Goal

Having access to gainful employment is a basic aspect of empowering the local dev community. If we can help connect good developers to good jobs, we all benefit.

Idea

We want to create/resurrect the devICT jobs board and need a volunteer Project Manager to lead the effort. You can handle as much or as little of the actual coding as you want. More importantly, we need someone to define what specifically we want the jobs board to be and then figure out how to make that a reality. The initial iteration could be as simple as a Google form.

Expectations

• Comfortable asking for ideas from the community, previous devICT jobs board helpers, and probably some local dev shops
• Able to synthesize that feedback and convert it into a set of practical steps
• Either a) able to implement those steps or b) comfortable soliciting implementation help from the community (i.e. effective begging)

Contact Person

@jcbwlkr

Think you might be interested? Just reply in this thread!

Goal

devICT hosts some great events! We would love to have more photos and video clips to document our events, but in most cases, the event coordinator is too busy making sure the event actually happens to also be the photographer.

Idea

Do you like coordinating and taking photos? Do you have a camera that is at least marginally better than what we all carry in our pockets? Great! We are looking for a Media Director to help us better document our events.

This role consists of taking photos and videos and -- just as importantly -- suggesting good shots and helping the event coordinator fit those shots into the schedule.

Expectations

• Have or have access to a camera (i.e., we don't have one!)
• Basic knowledge of posing, lighting, etc.
• Comfortable reaching out to event coordinators with suggestions
• Willing to attend events somewhat consistently

Contact Person

@jcbwlkr

Think you might be interested? Just reply in this thread!

Goal

National Day of Civic Hacking is a nationwide day of action to bring together civic leaders to work with our local governments to tackle some our toughest challenges. The Wichita area has plenty of opportunities for improvement. Let's use our unique skill sets to help make our community a better place to live.

Idea

We are looking for a volunteer Event Coordinator to plan the September 21, 2019 event. More information about the national event can be found here.

National Day of Civic Hacking has some loose guidelines, but the world is your oyster! Hackathons, open source projects, design meetings, you name it -- if it uses tech to make local government more transparent and responsive (and is consistent with our code of conduct!), it's fair game.

Expectations

• Have a passion for local government
• Willing to take a broad idea and run with it

Contact Person

@MrsJaw

Think you might be interested? Just reply in this thread!

Goal

Job hunting can be a nerve-racking experience for many developers. Formatting resumes, preparing for code interviews, handling the application process -- none of these things are particularly fun, but they are important. career-advice is a living example of how otherwise confident devs can feel hopelessly out of place once the job hunt begins.

We want to help our community members present themselves confidently and accurately so that they can get the jobs they deserve!

Idea

We are looking for a volunteer Event Coordinator to put together a day of free resume reviews, professional headshots, etc. Want to include a LinkedIn profile review? Cool! A panel of local dev managers and HR types? Awesome! Anything that helps our community better navigate this often uncomfortable task would add to a great event.

This event could be a lot of work, but it has the advantage of a firm end date. If you have capacity to help over a defined period of time but don't want to commit to an ongoing event, this could be a good fit.

Expectations

• Some experience with the hiring process would be great but not strictly necessary
• Comfortable asking for experts to donate their time -- we have a few ideas of groups that might be willing to help, but we will be asking for favors in any case
• Able to plan a "big" by devICT standards event and deal with all the FUN! that comes with event planning (venue, schedules, promoting, communicating, etc. etc. etc.)

Contact Person

@ccwoolfolk

Think you might be interested? Just reply in this thread!

Goal

devICT Slack has been a great tool for connecting the local dev community, but sometimes it is helpful to have a more one-on-one relationship. We have a mentoring program that typically helps pair devs learning a technology to experts in that technology.

This is good, but we think it could be even better.

We want to be a conduit for dev mentoring of all forms. For some people, the current student/teacher format may be perfect. Others might want more of a "peer mentor" -- someone of roughly the same experience level who might be facing similar challenges. And others might want a small learning team rather than pairing with a single individual.

We want to make sure that devICT members are connected in a way that helps each individual achieve his or her dev goals.

We don't know what this ultimately looks like, but we do know that we have a great community. We want to make it as easy as possible for that community to connect with one another.

Idea

We need a volunteer Mentoring Program Coordinator to take this mess of a concept and run with it. This includes defining an "official" goal, splitting that goal into concrete steps, implementing, etc.

The as-yet undefined goal and lack of a firm deadline means that this role is probably best for all you non-procrastinator types. :)

Expectations

• Passionate about mentoring, social support networks, etc.
• Comfortable asking for and synthesizing feedback from the community but also able to make a firm "this is what we are going to do" decision to avoid analysis paralysis
• Able to commit the time to make this all happen over the next ~6ish months (no real deadline, but this doesn't need to be a multi year project!)

Contact Person

@rsharp924

Think you might be interested? Just reply in this thread!

Goal

School systems often see the value in teaching or promoting software development to students, but many are unequipped to do so. Fortunately, we have a local community of experts as well as a global community of educational resources. Students in the Wichita area deserve to have exposure to software development, regardless of their personal circumstances.

Idea

We are looking for a volunteer Education Liaison to be devICT's point person for the local education community. devICT members are routinely asked for help at various events. It would be great if we had a single point person who could help nurture those relationships.

We don't anticipate hosting events (ourselves) specifically for students; rather, we want to help local educators where needed.

Expectations

• Have a passion for helping students and educators learn about tech
• Experience or knowledge of the education system would be a big plus
• Willing to commit for at least a year -- this isn't a particularly time consuming role, but we also don't want to add confusion to the system by rotating our point person too frequently

Contact Person

@MrsJaw

Think you might be interested? Just reply in this thread!

Goal

Hacktoberfest is a fun way to contribute to open source projects while simultaneously winning a (free!) swanky t-shirt. devICT has held its own Wichita-centric version of Hacktoberfest in the past, complete with additional free t-shirts.

We want devICT's Hacktoberfest event to be an every-year kind of thing!

Idea

We need a volunteer Hacktoberfest Coordinator to make this a reality. If you are passionate about open source and/or free t-shirts, this may be the volunteer opportunity for you!

This is an annual event. If you are looking for a way to help out but don't have time to dedicate every single week, month, etc., this could be a good fit.

Expectations

• Identify local open source projects to include in the event
• Comfortable working with other devICTers to find a couple sponsors to cover t-shirt costs -- this will probably just consist of a few Slack conversations, some emails, and maybe a phone call or two
• Coordinate the t-shirt design and delivery (preferably not 9 months later this time ;) )
• Promote the event in our Slack and work with our Social Media guru to get the word out

Contact Person

@southekal

Think you might be interested? Just reply in this thread!

Monthly seems regular enough.

Could have..

• Updates from #job-postings
• Upcoming events
• Overview of past events, links to slides / videos.
• Nearby dev conferences, events
• Shout outs / personal celebrations / #small-wins
• Best of Slack / Interesting Conversations

Goal

Working on projects together is a great way to get to know the community, level up your dev skills, and make a meaningful contribution to open source projects. It's also a lot of fun.

We want to start hosting community "jam sessions" where devICTers work together on a project for a day. This will probably start out as a quarterly event and can be remote-only. Planning a group project, scheduling, etc. -- all the behind-the-scenes stuff that makes it work -- requires a dedicated project leader.

Idea

We need a volunteer Project Coordinator to take this idea and build it into a recurring event. We can tap into the community for help selecting and coordinating the specific open source project each time, but we need a single individual to be the "glue" that makes it all happen.

Expectations

• Solidify the vision of the event and all the details -- this is your chance to use your creativity to improve the local dev community
• Choose the project the group will work on each time -- either by polling the community or ruling with your own iron fist
• Ensure that the project has issues that can be solved by a variety of experience levels by the time of the event
• Promote the event in Slack and make sure people know about it
• Help out the day of the event as needed
• Iterate!

Contact Person

@ccwoolfolk

Think you might be interested? Just reply in this thread!