Speaker photo for Valeria Kaplan

Interview with Valeria Kaplan

Talks

Could you briefly introduce yourself?

In Postgres, I hold the position of Chair of the PGUS User Group committee and am also involved with the Funds group. At Data Egret, I fulfil various roles, ranging from communication and marketing to client success and operations. Throughout my career, I have predominantly worked in communication-related roles but have ventured into different industries multiple times. Working in a PostgreSQL-focused company has been the most captivating journey thus far. It combines all the elements I have valued throughout my career - being surrounded by curious, intelligent, and authentic people, and being part of something larger than myself or the company I represent - the open-source community.

What will your talk be about, exactly? Why this topic?

I believe that the significance of the community in Postgres is often underappreciated. This is partly because a substantial amount of work is carried out by a small subset of Postgres users. Additionally, many of those who start working with Postgres come from commercial database backgrounds, where strategic decisions are typically made internally within companies-providers. These decisions are rarely open to the wider discourse and even if they are, the decisions are ultimately left to the service provider company. I believe that by making the Postgres community processes more transparent, talking about them and constructively scrutinising them we can expand the circle of active members within the community. There is a clear need in the PostgreSQL community for individuals who can assist with code review and feature development, as well as those who can help strengthen and grow local meetups. My hope is that my talk will provide some food for thought and inspire those who are willing to contribute to secure PostgreSQL's future.

What is the most exciting thing for you about pgDay Paris?

This is my first pgDay Paris and I am really looking forward to meeting the local community and reconnecting with old friends. Big shoutout to the organisers, who work hard to make pgDay Paris happen. Orchestrating such events undoubtedly comes with its challenges. However, I've found that Postgres events are always warmly welcoming and serve as wonderful hubs for the community.