Merge pull request #6852 from BenTheElder/candidacy

Add steering candidate bio for bentheelder

Author: k8s-ci-robot

elections/steering/2022/candidate-bentheelder.md

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+-------------------------------------------------------------
+name: Benjamin Elder
+ID: BenTheElder
+info:
+  - employer: Google
+  - slack: bentheelder
+-------------------------------------------------------------
+
+## SIGS
+
+I've historically been most active in these sigs:
+
+- SIG Testing: **Chair**, **Tech Lead**
+- SIG Release: General Contributor
+- SIG K8s Infra: General Contributor, Infra Admin
+- Architecture: Code Organization subproject
+- Contributor Experience: General Contributor
+
+But you'll also find me contributing across the project.
+
+## What I have done
+
+I first got involved in Kubernetes in the 2015, just before 1.0, as a 
+[Google Summer of Code] student. during which time I developed the initial 
+`iptables` kube-proxy backend, which replaced the inefficient userspace backend 
+by default in v1.2.
+
+In 2017 I graduated and took up full time Kubernetes development at Google as a 
+junior engineer working primarily on SIG Testing, where I've worked to improve 
+the contributor experience.
+
+I developed [KIND] to make e2e testing Kubernetes faster and 
+locally reproducible without cloud access.
+I led the effort to consolidate on a single build system and eliminate bazel to 
+reduce contributor friction.
+I worked with SIG docs to create and pilot a pattern for subprojects to
+officially host their own docs within the project for docs that do not belong
+on the main kubernetes.io site, like [kind.sigs.k8s.io].
+I was also release lead shadow on the 1.14 release.
+
+I've been one of the [most active contributors] to the project over the years and
+I've since won the 2020 CNCF [Top Committer Award] for my extensive contributions.
+
+You will find me active all across the project contributing where I can. I've
+spent a lot of time maintaining the project's infra and helping transition older
+infrastructure Google set up early in the project to community control. I help
+maintain most of the build, test, and release tools / scripts, as well as the
+cluster e2e tools including KIND and `cluster/`, as well as critical infra
+like the project's CI, DNS, etc.
+
+
+## What I'll do
+
+I am passionate about the Kubernetes community and I will do everything in my 
+power to uphold and strengthen it's health, [values], and inclusivity.
+
+Steering represents:
+- An important interface between the project and the CNCF
+- Authoring, reviewing, and approving governance documents, such as the charters
+- An escalation path within the community, for matters unable to be resolved within the SIGs / WGs
+
+Steering is about people, governance, and long term project health.
+Steering is *not* about arbitrating technical decisions, which are left to the SIGs.
+
+Within that scope, I will bring my perspective as someone who has risen from an 
+inexperienced student contributor to a leader to help guide and enact processes
+and policies that prioritize community health.
+
+In particular: I believe we need to do better enabling 
+future leaders / contributor growth, and being inclusive of our existing global,
+diverse contributor base. We need to put more emphasis on sustainability, and
+I believe steering is well positioned to do so.
+
+## Resources About Me
+
+- [elder.dev/about](https://elder.dev/aboput)
+  - You can find a more personal bio, my [speaking] and more here
+- [twitter.com/BenTheElder](https://twitter.com/BenTheElder)
+
+[most active contributors]: https://k8s.devstats.cncf.io/d/13/developer-activity-counts-by-repository-group?orgId=1
+[values]: https://www.kubernetes.dev/community/values/
+[kind.sigs.k8s.io]: https://kind.sigs.k8s.io/
+[Google Summer of Code]: https://summerofcode.withgoogle.com/
+[KIND]: https://sigs.k8s.io/kind
+[Top Committer Award]: https://www.cncf.io/announcements/2020/11/20/cloud-native-computing-foundation-announces-2020-community-awards-winners
+[speaking]: https://elder.dev/about/#speaking