itnet7

About Me

Hello there from Melbourne, Florida! I am a former Marine, and currently a member of the “Ubuntu Florida Team Council”. I have been involved with the Ubuntu community since UDS Jaunty! I was a Debian "Woody / SID" user prior to using Ubuntu when it was first released. It's kind of ironic looking back, at the time I had recently purchased an AMD-64 Shuttle that was top of the line. During this period there were only a handful of distributions that supported 64-bit, a new Linux Distribution that appeared near the top of my Google search, "Ubuntu" version 4.10. I first downloaded the i386 live CD and ran it on my shuttle with great success, and went on from there to download and install the AMD 64 version. After that I proceeded to install Unreal Tournament Tournament 200x which released a 64-bit version of the game shortly after. I have since used other Distributions, but in my opinion the only thing that can come close to the stability of an Ubuntu system is Beyond Linux From Scratch. I have contributed to ask Ubuntu, the Ubuntu forums, and have helped many new Linux users install Linux at Conferences (SELF, Atlanta Linux Fest, Florida Linux Show, Fossetcon), LUG meetings, Maker's Spaces, and the Like.

Why the Ubuntu Community Council? I feel that the UCC members have a unique opportunity to help improve and grow the community, and would like to bring the experience I've gained from mentoring LoCo Teams and Ubuntu Members. I believe in the goals and spirit of Ubuntu, and would like to help keep the momentum going. During my 2 terms on the Local Community Council, there were many teams that the council and I worked with in order to give them guidance on team governance. I spent a lot of time giving as much individual attention as I could to teams and individuals that I thought needed it, in order get them structured to make managing their team easier. The LC and I worked well together, even with all of us living in different time zones, and brought great value to the teams we worked with.

Advocacy & Involvement

I contributed in many of the Community sessions in person at the UDS's listed below, helping to generate ideas that would encourage the growth of LoCo Teams, how teams can recruit for a stronger community, and ways in which we as a community can help to attract new developers. I was the Florida Team contact from January 2009 - February 2014. I also served on the LoCo Council from December 2009 – October 2013. In that role, I helped mediate issues between LoCo Team members and spent time mentoring team contacts in order to get their teams organized and rolling. It was towards the end of 2013 when had some crazy life changes, and a few personal items that prevented me from keeping up my level of involvement (family, work, and school related). In March of 2014, I decided to go back to school on top of a pretty demanding work schedule. Since then, I have taken a position at another organization and am happy to share that in December, I will graduate with my Bachelor's Degree in I.T. with a focus on Network Security.

Testimonials

Add your $0.02 Smile :-)

BelindaLopez highly recommends Chris!. Chris has done some outstanding work with the Florida Loco Team and other projects. I met him when he attended the 2008 UDS in Mountain View. Chris and his partner in crime, Dan T, paid their own way to attend UDS and participate in shaping the future of the next Ubuntu release. While there I also asked for the input on some upcoming training offerings. They gladly obliged and even traveled to Baltimore,MD in the freezing cold ice and snow to assist at my Sprints. Chris technical experience really helps set the bar for what Ubuntu should be and his personal enthusiasm bring a much welcomed humorous side to any event. +1 for Chris!!!

Chris is an awesome contributor. He does a great job with the Florida team. I met him for the first time at UDS Jaunty. His enthusiasm for everything Ubuntu is contagious. Chris's work with the Florida Team and as an organizer of the Florida Linux Show shows his commitment to putting the community first. He will make a great Ubuntu member! - NickAli

itnet7 (last edited 2015-11-13 18:24:47 by 97-102-171-249)