Meeting Minutes: Board and BAC Monthly (2026-04-13)

Below are the minutes from the recent BAC and Board of Directors meeting. All members receiving this notification are encouraged to review the minutes and actively participate in the discussion. That's one of the opportunities to engage directly with BAC members by replying in the thread below. Your input helps us ensure the OpenSSL community remains transparent, collaborative, and responsive to your needs.

Attendees

@Anton Arapov, @Randall Becker, @Billy Brumley, @Tim Hudson, @Jeff Johnson, @Lenka Luklová, @Jaroslav Reznik, @Paul Yang

High-level topics covered

• Community dynamics: advisory structure, maturity assessment, gaps

• Brno Face-to-Face, May 25–29: details, participants, travel support, input needed

• OpenSSL Conference 2026 — Prague, October 13–15: registration & CFP open, advisory member benefits

• RIT student engagement

• Forward planning: future Advisory Committee meetings

Detailed points and discussion

1–3) Presentation: Community Dynamics, Brno Face-to-Face, OpenSSL Conference 2026

Anton walked through the attached presentation. Key discussion points that arose:

• Small Businesses was flagged as the most urgent gap — both BAC and TAC seats are currently vacant. Everyone is encouraged to think of suitable candidates and motivate them to stand.

• Each BAC representative was asked to reach out to their community ahead of Brno and come prepared with a top 3 list of priorities. Tim suggested this framing as the most actionable input for the face-to-face agenda.

• On the conference, the group discussed using BAC networks to recruit high-quality, diverse speakers. Tim noted that if attending only one event, the conference takes priority over the face-to-face for BAC members.

• Remote participation at the face-to-face is possible: Billy confirmed in-person attendance; Jeff is awaiting approval; Jaroslav plans to attend both events; Paul plans to join remotely.

• BAC members are invited to join the Programme Committee and will receive complimentary passes and discount codes for their networks.

4) RIT student engagement

Billy shared an update on the ongoing collaboration with RIT's cybersecurity programme. The student engagement with the OpenSSL project this semester has been very positive — contributions are well-organised, methodical, and focused on real backlog issues. Tim noted the team has been making a conscious effort to put a more human face on the project in its interactions with students and the academic community, and the response has been encouraging. Tim suggested exploring whether a student could present at the October conference; Billy will discuss with Nicola and explore a potential student panel.

5) Forward planning — future Advisory Committee meetings

The group discussed opportunities to co-locate a future Business Advisory Committee meeting around upcoming industry events in 2027, which would provide a more accessible North American option for members. Randall and Billy both expressed enthusiasm. Anton will circulate relevant dates to the full group once these are public. Paul Yang also raised Japan and Australia as possibilities for future BAC meetings accessible to Asia-Pacific members.

Next steps

• All BAC reps → Confirm Brno attendance with Lenka Luklová; come prepared with top 3 community priorities

• All → Promote OpenSSL Conference 2026; submit CFP before May 31; suggest speakers; flag agenda topics

• Billy → Explore sending a student or panel to the October conference; coordinate with Nicola

• All → If you know a suitable Small Business candidate for BAC or TAC, encourage them to stand — both seats are vacant

Next meeting

Monthly BAC meetings are scheduled for the second Monday of each month. The next meeting is planned for May 11, 2026.

Additional in-person collaboration is expected during the week of May 25–29 at OpenSSL Corporation headquarters in Brno.