Hi, I’m Tess (she/her).
I’m running for the AB because I believe deeply in the W3C’s mission and in the impact of the work that we do here. It’s on all of us to ensure that the W3C continues to be the preferred venue for the standardization of Web technologies that embody our core values, a place where Members are eager to bring new work because they know W3C is where that work is most likely to lead to well-specified, highly interoperable, and widely implemented standards. I believe the best way to achieve this is to firmly recommit ourselves to being Member-led, especially now in this post-Director era.
The AC elects the AB to “serve the Members by tracking issues raised between [AC] meetings, [to solicit] Member comments on such issues, and [to propose] actions to resolve [them].
” [W3C Process Document § 3.3.1.1] I believe this is the primary purpose of the AB and the main responsibility of each AB participant: to be attentive to the entire membership (not just your employer, industry segment, or geographic cohort), to strive to address Member concerns, and to ensure the AC is adequately informed of all the relevant facts whenever questions are put to it.
The AB gives “guidance to the Team on issues of strategy, management, legal matters, process, and conflict resolution.
” [Ibid.] I don’t believe this to be separable from the AB’s responsibility to the membership: guidance given by the AB ought to be rooted in and driven by Member priorities and concerns. The AB should regularly solicit input from the AC to identify priority areas in which its leadership could be most impactful to the Consortium’s work and operations. The AB should strive to make itself useful to the Team, so that the Team is naturally inclined to seek its input.
The AB is also responsible for the Process Document, although it has delegated much of that work to the Process CG. If elected, I would work with the CG and with my fellow AB participants to streamline the Process. While some of its complexity is justified, I believe there are opportunities for significant simplification without loss of robustness. For example, there are around 25 elected positions at W3C. That’s probably too many. We should investigate creative ways to reduce that number while retaining the AC’s power to elect the majority of each body and while ensuring the continued fulfillment of each body’s duties and responsibilities.
AB participants help handle Formal Objections by serving on W3C Councils. I’ve sat on almost every Council that has existed, and chaired one. I hope that my prior service demonstrates my commitment to ensuring that all Formal Objections receive a fair hearing and due consideration.
I have a proven track record of helping people find consensus despite the many obstacles they may encounter—from strong personalities to disparate, conflicting goals and interests. During three terms on the TAG I participated in hundreds of design reviews, authored a number of design principles, edited the Security & Privacy Questionnaire, and (as mentioned above) served on many Councils. My technical contributions have focused on core Web platform technologies, especially in the CSSWG and at the WHATWG. I’ve edited several specs and chaired CGs & WGs.
I’ve lead Apple’s Web standards efforts for many years. I’m our AC rep and I manage our Web Standards team. I’m involved in governance at other SDOs as well. For instance, I’m Apple’s GA rep at Ecma (their AC), and I serve on the ExeCom (Ecma’s AB).
Being an effective AB participant requires a significant amount of time and energy. I was willing to devote both to the TAG during my six years of service, and I stand ready to make a similar commitment to the AB.
I strongly believe in the vital importance of diversity to our work. After all, those “making the Web work, for everyone
” should be as diverse as the billions who depend on the Web in their daily lives. I hope the AC continues to prioritize seating elected bodies of diverse backgrounds, identities, and lived experiences.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions:
- Email:
hober@apple.com- W3C IRC:
hober- ActivityPub:
@hober@w3c.social- W3C Community Slack:
@hober
Thank you for your consideration.