[EURO-Discuss] Board seat 15 candidate summary for Alan Greenberg

[Alan Greenberg]

I am sending this summary of my candidature to the EURO-Discuss list 
at Wolf Ludwig's invitation.

The At-Large Board member cannot "represent" the ALAC or At-Large. 
Once appointed, the director is there purely on his/her own. However, 
At-Large was given a voting seat on the Board to allow the issues 
relevant to users to be factored into the debates. To do that, a 
person must be selected who can best represent those interests.

My ICANN background:

- Later this year I will have completed 8 years as a volunteer to 
At-Large, 6 years of which I have been a NomCom appointee to the 
ALAC, and I have also been the ALAC Liaison to the GNSO for all 8 
years. I have also held several ALAC leadership roles.
- At the time I started, the ALAC had a reputation of being a joke 
within ICANN, and certainly not a proper representative of user 
needs. Although many people have been involved in changing that 
image, I believe that my actions within the ALAC, the GNSO, Policy 
Development Processes and ICANN in general played a very significant 
part in changing the image of ALAC and At-Large.
- I have been the principal author of many of the statements issues 
by the ALAC over the last 8 years demonstrating my understand of the 
issues important to At-Large.
- I have been involved in the new gTLD process for my entire career 
in ICANN (and often a critic of it). Although the expansion of the 
TLD space may be justified (and regardless was inevitable given 
ICANN's history), it has not been done well from a user perspective 
and I have been very vocal on this.
- Although I obviously do not agree with all ICANN participants, I 
have managed to develop good working relationships with people in 
many diverse areas of ICANN.

Professional background:

- I started as software developer (operating systems) and over the 
years, took on a variety of responsibilities ending with my being 
responsible for technology  (computers, network, etc) for McGill 
University in Montreal, one of the worlds leading research universities).
- I was part of the small group that built the first academic network 
in Canada, and then in the late 1980's brought the Internet to Canada.
- I have volunteered in a number of professional organizations prior 
to ICANN, including being a Board member for a computer user's groups 
and the Internet Society.
- I spent 6 years as a volunteer to the Internet Society working with 
and then running their Network Training Workshops for people from 
developing countries. We trained people from over 140 countries who 
were instrumental in bringing the Internet to their countries. Alumni 
include government ministers, ICANN Board members and ICANN employees.
- I have spent much of my career with a focus on technology usability 
and recently authored a chapter of a book on web usability issues 
related to using the Web to enhance developing economies.
- After my retirement from McGill, I spent several years consulting 
on the use of technology in developing economies (ICT4D), and worked 
in Africa, South Asia and Central America.

Education:

I have a bachelor's degree in mathematics and physics and a master's 
degree in computer science.

Strengths related to the Board position:

- I have a very strong understanding of ICANN and its various 
components, of At-Large, and of the needs of Internet users.
- I have a proven ability to work with others, and to influence 
outcomes. I am generally viewed as a thoughtful and articulate 
person, and I am in a very strong position to enter the Board and 
immediately be effective. Three of my references for my Expression of 
Interest for this Board position were current or former ICANN Board 
members, and their endorsements speak well to my ability to quickly 
become an effective Board member.
- My background with both the ISOC training workshops and my ICT4D 
consulting have made me acutely aware of the issues that are 
important in the developing world.
- I am free of any relationship with those who stand to make money 
off of ICANN's decisions, and will not have any conflicts in carrying 
out my mandate.
- My track record of dedication (in both time and effort ) to ICANN 
and At-Large is well known, and I will put the same energy into 
presenting the needs of users on the Board.

In short, I do not believe that any other candidate can match all of 
my qualifications and I will not only be a good Board member, but an 
outstanding At-Large Board member.

If I am selected, I can make a number of commitments:

- I will not disappear, but commit to staying in touch with the ALAC, 
At-Large and RALOs, through both face-to-face meetings and 
teleconferences, and not just at social events or near my re-election 
time. That in my mind is the only way to ensure that I am aware of 
issues important to At-Large.
- You will regularly hear from me about Board activities and my 
participation, and raising issues that I believe that At-Large may 
want to focus on.
- I will work to make sure that the bottom-up nature of ICANN is 
preserved in fact and not only in words. This is key to ICANN's 
ability to continue to exist and meet its obligations.
- I will do my best to make sure that At-Large knows what kind of a 
Board member I am and I will stand on my record so you will know what 
you are getting.

Warm regards, Alan