How Industry Conferences Helped Me Build an Open-Source Program Office
What do learning and growth plans, business acumen, mentorship and open-source technology have in common? For me, they all played a role in building and maturing Mutual of Omaha’s Open-Source Program Office (OSPO).
Mutual of Omaha offers a wide range of opportunities designed to help associates develop new skills and pursue long-term career goals. I leveraged the company’s education benefits to earn my Master of Science in cybersecurity while establishing our OSPO. Although my learning and growth plan guided this achievement, attending conferences played an important role in advancing my understanding of OSPO best practices.
With the support of my leadership team, I completed my degree after two years of hard work and began applying what I learned to establish our OSPO. I also attended three conferences last year that helped shape the maturity roadmap for our program. For any company, having an active OSPO is essential in managing vulnerabilities, addressing potential exploits and ensuring responsible use of open-source technologies. The knowledge I gained strengthened my proposal to enhance how Mutual of Omaha governs open technology.
Conferences that elevated my open-source program knowledge
The first conference I attended was the annual Open Source Summit North America, hosted by the Linux Foundation in Denver, Colorado. Thanks to the flexibility Mutual of Omaha offers for travel arrangements, I opted to ride my motorcycle to the event, turning the trip into a memorable part of the experience. The conference provided invaluable insights and resources, including the OSPO Book, which became a foundational tool as I drafted the proposal to advance Mutual of Omaha’s OSPO.
Next, I attended JFrog’s SwampUP in Napa, California. This conference brought together leaders in open-source software solutions and related technologies. It provided a wealth of information about new product offerings, solution updates, configuration strategies and real-world cases. The scope of knowledge and collaboration was energizing and added meaningful depth to my recommendations for our OSPO’s growth.
The last conference was the Heartland Developers Conference in Council Bluffs, Iowa, hosted by the AIM Institute. I’ve participated in this event for three consecutive years, either as a presenter or a panelist. It’s always exciting to share my experience in governance and open-technology usage. Plus, the insights from other industry experts helped me strengthen my proposal with additional statistical data supporting the need for strong open-source governance.
The keys to ongoing OSPO maturity
While conferences expanded my technical and strategic knowledge, mentorship has played an equally important role. Through Mutual of Omaha’s mentoring program, I connected with a mentor who is helping me expand the statistical data for our proposal. This is just one of the many benefits the company offers, and it’s been instrumental in helping me reach my learning and growth goals.
The journey of maturing our OSPO is ongoing, but the opportunities available at Mutual of Omaha — education support, conference participation and mentorship — continue to propel my development. As open-source technologies evolve and AI increasingly relies on open-source software, having a strong OSPO will remain critical to responsible technology governance.
I’m committed to continuing my learning through online opportunities and conferences, and I’m excited to share that knowledge with others. With the continued support of Mutual of Omaha, my manager and my peers, I’m confident we’ll keep advancing our OSPO together.