This year it was hard to decide, and we wanted to also show who else got nominated, because they also deserve recognition, so it took a bit longer than we expected.
The Django Software Foundation Board is pleased to announce that the 2024 Malcolm Tredinnick Memorial Prize has been awarded to Rachell Calhoun.
Rachell Calhoun is an influential figure within the Django community, well known for being cheerful and always willing to help others. She consistently empowers folks behind the scenes.
Rachell got her start in the Django community through a Django Girls Seoul event. Being an educator, she started organizing Django Girls Seoul events. Her contributions to Django Girls Seoul and Django Girls Grand Rapids exemplify her commitment to sharing knowledge, spreading Django and lifting others up. Rachell is now a trustee for Django Girls +, contributing to its mission of helping women and other underrepresented groups around the world learn programming with Django.
In 2022, Rachell co-founded Djangonaut Space, an initiative designed to support new contributors to the Django ecosystem, encouraging leadership and growth. Rachell’s willingness to help people achieve their goals and celebrate their achievements has been imprinted in Djangonaut Space’s culture. Rachell and Djangonaut Space have done a stellar job on helping people become contributors and Django community members.
Her commitment to fostering diversity and inclusion extends beyond her organizational work; she has volunteered at multiple DjangoCon US events, bringing her welcoming and inclusive spirit to the community. A long-time volunteer and speaker at DjangoCon US and DjangoCon Europe from 2016 to 2024, she has shared her expertise and insights on various topics related to Django and web development.
Rachell has contributed to Django for many years, she has been instrumental in creating spaces where people of all backgrounds can thrive, making her a beloved and respected member of the global Django ecosystem.
Some quotes from the thirteen people who nominated Rachell had this to say about her:
Rachell advocates for others constantly through sponsorship, inclusivity, and connection. She is extremely empathic and seeks to not only welcome others in, but to actively bring them into the group.
She has been one of the core members of Djangonaut Space which has done a lot for bringing new contributors into the Django community. This program has done a lot to excite and energize the Django community and Rachell is one of the major reasons why. —
Throughout her career she’s been involved in Django Girls starting about a decade ago in South Korea. She was a major organizer of the Grand Rapids, MI branch, before moving into the trustee role she occupies now.Rachell is one of my favorite people and she’s been doing an excellent job at growing Django and helping others feel more welcome here. Rachell is an excellent choice for the Malcolm Tredinnick 2024 award!
— Tim Shilling
Rachell is an extremely skillful leader who is always nurturing newcomers into leaders. She has been pivotal to my experience with the Djangonaut Space Program.
I started out as a nervous Djangonaut who didn’t schedule my 1:1s until Rachell checked in with me and made sure I knew the program was a safe space to discuss anything.When I joined the program organizers as a Navigator Coordinator, I was initially much more of a follower. Rachell knew to step back while continuing to provide her support, so I could step into the leadership role and get my job done.
Rachell shows people that she believes in them. She does this in a friendly, gentle, and encouraging manner. She never forces anyone to make decisions that they don’t feel comfortable with. The community is really lucky to have Rachell.
— Lilian
Rachell Calhoun, one of the organizers and founders of Djangonaut Space, has been an open, supportive, and educational help on my Django journey. Her contributions to the Djangonaut Space program are invaluable—a program I hold quite dearly as a cornerstone of my technical interactions and growth.
Rachell’s ideals of nurturing and guiding have shone through the program, for which I am grateful. Encouraging wonderful conversations, organizing and fostering mentorship, and being a great person!
I believe Rachell is an embodiment of the Malcolm Tredinnick spirit and am confident that should she win the prize, she would go on to create more impact for the Django community and the world at large.
— Emmanuel Katchy
Other nominations for this year included:
Anna Makarudze, Fundraising Coordinator at Django Girls+ Foundation, chair of the first DjangoCon Africa, previously served the DSF board as president.
Benjamin Balder Bach, chair of the DSF social media working group, organizer of Django Day Copenhagen for many years.
Black Python Devs, community founded by Jay Miller, to increase diversity and inclusion of typically underrepresented people.
Bhuvnesh Sharma, co-chair of the DSF social media working group, and co-founded and organized Django India.
Carlton Gibson, previously a Django fellow, co-host of Django Chat, volunteers in DjangoCon Europe and provides useful advice in forum and discord.
Christoph Bulter, active helper of the official and unofficial Django Discord.
Django Girls+, a non-profit organization and a community that empowers and helps women to organize free, one-day programming workshops by providing tools, resources and support.
Django Discord moderators and helpers, which are moderating the discord and provide help to keep the place welcoming and inclusive to everyone.
Daniel Moran, active contributor in various open-source projects, including django-tasks-scheduler. He is an administrator of the Django Commons organization.
Ester Beltrami, PyCon Italia and Django London organizer, is also a volunteer and a speaker in events such as EuroPython or DjangoCon Europe.
Felipe de Morais, co-founder of AfroPython, participant of Djangonaut Space program, organized and advised multiple Django Girls workshops across Brazil and Chile.
Jake Howard, speaker and contributor to Django, known for his work around background tasks.
Matt Westcott, frequent speaker and lead the development of Wagtail.
Russel Keith-Magee, python core contributor and previously Django core contributor and also served in the DSF board as President.
Ryan Cheley, django contributor and mentor (navigator) in Djangonaut Space program.
Simon Charette, long-time django contributor, previously member of the Django 5.x steering council
Sheena O’Connell, frequent speaker and DjangoCon Africa organizer.
Tom Carrick, Django Accessibility team creator and member, django contributor for many years and mentor (navigator) in Djangonaut Space program.
Tim Schilling, DEFNA secretary, DjangoCon Us organizer and co-founder of Djangonaut Space.
Will Vincent, former board member of the DSF, co-host of Django Chat and co-writer of Django News.
Each year we receive many nominations, and it is always hard to pick the winner. This year, as always, we received many nominations for the Malcolm Tredinnick Memorial Prize with some being nominated multiple times. Some have been nominated in multiple years. If your nominee didn’t make it this year, you can always nominate them again next year.
Malcolm would be very proud of the legacy he has fostered in our community!
Congratulations Rachell on the well-deserved honor!