Continuing on with our âpassing the torchâ tradition, sharing updates to the leadership role and what it means for Gitcoin.
The TL:DR: After 2+ years as Chief of Staff then Interim Executive Director, Iâm stepping away from the role and passing the torch back to the OG Founder - @owocki . Iâll stay on the Foundation Board to handle admin operations alongside the current board team.
Gitcoinâs Path to Decentralization
Weâre on the path to real decentralization. The soft power thatâs been concentrated in executive roles needs to be distributed across stewards, and community.
@owocki will lead vision and values for Gitcoin 3.x. Check out his vision here.
The community drives decisions through governance.
What We Built Together
These two years have been challenging and rewarding for me. Iâve met so many wonderful people at Gitcoin and in the community and am so grateful for every opportunity youâve given me.
We built processes to improve coordination across workstreams and teams. We bridged communications between the DAOâs Core Stewards, the governance forum, and the Foundation so Gitcoin could operate as a unified network. It still needs work, and Iâd invite the community to take further ownership of GTC utility opportunities and onboarding new stewards.
The Grants program has scaled to new heights. We ran successive rounds that funded more public goods than ever, securing record matching funds and reaching more communities. We improved user experience and program integrity, laying groundwork for continued growth.
We streamlined budgets and org structure (including dissolving the old Ecosystem Collective & Grants Lab workstream). We reduced bureaucracy, focused on what works, and tightened cross-team coordination PLUS spun out our Passport product.
Most importantly, we built a stronger working relationship between the Foundation and DAO. The Foundation truly became an enabler of the DAOâs mission â executing community decisions, handling legal/financial necessities, then getting out of the way. We established real trust and alignment that will serve Gitcoin going forward.
These changes werenât always easy. We faced challenges and growing pains, but each tough conversation ultimately made the org stronger. None of these achievements were mine alone â they were team efforts. Thanks to everyone who poured energy into this progress: workstream leads, core contributors, stewards, and community members. I canât thank you enough for what youâve done.
Looking Ahead
This transition comes at an exciting time. Weâre approaching GG24, and I expect it will showcase how far weâve come in scaling our impact.
Beyond GG24, Iâm so pumped for Gitcoin 3.x and beyond â a new era for the organization. This means continuing to decentralize and mature. The pieces weâve been working on are coming together. Gitcoin is poised to scale its impact even further in funding public goods. Iâm excited to watch this next chapter unfold from a new vantage point.
Thanks for the opportunity to serve this community as a leader. Itâs been an honor working alongside so many sharp, passionate people in pursuit of Gitcoinâs mission. Iâm proud of what weâve achieved together, and even more excited for whatâs coming under community stewardship.
Thank you, Rena, for your leadership (carrying the torch) these past two years. You brought stability, clarity, and heart to a pivotal chapter of Gitcoinâs journey. The systems, trust, and momentum youâve helped build are a strong foundation for whatâs next. If ratified by the community, Iâm honored to pick up the torch and keep building on your work. Grateful for everything youâve done.
Thank you, @deltajuliet, for all youâve done for Gitcoin. It has been a pleasure working alongside you for these past few years. You have done an incredible amount for this organization, introducing more structure, clearer processes, and keeping us all honest in the work that weâre doing â making sure that we move into a more impact & outcome-orientated culture. Thank you.
I support @owocki stepping into leadership at Gitcoin. I look forward to building Gitcoin 3.0 and continuing to lead the charge on Gitcoin Grants beside you, Owocki.
Thanks @deltajuliet for your work over these years. I have appreciated your support and partnership across the work I personally have done here at Gitcoin and your leadership as Exec. Director.
I support this new structure, with @owocki leading Gitcoin.
to be clear, this would be an executive director role at the gitcoin foundation. the DAO would remain with its own leadership structure (which would hopefully work with me on our shared goals, and that we will figure out an effective x progressively distributed way to share authority and decision making power).
I am so appreciative of the stewardship you have offered Gitcoin during your tenure I hope the next adventure is wonderful and excited that your still in the Gitcoin orbit through the continued board role (and ops support when needed).
Hai @deltajuliet you have had such a huge impact on this community and on me personally. Deep and sincere thanks and appreciation for all that you have done for all of us and for public goods. You took on a difficult role at a difficult time and did it with skill, empathy and humility. Thank you for your leadership and your vision. You are a force of nature and we all were so lucky to work with you. Iâm so glad we have stayed in touch, it means the world to me. Onwards.
And yes of course I support @owocki taking on this leadership role. Canât wait to see what you cook up next ser.
And also so glad @MathildaDV is rocking the grants role. Iâm always here for both of you if I can be of service to you or the community in some way. Much love.
Congratulations, Rena, on an incredible run, and thank you for guiding Gitcoin through such an important phase of its journey â making tough, sometimes painful decisions along the way.
Itâs inspiring to see the torch passed back to @owocki with such intention, and to know that the groundwork youâve laid will empower the community for Gitcoin 3.x and beyond.
Grateful for all youâve done, and excited to see this next chapter unfold.
I fully support this proposal and I think it came in the perfect time as Gitcoin evolves into a Marketplace/Arena of diverse stakeholders funding & building what matters.
I remember like it was yesterday the day @deltajuliet took on the interim role and things have only improved from that day, thanks for all the hard work that is often overlooked as it is not flashy but impactful.
A new CEO was hired to take over a struggling company. The CEO who was stepping down met with him privately and presented him with three numbered envelopes. âOpen these if you run into serious trouble,â he said.
Well, three months later sales and profits were still way down and the new CEO was catching a lot of heat. He began to panic but then he remembered the envelopes. He went to his drawer and took out the first envelope. The message read, âBlame your predecessor.â The new CEO called a press conference and explained that the previous CEO had left him with a real mess and it was taking a bit longer to clean it up than expected, but everything was on the right track. Satisfied with his comments, the press â and Wall Street â responded positively.
Another quarter went by and the company continued to struggle. Having learned from his previous experience, the CEO quickly opened the second envelope. The message read, âReorganize.â So he fired key people, consolidated divisions and cut costs everywhere he could. This he did and Wall Street, and the press, applauded his efforts.
Three months passed and the company was still short on sales and profits. The CEO would have to figure out how to get through another tough earnings call. The CEO went to his office, closed the door and opened the third envelope. The message said, âPrepare three envelopes.â
I hope the next adventure is wonderful and excited that your still in the Gitcoin orbit through the continued board role (and ops support when needed).