William John Sullivan (more commonly known as John Sullivan;[2] born December 6, 1976) is a software freedom activist, hacker, and writer. John was formerly executive director[3][4] of the Free Software Foundation (FSF), where he has worked since early 2003. He is also a speaker and webmaster for the GNU Project. He also maintains the Plannermode and delicious-el packages for the GNU Emacs text editor.
John Sullivan | |
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![]() Sullivan at Free Software Foundation event, June 2006. | |
Born | December 6, 1976 |
Employer | Free Software Foundation[1] |
Active in both the free software and free culture communities, Sullivan has a BA in philosophy from Michigan State University and an MFA in Writing and Poetics. In college, Sullivan was a successful policy debater, reaching finals of CEDA Nationals and the semifinals of the National Debate Tournament.[5]
Until 2007, John was the main contact behind the Defective by Design, BadVista and Play Ogg campaigns. He also served as the chief-webmaster for the GNU Project, until July 2006.[6]
He served as Executive Director of the Free Software Foundation from 2011 to 2022.
John has delivered speeches on the following topics,[7] in English: