[EURO-Discuss] Board seat 15 candidate summary for Alan Greenberg
Alan Greenberg
greenberg.alan at gmail.com
Mon Mar 10 01:59:36 UTC 2014
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
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