A is for Ada. And Assertive.

ROSE Blog: Rikki's Open Source Exchange
Over the past two years, two months, and two days, I've blogged regularly about the achievements of women in technology and science, particularly women in open source. More recently, I've interviewed more than two-dozen inspiring women. Today I get to kick back and enjoy stories from other folks about the women who inspire them.
In the spirit of Ada Lovelace Day, I'd like to honor women in technology who assert themselves, including all the women who have yet to do so.
Being assertive doesn't mean being fearless – it means you do it anyway. If you have yet to assert yourself by speaking up in a meeting, proposing or writing an article for publication, participating in or attending your first industry event, submitting a talk, joining an IRC conversation, or anything else you've thought about doing, I encourage you to do so as soon as possible. In fact, you can start today by posting a blog in honor of Ada Lovelace Day, or leave a comment on someone else's blog to share your thoughts.
And how about this for an idea: you can add your name to the growing list of diverse and inspiring women I've interviewed for this blog. Shoot me an email so we can get started.
Happy Ada Lovelace Day!
If you or someone you know would like to contribute to this interview series, please send your responses to the following questions to me at rkite AT linuxpromagazine DOT com:
- Who are you?
- What do you currently do in open source? What do you love about it?
- You're speaking to a group of women from other fields who are considering switching careers. Why should they consider moving into an open source-related career? What should they know about the open source environment to prepare them for the transition from a different field?
- You're speaking to a group of high school students (male and female). Why should they consider exploring career options in open source?
- What question do you wish I'd asked? And how would you answer it?
Read previous interviews:
ROSE Blog Interviews You (includes interviews with assertive women: S.P.Zeidler, Amber Graner, and Dru Lavigne)
Margarita Manterola, Debian Developer
Valerie Bubb Fenwick, Staff Engineer at Sun Microsystems
Ellen Siever, co-author of Linux in a Nutshell
Juliet Kemp, author and admin extraordinaire
Noirin Shirley, Vice President of the Apache Software Foundation
Con-Techie.com's Kendra "Admin" Schaefer
Emma Jane Hogbin, co-author of Front End Drupal
Sharon Moreland, Technology Consultant at the Northeast Kansas Library System
Meike Reichle, Debian Developer
Máirín Duffy, Team Lead for Fedora Design Team
Hillary Rettig, author and activist
Stormy Peters, Executive Director of the GNOME Foundation
Linux Foundation's Angela Brown
Ohio LinuxFest's Beth Lynn Eicher
LinuxToday.com's Carla Schroder
Urban Forest Mapping Project's Kelaine Vargas
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