WASPY Awards 2017

Purpose of the Awards
Each year there are many individuals who do amazing work, dedicating countless hours to share, improve, and strengthen the OWASP mission. Some of these individuals are well known to the community while others are not.

'''The purpose of these awards is to bring recognition to those who "FLY UNDER THE RADAR". These are the individuals who are passionate about OWASP, who contribute hours of their own free time to the organization to help improve the cyber-security world, yet seem to go unrecognized.'''

Timeline
Call for Nominees Opens June 7, 2017

Call for Nominees Closes June 30, 2017 - CLOSED

Announcement of Nominees per Category July 5, 2017 - DONE

Deadline for Nominee Profile Picture and Bio to be created and added to the Nominees section July 10, 2017

Voting for Board & Staff Members Opens July 17, 2017

Voting for Board & Staff Members Closes July 24, 2017

Winners are Notified July 25, 2017

Announcement of Winners to the Community July 25, 2017

Award Ceremony at AppSecUSA 2017 in Orlando, FL September 21-22, 2017

New Voting for This Year
In the past, we have struggled with the WASPY Awards becoming a popularity contest with mainly only well known individuals winning. Popularity contests alienate the work of the people we are trying to recognize for these awards.

This year, in an attempt to keep WASPYs from only going to high-profile community members and get back to the roots of the award--recognizing “unsung hero’s” for their contributions to the Foundation-- we have changed the way WASPYs are awarded.

This year all community members were encouraged to nominate a person for each category whose awesome work makes OWASP a better place. Then, members of the staff and Board will each get a vote for each category. Our goal is that by avoiding the tendency to vote only for names you might have heard of, we will instead have votes cast solely on the merits that each person was nominated for.

Categories
The WASPYs celebrate the actors in our community who grow OWASP and drive innovation to the safety and security of the world’s software. This year we are excited to offer three categories.

Best Community Supporter - The WASPY for COMMUNITY honors members who create dynamic INTERACTION and LEARNING opportunities for the OWASP Community. Nominees to the Community WASPY Award create collaborative and inclusive environments and grow the OWASP Community. WASPYs focus on the unsung heros of the OWASP community. Chapter Leaders and Community Members should especially consider leaders and volunteers who bring something extra to the environment, help the chapter reach out to new attendees, or carry out the tedious and repetitive tasks that make growing an OWASP Chapter possible.

Best Mission Outreach - The WASPY for Mission Outreach honors community members who help the community GROW. Growth can happen inside the larger OWASP community or outside it in the broader AppSec and development communities. Leaders and Members should especially consider volunteers who pushed the boundaries of the audience and reach of OWASP to provide new exposure for OWASP’s projects and chapters. New leaders and volunteers who help bring more people to your chapter, project, or actively represent OWASP at non-OWASP events, gatherings, and activities to build an active OWASP community are ideal candidates for the Mission Outreach WASPY award.

Best Innovator - The WASPY for Innovation is given to a community member who has contributed to the TECHNICAL advancement of OWASP in the past year. This advancement is usually through an OWASP Project and can be in the form of code, an application, or anything that materially makes the AppSec community better in a unique way. WASPYs focus on the unsung heros of the OWASP community who quietly go about making the world a bit better for their work. Project Leaders and Community Members should especially consider nominating new projects, projects that have recently graduated, and project contributors for this WASPY.

Rules
Remember the purpose of these awards is to recognize the UNSUNG HEROS out there, that are barely recognized for their contributions to the OWASP Foundation.

1. Board members may not be nominated

2. Employees & Contractors may not be nominated

3. All nominees will remain anonymous until July 3, 2017

4. Anyone can nominate an "unsung hero" who has contributed in some way to OWASP who they feel best fits each category

5. You may only nominate one person per category

Results
Congratulations to all of the individuals who were nominated! The results are in and we would like to congratulate the following individuals: Best Community Supporter - 3 way tie Dinis Cruz Jeremy Long Nicole Becher Best Mission Outreach Mark Miller Best Innovator Seba Deleersnyder

Sponsorship Opportunities
The support from our sponsors, is what makes these awards truly successful!

Thank you to Qualys for supporting the WASPY Awards as a Platinum Sponsor

Communication

 * 1) June 7, 2017 Email to the Leaders & Community list. Posted to the OWASP Blog
 * 2) June 30, 2017 Email to the Leaders & Community list.
 * 3) July 5, 2017 Email to the Nominees
 * 4) July 5, 2017 Email to the Leaders & Community list, and Blog post announcing the nominees have been announced.

Past WASPY Awards
2016 2015 2014 2013 2012