Hello. I am running for ZOMG because I believe in the fundamental mission of Zcash, which I believe is to provide privacy preserving, decentralized financial freedom and speech for all.
Where did I come from and who am I? → Zcash came on my radar in 2017/2018 due to hobbyist interest in mining bitcoin and other alt coins as far back as 2013. I knew early on that privacy was important for this space and took an interest in other privacy related projects that ultimately withered away due to lack of resources, vaporware, and market timing. When I found Zcash I was impressed by the mission and team behind the project. I began mining and participated in the Powers of Tau ceremony. Due to a desire to focus on my education, career, and a few cross country moves I no longer call myself a miner. I have since turned my attention to exploring this amazing multi-chain crypto asset ecosystem we live in and promoting Zcash on Twitter and Reddit in my spare time. I also helped create the updated /r/zec wiki.
What qualifications do I have for this role? → IRL I am educated in the Computer/Network Security field and work as a Senior Architect for a large international company completely unrelated with the finance or crypto asset ecosystem. Project management, teamwork, communication, an aptitude and drive for diving deep on technical concepts and fostering safe and secure business practices are at the core of my everyday life. In my personal life I have long been an enthusiast and hobbyist of privacy enabling communication tools and encryption capabilities. I have an appreciation for security audits and responsible bug disclosures. I feel that my mindset and background would provide a good perspective to the team.
What are my priorities for ZOMG? → Fund high quality major projects or organizations that will foster healthy community growth and add value to the Zcash ecosystem using the ZOMG white paper and ZCAP consensus polling as a guide and encourage the ZF to restart its own grant program for smaller projects once it is fully staffed.
What do I think about current ZOMG structure and resource discussions → I’m open to giving the ZF time to implement their plan as @dodger has outlined here. [*] I also understand the current ZOMG team is largely not running again as of yet and there are increasing calls to delay the election. I personally wish to see a majority of the current team run again. I’m in support of @amiller’s proposal to poll the ZCAP on whether or not to delay. Either way, I want to be a part of solutions that helps Zcash achieve growth and adoption over the coming years because I believe privacy is a fundamental necessity that is much needed in this ecosystem. If the ZCAP doesn’t want to delay the elections and the current ZOMG members don’t want to run then I’ll be honored to serve. I also think that having staggered elections is important so I would be willing to resign and re-run mid-term as proposed and outlined here.
[*] My position on the current desire to stall is that we are not really in a hair on fire situation in terms of operating the major grants program. I am open to letting the ZF provide support to ZOMG so that the load can be lightened for ZOMG members. I don’t think the model that @tromer pointed out ever really got its fair shake due to the ZF turnover. I also think there is a broader issue, beyond ZOMG resources, of community building, outreach and education that is leading to a lack of high quality grants. We need more community outreach and education like Naomi Brockwell’s excellent video published recently and @Souptacular’s late night open mic Twitter Spaces discussions. I am also aware of the desire to further decentralize beyond the current 2-of-2 system in place, but I don’t think rushing into a DAO decision is wise, don’t want to see ZOMG funds locked up for a period of time stalling prospective grantees, and don’t think that the ZF should be sole arbiter in issuing ZOMG grants in lieu of a suspended ZOMG committee because that would not be in line with zip-1014.