Introducing the ARIN 58 Fellows

By Amanda Gauldin – Senior Project Manager

ARIN staff is busy preparing for ARIN 58, our fall Public Policy and Members Meeting taking place 22-23 October in Miami, Florida. Meanwhile, we are also excited to be kicking off the ARIN 58 Fellowship Program!

An Engaging Experience

The Fellowship Program agenda includes:

• Four virtual sessions before the meeting to introduce the workings of the organization and the ARIN Policy Development Process (PDP),
• The virtual ARIN 58 Meeting Orientation and Policy Open House,
• Participation in ARIN 58 either virtually or in person in Miami, and
• Participation in NANOG 98 either virtually or in person in Miami in the days preceding ARIN 58.

Throughout the program, Fellows will also benefit from mentorship by an ARIN Advisory Council or Board of Trustees member.

To learn more about the Fellowship Program and this spring’s agenda, read the blog post: “Apply Today for the ARIN 58 Fellowship Program.”

The ARIN Fellowship Program provides a fun and engaging way for Fellows to get immersed in ARIN’s work and feel ready to participate in the upcoming meeting. With the addition of this group of 19 Fellows, we have now welcomed more than 300 new voices to our community over the last decade.

Meet the Fellows

To get to know them better, we asked each of our new Fellows to share a few tidbits of information about themselves, including: one word that describes how they felt upon learning they were selected for the program; what they are most looking forward to about the experience; and their favorite book, movie, podcast, or hobby. Let’s meet the ARIN 58 Fellows!

Canada

• Amir Khan — Senior Enterprise Planner, Rogers Communications
  Reaction: Honored and excited
  Looking forward to: Learning from industry experts, engaging with the ARIN community, and networking with professionals who are passionate about Internet infrastructure, policy, and governance
  Favorite podcast: “The Internet Report”

• Anh Phan — PhD student, Joint Communication and Culture Program, Toronto Metropolitan University and York University
  Reaction: Excited
  Looking forward to: Learning experience and engaging with the community
  Favorite book: “Pachinko” by Min Jin Lee 

• David Cameron — Community Educator and Program Designer
  Reaction: Thrilled
  Looking forward to: More information, more contacts
  Favorite hobby: Sailing

• Mehdi Moualek — Design Specialist, TELUS
  Reaction: Thrilled
  Looking forward to: Experiencing ARIN from a deeper perspective, seeing how the community comes together, and being part of the conversations and activities
  Favorite mobile app: Goodreads

• Neil Smellie — Executive Director, CanWISP

• Rishabh Singh — Research Intern, MITACS Globalink Research Internship Programme, University of New Brunswick
  Reaction: Exhilerated
  Looking forward to: Networking with and learning from the best in the business
  Favorite hobby: Chess

• Shannon Thom — Lead, Appropriate Use, Canada’s Drug Agency
  Reaction: Energized
  Looking forward to: Connecting with other fellows and mentors in the ARIN community, and having a unique opportunity to observe and learn about the policy development process alongside peers who are passionate about the future of Internet infrastructure
  Favorite movie: “Freaky Friday” (2003)

• Thien-Lam Nguyen — Research Assistant, University of British Columbia
  Reaction: Glad
  Looking forward to: Talking with my mentor and the other Fellows about their work and what brought them to ARIN
  Favorite podcast: “Land of the Giants”

Caribbean

• Betty Fausta — Senior Lecturer, University of French West Indies; Senior IT Consultant
  Reaction: Grateful
  Looking forward to: Meetings and networking first and contents second
  Favorite book: “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley
• Brent Mc Intosh — Head of IP Services & Infrastructure, TransAmericas Fiber
  Reaction: Elated
  Looking forward to: Learning about RPKI
  Favorite movie: “Braveheart” (1995)
• Michelle Garcia — Attorney-at-Law, Caribbean Telecommunications Union
  Reaction: Thankful
  Looking forward to: The mentorship
  Favorite podcast: “Cory Shepherd Podcast”
• Rashan Smith — Software Developer, UNICEF
  Reaction: Motivated
  Looking forward to: Firsthand insight into how policies are made and governed, as well as the mentorship, networking and learning opportunities
  Favorite hobby: Nature walks

United States

• Bryan Peterson — Enterprise Operation Associate Director, Utah Education Network, University of Utah
  Reaction: Excited
  Looking forward to: Learning about how the policy life cycle works
  Favorite podcast: “This American Life”
• Burt Lum — Adjunct Professor, University of Hawaii, Manoa
  Reaction: Thrilled
  Looking forward to: Getting to know the mentors
  Favorite hobby: Camping
• Daniel Armata — Network Engineer, Pixel Factory Data Center
  Reaction: Elated
  Looking forward to: The conference in Miami
  Favorite movie: “Dead Poets Society” (1989)
• Favour Ohemu — Founder, WeTalkCyberSecurity
  Reaction: Grateful
  Looking forward to: Meeting the mentors and connecting with the wider ARIN community, and getting a real, working understanding of the Policy Development Process, not just reading about it, but seeing how it actually works
  Favorite book: The Bible
• Karthik Muthuramakrishnan — Senior Azure Customer Experience Engineer, Microsoft
  Reaction: Excited
  Looking forward to: Meeting and learning from people across the Internet community
  Favorite mobile app: Teams
• Mohammed Aljanaby — Senior Network Engineer, Long Lines Broadband
  Reaction: Ecstatic
  Looking forward to: Meeting with many professionals in the field and learning from them
  Favorite movie: “Interstellar” (2014)
• Venkatesh VLNP — Principal Infrastructure Engineer, Capital One
  Reaction: Grateful
  Looking forward to: Connecting with ARIN’s Board, Advisory Council, and fellow Fellows from across the region, and learning how policy proposals move through the PDP process
  Favorite book: “TCP/IP Illustrated, Volume 1,” by W. Richard Stevens

Our Mentors and Special Guests

Fellows will be paired with an experienced ARIN Board of Trustees or Advisory Council (AC) member to help guide them through the meeting and policy discussions. During the preparatory sessions, Mentors also lead small group breakout sessions to discuss policy development and other topics in more detail. Additional members of the AC and ARIN staff will join us throughout the program to explain the PDP, which policies to expect on the docket for discussion at ARIN 58, and ARIN resources and services.

Thank you to these volunteers for their involvement in the ARIN 58 Fellowship Program — their participation is key to the success of our Fellows!

ARIN 58 Mentors

Gerry George — ARIN Advisory Council
Kaitlyn Pellak — ARIN Advisory Council
Matthew Wilder — ARIN Advisory Council
Nancy Carter — Chair, ARIN Board of Trustees
Ron da Silva — ARIN Board of Trustees

Learn about the history and impact of Fellowship Mentors and how this program builds the next generation of Internet policy and governance leaders through hands-on learning experiences in this blog post: Mentorship Powers ARIN’s Fellowship Program.

For more updates, follow us on Instagram @arin_rir, on LinkedIn at ARIN’s company page, and at @TeamARIN on Facebook and X. Information regarding the ARIN 59 Fellowship Program will be shared in the new year!

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Post written by:

Amanda Gauldin
Senior Project Manager

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