Bilikisu Wunmi Olatunji

Christina Maimone

*We designed the [rOpenSci Champions Program](/champions/) with a
mentorship aspect. Mentoring plays a significant role in the growth and
development of both mentors and mentees alike. In our program, each
Champion has a mentor who accompanies them during their training and
development of their project.*

*In this series of blog posts, we introduce you to the ten teams of this
first cohort and what they will be working on in the program.*

Meet **Bilikisu Wunmi Olatunji** from Nigeria and **Christina Maimone**
from United States!

## Bilikisu Wunmi Olatunji - Champion

<figure class="pull-left">
<img src="/img/team/bilikisu-wunmi-olatunji-mentee.jpeg" width="300"
alt="Profile photo of Bilikisu Wunmi Olatunji" />
<figcaption>Bilikisu Wunmi Olatunji</figcaption>
</figure>

I'm a DataScientist and RShiny Developer from Nigeria based in the
country's capitalcity, Abuja. I'm a certified RStudio Instructor for
Tidyverse and R Shiny and have a Master's of Science from the University
of Liverpool, UK.

I'm also the founder and co-organizer of [Abuja R Users
Group](https://www.meetup.com/es/Abuja-R-User-Group-Meetup/)
and[R-Ladies Abuja](https://www.meetup.com/es/rladies-abuja/). My
interest is in geospatial data science, and I have been working
onseveral related projects using R.

I'll be working on a package to ease theuse of geospatial data for
Microplanning in public health. I'll also be volunteering on other
projects to strengthen the R open science community.

## Christina Maimone - Mentor

<figure class="pull-left">
<img src="/img/team/christina-maimone-mentor.jpg" width="300"
alt="Profile photo of Christina Maimone" />
<figcaption>Christina Maimone</figcaption>
</figure>

I am the associate director of research data services for Northwestern
University's Research Computing Services team (Chicago, USA). Our team
provides data science, data visualization, software development, and
data management support and training for researchers at the university.
I also teach data visualization in the MS in Health Analytics program at
Northwestern. I'm a founding member of the [US Research Software
Engineer (US-RSE) Association](https://us-rse.org/) steering committee,
and I'm active in the research computing and data community with
organizations including [CaRCC](https://carcc.org/).

I've been using and teaching R for over 20 years. My background is in
computational social science. I have a PhD in political science and MS
in statistics from Stanford University.

I've been a reviewer for [JOSS](https://joss.theoj.org/), but not for
any rOpenSci packages yet, so the Champions program is a way for me to
help contribute to the community. Building and maintaining communities
is hard, so I'm happy to support efforts that encourage more people to
actively engage and become new leaders. I hope to see more R developers
active in the research software engineering community as well.

*We're excited to have both Bilikisu and Christina as part of the
Champions program and can't wait to see what this partnership yields.
Stay-tuned for the next series of introductions* 😉 .

We designed the rOpenSci Champions Program with a mentorship aspect. Mentoring plays a significant role in the growth and development of both mentors and mentees alike.

rOpenSci Champions Program Teams: Meet Bilikisu Wunmi Olatunji and Christina Maimone

Marcos Prunello

Lukas Wallrich

*We designed the [rOpenSci Champions Program](/champions/) with a
mentorship aspect. Mentoring plays a significant role in the growth and
development of both mentors and mentees alike. In our program, each
Champion has a mentor who accompanies them during their training and
development of their project.*

*In this series of blog posts, we introduce you to the ten teams of this
first cohort and what they will be working on in the program.*

Meet **Marcos Prunello** from Argentina and **Lukas Wallrich** from
United Kingdom!

## Marcos Prunello - Champion

<figure class="pull-left">
<img src="/img/team/marcos-prunello-mentee.jpg" width="300"
alt="Profile photo of Marcos Prunello" />
<figcaption>Marcos Prunello</figcaption>
</figure>

My name is Marcos Prunello and I'm from Argentina. I have a Bachelor of
Science in Statistics from Universidad Nacional de Rosario (UNR) and an
Academic Master of Science from Stanford University. I am currently
working full time as a statistician and professor at UNR, where I have
been teaching Statistics and Data Science for several years, training
students in topics related to programming, exploratory data analysis,
numerical methods and non-parametric statistics. I am also a co-founder
of the R User Group in my city "R in Rosario" and I am frequently
invited to different places to offer workshops on the use of R.

In my work, I have chosen to teach my classes and produce my study
materials using R. In doing so I grew interested in being part of the
community of developers that make data analysis tools available for
everyone and developed some packages that are now in CRAN
([ggcleveland](https://mpru.github.io/ggcleveland/),
[geneticae](https://jangelini.github.io/geneticae/)). However, I
recently worked on a project that allowed me to combine my interest in
teaching and software development: a bilingual package called
[karel](https://mpru.github.io/karel/) that aims to teach general
notions of programming in R in an interactive way for people without any
kind of knowledge. Considering that education is a pillar for the
construction of reproducible and open research, I applied to rOpenSci's
Champions Program to submit this package for discussion and review. I
consider that this will be a good opportunity to get involved in a
community of practice as a continuation of the path I am following and
with the certainty that the experience acquired will have a positive
impact in my work environment.

## Lukas Wallrich - Mentor

<figure class="pull-left">
<img src="/img/team/lukas-mentor.jpeg" width="300"
alt="Profile photo of Lukas Wallrich" />
<figcaption>Lukas Wallrich</figcaption>
</figure>

I am Lukas Wallrich - originally from Germany - and work as a lecturer
(associate professor) in Organisational Psychology at Birkbeck,
University of London, in the UK. My academic research focuses on the
opportunities that come with workforce diversity, as well as on the
adoption of Open Science practices - and these practices, together with
my passion for R, have shaped much of my research methods teaching. In
addition, I enjoy developing tools that support reproducible science. I
have authored two R packages
([rsprite2](https://lukaswallrich.github.io/rsprite2/) and
[timesaveR](https://lukaswallrich.github.io/timesaveR/)) and contributed
to several others. As a mentor in the Champion Program, I hope to pass
on some of my knowledge and experience, get to know new members of the R
community, and support the development of exciting new tools.

This partnership is already hard at work on Marcos' project; we're
excited to see how it goes! Be sure to not miss the next series of
introductions 😉 .

rOpenSci Champions Program Teams: Meet Marcos Prunello and Lukas Wallrich

Pao Corrales

Adam Sparks

*We designed the [rOpenSci Champions Program](/champions/) with a
mentorship aspect. Mentoring plays a significant role in the growth and
development of both mentors and mentees alike. In our program, each
Champion has a mentor who accompanies them during their training and
development of their project.*

*In this series of blog posts, we introduce you to the ten teams of this
first cohort and what they will be working on in the program.*

First, meet **Paola Corrales** from Argentina and **Adam Sparks** from
Australia!

## Pao Corrales - Champion

<figure class="pull-left">
<img src="/img/team/paola-corrales.png" width="300"
alt="Profile photo of Paola Corrales" />
<figcaption>Pao Corrales</figcaption>
</figure>

I'm a PhD student at the University of Buenos Aires. I study Atmospheric
Sciences applying data assimilation techniques to improve short-term
forecasts of severe events in Argentina. I love R and teaching science
and programming using evidence-based practices centered on the students
and their context.

As a Champion, I would like to submit the [{agromet} R
package](https://github.com/AgRoMeteorologiaINTA/agromet) to the peer
review process and gain more experience as a developer. I hope that this
package, designed for agrometeorological applications and thoroughly
documented in Spanish, can be improved and used by many people.

I'm also looking forward to sharing experiences between Champions and
learning from everyone during this process.

## Adam Sparks - Mentor

<figure class="pull-left">
<img src="/img/team/adam-sparks.jpg" width="300"
alt="Profile photo of Adam Sparks" />
<figcaption>Adam Sparks</figcaption>
</figure>

I lead a research group for the Department of Primary Industries and
Regional Development (DPIRD) of Western Australia in Perth, WA,
Australia that conducts research in the areas of agricultural systems
modelling and climate change, maintains a weather station network and
provides biometry (statistical) support for the department.

I'm a co-founder of [Open Plant
Pathology](https://openplantpathology.org/), and currently serve as an
editor for rOpenSci.I have authored or co-authored more than seven R
packages for CRAN and maintain one registered Julia package.

I was born in Indiana, USA and earned an undergraduate degree in
agronomy from Purdue University, a graduate certificate in geographic
information science (GIS) and my PhD in plant pathology on the
epidemiology and ecology of plant pathogens from Kansas State University
in the USA.Initially, when I moved to Australia I lived in Queensland
for five years and more recently moved to Western Australia where I
became a naturalized citizen, and I am now usually found in Perth, WA,
Australia these days.

I'm excited for the Champions program because it's a great way for me to
contribute back to the broader R community and more specifically
rOpenSci, which has been so supportive in my development as an R user
and developer.

*We're excited to have both Pao and Adam be part of the Champions
program and can't wait to see what this partnership yields. Stay-tuned
for the next series of introductions* 😉 .

rOpenSci Champions Program Teams: Meet Pao Corrales and Adam Sparks

Yanina Bellini Saibene

## The Champions Program got off to a great start in 2023!

We're happy to report on the first couple of months in our first run of
the [rOpenSci Champions Program](/champions/). In September 2022, we
launched the program, advertising for both mentors and mentees to apply.

We received a total of **102** applications from **31** different
countries. Seventy-four applications were for champions and twenty eight
for mentors. We are very grateful to everyone who took the time to apply
to our program.

Champions could select one of three project options: **51%** chose to
**develop a new package**, **25%** to be part of our **review process**,
and **24%** to **submit a package to our peer review** process.

<figure>
<img
src="/blog/2023/02/21/champions-program-kick-off/countriesApplications.png"
alt="Map of the world with the countries colored according to the number of applications. Applications are shown in America, Europe, Oceania, Asia and Africa (in that order with respect to the number of applications)." />
</figure>

After carefully reviewing each application, we selected ten champions
and ten mentors for this first cohort. **Three** of our champions will
**develop a new package**, **four** will **prepare and submit their
package to the review process**, and **three** will **become rOpenSci
reviewers**.

The mentors will accompany their mentees throughout the process of
executing their projects.

These first participants are from **Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Nigeria,
Turkey, Australia, France, Norway, Saudi Arabia, the United States, and
the United Kingdom**.

<figure>
<img src="/blog/2023/02/21/champions-program-kick-off/ourteam.png"
alt="Collage of headshot of all champions and mentors." />
</figure>

## Kick-off meetings

During January, we held the kick-off meetings for the program. Because
we our Champions and Mentors have such a wide geographic spread, we had
(and will be having) at least two different time for all planned
activities to accommodate the breadth of timezones.

During these meetings, mentors and champions introduced themselves,
shared where they are from, what their project is about, and something
that excited them about the program. We also went over logistics, the
potential agenda, and scheduled activities. We were excited to see the
participants' enthusiasm to learn, share, execute their projects, and
give back to the community!

## Training

During February and March, champions and mentors will receive training
in different topics that will provide them with useful tools to carry
out their projects.

We're also happy to note that in April and May, we will conduct
workshops for those not selected to be champions. These workshops will
provide an opportunity for all applicants to develop skills in
open-source software development for supporting career opportunities as
well as future applications to this or other similar programs. We will
be publishing details about these workshops in March.

Stay tuned for more information about our mentors, champions, and their
projects!

The Champions Program got off to a great start in 2023! We’re happy to report on the first couple of months in our first run of the rOpenSci Champions Program. In September 2022, we launched the program, advertising for both mentors and mentees to apply. We received a total of

 102

applications from

 31

different countries. Seventy-four applications were for champions and twenty eight for mentors.

rOpenSci Champions Program Kick off

## rOpenSci is seeking mentors to support our inaugural cohort of rOpenSci Champions!

The [rOpenSci Champions Program](/champions/) is for *people from
historically and systematically excluded groups* who are interested in
contributing to rOpenSci and the broader ecosystem of open source and
open science communities. After receiving training, mentors will work
with Champions to develop their project, which can be one of the
following options:

- Create a new package;

- Go through the review process with an R package they have already
  developed;

- Serve as a reviewer for the rOpenSci software peer review system.

Mentors may also support Champions with delivering other activities
including: giving a talk, writing blog posts, and teaching other
community members.

### Role description

Mentors will play a vital role in the rOpenSci Champions Program by
helping select the [first cohort of
Champions](/blog/2022/09/22/launch-champions-program/#how-to-apply) and
advising and inspiring their mentees. Mentors will also **connect**
their mentees to people, programs, and organizations; **recommend**,
resources, readings, training, and experiences; and provide **feedback**
on the mentee's project.

We are seeking mentors from the rOpenSci community who have:

- Demonstrated an understanding and ability to work openly and
  collaboratively;

- The willingness to guide and teach others;

- Previous experience with any of the following:

  - Developing, maintaining or contributing to any rOpenSci package or
    package which has gone through rOpenSci review, or

  - Participating in the rOpenSci review process, or

  - Package development and/or peer code review.

Mentors will gain mentoring experience and skills, be acknowledged on
the rOpenSci website and social media channels, and make new connections
across the Champions' networks. By mentoring our selected Champions and
helping to shape this program by providing feedback on this pilot year,
mentors will also be giving back to the rOpenSci community in a great
and meaningful way!

### Expectations

The total time commitment is expected to be approximately 1-2 hours per
month from November 2022 - December 2023 to complete the following
tentative program timeline.

| Date                   | Event                                    | Detail                                                                                                                                                           | Duration                  |
|------------------------|------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------|
| November, 2022         | Select Champions                         | Review, rank and select 1-2 reviewed projects to mentor.                                                                                                         | 2 h                       |
| December 2022          | Kick-off event                           | Learn about the program, review the program expectations, and address questions. Meet mentees.                                                                   | 1.5 h                     |
| February 2023          | Training                                 | How to mentor and logistics on the program.                                                                                                                      | 1 h                       |
| March 2023             | Cohort meeting: Presentation of projects | Champions give 5 minutes presentations on their project (package review or development) and get feedback.                                                        | 1.5 h                     |
| March-July 2023        | Meeting with mentee                      | Provide feedback and guidance on mentee project. Connect with other experts, mentors or community members. Recommend training, resources for the mentee project. | 1 meeting per month 0.5 h |
| Jun 2023               | Cohort meeting: Reflections on projects  | Champions will be invited to share takeaways from their projects with the cohort.                                                                                | 1.5 h                     |
| August - November 2023 | Meeting with mentee                      | Provide feedback and guidance on mentee project. Connect with other experts, mentors or community members. Recommend training, resources for the mentee project. | 1 meeting per month 0.5 h |
| September 2023         | Cohort meeting: Reflections on events    | Champions will be invited to share takeaways from their events with the cohort.                                                                                  | 1.5 h                     |
| December 2023          | Cohort meeting: Reflections on program   | Mentors will be invited to share takeaways from the program and help to define future roles for Champions.                                                       | 1.5 h                     |

### Benefits of being a mentor

By becoming an rOpenSci mentor you will:

- Empower members of historically and systematically excluded groups by
  sharing your expertise with others;
- Connect with other mentors and with the champion community, expanding
  your professional network;
- Gain mentoring experience and skills;
- Gain exposure, recognition and acknowledgment for your work as a
  mentor in rOpenSci spaces (website, social media, events)
- Help rOpenSci and the wider R community grow;
- Co-develop this program and other rOpenSci projects by sharing
  feedback;

Mentors will participate in a training about mentoring and program
logistics as part of their onboarding process and have the support of
the Community Manager throughout the program.

### How to apply

Please, fill out the [application
form](https://airtable.com/shrlrLdQbb4wphosK) ([this template shows the
information we will
require](/champions/files/mentors_champions_template)) by **Monday
November 7, 2022**. The application forms have to be completed *in
English*.

## Do you have any questions?

Please, contact our Community Manager by
[email](mailto:yabellini@ropensci.org) or [book a 15 minutes meeting
with her](https://calendly.com/yabellini-ropensci/15min).

We will have a [Community Call on October
24th](/commcalls/oct2022-champions/)to explain and explore the benefits
of Champions Programs and a [Coworking slot on November
1st](/events/coworking-2022-11/) to answer any questions you might have
about mentoring in this program.


rOpenSci is seeking mentors to support our inaugural cohort of rOpenSci Champions! The rOpenSci Champions Program is for

 people from historically and systematically excluded groups

who are interested in contributing to rOpenSci and the broader ecosystem of open source and open science communities.

Become a Mentor for rOpenSci Champions!

> We are thrilled to launch our Champions Program pilot!

## Why a Champions Program?

Champion programs are designed to identify, recognize, and reward
passionate community members.

At rOpenSci, we recognize that there is a dismaying lack of diversity in
the ecosystem of research software and open source communities. The R
Community is no exception; its developers are overwhelmingly white,
male, and from a handful of countries. This disappointing lack of
diversity is potentially detrimental to the sustainability, utility and
productivity of projects.

We also know that communities of practice can drive meaningful change.
We understand the importance of supporting a diverse cohort of community
leaders and contributors to all aspects of research software creation as
they strive to transform our ecosystem for the better.

The rOpenSci Champion Program [is part of a series of activities and
projects we are carrying out to ensure our research software serves
everyone in our
communities](/blog/2021/12/20/inclusive-leadership-program/), which
means that it needs to be sustainable and open, and built **by and for
all groups.**

That is why this program focuses on **people who belong to groups that
are historically and systematically excluded** from the open software
and research software communities and who are interested in contributing
to rOpenSci and the broader open source and research software
communities.We are looking for people that work in STEAM fields, from
anywhere in the world, who already have development knowledge with the R
language.

## What is our Champions Program?

We have developed a **12-month-long program including cohort-based
training, project development, and personal mentorship**.

Champions will participate in a 6-week long cohort-based training on a)
planning and facilitating engaging and inclusive workshops to support
participants' success, b) knowledge of various channels through which
new members can engage in and contribute to rOpenSci and R projects, and
c) technical skills in software development and review.

After training, Champions will develop their project, which can be one
of these options:

- create a new package,
- go through the review process with an R package they already have
  developed,
- or be a reviewer for our peer review system.

Other Champions activities include options for delivering a talk,
writing blog posts and teaching other community members. During this
stage, Champions will receive personal and group mentorship through
meetings with mentors, quarterly cohort calls, Community Manager
support, and a dedicated channel on rOpenSci Slack workspace.

We will provide a \$1000 (USD) stipend to the selected community
champions.We are looking for six to nine Champions for this first pilot.
We expect to co-create the rOpenSci Champions Program with the selected
applicants and influence future editions with their experience and
feedback.

We look forward to receiving many applications and are committed to
directing non-selected applicants towards other ways in which they can
contribute to rOpenSci.You can see all details on our [Champions Program
webpage](/champions/).

## How to apply?

Please, fill out the [application
form](https://airtable.com/shrAsYlSXU0coJ5Ld) (this
[template](/champions/files/champions_template) shows the information we
require) before **Friday, Nov 7, 2022**.

The application forms have to be filled in *English*.

### Application timeline

| Date         | Event                                                                                                                    |
|--------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Sep 23, 2022 | Call for Applications opens                                                                                              |
| Oct 24, 2022 | \[OPTIONAL\] [Community Call](/commcalls/oct2022-champions/) - Tips for submitting your Champions Program application    |
| Nov 1, 2022  | \[OPTIONAL\] [Co-working hours](/events/coworking-2022-11/): receive help with your application to the Champions Program |
| Nov 7, 2022  | Call for applications closed                                                                                             |
| Nov 25, 2022 | Communication with selected Champions                                                                                    |

## Do you have any questions?

Please, contact our Community Manager [by
email](mailto:yabellini@ropensci.org).

We will have a [Community Call on October
24](/commcalls/oct2022-champions/) and a [Coworking space on November
1](/events/coworking-2022-11/) to help you with your application.

**We look forward to meeting all of you passionate Champions out there
:-D**


Why a Champions Program? Champion programs are designed to identify, recognize, and reward passionate community members. At rOpenSci, we recognize that there is a dismaying lack of diversity in the ecosystem of research software and open source communities. The R Community is no exception; its developers are overwhelmingly white, male, and from a handful of countries.

Messages de Rogue Scholar

rOpenSci Champions Program Teams: Meet Bilikisu Wunmi Olatunji and Christina Maimone

rOpenSci Champions Program Teams: Meet Marcos Prunello and Lukas Wallrich

rOpenSci Champions Program Teams: Meet Pao Corrales and Adam Sparks

rOpenSci Champions Program Kick off

Become a Mentor for rOpenSci Champions!

Announcing the rOpenSci Champions Program!