The Haskell Foundation has been at the center of a flurry of changes, all of which I’d like to share with the community today.
First, José, our executive director for the past few years, has decided to step away from his role in June 2026. José has been the longest-serving executive director at the Haskell Foundation, spending his time interacting with and supporting the community in many ways, often away from public view. Through personal sacrifices, José has allowed the Haskell Foundation to survive some tough times; today, the Foundation is in good shape. The Board of Directors, and I in my personal capacity, are deeply grateful for José’s work and dedication over the years. We wish him the best of luck for the future.
Second, the Board of Directors has decided to take this opportunity to restructure the Haskell Foundation. The principal goal is to dedicate most of the Foundation’s financial resources to technical work. The Foundation wants its members to be able to see a clear causal connection between their contributions and a series of improvements in the Haskell ecosystem. We want our members to have a voice in which projects we undertake, and thereby to take on a much greater sense of ownership of the health of our shared ecosystem.
Our use of the word member, rather than donor or sponsor, reflects a deliberate shift in tone. We want to build a greater sense of partnership and agency among our members. Rather than merely throwing money over the wall, we want membership to feel engaged in an inspiring shared mission, and that by sharing our resources we can accomplish much more than we can accomplish individually.
A new Haskell Foundation committee will direct resources toward a unified technical vision, and wield most of the Foundation’s resources to make this vision a reality. This plays to the strengths of the Haskell Foundation’s Board and collaborators, and will also include strong representation from the members of the Foundation.
To make this possible, the Haskell Foundation will remain without an executive director for the foreseeable future. Instead of having a full-time employee in charge of fundraising, events, coordination, mediation and much more, we will split these responsibilities between the Board and a new, part-time role dedicated to the Haskell Foundation’s financial sustainability.
We will share more concrete updates in the coming weeks and months.
Finally, the Haskell Foundation’s Board of Directors changed its composition last month. Departing directors are Andres Löh, former Chair, as well as Hazel Weakly and Josh Meredith. The Board warmly thanks Andres, Hazel, and Josh for their service and support over the past three years. The Board has elected Dominik Schrempf and Simon Marlow to join as new directors.
Expect more regular communications over the near term!
Laurent P. René de Cotret, Chair
on behalf of the Haskell Foundation Board of Directors
