Add candidate bio for ritazh

Signed-off-by: Rita Zhang <[email protected]>

Author: ritazh

elections/steering/2025/candidate-ritazh.md

@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+-------------------------------------------------------------
+name: Rita Zhang
+ID: ritazh
+info:
+- employer: Microsoft
+- slack: ritazh
+-------------------------------------------------------------
+
+## SIGS
+
+- SIG Auth chair
+- Kubernetes Security Response Committee member
+- WG AI Conformance organizer
+- Maintainer: kubernetes-sigs/secrets-store-csi-driver, open-policy-agent/gatekeeper
+
+## What I have done
+
+I’ve spent the last several years advancing security and policy in Kubernetes and the CNCF ecosystem. As a SIG Auth chair and a Security Response Committee member, I’ve helped shape authentication, authorization, policy, and [CVE incident-response](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/issues?q=is%3Aissue%20state%3Aclosed%20label%3Aofficial-cve-feed%20ritazh) that balance strong safeguards with end user usability.
+
+My technical work spans SIG Auth, SIG Node, WG Device Management, SIG Testing, SIG APIMachinery, and WG LTS. I have driven features like [DRA AdminAccess](https://github.com/kubernetes/enhancements/tree/master/keps/sig-auth/5018-dra-adminaccess), [KMSv2](https://github.com/kubernetes/enhancements/blob/master/keps/sig-auth/3299-kms-v2-improvements), and [Structured Authorization Configuration](https://github.com/kubernetes/enhancements/tree/master/keps/sig-auth/3221-structured-authorization-configuration), and contributed numerous bug fixes and enhancements that improve reliability and security for every Kubernetes user.
+
+I co-founded and maintain [Secrets Store CSI Driver](https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/secrets-store-csi-driver) and [Open Policy Agent Gatekeeper](https://github.com/open-policy-agent/gatekeeper), bring secret-management and scalable policy best practices to clusters. I’ve also reviewed and contributed to **Validating Admission Policy** to make policy enforcement more reliable and portable.
+
+I mentor contributors and unblock cross-SIG work by clarifying requirements, driving consensus, and simplifying complex issues so more people can contribute confidently.
+
+## What I’ll do
+
+I care deeply about the health of this project and the people who make it possible. If elected, I’ll focus on:
+
+- **Secure-by-default:** stronger defaults and guardrails without surprising users.  
+- **AI conformance:** establish standards so vendors can meet the requirements with less friction.  
+- **Cross-SIG collaboration:** reduce “handoff” pain and enable incremental wins.  
+- **Contributor growth:** expand mentorship and reviewer pipelines for sustainability.  
+- **Project health & sustainability:** ensure the Kubernetes and subprojects are healthy, maintainers are supported, and contributors happy.  
+- **Security readiness:** ensure timely fixes for security issues, deprecate unhealthy projects without security contacts, and require clear project status to reduce consumer confusion and increase maintainer accountabiliity.
+
+## Resources About Me
+
+- GitHub: [ritazh](https://github.com/ritazh)
+- LinkedIn: [Rita Zhang](https://www.linkedin.com/in/ritazhang/)  
+- Bluesky: [@ritazh.bsky.social](https://bsky.app/profile/ritazh.bsky.social)
+- X: [ritazzhang](https://x.com/ritazzhang)
+- Talks/References:
+  - [A Practical Guide To Kubernetes Policy as Code](https://sched.co/1tcxh)
+  - [Working Together to Improve Security Visibility in Kubernetes](https://sched.co/1hoxr)
+  - [Pushing Authorization Further: CEL, Selectors and Maybe RBAC++](https://sched.co/1hoyX)
+  - [A Day in a Life of a Data Scientist, conquer ML Lifecycle on Kubernetes](https://sched.co/FuKv)