Applying for Dapr community manager (graz-dev)

[graz-dev]

My mission is to create value by connecting people, technologies, and communities: this is the guiding principle that shapes all my daily activities.

I am deeply engaged in open-source communities, regularly contributing through insightful talks on open source and CNCF-related technologies, as well as actively participating in events like FOSDEM. Beyond speaking engagements, I enrich online communities by creating valuable content and organizing impactful events and meetups (like Digital Platform Builders), fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing.

I’m Graziano Casto, a Developer Relations Engineer at Mia-Platform, currently based in Milan, Italy (GMT+1). At Mia, my role is to create valuable, useful, and neutral content to support the cloud-native community and foster knowledge sharing. I firmly believe that, even though our product is enterprise-level, there is so much to give and receive from the open-source community. This is why we are highly active in areas such as cloud-native development (hence my strong interest in applying for the Community Manager position for DAPR) and building digital platforms (Platform Engineering).

Personally, I advocate for these topics through talks, workshops, articles, and participating in CNCF working groups, particularly those focused on platforms and application development. I also design and deliver training programs, focusing both on Mia products and broader cloud-native topics, such as Kubernetes.

In addition, I currently co-manage a community called Mia-Platform Experts, which is composed of direct platform users and SMEs in Platform Engineering and Cloud-Native development. This community is part of a program of excellence aimed at empowering individuals' skills and fostering knowledge sharing. My responsibilities include engaging with members, coordinating community events, facilitating discussions to uncover collaboration opportunities, and guiding members in the creation of valuable content when needed.

My experience managing communities like Mia-Platform Experts has taught me how to build vibrant and active communities. I focus on encouraging dialogue, collaboration, and engagement while driving the creation of valuable content that strengthens connections and supports the community's growth. I believe these skills are crucial for growing and strengthening the DAPR community, making it more active, engaged, and inclusive.

My experience with Kubernetes and the CNCF ecosystem, combined with my ability to engage and activate developer communities, makes me well-suited to contribute to DAPR's success by supporting community growth.
I am confident that my background as a software engineer combined with my proven ability to build relationships within technical communities and advocate for topics where DAPR fits perfectly, makes me an excellent candidate for the Community Manager role.

To know more about me, check out my personal website or my linkedin profile.