Nominations and vote
The roles
The elections for CCv2 were held on 6th November 2021. The seats elected were:
Community Advisors (Kenric Nelson elected, with 100% of the vote)
Funded Proposers (Stephen Whitenstall, with 55.6% of the vote)
General ADA Holders (Allison Fromm, with 68.8% of the vote)
Stakepool Operators (Raymond Mata, with 76.9% of the vote)
Toolmakers and Maintainers (Tevo Saks, with 45.5% of the vote)
Catalyst Circle additionally includes a representative from IOG (Harris Warren) and from the Cardano Foundation (Matthias Sieber), who are not elected by the community.
The voting results, and the nomination statements from each of the candidates for election, are below.
Community Advisors
Initially, 11 people either nominated themselves, or were nominated by others, for this role; but they all withdrew or did not complete their form, so at election, Kenric Nelson was the only candidate.
The results
Kenric Nelson - statement
Statement:
I am committed to growing the strength, diversity, resilience, and capabilities of the Cardano Catalyst Community. I see Catalyst as uniquely positioned to facilitate the development of liberal democracy throughout the world. Upon initially exploring the cryptocurrency space in 2017, Cardano synchronized with my values regarding the importance of peer-reviewed scientific research; robust engineering development including the use of formal methods to validate functionality; and a commitment to building and supporting diverse communities.
I founded Photrek with a global focus, hence the choice of "world" for the domain name, and a desire to apply my expertise in simplifying the design of complex decision systems to challenging global problems. Within the Cardano community, Photrek has run the ADAStars ITN stakepool, executed the Fund 4 Diversify Voting Influence project, participated actively in the Catalyst Swarm discussions, acted as a Community Advisor, and veteran Community Advisor. Going forward, Photrek has plans to prototype a Diversified Voting method, develop auditing capabilities for the stakepool cybersecurity, collaborate with Singularity.Net on the development of machine learning methods for blockchain, improve the functioning of Automatic Maker Making exchanges, and much more.
My career as an Engineer, Scientist, Educator, and Leader has spanned the domain of Electrical and Computer Engineering and has included both industry program management at Raytheon and academic research and teaching at Boston University and Chelsea High School, respectively. Details of my experience are described at https://www.linkedin.com/in/kenric-nelson-ph-d-7495b77/. I'm particularly fascinated with complex nonlinear systems govern the how mankind can effectively utilize machines to improve life on the planet.
As a Catalyst Circle member guiding the Community Advisors, I would strive to contribute two principal things to the leadership. First, would be a plan to strengthen the recruitment, training, mentorship, and assessment of Community Advisors. I'd like to see the CA program develop the rigor of academic standards and the lean practicality of commercial execution. Secondly, I'd like to contribute the experience and expertise I've developed in human and machine decision systems to the design of Catalyst processes which can assure the fulfillment of the communities aspirations for world-class distributed decision making.
Funded Proposers
Initially, 7 people nominated themselves or were nominated by others; but 4 of these withdrew, leaving 3 candidates at election.
The results
Stephen Whitenstall - statement
As a Circle representative for the Funded Proposer Cohort, I would:
Seek the views of Coordinators on Telegram, Discord and at the Biweekly meetings and
Pursue improvements to the reporting of funded proposals collaborating with different Circle representatives to implement a consistent auditability platform. (further details - https://quality-assurance-dao.github.io/blog/2021/10/29/nomination-as-representative-for-the-funded-proposer-cohort/ )
Noah Thomas Jones - statement
I have a strong sense of ethics and organization. I will help the community move forward with efficient execution and legislation.
Heinz Gassner - statement
Strong interest in participating and co-shaping this exciting decentralized governance journey, long industry & innovation experience.
General ADA Holders
Initially, 8 people nominated themselves or were nominated by others; but 5 of these withdrew, leaving 3 candidates at election.
The results
Allison Fromm - statement
From the moment I stumbled into the whiteboard video Charles had created to explain Cardano, I have been actively looking for ways to utilize my particular skills in the service of the community. After watching that video in the spring of 2020, I learned all I could about staking, created a non-technical presentation to assist ordinary ADA-holders with the process, and witnessed in real-time the creation of the first Shelley block.
Through networking with the Cardano Foundation, I had the privilege to meet Dor in the summer of 2020. I joined a tiny handful of volunteers who participated in the original Catalyst Focus Group, and proudly cast my votes in Fund 0.
I was heartbroken when complications with my immigration status and work permit prevented me from performing a more public role in the subsequent funds, but I avidly watched the development of Catalyst, and of the Cardano ecosystem, from the sidelines.
Because I was determined to participate on a deeper level, I found a creative solution to my permit issue. With my newfound freedom, I have served as CA, volunteered for a Challenge Team, participated in the proposal submission process for the Rapid Funding Challenge, and joined many discussions on social media about the governance process. I have, of course, continued to cast my own votes.
I would welcome the opportunity to represent the General ADA Voters. While I don’t have a software engineering background, I have the capability to understand some of the concepts underpinning blockchain technology and the ability to communicate those concepts to diverse audiences. Good governance requires the active involvement of the average ADA holder who, like me, may not necessarily understand the code or the deeper architecture. I would look forward to representing this population, and to bringing their concerns and questions to the Catalyst Circle. I would be honored to continue the work of promoting and fostering engagement from the global community of voters.
Eli Selkin - statement
Eli brings an interesting perspective to the group in that he combines his software engineering skills (he has a MS in Computer Science with a focus on Machine Learning), and management skills (CTO) with and his social work (he is a licensed clinical social worker) and psychology background. Eli is a thoughtful human, Plutus Pioneer, Gimbalabs PPBL Team Member, winner of the Plutus Capstone, and all around good human being with a huge motivation to give. I have worked with Eli in the past on a project that brings people that face housing insecurities in suitable shared housing. Currently, I'm working with him on Fund6's Win-Win Dispute Resolution and auxiliary projects. As someone who has not been invested into Cardano since 2017 - but later - he also brings a fresh perspective to Catalyst and the Cardano Ecosystem overall. Eli has my full support as a representative of the general voters.
Aldion Ka - statement
Aldion is a Swiss knife of Catalyst, lurking around since fund 2. Devoted to peaceful, honest trade and communication. Successful CA role since fund 5. Fund 6 vCA role accomplished. Eager to actively engage in problem sensing and develop and implement new creative strategies to improve the Catalyst process and experience for all.
"Honest trade is peaceful!" -Aldion
Stakepool Operators
Initially, 5 people nominated themselves or were nominated by others; but 2 of these withdrew, leaving 3 candidates at election.
The results
Raymond Mata - statement
Note: Raymond was nominated by 3 different people: the 3 statements are included here.
SPOCRA board member, leadership facilitator, container steward, deep listener, passion for making Cardano the best.
Experienced SPO and leader who loves to dive deep into important issues. Effective communicator - has the amazing capability to explain issues in a way that's clear for everyone, possesses a clear vision on SPO mission/vision, smart and humble personality.
Ray operates for the betterment of humanity and is driven by the mission of SPOCRA, which is to protect the backbone of the network - which is the humans and businesses behind the stake pool operations. That means helping others with the set up & running of stake pools, listening & gathering collective feedback to understand the general consensus of the SPO community, and standing up for what is right establishing an equilibrium of the network for the participants of the Cardano ecosystem to rise up, decentralize, and thrive!
Tien Nguyen Anh - statement
Strengths: I have been working as System Administrator for 18 years. I am SPO too, I entered SPO space in 2020 so I have networked with many other SPOs in Vietnam. With this background, I believe that I am able to understand the challenge that SPO is being encountered and work with them to address the challenge. I have been working with Eastern Townhall as a moderator as well as a Cardano summit supporter.
Skills: Listening skills/Networking skills: it helps me to understand the others and pace with them, drive them effective way. Skill in system administration/business: it helps me to understand challenges with SPO and others.
Value: Community focus is my motivation, I listen, learn, and anticipate their’ challenges. Fearless is my drive to be bold and innovative. take risks, fail fast, and learn from mistakes to be better, faster, and smarter the next time. Truth and Transparency is my commitment to being open, honest, ethical, and timely with my information.
Ron Hill - statement
Note: Ron was nominated by 2 people. Both statements are included below.
Ron consistently shows up for Catalyst meetings, townhalls, and anything necessary to make sure the mission of SPOCRA succeeds; to provide a resource for SPOs that ensures the integrity and equilibrium of the blockchain. Via live stream interviews with ecosystem partners, breakouts in Catalyst and Swarm, and countless other venues, Ron shows up for this community in a way that gives me confidence he's a solid candidate.
Experienced SPO, has great leadership and communication skills. Very active in Cardano community with other gourps (like toolmakers).
Toolmakers & Maintainers
Initially, 5 people nominated themselves or were nominated by others; but 2 of these withdrew, leaving 3 candidates at election.
Tevo Saks and George Lovegrove received equal votes. They discussed it and decided that Tevo would take the seat on Circle v2.
The results
Tevo Saks - statement
I have technical background. Ability to assess solutions and problems quickly. I care about the success of Cardano community.
George Lovegrove - statement
Active as a toolmaker for the Project Catalyst ecosystem. Main value add to this role would be having a developer background, an ability for analysing Catalyst system design and having numerous existing community connections within the ecosystem.
Vincent Branden - statement
I think I can help.
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