# 2018 Election Campaign: Matthew Crews

**URL:** <https://forums.fsharp.org/t/2018-election-campaign-matthew-crews/112>\
**Category:** Foundation\
**Tags:** election\
**Created:** [May 10, 2018, 2:02pm UTC](https://forums.fsharp.org/t/2018-election-campaign-matthew-crews/112 "2018-05-10T14:02:43Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![matthewcrews](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forums.fsharp.org/matthewcrews/32/90_2.png) [@matthewcrews](https://forums.fsharp.org/u/matthewcrews)\
**Post date:** [May 10, 2018, 2:02pm UTC](https://forums.fsharp.org/t/2018-election-campaign-matthew-crews/112/1 "2018-05-10T14:02:44Z")

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![34%20(2)](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/uploads/fsharp/original/1X/c43592d9c9fbb7d6e40149340f8aed16f45554f1.jpg)

## Who Am I?

I am a .NET developer who focuses on Data Analysis, Machine Learning, and Optimization using F#. I grew into programming from Operations Research and Industrial Engineering. I started on F# back when it was 2.0 and have been using it extensively the last couple of years. I live in Portland, OR and I am actively working on wooing my team into trying F#.

## Why Am I Running?

My goal in running for election is to help with outreach and the growing of a positive and nurturing community for F#. I have taught at university and I have witnessed first hand what a difference a positive learning community can make when someone is trying to learn a new skill like Functional Programming. I am wanting to continue to provide resources for people coming to Functional Programming and F# for the first time. I am pragmatic in that I don’t think F# needs to solve every problem so my hope is that we keep it an approachable language.

## Why Vote for Me?

I am bringing the perspective of an average developer who has had to learn on their own. I have purposefully blogged about my mistakes on F# projects to make the language seem less intimidating. I am actively trying to humanize people’s perceptions of F# so that it seems less scary. I would lend the voice of someone who has had to learn F# in isolation from other developers. I am the only F# dev on my team so I understand the struggle of not having a face to face community to lean on. F# has brought me much joy and I want to give back to the community that has given so much to me.