2020-09-09 Trustee Election

The nomination window is now closed.

The election will start on the 9th September this year and it will run for 7 days. All members, no matter how remote, will be able to vote.

The election will take place electronically using OpaVote.

Our returning officer for this election is James Fowkes, who will set up and handle the OpaVote system for the election.

You will receive an individual voting email to your HMS registered email address.

There are four open positions, and the following members have put themselves forward to be trustees.

Photo	Nominee
Andrew Armstrong	I'm Andrew Armstrong and have been a member of the hackspace for around 8 years. You might know I applied earlier in the year and am applying again for this election, having assisted the trustees in a non-voting capacity and learning the ropes while they were understaffed. I have myself done all manner of projects done from costumes to crafts to laser cutter work to electronics to woodworking. I've seen the space grow from 2011 when HS 2.0 was fairly new and without even the laser cutter, to the huge space it is now. The unprecedented time with the virus means we are looking at having a very slow return to normal, no one could have predicted this several months ago during our financial worries which I am happy the Hackspace properly came together for and solved. I am glad we are on steady ground for now but wish to help move the space forward once we can fully open again. I am truly passionate about the space; apart from helping the trustees the last few months, I would have organised our EMF village this year; the effort won't go to waste and I will attend EMF 2022 for sure. I make sure to attend the monthly hackspace members meetings, am a regular on the Slack and Wiki, and try to get to a lot of workshops our members organise and visit the space to work on projects. Apart from being a long-term member I'd bring to the trustees past experience of being involved in the laser, resources and wiki teams, and can see the pain points leading the space activities. I am have helped at public events Nottinghack has attended several times, including every EMF Camp. I have also run my own events at the space, more on the social side, which I wish to continue when the time is right. Outside of the hackspace I am an active trade union branch committee member and have helped run AGMs and done secretary duty for other volunteer organisations. If elected as a trustee I hope to gather feedback from members on the clear short and long term goals the space wants to achieve once COVID is in a better situation. I'd focus on large long term changes and what larger spends the space should aim towards, such as Hackspace 3.0, or some major aspirational tools. The trustees are in the unenviable position of deciding how money is directed beyond "keeping the lights on" with nothing but vague goals or drives seems pretty impossible. Let's get something long term planned and see how we can work towards it for everyone's benefit! I applaud the online hustings idea and I will be there, and if you miss that or just want to chat, feel free to message me on the Nottinghack Slack to ask me about anything to do with the Hackspace or this election! (PS: The Llama isn't mine, but I thought it'd make a more fun picture! Llama hikes are awesome!)
Steve Barnett	I've been a member of Nottingham Hackspace since 2012, and since moving closer to Nottingham in 2016 I've become more and more involved with the Hackspace. My main recent contribution has been working on Hackspace 2.5 most weeks for several years and I was involved in much of the progress that has taken it from an empty set of rooms filled with junk to its current state. I've also designed and built housings for several of the recent Hackspace infrastructure projects such as the new style RFID reader boxes for the access control system, the wall mounted tablet cases downstairs, and I built and installed the temporary light switches in what is currently the blue room and CNC rooms downstairs. I've also been involved in providing 3D printer inductions for several years in addition to inductions on the new resin 3D printer we acquired last year. I have exhibited my FooBot robot table football project at the most recent Hackspace open day and the Nottingham Green Festival to help promote the Hackspace as a place where interesting projects can get made. I have a familiarity and experience with a broad cross section of tools in the Hackspace including the tools in electronics, metalworking, the CNC room, woodworking, the laser cutters, and various other tools in the space which I believe puts me in a good position to understand the needs of users of the space. I regularly create projects in and around the Hackspace which run the gamut from crochet and other craft projects through software and into custom tools for metalworking projects. Professionally I'm a video games developer working in Nottingham with a degree in computer science so I can also bring my programming and general computing experience to bear should it be required.
Louise Dennis	My name is Louise, I've been a member at Hackspace for 2 years now. I mostly utilise the laser cutter and the woodworking area. I'm really glad I became a member and in the last year I've tried to be useful to the space. I became an inductor for the laser cutter earlier this year. I was also involved with organising volunteer time on the cutter to create PPE for the COVID-19 drive. Hackspace is important to me because being a parent has it's challenges and the space has provided an easy access location to be creative and become part of a community of like-minded makers. I would like to become a Trustee as I think I would be useful in continuing to ensure that the space is safely accessible to all makers. I think the biggest challenge is still sustainability. COVID-19 has caused a slump in growth but being on the membership team, I can see that people are still extremely interested in becoming members. The current Trustees achieved a great deal with bringing awareness to the financial side of things which empowered me to be a more involved member. I hope I will be able to empower others to be more involved in the space too. COVID-19 has been a challenging time for all and I want to find ways for us to thrive in this new normal.
Mike Haber	I’ve been a member for over 5 years, using most areas of the Space. I’ve worked on Cigar Box Guitars, lasercut buildings for kids homework projects, 3d printed Pokemon coins and taught both of my kids to solder and make stuff. I’ve been on the snackspace team getting supplies from the Cash and Carry and helped out with many of the the Hack the Space and HS 2.0 events. I enjoy helping out and putting back a bit more than I take to create a strong space. I love the fact the Hackspace exists and is an amazing resource open to so many members. I’d like to encourage more member events at the space and create a community for members who’d like to be involved in one. I’d also like to make the functioning of the space more transparent where possible - the space ought to be run by members, rather than trustees. While I’m not an expert on anything to do with stairs, part of my paid work is as a team communications facilitator and coach - and I’d hope to bring some of the things from work to the functioning and communication of the space.
Jayen Pancholi	I'm an Architect and have a passion for design and making. My favourite and most used area of the hackspace is the wood working area. I like to make bespoke furniture and to experiment with new ideas. During the old normal I came to the space on a weekly basis on a Monday evening, usually to work on projects but sometimes just to potter about, carry out a little bit of maintenance on some tools, or clear up a small area whilst conversing with other makers about our projects. I love the collaboration and skill sharing that the hackspace enables, and the way that this activity is fostered. Before I knew of the hackspace I'd always wanted to try to weld and the hackspace, its members, and the available tools made it possible. I want to encourage more of this and to make the space feel as accessible as possible to all. I've been a member for over three years and feel like I have a good understanding of what it takes to be a Trustee of the space whilst also being able to bring some fresh ideas to the table.
James Spence	Hi, I'm James W Spence. I'm a 25 year old engineer based in the Midlands. I'm never too far from the space most evenings, working on projects, being social with members as well as working on improvements to the Hackspace. I aim to make the space more usable and pleasant. I mostly work with a small team in the electronics area. We have been working with members to improve the area, including building a new large projects table to increase working space. We've seen improvement in the use of the electronics space which is very rewarding! In future, I would like to help with other areas of the space, working with members to improve the space. I think we need a new large project/ large material storage solution to ensure projects are safe, progressed, achieved and accessible. I will improve health and safety and processes of the space using my experience of being an industrial site contractor. I care deeply, and have experience in the fields of: • Safety in a workshop environment • Planning as a part of a team As a Trustee, I would help improve the hackspace in areas such as: • COVID 19 • Safety of equipment • Reporting of damaged equipment • Locking out procedures • Control of substances hazardous to health • Waste management • Space development - ensuring things can be completed in a timely manner or broken down to manageable realistic goals in which progress can be achieved. • Process management If elected I would bring my experience as an Engineer and knowledge of tools and machines to the table to improve equipment and tools diversity available at the space. I would also like to improve the availability of consumables, forecasting of cost, and put more self-supporting measures in place for teams and members alike.
Andrew Walters	I have been a member of the Hackspace since 2016 and have been an active volunteer in the membership team and the woodworking team since soon after I joined. My view on the hackspace as a trustee Is firstly to get the basics right, finance, legal, the organization, events, safety and the good order of the facilities. I'm keen we are better at the human aspects of running our organisation, mostly being geeks we tend to focus heavily and occasionally aggressively on “process” and “things” as a result we build barriers when it comes to people, hampering inclusivity and the engagement of volunteers. I enjoy running tours on open nights, frankly I can't recall showing anyone around who wasn’t impressed and many are blown away by what they see, this is testament to the enterprise of the founders and to anyone who has contributed formally or informally over past 10 years, it's easy to get stuck in the things that have gone wrong and the negative issues we have in common with many other organisations and communities. We should not forget the extent of the facilities that have been built, contributions to local and national events and frankly the sheer joy of making and interacting with other makers that our Nottingham hackspace facilitates every day it is open. By any reasonable measure it has been a success. For myself I work in the scientific and medical instrument supply industry in a service role, although mostly my tool kit is redundant now as I only usually drive a desk. I am a lifelong Nottingham resident I live in and grew up in and around  the City, although I have traveled and worked regularly around Europe and when I was younger I travelled a little on the backpacker circuit in Asia, South America and Australia. I am happy to expand on any of this and my views on current projects and the future for the space. So please do not hesitate to contact me if you want to ask any questions.