We're excited⚡ to announce that the admin team for Djangonaut Space has two new members, Lilian Tran and Raffaella Suardini! We’ve also added Priya Pahwa to our advisor team. Lilian, Raffaella and Priya were all Djangonauts in Session 1 and have continued to participate and grow Djangonaut Space since then. 🚀

So join us in congratulating them and learning a bit more about them 👏

Lilian Tran is …cosmically great! She's been a captain, session organizer and navigator! During her time as a session organizer, she had the idea to have a showcase for Djangonauts to talk about their experience and show what they've accomplished. This has become a recurring event since then. Lilian has gone on to contribute as a Space Reviewer, give several conference talks and has worked towards improving Django's contributor experience.

Raffaella Suardini is …intergalatically amazing! She first took flight as a Djangonaut, and later joined Session 5 as an organizer, becoming the voice of Djangonaut Space through cheerful and welcoming blog posts and social media. Alongside Tim, she launched Space Reviewers, a project that shows the code review process live and helps make reviewing more approachable. She is also currently part of the Django News team who volunteers for “Updates to Django” every week. Outside of Django she has joined the organizing team for PyCon Italia and volunteered on the program team for PyLadies 2025. Her collaborative spirit has guided her to serve multiple times as a coach for Django Girls, supporting newcomers as they take their first steps into the community.

Priya Pahwa is …awestrucking stellar! Her ignition sequence started as a Djangonaut, later was a session organizer for Sessions 3, 4 and 5. Priya has been an excellent facilitator for the community. She is a wonderful and engaging host for our guest speaker series and conducting our community wide meetings. Priya makes everyone feel welcome and invites them in. Beyond Djangonaut Space, Priya has been the co-chair for the Fundraising Working Group, a member of the Code of Conduct Working Group and a DSF Board Member! In the broader Python community Priya is an experienced public speaker.

Djangonaut Space continues to grow and evolve, just as the paths of the amazing people involved! Originally, admins were the founders: Dawn Wages, Rachell Calhoun, Sarah Abderemane, Sarah Boyce and Tim Schilling, but as life moved forward, folks naturally found new missions calling them. Sarah Boyce still joins in on sessions and supports the program as a Fellow. Dawn Wages is out there championing Djangonaut Space in the broader Python universe. And Sarah Abderemane has stepped into an Advisor role, sharing her wisdom and experience to help guide the way forward.

Our new team structures are:

Admins:

- Lilian Tran

- Rachell Calhoun

- Raffaella Suardini

- Tim Schilling

Advisors:

- Priya Pahwa

- Sarah Abderemane