Abby’s 2023 & 2024 Year in Review
After skipping last year’s review (life got a bit busy!), I’m excited to share two years’ worth of reflections, milestones, and lessons. From welcoming a new baby to re-engaging with the open source community, these two years have been full of change, growth, and meaningful work.
Past Year in Reviews: 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016.
✨ A Few Highlights ✨
- 🐣 Welcomed our second baby in 2023 and spent a full year on parental leave.
- 🎙️ Found new ways to meaningfully contribute to the open source community while on leave, including launching JOSSCast: Open Source for Researchers and continuing my board role with the OpenJS Foundation.
- 🌟 Returned to work energized in 2024, diving into impactful projects like leading GitHub Universe’s Day 0 Community Track content and scaling the Secure Open Source Fund with ecosystem partners.
- 🎢 Embraced family adventures, with four memorable trips during leave — including a magical visit to Disney World.
💭 Reflecting on Two Years
Parental Leave: Letting go and trying new things
Welcoming baby R and taking a full year of parental leave was an incredibly rewarding experience. I stepped back from day-to-day work, trusting the team (particularly Kara — thank you!) to run GitHub’s maintainer programs.
I’m proud of the foundations we laid before my leave, from re-launching the Maintainer Community to making Maintainer Month more collaborative with an advisory council. Seeing these programs thrive while I was out was deeply fulfilling.
I also found creative ways to stay involved in areas I care deeply about — often during nap time or after bedtime! Highlights include keeping my board seat with the OpenJS Foundation, organizing with SustainOSS, and launching JOSSCast: Open Source for Researchers with Arfon Smith. These efforts let me contribute meaningfully while being present with my family.
Returning to Work
Coming back to GitHub in mid-2024, I was energized to re-engage with the open source ecosystem. While returning to an existing role was more challenging than starting a new one, it allowed me to jump straight into impactful projects:
- GitHub Universe: Led content for the Day 0 Community Track and represented open source on the livestream with the GitHub Awards.
- Secure Open Source Fund: Established the ecosystem partner program to build on existing expertise and strengthen open source security collaboratively.
- Community Engagement: Speaking at Open Source Summit EU and being featured in the Octoverse video reaffirmed my passion for connecting with the community and advocating for maintainers.
Life
In 2024, Jordan and I celebrated 9 years of marriage. E turned 3, and R turned 1 (complete with a smash cake!). In our local community, we continue to serve with Grace Toronto. We attended two weddings in 2023 and none in 2024, but we made the most of the year with family adventures, including a magical visit to Disney World.
🎉 Looking to 2025
The past two years have been about growing our family, trying new ideas, and pursuing meaningful work while being present with my children. I hope to inspire them to dream big and see how meaningful work can make a difference.
In 2025, I’m excited to take on new opportunities to grow as an open source leader. My focus will remain on scaling and strengthening support for the open source ecosystem:
- Advocate for maintainers by amplifying their voices through events, partnerships, and within GitHub’s product teams.
- Build collaboratively with the community: Scale maintainer programs to empower maintainers and establish a strong Ecosystem Partner program with the Secure Open Source Fund.
Through it all, I’m committed to driving impactful work, supporting the open source community, and helping it thrive.
🌟 Thank You
To everyone who’s been part of this journey — whether we collaborated on a project, shared a stage, or exchanged ideas over coffee — thank you. I’m endlessly grateful for this community and the opportunities to learn and grow together.
Here’s to building and learning in 2025.
