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Inessa Pawson

Background​

  • Open Source Program Manager at OpenTeams
  • Community building expert with experience at local and global levels
  • Experienced in scientific Python community development
  • Based in Southwest Florida
  • Works closely with Travis Oliphant on open source initiatives

Professional Experience​

OpenTeams Role​

  • Managing OSA (Open Source Alliance) community growth
  • Responsible for community development and engagement
  • Transitioning focus to Applied AI Society development
  • Experienced with NumFOCUS project summit participation

Community Building Expertise​

Local and Global Experience:

  • Built multiple communities in Southwest Florida
  • Experience building global-scale communities
  • Deep understanding of PyData community evolution
  • Advocates for thoughtful champion selection in early community stages

Community Philosophy:

  • Inessa: "The most successful communities... it starts with the group of champions and we should be very careful... thoughtful is a good word. Who will be the first champions of this community? Because these champions will set the standards of communication of discourse and be basically the foundation of the culture of this community."
  • Recognizes PyData's success came from quality of early champions
  • Plans to source early champions from existing OSA community

Applied AI Society Vision​

Mission Focus​

Addressing Tech Worker Fears:

  • Inessa: "There is a lot of fear in general masses, but also it was in tech. Like how everyone's current role in tech will look like with wide adoption of AI."
  • Advocates for inclusive approach: "Your voice matters. We want to hear how you apply AI tools that are currently available, where they come short, where they are useful"
  • Emphasis on developing joint understanding with guardrails

Research and Development Perspective​

  • Works extensively with sci-fi community in R&D
  • Discusses impact of AI on academic literature reviews
  • Inessa: "Literature overview... one of the genre of academic papers, basically becoming obsolete because of what you can do with the current capabilities of AI tools"
  • Focused on identifying where AI is useful vs. not useful for research

Strategic Value for Gary Sheng​

Community Building Expertise​

  • Can help establish Applied AI Society chapters
  • Experience with both grassroots and institutional community development
  • Understanding of how to nurture early community culture
  • Knowledge of what makes communities sustainable long-term

Open Source Network​

  • Access to NumFOCUS and scientific Python communities
  • Connection to researchers and developers globally
  • Understanding of open source governance models
  • Experience transitioning communities to sustainable structures

Potential Collaboration Areas​

Applied AI Society Development​

  • Leading community growth initiatives
  • Establishing chapter framework and guidelines
  • Champion identification and cultivation
  • Community culture establishment

OpenTeams Integration​

  • Bridging OSA community with Applied AI Society
  • Leveraging existing open source relationships
  • Creating sustainable community models
  • Developing governance structures

Key Insights​

On Community Standards: Early champions set the foundation for entire community culture On Fear in Tech: Recognizes widespread anxiety about AI's impact on jobs and roles On Mission: Emphasizes importance of giving everyone a voice in AI development On Research Impact: Understands how AI is fundamentally changing academic and research practices

Connection Points​

  • OpenTeams leadership team
  • Scientific Python community
  • NumFOCUS network
  • Global open source ecosystem
  • Southwest Florida tech community

Interaction History​

  • 2025-11-24: Applied AI Society planning meeting with Gary Sheng, Travis Oliphant, Emma Merrill, Tyler Hoff, Josh Oliphant, and Willie. Discussed community building principles, mission development, and the importance of thoughtful champion selection for establishing community culture.