Ruby Central is excited to announce that Chelsea Kaufman is taking on the role of transitional Executive Director. Kaufman is stepping in to guide the organization through a pivotal time of growth and is leading the search for the next permanent Executive Director. For the past two years, she has served as Ruby Central’s Board President and is stepping down from the board to assume this role. 

Kaufman is taking over from Adarsh Pandit, who has served as interim Executive Director since May 2023. Pandit led the organization through a period of shifting industry dynamics, marked by pandemic-era impacts on events and economic challenges affecting the tech industry. His leadership has been instrumental in stabilizing Ruby Central, rallying the community around its mission, and ensuring the organization’s future viability.

Reflecting on his time with Ruby Central, Pandit said:

“After six years at Ruby Central and Ruby Together, I’m moving on to my next adventure. I’m deeply thankful for the opportunity to contribute to this amazing community and to meet so many more inspiring Rubyists. Ruby Central is well-positioned for an exciting future, and I look forward to seeing it grow and thrive.”

Over the past two years as Board President, Kaufman has played an important role in shaping Ruby Central’s strategic direction. She also brings a master’s degree in nonprofit management and expertise in guiding organizations through transitions, with a focus on organizational design and leadership development. She has been involved in the Ruby community for over a decade and was the CEO and co-founder of LEARN Academy, a Ruby on Rails boot camp. 

Kaufman shared her goals for this transition:

“We are moving quickly to ensure that Ruby Central has the vision and leadership it needs to continue its work, and we’re taking the time needed to bring in the right people to make that happen.”

Over the past year, Ruby Central has been expanding its leadership team with a focus on the Open Source Program and broader ecosystem development. 

“I’m very excited about the people coming into the organization,” says Kaufman. “We have people with strong expertise and ties to the Ruby community who will be helping us move into this new stage of growth.”

Over the last five months, Ruby Central has welcomed new key team members:

  • Marty Haught joined as Open Source Program Director in August 2024 and will expand his role in 2025. He oversees crucial projects like RubyGems, RubyGems.org, and Bundler. Marty previously served as a director on Ruby Central’s board from 2012 to 2023.
  • Rhiannon Payne joined in October to lead marketing efforts, with plans to expand the organization’s reach and community engagement across open source, conferences, and general ecosystem development.

With this expanded team and Kaufman’s transitional leadership, Ruby Central is well-positioned to continue its mission of advocating for Ruby, supporting the developer community, and advancing the open source ecosystem.

Stay tuned as Ruby Central embarks on this next chapter, building on its strong foundation to ensure a thriving future for Ruby developers and the companies and organizations that build with Ruby.