Finding My Place in the Ceph Community: Reflections Ahead of Cephalocon 2025
Finding My Place in the Ceph Community: Reflections Ahead of Cephalocon 2025 ¶
Six months ago, I stepped into an exciting chapter in my career by joining the Ceph Foundation as Community Manager. I saw it as an opportunity to grow a community, enhance my marketing skills, and harness my passion for organizing events to make a positive impact. What I didn't expect was how truly rewarding this journey would be. So far, I've managed many campaigns, but the most significant was preparing for Cephalocon, taking place in Vancouver, BC, on October 28–29. They say what doesn't break you makes you stronger, and after six months with Ceph, I honestly feel like the Incredible Hulk: stronger, more resilient, and inspired by the power of open collaboration.
Cephalocon is the annual gathering of the global Ceph community, where contributors, users, and developers share ideas, exchange knowledge, and celebrate open-source storage progress. It's a space for innovation and collaboration, often sparking the next breakthrough for the project. This year's event in Vancouver aims to increase user engagement and showcase Ceph's versatility with real-world use cases.
As the Ceph Community Manager, I was invited to attend Cephalocon this year and deliver a presentation. This will be my first Cephalocon and my first visit to Vancouver, BC. I've spent my time with Ceph connecting with community members around the world, and all of those interactions have been through screens. I look forward to meeting many community members with whom I have partnered, including the collection of developers, operators, and advocates who make Ceph what it is.
Along with organizing the details of Cephalocon with the Ceph Events Team, I've had the privilege of supporting incredible contributors who share their stories through blog posts, tech talks, and open discussions. I’ve collaborated with participants in programs including the Google Summer of Code and the Ceph Developer Summit, which have shown me just how passionate, innovative, and collaborative this community really is. I’ve also been fortunate to work alongside people like Gaurav Sitlani, whose insights helped shape the Ceph Ambassador Program into a growing network of talented advocates; Frédéric Nass, who has been an amazing collaborator on Ceph blogs and events; Anthony D’Atri, who has been instrumental in refining our communication tools; and Joseph Mundackal, who taught me the ropes of making GitHub pull requests for ceph.io updates.
The Ceph community has quickly proven to be one of the most inspiring groups I’ve ever worked with. Every person I’ve met brings a story of solving challenges, scaling systems, and believing in open collaboration. My talk at Cephalocon 2025, Powered by People: Growing the Ceph Community Through User Engagement, will explore where the Ceph community has been and where we're headed next. I'll share how user engagement, storytelling, and cross-community collaboration are shaping the next chapter of the Ceph Foundation's work, and how every contributor plays a role in building a stronger, more connected ecosystem.
If you're attending Cephalocon this year, I'd love for you to join my session. If you aren't, there's still time to register! You'll learn how to get more involved with the Ceph Foundation, how we’re building tools to recognize contributors across the ecosystem, and how you can make your voice heard. Ceph’s greatest strength has always been its people, and together, we’re building something extraordinary.
Cephaloalon 2025 will take place in Vancouver, BC, on October 28-29.