Over the past 3 ½ years, Dryad has become an independent organization with a committed team and organizational capacity. During this time, integrations and partnerships have expanded and sustainability plans have grown. From these efforts, we increased the amount of curated and openly published data available to the public. With great pride and bittersweet feelings, I will be moving on to pursue a new opportunity on Feb 23.
Working with the staff has meant collaborating with a group of committed, mission-driven professionals. Leading this group to become a collegial and very high-functioning team has been my absolute pleasure. I have also been honored to be accepted as an equal in the field of open data advocates and crafters of scholarly communication workflows, and to be able to share my vision of Dryad as a critical service. The support, encouragement, and concern of the Dryad board of directors was always behind me, and I’ve been energized at what we’ve accomplished in support of curated, open, and FAIR data.
A search for a new Executive Director has begun. This person will have the opportunity to develop mission-critical business strategies and to offer an innovative vision for promoting data openness in the scientific community and securing Dryad’s place as a key facilitator of data sharing. With the Dryad board’s support, Elizabeth Hull, Dryad Operations Manager, is filling in during the interim.
I want to thank our incredibly supportive community of submitters, members, partners, and collaborators for their dedication to open data and to Dryad’s mission. This next phase for the organization is now beginning. We invite you to join us and grow Dryad!