I am seeking re-election to the LOPSA board because of my past and current involvement and commitment to the organization. Two years ago I stated "We have laid the groundwork ... to be a success -- it is time to build on that." Since then, we have made progress, but we there is much work yet to be done.

I am the Associate Director and Senior System Administrator at the Computer Systems Lab of the University of Wisconsin Computer Science Department. In this capacity I have worked as a manager; been involved in campus committees; and collaborated with other groups on campus. In the CS Department I work with faculty, staff and graduate students to support and contribute to their research projects. I train, manage and work with undergraduate students who work in the lab. In my free time, I am a private pilot and play ice hockey.

I have been active in the system administration community and regularly attended the LISA and USENIX conferences since the early 90s. After chairing LISA '99, I have led professional development guru sessions at several LISA and USENIX conference. I have been a guest speaker at for various sysadmin groups. After founding MAD-SAGE (the Madison, Wisconsin SAGE local group), I recruited other organizers, and continue to be involved as a speaker, organizer and active participant in the Madison chapter of LOPSA. I served on the SAGE Executive Committee and the Interim Board for the new SAGE, and on the LOPSA Board.

One of the challenges we face is how best to reach our membership in meaningful ways, and how to provide avenues for our members to get involved. We have made some progress on that, but as a young organization we need to broaden the involvement and opportunities for
member involvement. We have improved our communication with members, but need to do an even better job of that.

The past two years of the first LOPSA Board of Directors has been an exciting and reinvigorating process for me. The Board has been committed to working effectively to move LOPSA forward. It has been a pleasure and privilege to be a part of that. The Board has successfully functioned as the governing body, both making decisions and delegating at the
appropriate level of detail. My specific project responsibilities have included coordinating the volunteer tech team for the LOPSA web site and other IT infrastructure, and chairing the Sysadmin Days training events committee.

LOPSA has made some progress in all areas, but has both room to grow and the need to grow and solidify our programs, and add new programs. Given our limited resources (both time and money), this must be done in a manner that maximizes the return to the organization and the community. The three major areas of our work continue to be programs that directly
serve our members; programs that serve the profession; and projects to strengthen the organization.

I bring to the Board experience, commitment, awareness and vision, which in combination with others' contributions will create an effective, productive leadership for LOPSA. I am looking forward to working together to build on our first two years, and continue the progress as the organization we all want to be a part of.

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