By megansanicki on

After nearly eight years, 18 DrupalCons, two major releases and six dot releases, thousands of contribution credits, and a million Drupal sites, I am leaving the Drupal Association to take on a new open source adventure at Google. My last day is September 21, 2018, and the board will announce my successor before my departure.

This was certainly a difficult decision for me. It’s easy to fall in love with the Drupal community. You join something bigger than yourself, full of amazing, smart, diverse people, and you gain a wonderful sense of belonging. Plus, the Drupal Association staff is the best team you can ever work with. I’ve never experienced such a strong, caring culture. 

Alas, it is time. I stepped into the executive director role to lead a financial turnaround and re-orient our focus on growing adoption. The organization is in great shape and programs like DrupalCon Seattle are now expanded to serve adoption decision-makers and digital marketers. The Drupal Association is on a great path and the next leader has a solid foundation to build upon.

It has been an incredible honor to serve Drupal because of its number one value: Prioritize impact. Helping this community create a positive impact through our collaboration and seeing its butterfly effect ripple across the globe through our community efforts and Drupal sites gave me a great sense of purpose. I treasure the special moments of impact that I witnessed, such as the excitement during DrupalCon Asia or the support and accomplishment Burkina Faso or Philippines community leaders expressed as they launched their first camp with the help of a Community Cultivation Grant, or the pride someone feels when listed as a top 100 contributor for the first time. I am deeply grateful for the gift of experiencing so much global impact—one I never knew I would gain when I first joined the Drupal Association in 2010. 

In my eight years, I witnessed Drupal mature into world-class software used by industry giants like NASDAQ, Pfizer, and Harvard. Plus, we shifted from being Drupal hobbyists to a professional community with 70% of contribution sponsored by organizations. Through all of this growth and maturity, Drupal remains special. We help each other achieve our Drupal dreams whether it is becoming masters at writing documentation, hosting a community event, creating new job opportunities, or delivering creative value for clients. It's the impact that we have on each others’ lives that means the most to me. Thank you to all of you who make Drupal a bright spot in a complex world. 

I especially want to thank the Drupal Association staff, who have built an amazing team culture where people truly care about each other as well as our mission. This small, but mighty team works tirelessly to serve the community. I’m incredibly proud of what we accomplished, together, from promoting Drupal solutions through industry summits and landing pages to amplifying our community’s diversity by having 40% of DrupalCon speakers come from under-represented groups.

Plus, I want to thank the Drupal Association Board, who provided priceless advice and endless support to me and the staff. I also want to thank Dries for believing in me to take on this role and for being a great partner and advisor over the years. I truly appreciate how he created a distributed model that allows everyone the chance to participate and lead. It creates growth opportunities for all of us. Additionally, I want to thank Adam Goodman, the Board Chair, for elevating our strategic discussions, giving us insights into more impactful ways to serve the community. Adam has been an incredible partner, mentor, and coach. I’m truly grateful for the time and care he invests in Drupal. 

Over the years, I have also built so many partnerships (and lifelong friendships) with business owners, partners, community leaders, and open source peers. I am incredibly grateful for all of the ways they support Drupal, the Association, and me through every phase of the project. It’s this level of caring that propels Drupal forward and makes me proud to have achieved so much with them. 

Drupal’s future is bright and the community is in good hands. The Drupal Association will work with the community to help grow Drupal adoption with the Promote Drupal Initiative as well as with a re-imagined DrupalCon Seattle. Contribution will be easier with the Gitlab partnership and camps will be better supported with the recent Open Collective partnership. And there’s even more to come, so stay tuned. 

I will miss Drupal greatly, but I leave with so many friendships formed. I’m not sure I’ll feel like I truly left. 

Thank you for the opportunity to serve all of you. I’m excited to see what the Drupal community achieves next, together. #DrupalThanks

Comments

hestenet’s picture

hestenet
He/Him
Location Portland, OR 🇺🇸
commented

Megan, I'm sure I speak for the whole staff when I say—we'll miss you.

You stepped into the Executive role at a critical time for the Association, and lead us through a key financial turnaround- and then built on top of that to make the Association stronger. Your commitment to the project and community for so many years has been unwavering, and the impact you've had is immeasurable.

Your compassion, leadership, and humor brought all of us with you and made us stronger as a team.

I'm incredibly grateful for your mentorship, and to be able to call you a friend.

--
Tim L
Drupal Association - CTO

megansanicki’s picture

megansanicki commented

Thank you so much for the kind words, Tim. I am incredibly proud of what we all accomplished together. More importantly, I appreciate how we always pull together and take care of each other while getting the work done. Thank you as well for all that you do and for your friendship. You and the team will go one to do more great things for Drupal!

Megan Sanicki
Executive Director
Drupal Association
twitter: megansanicki

nerdstein’s picture

nerdstein
he/him
Primary language English
Location United States
commented

Megan, thank you for all you have put into this role. I know how hard you worked to serve our greater purpose. I've appreciated the times we have spent together and will miss seeing you at events. I wish you the best in your new ventures.   

megansanicki’s picture

megansanicki commented

Hi Adam,

Thank you for the kind words. It truly was an honor serving Drupal. Wishing you the best of luck with your Drupal adventures. 

Megan

Megan Sanicki
Executive Director
Drupal Association
twitter: megansanicki

webchick’s picture

webchick
she/they
Primary language English
Location Vancouver 🇨🇦
commented

While we'll miss you incredibly, Megan, this sounds like a wonderful opportunity for you to take your amazing abilities in community/partnership building, problem solving, and sales, and apply it to a bigger scale. It's been SO awesome working with you, brainstorming with you, and sharing both laughs and tears with you over the years. <3 Please keep in touch! :D We'd love to see you at a DrupalCon in the future (Where you could just HANG OUT and stuff! Imagine it!)

megansanicki’s picture

megansanicki commented

It's certainly bitter sweet to be moving on. I'm going to miss all of our "solving the world" chats. My favorite memory will always be you teaching me how to contribute to core. Only took 4 hours to change that punctuation ;-) Thank you for all that you do for Drupal and just for who you are. You have taught me a ton over the years. Thank you. Wishing you much happiness and success. 

Megan Sanicki
Executive Director
Drupal Association
twitter: megansanicki

aburrows’s picture

aburrows commented

Thanks Megan for everything you have done for the DA and Drupal! You have always been an asset! Thanks and see you in September.

greggles’s picture

greggles
he/him
Primary language English
Location Denver, Colorado, USA
commented

You've done such an amazing job helping the DA and Drupal community.

Thank you so much for the many years of work and best luck to you in the future!

--
Morris Animal Foundation

megansanicki’s picture

megansanicki commented

Hi Greggles,

Thank you!! I will never forget how kind and welcoming you were when I first joined the Drupal Association. It meant a lot. Plus, I treasure the memory when you and the security team stopped everything you were doing at DrupalCon Portland to work on heartbleed. Your dedication is an amazing example to the rest of the community. Thank you. 

Megan Sanicki
Executive Director
Drupal Association
twitter: megansanicki

Dries’s picture

Dries commented

Thanks for the kind words, Megan.  It's sad to see you go, but I'm very grateful for everything you have done the past eight years.  Thank you so much for your many, many contributions. They have impacted everyone in the Drupal community.  While it is sad to see you go, I'm also excited to see you continue your open source adventure elsewhere -- it sounds like a great opportunity for you.  I've shared some additional thoughts at  https://dri.es/farewell-megan-but-not-goodbye . 

whitneyhess’s picture

whitneyhess
she/her
commented

Thank you, Megan, for all you have done for this wonderful project and community. You have demonstrated tremendous grace under pressure, keen insight and intellect, clear and inspiring vision — and did it all with a sense of humor. You embody what it means to be a servant leader. It has been an honor to work with you. Wishing you so much fun and fulfillment in your next role and beyond. All my love.

stpaultim’s picture

stpaultim commented

I just want to say thanks and wish you the best! 

mherchel’s picture

mherchel
he/him
Primary language English
Location Gainesville, FL, US
commented

Good luck in your journey, Megan! And thank you for all your contributions to the community!

rakesh.gectcr’s picture

rakesh.gectcr
he/him
Primary language Malayalam
Location Manchester
commented

Huge thank you! for everything, you have done with DA and Drupal community. It was an amazing journey. I am sure that will continues with your new adventure. Congratulations! 
<3 & hugs. Keep doing good works, thanks!

---
Kind regards,

Thank you,
Rakesh James

megansanicki’s picture

megansanicki commented

Rakesh,

You are truly a special person and I'm so glad we had the opportunity to work together. Thank YOU for all that you have done for Drupal. Wishing you much happiness and success. 

Megan Sanicki
Executive Director
Drupal Association
twitter: megansanicki

joshk’s picture

joshk commented

So many thanks to you for your tireless efforts and generous, can-do spirit. You were an integral to this projects growth and maturation over the past eight years. It's been a privlege to get to know you and to collaborate over that time.

I hope our paths cross again in the future!

------
Personal: Outlandish Josh
Professional: Pantheon

megansanicki’s picture

megansanicki commented

Thank you so much, Josh. It has been an honor to serve the community and a lot of fun! Thank you for all the collaboration and support over the years. It's been amazing watching you and the rest of the team grow from the Chapter 3 years with a bike shop to your Pantheon success. Wishing you all the best. 

Megan Sanicki
Executive Director
Drupal Association
twitter: megansanicki

Imre Gmelig Meijling’s picture

Imre Gmelig Meijling commented

Thanks for all your time and attention Megan. It’s been great to have you. All the best and do come back to give a session at some future Drupalcon on how #Google does open source ;-)

megansanicki’s picture

megansanicki commented

Imre, Thank YOU! I am so impressed with what you and the others are doing with Drupal in the Netherlands. You are a true role model and I hope others can learn from you. It was a pleasure working with you over the years! I will certainly return to do a talk some day. In the meantime, wishing you all the success and happiness in the world. 

Megan Sanicki
Executive Director
Drupal Association
twitter: megansanicki

prabhu9484’s picture

prabhu9484 commented

Hey Megan.

I only watched your presentation at Drupal Camp Delhi 2015, and I was impressed by your professionalism. Your impact will last long. Thank you and all the best !

DevElCuy’s picture

DevElCuy commented

I'm happy to known that you keep growing your career! As you said, you are not leaving the community, friendship stays. Best wishes on your new ventures!

--
develCuy
Hiring the next generation front-end devs, contact Dilygent

megansanicki’s picture

megansanicki commented

Fernando, you are truly inspiring. Thank you for being such a leader in the Drupal community. I'm always amazed at how Drupal grew in South America / Latin America because of your efforts starting camps and trainings. Even more, you made sure women were invited and placed in leadership roles, making Drupal diverse and inclusive. You are a wonderful role model. Thank you for all that you do. 

Megan Sanicki
Executive Director
Drupal Association
twitter: megansanicki

rachit_gupta’s picture

rachit_gupta commented

Hey Megan,

You are a big inspiration and motivation for all of us. Your contribution to Drupal is huge. We witnessed DrupalCon India and Drupal Indian community grew to its peak under your leadership. Thank you for all your contributions to the community! We all are going to miss you and best luck to you in the future!

jcnventura’s picture

jcnventura commented

Megan, we met in person a couple of times, and I have only kind words on your support for our community. I hope to see you soon in Darmstadt so that I can say goodbye in person. Under your leadership the DA grew considerably and helped to support the development of Drupal. Wish you all the best in your new job at Google.

João Ventura

João Ventura
Venturas.org

megansanicki’s picture

megansanicki commented

Yes of course I remember who you are. It has been such a pleasure working with you and the community. Best of luck with all that you do with the Portuguese Drupal community. Your leadership is really appreciated. Looking forward to seeing you at Darmstadt!

Megan Sanicki
Executive Director
Drupal Association
twitter: megansanicki

Shyamala’s picture

Shyamala commented

Megan Saniki, Thank you for the amazing things you did for #Drupal! Your energy and passion & connect with each of us in this community is unique and special.

3 years on the board I also got an opportunity to watch you lead the Drupal Association team, steer the organization out of tough times & also found a dear friend in you. Thank you for making me feel at home from the very first board meeting.

#DrupalIndia Community holds you very dear. Doors are open for a holiday in India any time, again & again :)

Wishing you best with @Google!

Shyamala
http://www.unimitysolutions.com

gargsuchi’s picture

gargsuchi commented

Thanks a lot for whatever you have done for the community Megan. It is priceless. On a personal note, it was great meeting you and knowing you albeit briefly. Congratulations on your new role. I am sure you will excel there. 

Will miss you in whatever next Drupalcon I am able to attend.  

joebachana’s picture

joebachana commented

I'll echo everyone's sentiments how you are leaving our Drupal community in a better place. You have seen us through some tough times, but your calmness, seemingly ever-present smile, and tenacity have not only set the Drupal Association and its initiatives on the right course, but in no small measure has helped our community get to a more balanced, fairer sense of self-governance that I think will last for years to come. 

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

highermath’s picture

highermath commented

We've weathered a lot of growing pains during your tenure. Your leadership has been our salvation.

Thank you for everything you have done for the Drupal project and community!

Cary

rootwork’s picture

rootwork
he/him
Primary language English
Location 🇺🇸 US-Pacific 🌎 Chinook (Multnomah, Clackamas) & Cowlitz lands 🌹 Portland, OR
commented

You've done an incredible job and put an incredible amount of work in the DA. I've been particularly impressed with your responses around transparency, your openness to hearing from diverse voices, and your levelheadedness in the face of several different crises over the years.

You have helped the Drupal community grow into a better version of itself, and you'll be missed.

What do you say to a Drupalcon 2020 keynote address from a talented Google employee and open source advocate? Just throwing it out there!

--ivan

wturrell’s picture

wturrell commented

We've not met but you've always come across as someone who's friendly, patient, honest, professional and above all a really safe pair of hands to run something like the DA – it's easy to take people like that for granted. Best wishes for the future.