For an Independent, Sustainable, Future-Proof DA: Alejandro Moreno

The Drupal Association Board Elections is nearing its conclusion; The DropTimes is proud to present the final installment of our successful "Meet the Candidate" campaign. This series has provided insights into the candidates running for the 2024 Board Election, helping the Drupal community better understand their visions, qualifications, and motivations. We are committed to continuing to be your go-to source for everything Drupal, ensuring you stay informed about the latest developments and initiatives in our community.

With the voting period open until September 5^th and results to be announced at DrupalCon Barcelona 2024, we encourage all members to review the interviews featured in this campaign. Making an informed decision is crucial to shaping Drupal's future, and these conversations provide a comprehensive look at the potential leaders who will guide the community forward.

In this final interview, we spotlight Alejandro Moreno Lopez, Partner Manager and Developer Relations at Pantheon. Alex brings nearly two decades of diverse experience in software engineering, technical architecture, and innovation management. His contributions to Drupal, including initiatives like the Bounty Program and Contribution Dashboards, have positioned him as a key figure in driving the community’s growth and innovation.

Alex discusses his motivations for running for the board, emphasizing the need to continue the work he began with the Drupal Association and to support new and existing programs vital to the community’s future. He shares his vision for reducing the Drupal Association's dependency on single revenue sources, enhancing user experiences, and attracting younger talent to ensure Drupal remains at the forefront of open-source technology.

As you prepare to cast your vote, consider Alejandro's extensive experience and commitment to fostering a more sustainable, innovative, and inclusive Drupal community.

TDT [1]: The most generic question to a candidate at any election is why do you want to run? Similarly here, why do you want to run for a board seat at the Drupal Association?

Alex Moreno: Pablo Picasso once said, "The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away." This resonates deeply with me.

My time at the Drupal Association has been a rewarding journey, filled with opportunities to contribute to impactful initiatives and start new ones. Through these experiences, I've gained a deep understanding of how the Drupal Association operates, as well as the challenges and obstacles we face.

This knowledge is my gift. After many years of involvement in the Drupal project and community, I have a clear understanding of what needs to be done to improve both Drupal and the Drupal Association.

Now, it's time to fulfil the purpose of that gift. I want and feel compelled to give back by using my experience and insights to help steer the Drupal Association toward a stronger future.

TDT [2]: What can the Drupal Community expect from your candidacy? What are the innovative ideas Drupal should look forward to if you are to win?

Alex Moreno: My mission and purpose remain consistent with the work I did as part of the dedicated team at the Drupal Association last year. I see my candidacy as a continuation of those efforts rather than a platform for introducing brand-new ideas. My focus is on enabling others to achieve their goals and empowering the community to innovate and grow. As Sir Isaac Newton once said, "We stand on the shoulders of giants."

Rather than pushing for personal innovations, I aim to support and amplify the incredible work already being done within the Drupal community. Some key areas we need to tackle together include:

• Improving the first-time user experience.
• Enhancing documentation for newcomers.
• Developing better resources for first-time contributors.
• Attracting and engaging younger generations.
• Continuing to promote innovation and providing the support others need to innovate.

By fostering collaboration and building on the foundation we already have, I believe we can achieve remarkable progress as a community.

TDT [3]: If you could change one thing about the current structure or operations of the Drupal Association, what would it be and why?

Alex Moreno: Funding is a significant challenge for the Drupal Association, and it impacts almost everything we do. We saw this during the pandemic when the DA faced the real possibility of shutting down due to the inability to host DrupalCon, our primary source of income. Fortunately, contributions from companies helped bridge the gap, but it exposed the vulnerability of our current model.

The issue is that DrupalCon generates a disproportionately large percentage of the DA’s revenue. As long as this remains the case, the association’s stability is always at risk. Imagine a world without the DA: critical services like Drupal.org, which you interact with every time you make a commit or access essential resources, are maintained by a small, dedicated team. Without proper funding, these services could be jeopardized.

My vision for change involves reducing the DA's dependency on DrupalCon as its primary revenue source—not necessarily by increasing overall funding but by diversifying it. There have been vocal advocates, like Gus Austin, who have pushed for more sustainable funding strategies, and I believe this is where we need to spend a bit of effort.

Once we reduce our reliance on DrupalCon and diversify and increase our income, the DA can become more sustainable and stable. This would allow us to consider directly employing core developers within the DA itself. Currently, companies like Acquia invest heavily in Drupal, which is beneficial, but it would be more sustainable and transparent if core developers were hired directly by a non-commercial entity like the DA, accountable directly to the community.

This shift could also enable new forms of contribution. Imagine smaller companies, unable to sponsor a full-time employee, contributing a portion of funding to the DA. The DA could then pool these contributions to fund core developers who would work on Drupal full-time.

Another significant benefit would be the ability to lower DrupalCon ticket prices. I recently attended my first WordCamp and was struck by how affordable the tickets were. To expand our reach and bring in more diverse backgrounds, making DrupalCon more accessible through lower ticket prices would be a huge step forward.

In summary, my vision is for a more independent, sustainable, and future-proof Drupal Association—one that can make a more meaningful contribution to the core project and better support the community.

TDT [4]: How do you envision the Drupal community evolving over the next five years, and what role do you see yourself playing in that transformation?

Alex Moreno: In the next five years, I envision the Drupal community becoming even more diverse, not just in terms of funding and marketing but also in its demographic makeup and innovative capabilities. If we play our cards right, we'll see a continued growth in our diverse population, bolstered by a wave of younger individuals bringing fresh, rich ideas to the table.

However, this evolution won’t happen on its own. It will require intentional efforts to enable others, foster inclusivity, and create opportunities for new contributors to thrive.

Here’s how I see the future of our community:

• Diverse Funding: By diversifying our funding sources, the Drupal Association can become more resilient and sustainable, which in turn will support a broader range of initiatives that attract and retain community members.
• Enhanced Marketing: We’ll need to invest in smarter, more inclusive marketing strategies that highlight Drupal's strengths and appeal to a wider audience, particularly younger generations who may not yet be familiar with our platform.
• Ongoing Innovation: As our technology continues to grow and drive innovation, we must ensure that the community is equipped to harness these advancements. This includes supporting contributors, encouraging experimentation, and promoting the adoption of new ideas and technologies.
• Improved Documentation: Comprehensive and accessible documentation will be key to onboarding new users and contributors, particularly those who are younger or new to open-source projects.
• Growing a Younger, More Diverse Community: We need to actively reach out to younger individuals and underrepresented groups, offering them the tools, resources, and support they need to succeed within our ecosystem.

My role in this transformation will be to enable others to achieve these goals. I’ll work to ensure that the Drupal Association provides the necessary support and infrastructure for our community to thrive. By leveraging my experience and knowledge, I aim to help steer our collective efforts in a direction that not only sustains but also accelerates our growth and evolution.

Together, we can build a Drupal community that is more diverse, innovative, and future-ready, ensuring that we continue to lead and inspire in the world of open-source technology.

TDT [5]: Can you share a specific instance where you successfully led a community or organizational initiative? What were the challenges, and how did you overcome them?

Alex Moreno: One initiative that stands out is the Drupal Shop, which I proposed during the height of the pandemic. My initial suggestion wasn’t to start a shop per se but to explore various initiatives and activities that could diversify the Drupal Association's revenue streams and bring in some extra money.

The real credit for bringing the Drupal Shop to life goes to my good friend Will Huggins, who came up with the concept and did the heavy lifting to make it a reality. My role in this initiative was not about originating the idea but about inspiring and enabling others who are far smarter than me. I see my strength in detecting potential, unblocking obstacles, and supporting innovation within the community.

Credit also goes to Rachel Lawson, who provided invaluable support throughout the process, and Surabhi Gokte, who played a key role in the heavy lifting. 

One of the main challenges was navigating the uncertainty of the pandemic, which made any new initiative risky. However, by fostering a collaborative environment and providing the necessary support, we were able to launch the Drupal Shop successfully, contributing to the Association’s financial health.

This experience reinforced my belief that my role is not necessarily to generate all the ideas but to create the conditions where great ideas can flourish and to empower those who bring them forward.

TDT [6]: One of your notable contributions to Drupal from the past year is the Bounty Program. If elected, what are your next plans for the Bounty Program and what other innovations can the Drupal Community expect considering your commendable experience in the field?

Alex Moreno: The Bounty Program is currently a proof of concept, demonstrating what’s possible. The next logical step is to scale it up, as the process is still very manual at the moment.

One of the key challenges we face is aligning contributions with the specific goals of the Drupal Association and the Drupal project. On the other hand, companies often struggle to understand how to make their contributions more impactful. The link between these two is crucial: improving communication between contributors (both companies and individuals) and the Drupal Association could significantly enhance the effectiveness of our efforts.

We don’t necessarily need to tackle these challenges manually. For example, if the Bounty Program continues to prove successful, we could consider integrating it directly into the issue-tracking system. In most professional environments, issues and features are assigned weights to help prioritize work. By allowing trusted individuals to assign weights to specific issues, we could automatically adjust the credits granted based on the complexity of the work involved.

This approach would naturally direct contributions to where they are most needed and provide companies with clearer guidance on where to focus their efforts. Additionally, it would allow us to reward contributors more fairly, recognizing the difference between a quick fix and a more complex, time-consuming task.

Currently, the system doesn’t distinguish between these types of contributions, but with this evolution, we can start rewarding people in proportion to the challenges they’re solving.