Who's Who In The Zoo
Reading this article means you are likely a regular DevCentralite.
Regulars may see some of the DevCentral team-member avatars on articles, get emails directly from us on various updates, perhaps chat with us in private messages around the inter-webs, or <gasp> meet us in person (we are people). There have been lots of changes at DevCentral over the years (DevCentral is older than my 8th grader) but even if you have met some of us in person there is a fair chance you do not know how we contribute to the community or how we, The DevCentral Team, fit into F5.
TL;DR - There are seven of us, from around the world, dedicated and passionate about the DevCentral community.
We are simultaneously magnificent and humble.
Beginning at the head, with our leader, Tony.
Tony has been a groundbreaking presence in community management for over 20 years. He is native to the Seattle area and better than any of us at Rock Band (instruments!). He leveled-up at Microsoft (MVP Program) and PopCap (think Zombies) and brought that to bear at F5 for DevCentral in 2014. He works every day with executive leadership at F5 to realize the true potential of ‘community’ as a force for good for the community. He reminds us at every opportunity that we are all community members and that we get out what we put in.
On to the heart of DevCentral, our Content-Meisters: Jason, Chase, John, and Rodrigo.
Jason and John live in the greater St Louis area (home of the 2019 Stanley Cup Champions!!) and interestingly, about 200 miles ENE of the mean-center of population in the US. (TIL?!) Jason was the winner of the first-ever iRules contest, as a customer, way back in 2005 and is the resident old guy, having served the DevCentral community the longest. He crossed over from invested customer to passionate customer advocate almost 11 years ago. John agreed to interview for the team back in 2013 when someone mentioned free lodging and skiing was involved. If you are holding Crème Brûlée you will have John’s undivided attention. Both of them absolutely crush one of the more popular segments, Lightboard Lessons, and otherwise research and write about everything from Security and iRules to TMOS and SDKs.
Chase, joined F5 the same month as Jason in 2009, and joined DevCentral out of IT in 2014. Seattle hatched (raised, but not born) he recently lived full-time on a boat and says GESUNDHEIT! louder than most people sneeze. Chase has 22 years in IT/technology and is among the more forceful and passionate agents of change in the company. Now with some growth on the team, you can expect to see more articles, Q&A, cats, and Disney references on the DevCentral site.
Based out of our Chertsey office, and a native of Brazil, Rodrigo is our newest Content-Meister. Rodrigo was recruited out of Engineering Services in F5 last winter to level-up DevCentral for DevOps. We only get to meet Rodrigo (personally) a couple times a year but since he is on Greenwich Mean Time he bravely mans the wheel while the rest of us party sleep. If you ever get the chance to hear him sing karaoke it will almost certainly be a 90's British pop hit - and it will be fabulous.
And finally, the legs of the operation: Leslie and Lief, DevCentral Program Managers.
Leslie manages Offline and Lief was recently hired to manage Online. Sounds like a simple split but community demarcations are not always simple. The idea here is that the community has many ways to engage and F5 wants to make sure and support that engagement, both on the inter-webs and in the field; Leslie and Lief will work together going forward to help align offline and online resources.
Leslie is an expert cat herder, has been responsible for Community presence and technical breakouts at the past few F5 Agility conferences, manages the DC MVP program, and has handled other duties as assigned at F5 since 2014. She has lived in Geneva, The Hague, and London, spent the night on top of Kilimanjaro, trained as an opera singer, and dealt poker professionally. Is it any wonder that she manages a TON of intricate, real-world, details with a high-functioning passion for 'the experience' of it all? More than once you will hear ‘We need more Leslies.’
Lief recently came to F5 and the DevCentral team with over 20 years in technology as an analyst, program manager, and people manager responsible for multi-tenant, enterprise, software applications. Another Seattle native he was born within sight of the new F5 Tower. He is focused on bringing process and technology standards to bear for the DevCentral website in support of the Content-Meisters, our Offline Programs, and (big C) Community at F5. He has a, recently mothballed, lifelong biking habit, a predisposition for run-on sentences, an ongoing affair with oxford commas (and parenthetical remarks), uses a Dvorak keyboard, and is not accustomed to speaking of himself in the third person. Oh, and, we need more Leslies.