Hey! I’m Jackson Smith, current board member and secretary of LOPSA, and I’m coming at you live from always sunny Philadelphia to announce my reelection bid. For those who don’t know me, I’ve been a systems administrator since 2015 and a LOPSA member since 2021 as part of the Leadership Committee. After some work trying to recruit board candidates, I ended up on the board myself.

As secretary of LOPSA, I’ve spent the past year helping revamp our bylaws and education programs behind the scenes. I also serve as our Technical Services chair and am working on rehoming LOPSA.org! I take the notes at our board meetings and have been migrating minutes from our wiki to Notion. I’ve managed to reduce the backlog on minutes since taking the helm as secretary.

LOPSA may have seen more active days in the past, but I’m working hard laying groundwork for a league of tomorrow. Systems administration has changed considerably since our foundation. While we’ve always worn many hats, the field is broader than ever. Demand for a professional organization for sysadmins remains high. I’m committed to expanding LOPSA and advancing the practice of systems administration into the future. My commitment to both education and outreach will soon be apparent, if it isn’t already, as our education program continues to gain momentum.

While I can’t promise immediate results or turnaround, I will continue the steady and unglamorous work needed to revitalize our organization if reelected.