John Walicki

John Walicki has over 30 years of work experience, with their most recent position being the VP Community Operations at The Linux Foundation, starting in March 2023. Prior to that, they worked at IBM from 1990 to 2023. At IBM, they held various roles, including IBM Edge Application Manager architect, IBM Developer Advocate, Watson IoT Developer Ecosystem Advocate, STSM, Workplace of the Future Architect, Manager Workplace & Mobility, IBM Open Client Architect, IBM Research Technical Staff, Watson I/S Client Engineering Mgr, and Watson I/S Developer. In these roles, they demonstrated expertise in IT architecture, strategy development, and software engineering. John also played key roles in promoting Linux and open-source software, serving as the chairman of the Linux Foundation's Desktop Linux Workgroup from 2007-2008 and representing IBM on the Gnome Foundation Advisory Board. Throughout their career, they have been involved in numerous industry conferences and trade shows as a panelist and speaker.

John Walicki attended Lehigh University from 1986 to 1990, where they obtained a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering. John also holds a Bachelor's degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Lehigh University. In terms of certifications, they have obtained the Developer Profession - Level 3 Expert certification from IBM in June 2021, and they have also earned the Call for Code for Racial Justice - IBM Contributor certification from IBM in December 2020.