Danese Cooper
Encyclopedia
Danese Cooper is an American programmer
, computer scientist
, and an advocate of open source software.
Cooper has held many prominent leadership roles within the computer science sector. She has managed teams at Symantec
and Apple Inc. and for six years served as chief open source "evangelist" for Sun Microsystems
before leaving to serve as senior director for open source strategies at Intel. In 2009 she worked as "Open Source Diva" at REvolution Computing ( now Revolution Analytics
). She is a board observer at Mozilla
, and serves as a member of the Apache Software Foundation
. She was a board member at Open Source Initiative
.
Cooper's major work within the open source area of computer science
has garnered her the nickname
"Open Source Diva". She was recruited, while at a sushi bar
in Cupertino, to a position at Sun working towards opening the source code to Java. Within six months she quit frustrated by the claims of open source development with Java that Sun made, only to find that little "open sourcing" was taking place. Sun sought to keep Cooper understanding her need to further open source software and re-hired her as their corporate open source officer. Her six years with Sun Microsystems is credited as the key to the company opening up its source code and lending support to Sun's OpenOffice.org
software suite, Oracle Grid Engine, among others. In 2009 she joined REvolution Computing, a "provider of open source predictive analytics solutions", to work on community outreach amongst developers unfamiliar with the programming language R
and general open source strategies. She has also made public speaking appearances discussing open sourcing, speaking at the Malaysian National Computer Confederation
Open Source Compatibility Centre, OSCON
, gov2.0 Expo, and the Southern California Linux Expo
. In 2005 Cooper was a contributing author to Open Sources 2.0: The Continuing Evolution.
from Chadwick School
and her B.A.
from the University of California, Los Angeles
. Upon graduation she spent time in Morocco
as a volunteer in the Peace Corps
. Cooper credits her time with the Peace Corps as fostering her desire to travel and work within the developing world to explore policy, education and how open source software can "give certain kids another alternative". She is married to a software developer and enjoys knitting
, which she often engages in during meetings.
Programmer
A programmer, computer programmer or coder is someone who writes computer software. The term computer programmer can refer to a specialist in one area of computer programming or to a generalist who writes code for many kinds of software. One who practices or professes a formal approach to...
, computer scientist
Computer scientist
A computer scientist is a scientist who has acquired knowledge of computer science, the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and their application in computer systems....
, and an advocate of open source software.
Career
"Open source allows people with a confluence of interesting ideas and an intellectual courage to really synthesize amazing newness. It's an accelerator of the synthesis of amazing ideas and for that I think it will end up being the most important change in the way that we do technology that has happened in my career lifetime," - Danese Cooper, 2008
Cooper has held many prominent leadership roles within the computer science sector. She has managed teams at Symantec
Symantec
Symantec Corporation is the largest maker of security software for computers. The company is headquartered in Mountain View, California, and is a Fortune 500 company and a member of the S&P 500 stock market index.-History:...
and Apple Inc. and for six years served as chief open source "evangelist" for Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. was a company that sold :computers, computer components, :computer software, and :information technology services. Sun was founded on February 24, 1982...
before leaving to serve as senior director for open source strategies at Intel. In 2009 she worked as "Open Source Diva" at REvolution Computing ( now Revolution Analytics
Revolution Analytics
Revolution Analytics is a statistical software company focused on developing "open-core" versions of the free and open source software R for enterprise, academic and analytics customers...
). She is a board observer at Mozilla
Mozilla
Mozilla is a term used in a number of ways in relation to the Mozilla.org project and the Mozilla Foundation, their defunct commercial predecessor Netscape Communications Corporation, and their related application software....
, and serves as a member of the Apache Software Foundation
Apache Software Foundation
The Apache Software Foundation is a non-profit corporation to support Apache software projects, including the Apache HTTP Server. The ASF was formed from the Apache Group and incorporated in Delaware, U.S., in June 1999.The Apache Software Foundation is a decentralized community of developers...
. She was a board member at Open Source Initiative
Open Source Initiative
The Open Source Initiative is an organization dedicated to promoting open source software.The organization was founded in February 1998, by Bruce Perens and Eric S. Raymond, prompted by Netscape Communications Corporation publishing the source code for its flagship Netscape Communicator product...
.
Open source
"The point of the open source movement is...to allow everyone to have access to the technology so it can be improved faster."-Danese Cooper, 2003
Cooper's major work within the open source area of computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
has garnered her the nickname
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
"Open Source Diva". She was recruited, while at a sushi bar
Sushi
is a Japanese food consisting of cooked vinegared rice combined with other ingredients . Neta and forms of sushi presentation vary, but the ingredient which all sushi have in common is shari...
in Cupertino, to a position at Sun working towards opening the source code to Java. Within six months she quit frustrated by the claims of open source development with Java that Sun made, only to find that little "open sourcing" was taking place. Sun sought to keep Cooper understanding her need to further open source software and re-hired her as their corporate open source officer. Her six years with Sun Microsystems is credited as the key to the company opening up its source code and lending support to Sun's OpenOffice.org
OpenOffice.org
OpenOffice.org, commonly known as OOo or OpenOffice, is an open-source application suite whose main components are for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, and databases. OpenOffice is available for a number of different computer operating systems, is distributed as free software...
software suite, Oracle Grid Engine, among others. In 2009 she joined REvolution Computing, a "provider of open source predictive analytics solutions", to work on community outreach amongst developers unfamiliar with the programming language R
R (programming language)
R is a programming language and software environment for statistical computing and graphics. The R language is widely used among statisticians for developing statistical software, and R is widely used for statistical software development and data analysis....
and general open source strategies. She has also made public speaking appearances discussing open sourcing, speaking at the Malaysian National Computer Confederation
Malaysian National Computer Confederation
The Malaysian National Computer Confederation is an association for information and communications technology professionals. Its stated aims are "dedicated to the development of IT Professionals and the creation of an Information Rich Society"....
Open Source Compatibility Centre, OSCON
O'Reilly Open Source Convention
The O'Reilly Open Source Convention is an annual convention for the discussion of free and open source software. It is organized by the publisher O'Reilly Media and is held each summer in the United States.-Notable events:...
, gov2.0 Expo, and the Southern California Linux Expo
Southern California Linux Expo
The Southern California Linux Expo is an annual Linux, Open-Source, and Free Software conference held in Los Angeles, CA. SCALE grew out of a series of LUGFests put on by the Simi Conejo Linux Users Group in the late 90s. There were four of them, held every 6 months at the Nortel development...
. In 2005 Cooper was a contributing author to Open Sources 2.0: The Continuing Evolution.
Wikimedia Foundation
In February 2010 Cooper was appointed Chief Technical Officer of the Wikimedia Foundation, leading their technical team and developing and executing the Foundation's technical strategy, along with which she would also be working on outreach with Wikimedia volunteers to expand on development and localizing of software. Cooper credits the open source community in helping her obtain the position at Wikimedia. On June 2, 2011, she announced her impending departure at the end of July.Personal life
Danese Cooper obtained her high school diplomaHigh school diploma
A high school diploma is a diploma awarded for the completion of high school. In the United States and Canada, it is considered the minimum education required for government jobs and higher education. An equivalent is the GED.-Past diploma styles:...
from Chadwick School
Chadwick School
Chadwick School is a nonsectarian independent K-12 day school located on the Palos Verdes Peninsula in Los Angeles County, California.-History:...
and her B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
from the University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
. Upon graduation she spent time in Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
as a volunteer in the Peace Corps
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand US culture, and helping...
. Cooper credits her time with the Peace Corps as fostering her desire to travel and work within the developing world to explore policy, education and how open source software can "give certain kids another alternative". She is married to a software developer and enjoys knitting
Knitting
Knitting is a method by which thread or yarn may be turned into cloth or other fine crafts. Knitted fabric consists of consecutive rows of loops, called stitches. As each row progresses, a new loop is pulled through an existing loop. The active stitches are held on a needle until another loop can...
, which she often engages in during meetings.
Further reading
- "Happy campers to test frontiers of new iPhone; Tech enthusiasts share ideas for latest gadget". Edmonton JournalEdmonton JournalThe Edmonton Journal is a daily newspaper in Edmonton, Alberta. It is part of the Postmedia Network.-History:The Journal was founded in 1903 by three local businessmen — John Macpherson, Arthur Moore and J.W. Cunningham — as a rival to Alberta's first newspaper, the 23-year-old...
. Edmonton, Alberta. 6 Jul 2007. Cooper speaks about the iPhoneIPhoneThe iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
and its capabilities. - Cooper, D., C. DiBona and M. Stone. Open Sources 2.0: The Continuing Evolution. Cambridge: O'Reilly. 2010. ISBN 9781171648161 Cooper serves as a contributor to this book documenting open source technology.
- Wickenheiser, Matt. "Sun Microsystems Guru Gives Talk on Open-Source Software at Maine Conference". Portland Press HeraldPortland Press HeraldThe Portland Press Herald publish daily newspapers in Portland, Maine, USA...
. Portland, Maine. 16 Nov 2002. Cooper is interviewed about open source software and corporate concerns.
External links
- New DivaBlog, Danese Cooper's blog
- "Danese Cooper (of Sun) Finally Answers", an interview with Slashdot
- "Why Whinging Doesn't Work" Cooper speaks at OSCON 2008
- "Making Government Transparent Using R", an interview with Cooper by James Turner for O'Reilly Radar
- "Q&A: Danese Cooper, Wikimedia" with Justin Lee at The Whir
- Sun open-source diva departs for Intel