About Ruby Central
Ruby Central, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit committed to driving innovation and building community within the Ruby programming ecosystem since 2001.
We are the proud organizers of RubyConf, the world’s largest Ruby conference and RailsConf, the longest-running event for Rails developers. These events have served as key gathering points for the community, where the most impactful news, trends, and developments in Ruby and Rails have been shared with a global audience.
In recent years, we’ve expanded our focus beyond just events. Through our Open Source Program, we maintain and secure tools like RubyGems and Bundler. With nearly 200 billion downloads of RubyGems alone, these projects are mission-critical for startups and large companies that build applications with Ruby.
Our community development work also includes support for local Ruby events around the world (16 countries and counting!) and facilitating quarterly gatherings for CTOs, consultancies, and community organizers to share insights and drive the language forward.
As the backbone of the Ruby ecosystem, we are committed to continuing to advance the language and are excited to help shape the next chapter of Ruby’s community and progress.
History
Ruby Central, Inc. was founded in 2001 by David Alan Black and Chad Fowler after organizing the first RubyConf in Tampa. They saw a growing demand for Ruby events and created Ruby Central as a nonprofit to support the community and manage the increasing logistics, from finding sponsors to hosting larger conferences.
Since then, RubyConf has become the world’s largest Ruby conference, running annually every fall. In 2006, we launched RailsConf, the first official conference dedicated to Ruby on Rails. It has run every spring since (with the exception of 2020), with the final RailsConf happening in July 2025.
While events have always been a cornerstone of our work, Ruby Central also supports the critical infrastructure that Ruby developers rely on through our Open Source Program.
RubyGems, the package manager for Ruby, was first conceptualized at RubyConf in 2003 and officially launched in 2004. It quickly became the backbone of Ruby development, making it easier than ever to install and share gem libraries. In 2009, Bundler was introduced to help developers manage dependencies across projects, solving one of the most persistent challenges in software development.
Between 2010 and 2014, RubyGems and Bundler saw widespread adoption, thanks in large part to Yehuda Katz and support from Engine Yard. When Engine Yard stepped back, Ruby Together (founded by André Arko in 2015) took on stewardship of these essential tools. In 2022, Ruby Central and Ruby Together merged, uniting the Ruby community’s leading events and infrastructure under one roof.
To ensure long-term support and governance, we established the Open Source Software Committee in 2023. This group oversees RubyGems, Bundler, and RubyGems.org, focusing on infrastructure stability, security, and sustainability.
Our Team
Meet the people behind our efforts
Staff
Our dedicated staff leads the day-to-day operations, programs, and events that support the Ruby ecosystem and help our community thrive.
Alexandra Kneel
Controller
Ally Vogel
Operations Manager
Diesha Cooper
Organizational Compliance Advisor
Marty Haught
Director of Open Source
Rhiannon Payne
Marketing Director
Samuel Giddins
Security Engineer
Shan Cureton
Executive Director
Tom Chambers
Sponsorship Manager
Tyler Jensen
Chief Financial Officer
Directors
Ruby Central’s Board of Directors guides the strategic direction of the organization, ensuring we continue to grow, evolve, and serve the Ruby community effectively.
Ben Greenberg
Board Member
David Corson-Knowles
Board Member
Freedom Dumlao
Treasurer
Kinsey Durham Grace
Vice President
Naijeria Toweett
Secretary
Ufuk Kayserilioglu
Board Member
Valerie Woolard
President