Speaker Rider

Intro

Hey there! I’m looking forward to speaking at your event, I really am. I have thoughts, lots of thoughts, they never stop thinking, and they never stop thunking. I love sharing information, I love growing communities, and I love inspiring others; nothing makes me happier than being able to see the smile on another person’s face as the magic clicks for the first time. That said: I have some requirements and standards for accepting an offered speaking slot, or engaging in any promotion for an event (including on social media, such as LinkedIn, Mastodon, or Bluesky).

Note: I reserve the right to be a little flexible on some of the requirements if I’m particularly excited about a conference; I also understand the tightness of budgets today, particularly for conferences that prioritize practicioner talks and that do not recieve significant corporate sponsorship.

This doesn’t apply to the diversity requirements: while not every conference can afford an honorarium, making space for marginalized identities is free as in basic-human-decency.

Code of Conduct

Your event must have an explicitly-defined, enforced Code of Conduct linked publicly on your event’s website, preferably as a top-level menu item. It should include a clear, readable description of what behavior is and is not acceptable, as well as at least one way for someone to report a violation. A paragraph of legalese buried in the Terms of Use is not sufficient to meet this requirement.

If you’re looking for inspiration, the CNCF Code of Conduct is a great place to start, and the Haskell Foundation provides a well thought out set of Guidelines for Respectful Communication.

Speaker Diversity

Across your entire event, there must be adequate representation of races, gender identities, expressions, and abilities. The exact requirements fluctuate a bit based on the size of the event, but generally, at least 30% of your total speaker lineup should be people who are not able-bodied cisgender white men. I would strongly prefer not to see singular representation (i.e., only one Black speaker), and I would strongly prefer not to see a fully abled speaker lineup. Making room for new speakers is also important to me; I want to see at least one slot reserved for a person who is not already well-known on the speaking circuit.

For panels, Birds of a Feather, or any other speaking arrangement consisting of three or more people on stage at a time, there must be at least one speaker who is not a cisgender white male. All male or all white speaking groups are not acceptable.

I strongly prefer events that clearly communicate each speaker’s pronouns, both on the conference website and on badges.

Accessibility

All areas of the event (including any auxiliary events like official after-parties or co-located events) must be accessible to those who require mobility aids, including stages.

Captioning must be provided, ideally live by a trained professional. If there is absolutely no other option, auto-generated captioning is not the greatest but will suffice.

Additionally, I am Deaf. Surprise! Here’s a few things that pertain to me, personally:

For more information on how to make the event more accessible to me, there is a fairly comprehensive list of Deaf and hard of hearing best practices made by the CNCF Deaf and Hard of Hearing working group (which I participate in).

Costs for Speakers

No part of the cost of speaking at your event should lie with the speaker. Despite this not being a primary aspect of my job, my employer will sometimes cover airfare and hotel for an event, if the conference theme or attendee demographic is one that aligns with their goals. If your event will not be covered by my employer, you must cover a hotel near the conference venue, airfare (preferably on Alaska Airlines or one of their partner airlines, as I do have status with them), and transportation between the airport and the hotel. Regardless of whether or not my employer covers the cost of my appearance at your event, you must provide me with a full pass for the event.

If your event is a significant time zone change from me (US Pacific time), I do ask that my arrival flight be booked to arrive a day or two before my speaking slot.

Speaking Fees and Honorariums

Speaking at events like yours is not a large part of my job; I enjoy it tremendously, but it takes a significant amount of energy out of my personal life to do so. As such, I significantly prioritize events where a speaking fee or honorarium is provided.

I am flexible here as I understand honorariums may be difficult logistically and I believe in building and supporting communities. I also understand this is especially true for non-profits, community events, or events where the cost of attending is heavily reduced.

For large-scale, corporate events where the organizing company stands to make a profit, or private internal corporate events: in both of these cases, my fee is negotiable based on the size of the event and whether or not I am a keynote speaker.

For smaller events, such as non-profits or educational institutions, I may choose to waive my speaking fee, or ask that any honorarium be instead donated to a non-profit that supports civil rights on my behalf.

Intellectual Property

You may record or stream my event, but I retain ownership over the content of the talk and the right to give the talk at other events at my discretion. If you record or stream a presentation, ensure that it is captioned. Recordings cannot be paywalled (unless I give express, written permission, such as if you have paid me for a private corporate event or if you have a time-delayed paywall). Additionally, I reserve the right to ask that any recording, audio or video, as well as my likeness, be taken down at any point in the future for any reason of my choosing.

You may not, for any reason, use my photo, voice, or any piece of my presentation to mint an NFT.

Location Policies

Your event must be held in a location that is safe for gay and transgender people to attend. This is non-negotiable.

Your event should be held in a location that is supportive of women’s reproductive rights and of all LGBTQI+ people’s right to privacy and equality. I may elect to speak at events in unsupportive locations, though in such situations I am more likely to give talks the importance of diversity in open source communities.

Cancellations

Cancelling a speaking engagement is something I try very, very hard to avoid; so far, I have fortunately never had to do so. That said, the ongoing global pandemic means that a cancellation is more likely than ever before. In the case of a viral surge, either globally or locally, as a result of a new variant or not, I reserve the right to pull out of your event for my own safety and the safety of others. I also reserve the right to pull out of attending an event in person should sudden and unavoidable circumstances make it prohibitively unsafe to attend. In that case, I will make my best effort to offer a remote presentation. If that is not possible and it is appropriate to do so, I may suggest an alternate speaker take my slot.

Contacting Me

Want to have me speak? Awesome! Reach out to me via email with the name, dates, location, and website for your event, as well as any confirmed speakers and an idea of what you want me to talk about. (You can also reach out via one of the nifty options on my contact me page). If your event fits into the corporate events category, please also include your speaker budget.

Thank you! I look forward to working with you!

This Speaker’s Rider was derived from and inspired by the riders of Kat Cosgrove, and Aeva Black.