CANDIDATE FOR TREASURER

Lois Bennett

I am pleased and grateful to accept the nomination for treasurer of USENIX.

This is a difficult time for USENIX with the condition of the economy and after Sept. 11. The fall-off in conference attendance has had a marked financial effect and we face many challenges. Nevertheless, we will still need to move forward as an organization, and my own commitment to making things happen is one of my qualifications for this position. As many members know, the SAGE certification project has made major strides in the last year, including the operational pilot (beta) test we administered at LISA in San Diego. As chair of the certification project I have played a significant role in moving that project toward becoming a reality. Regarding the position of Treasurer itself, I am convinced of the need for conscientious oversight of the organization's budget and finances. I am conversant with budgeting processes: as manager of System Support for Harvard's Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences I have been responsible for drawing up and adhering to a $500,000 annual budget, and I have been closely involved in budgeting processes for other organizations as well.

USENIX has no shortage of accomplishments to point to as an organization, but I would not be a complacent member of the leadership team. I would like to see better marketing for the organization, and better relations between SAGE and USENIX as a whole. I would like to find ways to make the smaller conferences--which I think are one of USENIX's strengths--less of a financial burden. At the same time I would like to see more small workshops on current and emerging technologies and issues. I would like to see the Goodworks projects be more visible, and my long-range wish list would include seeing USENIX develop a quality journal.

For me, USENIX stands for technical excellence, but for something more than this as well: a real community of people with a deep stake in, and passion for, the world of advanced computing. As a member of the board of directors, I would be dedicated to advancing both those aspects of who we are.

Biography: Lois is a Senior System Administrator in the Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University. Previously Lois worked at MITRE, Lincoln Labs, MIT, and Whitehead Institute/MIT Center for Genome Research. MSEE '85, University of Connecticut. A lifelong New Englander, Lois is a weaver and spinner; she dabbles in photography and clay.

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