LOPSA News

Note: We have changed forums. We will be using the #lopsa-live channel on irc.lopsa.org instead of the slack channel. If you are having difficulties with irc.lopsa.org, try webchat.freenode.net, IRC, or Non-SSL IRC

The Leadership Committee is conducting a moderated LOPSA Live session on the #lopsa-live channel on irc.lopsa.org. This session will be your opportunity to ask questions of the candidates running for the LOPSA board.

We are only having one session this year, as described in the title, on Wednesday May 16 at 6:00PM Pacific/9:00PM Eastern

Please join us and come prepared with your questions! Additionally, you're welcome to send questions to the Leadership Committee in advance of the sessions.

Our candidates for the 2018 board are:

As of today, we have four candidates and five open positions for the board. The team has made a concerted attempt to get additional candidates so that we can have an actual election, but at this point, it appears to not be in the cards.

As the official voting period is in June, I am going to extend the eligibility period to just prior to the second scheduled LOPSA-Live date of May 15, 2018 in the hopes that we can get at least one more candidate and have an actual election.

Anyone who may be interested in serving on the board can send an email to the leadership committee <leadership> at <lopsa.org> and we will go from there.

If there are no additional candidates prior to the first LOPSA-Live, then it will be cancelled, as it serves no practical purpose. The same will apply for the second one.

I've been a sysadmin of some sort since the mid 1980s and a member of the community since I attended my first LISA conference in 1993. My involvement in the community has varied since then.  I worked on the Day in the Life project in the 1990s.Most recently I've been writing book reviews for :login:.

Currently working at Red Hat, I've been a vocal advocate for sysadmins in the design of OS and service management software, whether on conventional hosts or containers. 

I no longer have a Grand Vision for the profession of system administration.  We've been struggling for recognition and understanding since before LOPSA was formed and we'll be struggling for a long time to come.  In the mean time I think it's critical to work with people both inside and out of the profession to improve the standards of practice, training and communication.  Efforts exist already in all of those areas and as a member of the board I'd look for ways to strengthen and broaden those efforts. I also think it's critical to engage academia to study system administration goals and processes rigorously to understand and improve the state of the art not just in technology but in human factors.

The Leadership Committee has been working to get you a strong candidate slate for the 2018 election! Your participation is key to us having a strong organization, so please plan to take part in the election.

Here's our planned election timeline:

• May 1 - Final slate and candidate statements
• May 16 - LOPSA Live
• June 1 - Open election
• June 22 - Close election

To Whom It May Concern,

Greetings - I am Andree Jacobson; at the time of writing, the CIO for the New Mexico Consortium (a non-profit in Los Alamos, NM) - but I am transitioning into an Infrastructure Cluster Engineer role for Tesla's autopilot team. I also run a small consulting company that assists local companies with systems design, implementation, and training on computer systems. However, even outside the professional world, I am a long time computer systems and networking administrator. I’ve practically been on any system I could get my hands on since before I started school, started small - but now it’s the very large and complicated systems that motivate me. The point I’m trying to get across here, is that I’m passionate about computers - one of man’s greatest technology creations. I find it fascinating to see how we keep coming up with new uses, how the field of Computer Science is still growing and morphing rapidly, and we’re right here in the middle of it! It shows no sign of slowing down either. I am however also baffled with the lacklustre of education and prestige for the field of Systems Administration, especially at scale. Ever since the early days of computation it seems that people who know how to operate these systems always take a secondary role, yet the world’s whole infrastructures rests in the hands of a handful of very talented individuals who are often ignored. I’m running for the board of LOPSA because I believe in the organization’s mission, and I would be proud the have the opportunity to represent this particular group of people.

My name is Branson Matheson and  am putting my name in the hat as a Board Member for LOPSA.  I am a 30 year veteran of system administration and the many disciplines that make up our doctrine. I believe I am a strong candidate given my experience, vision and support for a stronger community. I am asking for your support that together we may continue to improve LOPSA.

My experience provides strong capabilities to support many goals.  I am an active participant in our sysadmin community and have worked in a wide variety of environments including large corporation, government contracting, startup and small and large-scale internet services provisioning. I plan, manage, teach and speak around the world at a diverse set of security and system admin focused conferences such as LISA, LOPSA-East, Cisco SecCon and Shmoocon. I have a history of developing  concepts and ideas into successful tools. I have a strong desire to see system administration develop to meet the evolution of our Art, while also providing support to individuals and organizations that must continue to maintain existing systems and environments. 

I envision LOPSA continuing growth as a haven for system administrators of all stripe; and becoming a larger part of the core of our community.  As sysadmins we are finding that the power of the internet has developed and changed how we practice our art. This evolution should lead to stronger bonds among peers and collaborative groups such as engineering, networking and security. I will work to find creative ways for LOPSA to provide or produce services that can enable our community and the groups we support to communicate effectively and improve the ability to provide high levels of service.  

As a board member I intend to work with the league and community to promote ideas and develop new resources used to support our day-to-day job functions, improve the security of our existing offerings and help enhance our chosen profession.  Through these enhancements I hope to continue expanding LOPSA as the leading community for system administration.  I am asking for your support. 

I am running for reelection as LOPSA Treasurer.  During the past two years, my major accomplishments in this role have been:

• Reinstatement of LOPSA's 501(c)(3) status, which has been revoked due to past delinquencies in IRS filings
  
• Set up system for timely and transparent management of accounts payable
  
• Provided detailed bi-weekly reports to LOPSA Board of current bank balances and P&L
  
• Consolidated bank accounts for easier management of cash flow
  
• Full participation as LOPSA Board member in online and face-to-face meetings
  

I have been working in the IT industry for the past 23 years, and have been a system/network administrator for thirteen of those years. I hold graduate degrees in Geology/Geophysics. Current areas of specialization include Windows and Linux server administration, LAN/WAN and wireless networks, cloud (Microsoft Azure and Office 365) administration, and network/host security. Due to working in a medium-size (~260 person) company where I hold a number of roles, I consider myself an IT generalist. This requires ongoing training both to ensure my skills remain current, and to learn new topics as job responsibilities evolve. LOPSA has played a significant role in my career development through professional conferences, trainings, meetings, and networking opportunities with peers. As a LOPSA board member, my commitment would be to expand these opportunities, and ensure that other system administrators recognize LOPSA’s considerable career benefits and become involved with the organization.

We are happy to announce our new initiative, KnowledgePress! Share your knowledge with the community while increasing visibility and traffic for your own blog. With KnowledgePress, you can contribute articles without sacrificing the health of your blog or having to use other than your preferred blogging platform. We will be accepting submissions immediately. 

KnowledgePress submission will be reviewed by the Community Manager, then distributed. Distribution will be over our various social media channels as soon as an article is approved. Submissions will also be indexed at https://lopsa.org/KnowledgePress. A weekly digest of KnowledgePress articles will be sent to all Members over e-mail. 

Your submissions should include a link to the article on your blog. If you'd like to select a section of your article as a preview please include the quote in your e-mail, otherwise a blurb will be selected for you by the editor. 

We're excited to see read your articles. Please send your submission to community@lopsa.org

LOPSA is excited to relaunch our Mentorship Program on more stable footing. Sharing our excitement is our first mentee, Adam Snetiker. We picked his brain about participating in our program and present the interview below. If you'd like to contribute as a Mentor or participate as a mentee check us out at https://mentor.lopsa.org/

[Q: Could you please introduce yourself to our readers and tell us about your current background and experience, and your aspirations with regard to the field of system administration?]

It all begins with my love of design. I've always been impressed by anything that looked really cool and stopped me dead in my tracks. I always wanted to get into the field of special effects, but when I went to college at Indiana University (Bloomington), I noticed the Informatics major. Not knowing much about it other than that it was a new, hot field related to IT, my family and I decided it would be a more practical major than fine arts. It was all about choosing a cognate area, and I chose Telecommunications which allowed me to take courses in Flash, 3D modeling and animation, DVD authoring, video editing, and TV studio and field production along with the required courses in Java programming, mathematical foundations and others.

My first few roles were in DVD menu design and authoring. After being laid off, I began to teach myself the basics of web development which led to a content management role producing marketing and client retention content for mortgage companies and their loan officers. After being laid off from that role, I began self-study in advanced web development tools including various JavaScript frameworks, automation tools and more. After failing to grasp some of those concepts and build up my skills without proper instruction, I decided to return to school to begin pursuit of a career in one of the more traditional areas of IT including networking, system administration and cybersecurity. Currently, I'm taking these courses in pursuit of an Advanced Network Specialist Certificate of Achievement at Moorpark College, and eventually will be going after a Cybersecurity certificate when those courses are developed in the near future.

Two of the required courses for the certificate that I have already taken include Microsoft Windows Administration and Microsoft Windows Server Administration. Both of these courses completely opened my eyes to System Administration as both an area of IT and a viable future career path by making me look at computing in a completely new way. Immediately, I was blown away by the sheer number of useful tools available in Windows that I never noticed as a general user and the fact that these tools have always been right there on every PC I have owned. I am amazed the power they give administrators to perform both simple routine maintenance and complex tasks that enhance system performance and allow management of all devices in an organization.

[Q: How did you find LOPSA? When did you join? Why did you join? ]

I decided to search for professional organizations and joined LOPSA and others in an effort to make valuable connections with people and continue learning outside of my current classroom environment. In addition to LOPSA, I am currently a student member of the ACM, IEEE, ISSA and OWASP, and have attended a few conferences.

For a long time, I have followed thought leaders and industry experts on Twitter and other social media platforms and have occasionally sent emails soliciting advice or asking questions. Generally, I have gotten their opinion which I value very much, but have always hoped to find a mentor I can turn to for help in establishing myself as somebody who can add value to an organization as an IT professional. Thankfully, I came across LOPSAs mentorship program and was recently accepted and matched.

[Q: What do you find appealing about the LOPSA mentorship program? You mentioned you've been looking for something like this for years, could you tell us more about that, and what excites you the most about the program? What do you hope to get out of it?]

What excites me the most about this program is the ability to interact with someone who is a current practicing professional with experience in areas of IT in which I hope to build a successful career. What I hope to get out of it is specific feedback that will help me to establish a focused plan of action that includes careers I should target at the entry level and the most important skills for success. Eventually, I hope this feedback process will repeat itself as I work through my career so that as the specific skills and job titles change, the focus is still on making sure they are in sync so I can continue to advance and add value.

[Q: How has your interaction with your mentor been so far?]

We have sent several messages back and forth through the LOPSA Mentor web page, have connected on LinkedIn and have scheduled a Google Hangouts meeting next weekend. My biggest hope is that this person becomes a valuable connection that will be able to hold me accountable and notice the progress I make while being able to continue pushing me further towards success.

[Q: Anything else you want to communicate to our readers (who are both seasoned professionals and students and everything in between.]

The biggest thing I would emphasize for readers is to become somebody in the eyes of other people. Networking is the best thing you can do for yourself regardless of what career level you're at, but make the extra effort to send a message so that people know who you are. Take me for example - if I was just another person who filled out the form on LOPSA's mentor website, I wouldn't be featured in this newsletter. Instead, you're all reading a story written about me.

Adam may be found on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamsnetiker) or contacted via email at adam.snetiker@ieee.org. "I look forward to meeting anyone and everyone and hope we can all work together to advance our careers and continue learning together."

LOPSA has hired a new Community Manager. As LOPSA expands, the work of maintaining such a large organization is a daunting task for volunteers. Roger Luedecke is a long time Member and Volunteer of the openSUSE Project. As Community Manager he brings his experience in open source and tech communities to the tasks of managing  the LOPSA community.

Roger can be reached at rluedecke@LOPSA.org