to an escape room and ended up with us instead. Once they were there, they stuck around, and ended up thoroughly impressed by what Drupal can do, even though they were probably about as far from our target audience as you could get.
