Open source leader shares her perspective on community, diversity
Our CEO/founder Jennifer Cloer interviews Rust Foundation’s Bec Rumbul
Q: Hey, Bec! Please tell us about yourself and why you chose to accept your role as Executive Director at the Rust Foundation.
Bec: I am a tech enthusiast, and I believe that if done well, digital can make the world a better place. My career has spanned the private, public, non-profit and academic sectors, and I have been lucky enough to lecture in politics, work with the UN, develop open source digital democracy tools in Africa, Asia and Latin America, and work with data regulation and privacy policy in the UK and EU. The role with the Rust Foundation was incredibly appealing as it was taking my interest in open source to a new level, working with an engaged and talented community of innovators and developing something very impactful for the wider world in a very democratic and inclusive manner. It was a great chance to build something from the ground up and bring new expertise to interesting challenges.
Q: You just recently celebrated one year supporting the Foundation. What have you learned about yourself and the Rust community?
Bec: I cannot believe it’s been a year already! I have learned so much this year and feel that it's just the beginning. It has been fascinating finding out the subtleties of how OSS communities work, and this past year has been an eye-opener in terms of just how much of our critical digital infrastructure is supported by a very small - and consistently under-appreciated - community of enthusiasts. I have really loved building a committed staff team this year and learning how to develop our internal processes to ensure that everyone on the team is empowered and supported in their role.
Bec Rumbul
Q: What about the Rust programming language and community excites you? What about this moment in time in the technology space makes Rust especially exciting?
Bec: All programming languages have their merits and challenges, but I think Rust is uniquely positioned to have a significant, positive impact on securing the internet and digital world. Security and reliability is increasingly important, and global governments are beginning to legislate to ensure security is baked into all digital products. In our increasingly security-conscious world, Rust’s powerful memory safety and performance features make it an obvious choice to build in. Policymakers and influential big-tech bosses are now looking at Rust as a key solution to recurring, sticky problems. We are only at the beginning of this journey, so it's a thrilling time to work with the Rust language and community. I'm excited to see how much benefit the Rust Foundation can bring to global computing through investment in growing and sustaining Rust.
“Security and reliability is increasingly important, and global governments are beginning to legislate to ensure security is baked into all digital products.”
Q: Open source communities have a long way to go when it comes to diversity. How can foundations help to build inclusive environments and increase diversity in open source?
Bec: In order for our digital world to serve everyone equally, it is essential that there is diversity in the teams building it. Diversity and plurality make the things we build stronger and more fit for purpose. The hard truth is that we don't have adequate representation and inclusivity in tech. It's imperative that tech companies and organizations like ours engage those sections of society through focused and sustained outreach, hiring and retention efforts. At the Rust Foundation, we are committed to improving equality and diversity. We have established a DEI focused sub-committee of the Board of Directors to help us develop our strategy and highlight opportunities. In our employment practices, we use an applicant-blind approach based on ability in order to remove bias. We also ensure that events and meetups we sponsor are accessible and safe. The Rust community is actually one of the most diverse and inclusive OSS communities out there; they believe in the value of new and different perspectives and a welcoming environment, so it’s great to be working with people who are so invested in DEI.
Q: Everyone agrees that sustaining open source software and communities is vital since they provide the digital foundation for how we live our lives. Given your experience at Rust Foundation, and your previous experience with MySociety and organizations like Omidyar, how do we approach this challenge while balancing corporate and community interests?
Bec: There will always be competing interests and ideologies, and I believe that a plurality of views is a good thing. What I’d like to see going forward (and what I am committed to working on at the Rust Foundation) is creating an environment where there is honesty, good faith and constructive collaboration amongst stakeholders, whether they are community or corporate. As a Foundation, our reason for existing is to ensure that Rust itself is safe, secure and sustainable. We have no other interests or agendas. So we are hopefully a neutral actor that can help to balance and focus some of these collaborations. The Rust Foundation always endeavors to take an impartial view and be a bridge between different interests.
“In order for our digital world to serve everyone equally, it is essential that there is diversity in the teams building it. Diversity and plurality make the things we build stronger and more fit for purpose.”
Q: What are you reading? We host a popular Book Club and our community is always looking for great recs, whether career focused or a great read for rainy nights this winter.
Bec: "Immune," by Phillip Dettmer. It's a fantastically accessible read on immunology that I've just finished. After the last few years of hearing about vaccines and immunity non-stop on the news, I thought it would be valuable to get more educated on the basics. I learned a lot more than I did in high school biology!