Apereo Foundation Board Chair, Anne-Marie Scott Elected Director at Open Source Initiative

Announced March 21, 2023

Apereo Foundation's chair of the Board of Directors, Anne-Marie Scott was elected a Director at the Open Source Initiative. Anne-Marie was elected by the Affiliate organizations of OSI. 

Full election results for the affiliate organizational seat at OSI can be found on OpaVote.

Anne-Marie's full candidate statement can be found on the OSI website. Small excerpt below:

Having worked in higher education technology for over 20 years, Anne-Marie brings experience of the realities of implementing open source successfully in a domain that has been rapidly moving towards adoption of commercial and proprietary tech in many countries.

As awareness of surveillance cultures and the predatory nature of educational technology companies become more visible post-COVID she believes there is a real moment appearing for strong advocacy for change and wider adoption of open source. She has been writing and advocating for changes to public sector procurement practices for over a decade to make the adoption of open source more possible, seeing this area as a systemic barrier at present.

She believes that education is a particularly important domain for open source communities to engage with, as it is a crucial opportunity to build the awareness and talent that can support the wider global open source movement.

Role of directors at OSI:

The board of directors is the ultimate authority responsible for the Open Source Initiative as a California public benefit corporation, with 501(c)3 tax-exempt status. The board’s responsibilities include oversight of the organization, approving the budget and supporting the executive director and staff to fulfill its mission. The OSI isn’t a volunteer-run organization anymore and the role of the directors has changed accordingly.

Each director is expected to be a counsel and a guide for staff rather than an active contributor. Directors should guide discussions, support the vision and mission of the organization, and advocate for the OSI. They’re also asked to support the fundraising efforts however they feel comfortable doing.

Congratulations to Anne-Marie Scott! Apereo is proud!