The Ada Initiative began in February 2011 to increase women's participation in open-source technology and free-culture movements. Valerie Aurora co-founded the organization alongside Mary Gardiner following the sexual assault of Noirin Shirley at ApacheCon 2010. The non-profit served as a central platform for developing anti-harassment policies for technical conferences before closing in October 2015.
Early Education and Career Beginnings
Born in 1978 in the United States, Valerie Aurora was raised by her mother, Carolyn Meinel. She was home-schooled and attended DEF CON in 1995, marking her introduction to computer programming. She later pursued formal studies in mathematics and computer science at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology.
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Take the IQ test →Contributions to Linux File Systems
Aurora built a technical career specializing in Linux file system development. Her tenure at Sun Microsystems in 2002 involved working with ZFS. At IBM, she contributed to the Theodore Ts'o group, evaluating extensions for the ext2 and ext3 file systems. While employed at Intel, she implemented the ext2 dirty bit and relative atime. Collaborating with Arjan van de Ven, she co-developed ChunkFS, a method for dividing file systems into independent segments to simplify maintenance. She further organized the first Linux File Systems Workshop to secure funding and increase development awareness.
Activism and Advocacy
Aurora changed her birth name, Val Henson, to honor computer scientist Anita Borg. Beyond her technical output, she became a prominent voice on gender equity in the software industry. In 2013, she founded Double Union, a women-focused hackerspace, alongside Amelia Greenhall and Liz Henry. Her public commentary on industry controversies, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation's role in the Andrew Auernheimer case and the PyCon Donglegate incident, highlighted tensions regarding inclusivity and digital social pressure within technical communities.
Fast facts
- Born: 1978, United States
- Education: New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
- Notable Employers: Intel, IBM, Sun Microsystems, Red Hat
- Ada Initiative Founder: 2011
- O'Reilly Open Source Award: 2013
- Professional Specialties: File systems, software engineering, activism
Questions readers ask
What was the purpose of the Ada Initiative?
It was a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing the participation of women in open-source technology and free-culture movements.
What are some of Aurora's technical achievements in Linux?
She contributed to ZFS, the ext2 and ext3 file systems, and co-developed ChunkFS to streamline file system checking.
Achievements
- Affiliated with IBM, Sun Microsystems and Intel
- Educated at New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
- Worked as computer scientist, women's rights activist and engineer
