Eugene Yokota Joins the Scala Center’s Advisory Board as a new Community Representative

On behalf of the Scala Center Advisory Board I’d like to welcome Eugene Yokota as a new community representative to the advisory board.

During the past year following The Community Delegate Terms proposal both of our previous community reps, Bill Venners and Rob Norris, stepped down in order to make way for the next generation of community reps. I’d like to extend the board’s gratitude for the tremendous dedication and support both Bill and Rob offered the board over the years. Bill has served the board since 2016 and Rob since 2019.

In light of the Community Delegate Terms proposal, four out of eleven Scala Center Advisory board members formed a working group to review recommendations from the board for the next community rep.

Some key questions that were considered when looking at the recommendations were:

Does this person:

• have a history of contributions to the Scala community? (technical and/or non-technical)
• have a history of community engagement?
• bring a diverse perspective and representation to the board?
• have a collaborative mindset?
• believe in the values and mission of the Scala Center?
• have a broad interest in the Scala community as a whole?

We considered these questions in light of what the expectation for a community representative are:

• Spokesperson for the Scala community at Advisory Board quarterly meetings
• Gathering and expressing community’s opinion on certain topics related to Scala Center proposals
• Point of contact for community members/groups to review and help shaping community proposals
• Presents and defends community proposals at AB meetings

With all this in mind last November we made the decision on the nomination, and we’re happy to introduce Eugene, who has been a dedicated enthusiast in the Scala community for years. Mostly known for:

• Being the lead maintainer of sbt
• His blog, writing, and tutorials
• His many talks and workshops given at various conferences
• Community work in helping organize the Scala Matsuri conferences
• His endless mentoring online and beyond
• His tireless involvement and focus on ensuring diversity and inclusion are at the forefront of events and in our community, ultimately making Scala a safer more welcoming environment for all

We trust that Eugene will be a valuable addition to the board for his technical ability, his dedication to diversity and inclusion, and his willingness to engage with the community to bring positive change.

Reminder that all the Scala Center quarterly reports and board meeting notes are public. You can find them here. You can also find the current Scala Center quarterly roadmap online.

_{Note from the Executive Director: As we are publishing this blog post, we are aware that in December 2022 Eugene has publicly donated to the Center. The decision to invite Eugene was made prior to this event and in no relation to it. We greatly appreciate the gesture, and underline for the readers that the community representative at the Scala Center advisory board is by invitation only, it is unpaid position, and with no donation is required.}