Overview
Trustees have control over, and legal responsibility for, a charity's management and administration. They are, in many ways, similar to Directors of a company or Governors of a school.
The main legal duties of a trustee are:
- To ensure that the charity is fulfilling its stated aims for the public benefit
- To ensure that the charity complies with its constitution and the law
- To act in the charity's best interests
- To manage the charity's resources responsibly
- To act with reasonable skill and care
- To ensure that the charity is accountable to its members
To be eligible as a trustee you must be at least 16 years of age and not otherwise disqualified under the Charities Act.
The Charity Commission provide further detail on the responsibilities of trustees and the circumstances which might lead to disqualification in their Essential Trustee document.
Election of Trustees
At this year's conference, we will elect up to six trustees at the first AGM of the UKPA on Saturday 28th October 2017.
There are six candidates for election and, since there are six possible trustee positions, we will conduct a simple show of hands for each candidate.
The Candidates
Owen Campbell
I'm a founding trustee of the UKPA and was instrumental in its incorporation. I'm keen to see the organisation succeed, to make the most of the opportunities available to a registered charity, to broaden its scope beyond the annual conference, to be utterly transparent and accountable to its members and to be a driving force of the UK Python community.
I have 15 years' experience as a charity trustee within the UK Scout Association and am currently a trustee of Mersey Weaver Scout District (charity No. 1145482).
Kristian Glass
I'm Kristian Glass; I was treasurer for PyCon UK 2016 and 2017, and set up and have run the PyCon UK Society Ltd company to back it. I am also the director of Moorhen Solutions Ltd (my own consultancy company) and ran NHS Hack Day Cambridge (a not-for-profit "hackathon"), as well as other having other experience in the not-for-profit, events and financial spaces I'm glad to see the UKPA created, and want to contribute my experience towards the success of both it and of PyCon UK.
Peter Inglesby
I have been involved in running PyCon UK since 2013, and chaired the conference in 2016 and 2017. I will be standing down as conference chair after this year's conference, but I would love to continue to work for the UK Python community by serving as a trustee of the UKPA. There are lots of things that the UKPA could be and do! If elected, then in its first year I would like to see it:
- broadening and engaging with its membership,
- supporting local user groups throughout the year,
- bringing more Python-using companies into the community,
- improving outreach to under-represented groups.
Kirk Northrop
I'm a Python developer by trade, and am a strong advocate of Python as a language. I'm also a huge believer in the ethos and atmosphere of PyCon UK, and would like to ensure that this continues and that everyone has the chance to learn, communicate and improve their skills in a friendly, egalitarian environment. I think it's important to build on the brilliant foundations put down by the Raspberry Pi Foundation and micro:bit as these projects have helped add a large number of Python developers from all walks of life. Whether you are a weekend hacker or CTO, there is always something new and exciting to learn about the language and new ways of looking at things. My hope is that the UK Python Association can work with these two groups, but also consider the needs of Python developers once they have moved away from these two devices and the primarily educational environments they are aimed at. I'm someone who is honest and devoted, and wants to help people where I can and to the best I can.
I'd like to become a trustee because I feel I would be able to give something back to the Python community, and hopefully help us make the Python community as diverse, friendly and helpful as possible for everyone. Running PyCon UK will remain the UKPA's biggest undertaking, and if elected, I would also like to find ways for the UKPA trustees to support the conference committee and reduce the burden on our volunteers.
Chloe Parkes
This year (2017) will be my 3rd year attending PyCon UK. The first year I attended helped me through a lot, including confidence issues. That same year I decided I wanted to be a committee member, and help organise a conference I personally found life/career changing. I'm so proud to have been part of the conference committee so far, playing a part in getting it all to run smoothly, and I hope to be doing it for a good while longer. I would really enjoy being able to support the UKPA in anyway that I can.
Nicholas Tollervey
I have been involved with Python programming since attending the very first PyCon UK in 2007. While there, an affable old gent called John gave up his time to teach me and other newbies the basics. The most important lesson I learned at that first PyCon UK conference was that Python has a wonderful open community with a culture of volunteering for the mutual betterment of all.
My personal involvement contributing to the Python community started in 2009 as a founder and organiser of the London Python Code Dojo. From 2011 I was heavily involved in PyCon UK until 2015 when I needed to take a break. I have also helped organise various education-related initiatives with the help, support and collaboration of many friends in the UK Python community.
If elected as a trustee, not only would I wish to support and contribute to the smooth running of the UKPA but I would hope to ensure that UKPA is representative of all in the UK's Python community and actively promotes the community's continued flourishing, without prejudice and for the benefit of all. In particular, I believe we can learn another lesson from that affable old gent called John; he once explained that PyCon UK was "by the community, of the community and for the community". I'd like to be able to say the same of UKPA. I hope you agree.
